IndiaCSR News Network
MUMBAI: Tata Power, India’s largest integrated power company, has always been committed in promoting the agriculture sector in India by helping farmers with best agricultural practices. Continuing with this commitment, Tata Power initiated a special farming program across 67 villages which has benefitted more than 4000 farmers till date from the communities living in and around Maval, Bhivpuri, Jojobera and Mundra.
The objective of the initiative is to help farmers by ensuring food security and also improve their agricultural yield and income. The program focuses on unique farming initiatives which includes wasteland development for agriculture, harvesting and recharging ground water, reviving traditional water structures, enhancing farm productivity and increasing yield as well as introduction of new crop variety and undertaking best practices in the area. Tata Power Jojobera (Jharkhand) and Mundra (Gujarat) have undertaken several farming initiatives which includes farm binding, well recharge, drip demo, horticulture demo, check dam/pond renovation and creation, fodder plot demonstration. This program has reached out to 7 villages and noteworthy achievement include converting fallow uncultivable land in cultivable land and also recharge the ground water level.
In Maharashtra, Tata Power launched the agricultural program in the Maval and Bhivpuri region in 2011 where farmers have started practicing System of Rice intensification (SRI) and cash crop vegetable farming which has helped them increase their agricultural income manifold. Starting from 350 farmers across 8 villages, the initiative has successfully reached close to 40 villages and benefitted more than 2400 farmers.
The Company launched various interventions including the formation of Kisan Sheti Shala (KSS) i.e. farmers schools to practice, learn about and grow crops and promoted innovative practices such as vertical farming for landless families, forest home garden concept and low cost treadle pump, drip irrigation etc. The initiatives have also succeeded in motivating the youth across the villages who are now eager to learn the new technology and best practices of the farming sector. In odisha, Tata Power has initiated farm-based livelihood at Kalinganagar with an objective to improve agricultural yield with focus on tribal communities covering 1000 farmers in 20 villages.
Commenting on the initiative, Anil Sardana, MD& CEO, Tata Power said, “India is an agriculture based country where we rank second worldwide in farm output. The agriculture sector is an important contributor to the GDP of the country. However, in recent times the economic contribution of agriculture has been steadily declining due to sectoral issues. It is Tata Power’s endeavour to work closely with its key communities i.e. farmers around its area of operations to make them self-sufficient and independent. We aim to stimulate interest, promote innovative ideas, best practices, and increase productivity in order to present agriculture as a business model.
Through this programme, farmers will be able to come forward with innovative ideas and best practices to evaluate the productivity of crops and improve the yield of the land. The positive impact of the program can already be seen clearly where farmers are gaining their confidence and interest in the farming sector. In coming times, we aim to explore technology driven models to help farmers with better price and weather forecasting capacities for support their cultivation plans and scale it up across. This Initiative is aimed to complement the Model Village Concept of Tata Power from the livelihood aspect.”
