The Ambuja Cement Foundation (ACF) is helping to change the face of farming community in Sankrail 25 Kms from here. It is training farmers boost their income through use of new farming technique. The controlled sample of 272 rice growers who participated in ACF project, have experienced an increase of over 110 % in the rice yield during the kharif of 2008. A large number of farmers from the adjoining villages have expressed their keen interest to learn this new technique of rice cultivation. The Foundation is also adding value to the lives of unemployed rural youth by inducting them into new vocations. Over 300 young men and women from this region have greatly benefited from this initiative. Local farmers’ wives are being taught mushroom cultivation through formation of Self Help Groups (SHGs). However, this last project is in its nascent stage.
Talking to a group of Kolkata Journalist Pearl Tiwari, the director of ACF, said, “Most of the farmers in an around Sankrail grow rice. Our studies indicated to us that the majority of them was not getting optimum yield from their farms. The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) would greatly help them in boosting their yield.” She added, “It is also evident that widespread unemployment prevailing among the rural youth. We believe that inducting these young men and women into various vocations would either make them employable or help unlock their hidden entrepreneurial potential”.
The Foundations expert decided to introduce to Sankrail farmers a new technique of rice cultivation known as SRI. This technique has been successfully implemented by progressive farmers in countries like China, Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand. In India SRI was initiated in some district of Andhra Pradesh and met with encouraging results. Indian farmers are generally found of conventional methods of cultivation. However they also take up new techniques if the results are proved. The Foundation, therefore, decided to aggressively demonstrate the positive benefits of SRI by undertaking a project covering a population of 272 farmers from 30 villages with a total land holding of 33 acres. The experts began their interactions with farmers in early ‘08 and actual cultivation under SRI commenced under July 2008. The results obtained indicate a little over two fold increase over the traditional method.
It is interesting to note that some input cost such as the quantum of seed needed for SRI need is as low as 1/10th of the conventional method. This significant increase in the crop yield has significantly augment income of the participating farmers.
ACF had its fair share of challenges in the form of convincing the unsure farmers. Its experts decided to take these farmers on ‘exposure visits’ – farmer to farmer interactions – to Sundarbans and conducted demonstrations. The concerned farmers were also shown videos of the technique. With such hard work put in place, the farming community today is not only taking greater interest in the technique but it is also grateful to the Foundation.
Vocational training
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In its other farm related initiatives the ACF team has been training women in the same region in mushroom cultivation. The process began by forming Self Help Groups (SHG’s) of farmer’s wives. Once 10 SHG’s were formed, the minimum critical mass needed for demonstrating the benefits of mushroom cultivation, the Foundations experts started teaching the methods of mushroom cultivation. Members of these groups has begun mushroom farming in their homes. Efforts are now being made to scale up the production and establish market linkages so that the produce can be sold in Kolkotta.
Commenting on vocational training on the jobless Pearl Tiwari added, “Our studies indicated that helping farmers augment to augment their income was not enough, since we were expecting a broad-based positive societal impact. There was a need to train the unemployed youth in an attempt to make them self sufficient and self sustaining. We are happy that many young men and women has come for work to learn the new trades. We would like to believe that the economic profile of the region has already started looking up.”
Ambuja Cement Foundation
Ambuja Cements ltd. believes in contributing to the local communities where it operates on a sustainable basis. This conviction saw the formation of Ambuja Cement Foundation in 1993 to make a positive difference in the lives of the people around the Company’s plants. Over the years, ACF has contributed significantly in areas of water conservation and management, sustainable agriculture, health and sanitation, support for school education, awareness on prevention of HIV and AIDS, promotion of SHGs for scio-economic development of women and capacity building of local youth and farmers. ACF today enjoys an efficient infrastructure of qualified development professionals and its initiatives impact lives of over 1.5 million people in the country.