THE BAIF JOURNALVol. 38 July-September 2014

BAIF DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH FOUNDATION

THE BAIF JOURNALA quarterly journal of the

Annual SubscriptionInland: Rs. 50/-

Overseas: US $10

Managing EditorMs. Sucharita Dhar

BAIF Bhavan, Dr. Manibhai Desai Nagar

Warje, Pune 411 058

Editorial Office

Mr. Hrishikesh A. Mafatlal, Chairman

Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, Vice Chairman

Mr. Hasmukh S. Shah, Chairman, Executive Committee of BAIF Trustees

Smt. Rajashree A. Birla

Mr. Kishor A. Chaukar

Mr. Sunil. S. Lalbhai

Mr. Deepak C. Mehta

Dr. Sudha N. Murty

Mr. Pratap G. Pawar

Mr. Sharad Upasani

Dr. Narayan G. Hegde

Mr. Ramesh Rawal

Mr. Girish G. SohaniPresident and Managing Trustee

Founder: Late Dr. Manibhai Desai

BAIF TRUSTEES I n t h i s I s s u eJuly-September 2014 Vol. 38

Promotion of Smart Technologies for 1

Sustainable Development

Food Security through Family Farming: 2

BAIF's Experience

Celebration of a Historical Day 6

Hi-tech Floriculture: Jasmine Cultivation 9

for Sustainable Livelihood

Regional News 12

Tribute to Our Patron, Shri. K.K. Malhotra: 15

The Messiah of the Poor

Women Empowerment through 17

Dairy Husbandry

Bridging the Gap between Rural 19

and Urban India

Promotion of Smart Technologies for 1

Sustainable Development

Food Security through Family Farming: 2

BAIF's Experience

Celebration of a Historical Day 6

Hi-tech Floriculture: Jasmine Cultivation 9

for Sustainable Livelihood

Regional News 12

Tribute to Our Patron, Shri. K.K. Malhotra: 15

The Messiah of the Poor

Women Empowerment through 17

Dairy Husbandry

Bridging the Gap between Rural 19

and Urban India

Edited, Printed and Published by: BAIF Development Research FoundationDr. Manibhai Desai Nagar, Warje, Pune 411 058E-mail: baif@baif.org.in Website: www.baif.org.in

Designed and Printed by:Varad Printers, Pune

Cover Page:

Development of Family Farms

Food Security through

Climate Smart Agriculture for Miltigating Global Warming

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

BAIF has been promoting a cluster-based multidisciplinary programme with special focus on holistic development of the poor family, since the last 47 years. This unique approach has resulted in the emergence of replicable models of poverty alleviation while ensuring food security, environmental security and improved quality of life. One of the programmes which has been widely adopted by small and marginal farmers has been the family farming model. However, this programme has the challenge of enhancing the productivity of family farms by increasing agricultural productivity of family farms, conserving denuding natural resources, developing value chains for agricultural commodities, generating employment, improving the capacity of small farmers and women and developing strong Producers' Groups.

Promotion of climate smart technologies such as system of wheat intensification and system of rice intensification are a boon for small-holders including, women, enabling them to enhance food production and adopt sustainable agricultural technologies.

Over the years, women have overcome their economic and social challenges to become active participants of our programmes. Today, some of them are serving as confident AI technicians and consultants while others are providing leadership to women in their villages and encouraging them to empower

themselves while ensuring community development and a brighter future for their children. Their achievements were recognized by their felicitation at a function organized to celebrate the Foundation Day of BAIF.

In those areas where the scope for irrigating major crops is limited, farmers are being encouraged to engage themselves in the production of high value crops in small plots. Floriculture with jasmine in open fields offers such an opportunity, as demonstrated by thousands of tribal farmers in Thane district.

Realising the need to sensitise the youth about the challenges in rural development and to make them responsible citizens of the country, BAIF in partnership with the State Bank of India launched the second cohort of the "SBI Youth for India Fellowship Programme" with encouraging response from young professionals with a desire to engage themselves in communi ty development.

This issue of the BAIF Journal presents a kaleidoscope of the programmes being implemented in rural areas and which are ensuring a silent revolution in the lives of the rural communities.

With best wishes

F r o m t h e P r e s i d e n t

1 The BAIF Journal

Promotion of Smart Technologies for Sustainable Development

Girish G. Sohani

2 The BAIF Journal

Food Security through Family Farming:

BAIF's Experience

he year 2014 was declared as the International Year of Family Farming to T

recognize the contribution of family farms to food security across the globe. Family farms have been the origin of ancient agriculture before the commercialization of farming and will continue to remain significant to support the livelihood of millions of people particularly in the developing countries. Although a lot of efforts were made to recognise the benefits of family farming during the celebration this year, no significant impact could be seen in India. In fact, we lost the opportunity to realise its importance in ensuring food security for millions of our population. Although the celebration of the year of family farming will come to an end, it is not too late for us to wake up and make serious efforts to promote family farms as an important programme of development particularly in the states where rural poverty is in the range of 30-40%.

Although the poverty at the All-India level is around 21%, several states have higher levels of rural poverty, in the range of 30 and 40 percent. Among them, Chhattisgarh has the highest population of rural poor at 40%, followed by Jharkhand (37%), Bihar (34%), Odisha (32%) and Madhya Pradesh (31%). Unfortunately, most of the poverty blocks in these states have fairly good rainfall with fertile soils and hence the low productivity and low income reflects on the poor management of agriculture by most of the

small and marginal farmers, who are the custodians of family farms. Needless to mention, most of the poor are either landless or small and marginal farmers who are deprived of good quality land, assured water resources and access to resources and information. In the absence of value chain for efficient forward and backward linkages and good leadership, they are unable increase their crop yields and realise better price for their produce. Backwardness of women, illiteracy, inadequate infrastructure and unproductive livestock further add to their miseries. Low agricultural productivity accelerates unemployment, malnutrition, distress migration, poor health and education and exploitation by vested interests.

Due to inadequate food, about 300% of the households in the country have been consuming only 70% of the required energy. High infant mortality, high school drop out and poor academic performance are also linked to lack of food security. With the growing population, the demand for food grains, milk and meat will increase further and these small holders are likely to face further pressure on food security in the years to come unless serious efforts are made to improve food production on their own farms while enhancing their income and employment generation opportunities. Thus, improving the productivity of family farms has direct impact on food security under Indian conditions. Today, we have over 70%

L e a d A r t i c l e

Dr. Narayan G. Hegde

3 The BAIF Journal

landholders who fall in the category of small and marginal landholders and so productivity improvement on family farms is a massive programme requiring national priority. There is also an opportunity to introduce crop diversity, which can be helpful for introduction of high value cash crops and reducing the risk against crop failures.

The strategy for improving productivity of family farms under Indian conditions should cover:

ØConservation of denuded resources;

ØIncreasing productivity per unit area by making efficient use of water resources, nutrients and idle labour;

ØDevelopment of value chain for all the agricultural commodities;

ØIntegration of animal husbandry with agriculture for efficient recycling of nutrients;

ØGeneration of farm employment, while making judicious use of machinery;

ØCapacity of small farmers particularly women through strong producer groups, ski l l -or iented t ra ining, effect ive communication facilities and forward and backward linkages.

Efficient water use: Water is the most critical input after land productivity while facilitating effective soil conservation. Emphasis should also be given on tapping the available water resources and making effective use of all the methods for conservation. Although India has less than 40% of cropping area under irrigation, there has been severe wastage of this precious water to the extent of 50-60%. This has been a constraint for expanding the area under irrigation while being a cause for ground water pollution, wastage of fertilizers and increased incidences of pests and diseases

and weeds, resulting in high cost of production and chemical contamination of food grains and fodder. Farms in India area still using flood irrigation without realising these adverse effects. On the contrary, micro-irrigation can reduce the cost of production and expand the area under irrigation. With efficient water use, small farmers can enhance their agricultural production by 30-40%.

Good production practices: Most of the small farmers have been following outdated agricultural practices particularly with respect to improved seeds, balanced nutrition, integrated plant protection, efficient farm implements and post-harvest technologies. Promotion of good agricultural practices is another opportunity, like SRI method of paddy cultivation, which saves water and agro-chemicals to the extent of 20-30% while increasing the yield by 20- 30%.

Tree-based farming is an excellent opportunity for small farmers as this programme provides year-round employment and enhances the farm productivity. BAIF has demonstrated the benefits of tree-farming by providing sustainable livelihood to migrating tribals while improving the eco-system in the region. Presently, over 2 lakh families spread across the country through BAIF programmes have come out of poverty

4 The BAIF Journal

while improving the quality of their living through good health, education and drastic reduction in migration. Agri-horti-forestry can facilitate biodiversity enrichment, thereby mitigating the risk of global warming and climate change.

Mixed farming: While planning for making best use of available natural resources, it is also necessary to support the small farmers with livestock husbandry. Since ages, small farmers have been maintaining livestock as a source of livelihood support. However, due to heavy genetic erosion of the livestock owned by the poor and poor access to veterinary care, there has been a negative contribution to the family income. Realising this, BAIF has demonstrated the potential of livestock in contributing to the income of small farmers substantially. Over 40 years, BAIF has demonstrated that a family with 2-3 improved cattle and buffaloes born at their doorsteps can generate a net income of Rs. 35,000-45,000

per year while making significant contribution to organic farming. A family maintaining 8-10 goats / sheep is able to earn Rs. 25,000-30,000 per year even in remote parts of the country. By organizing these livestock keepers and providing basic breeding and health care services by engaging local paravets, millions of families can be productively engaged in livestock husbandry. Fortunately, the demand for milk, meat and eggs is increasing and there is a unique opportunity to engage small farmers to meet the growing demand in the country.

There was some skepticism about livestock development due to shortage of feed and fodder to improve the productivity of these animals. However, it has been observed that with careful planning and use of crop residues, along with cultivation of fodder on marginal and waste lands, fodder shortage can be eased to a great extent.

5 The BAIF Journal

Key Factors for Success

Thus, through concentrated effort, family farming by small landholders can be a very significant source of food in the country. The key factors for the success of family farming are introduction of diversified cropping, intensified cropping to make best use of land and resources throughout the year, improved efficiency of agricultural production by using better planting material, efficient use of water and timely application of critical inputs.

Finally, an efficient forward and backward linkage can reduce the cost by 25% and increase farmgate price by 25-30%. Thus, the value chain development can enhance the productivity of small farms by 30-40%. Hence, with serious efforts made through family farming, it is possible to ensure food security, while bringing a smile on the faces of the poor across the country.

Steps to Support Family Farms to ensure Food Security

Ø

ØMixed farming: Multiple cropping, combined with livestock;

ØBackward and forward linkages for developing Value Chains;

ØEmpower women to transform family farms into Enterprises;

ØProvide information services on weather, pests and diseases, demand and price for produce;

ØIncrease scale of operation through Producer companies of small farmers as members;

Efficient use of resources: Superior germplasm, tools, inputs;

6 The BAIF Journal

he 47th Foundation Day of BAIF and T15th Award Ceremony to felicitate women's groups were held at the BAIF Central Research Station at Urulikanchan near Pune on August 22, 2014. Dr. Narayan G. Hegde, Trustee and Principal Adviser, BAIF welcomed the guests and the women groups from across BAIF programmes in various states. Mr. Girish G. Sohani, Managing Trustee and President, BAIF highlighted the achievements of BAIF over the last one year. Dr. Ashok B. Pande, Senior Vice President, BAI F provided a background of the awards.

Leadership development and empowerment of women in BAIF's programmes were once again demonstrat ed with the achievements shared by the prize winning groups from various locations of BAIF.

"We women are now taking keen interest in the education of our children and monitoring their studies which we had never done before as we want them to qualify for the scholarship promoted by our Self Help Group" stated the representative of Maheshwari Swayamsahayta Mahila Bachat Gat near Urulikanchan in Haveli taluka of Pune district and the recipient of "Dr. Manibhai Desai Gaurav Puraskar" and "Smt Vijayatai

Deshmukh Memorial Award" for the "Best Self Help Group" in BAIF's programmes across 1.71 lakh villages spread over 16 states. She cited the example of her daughter who secured 90% in the recent secondary board examinations and is now studying at the Mahatma Gandhi Vidyalaya at Urulikanchan near Pune. She highlighted the determination of her group in ensuring electricity connection at night time to facilitate their children to study as earlier there used to be no electricity after 6 pm thereby hampering the study schedule of the children. She also added that every member of their group was operating their own personal savings account with their local branch of Bank of India which highlighted their economic independence and confidence.

7 The BAIF Journal

the group also proudly shared how she had acquired basic computer literacy skills and how all the women now receive information related to agricultural development, scholarships and other socio-economic development matters on their phones. read various documents and records. Her daughter is now pursuing Diploma in Pharmacy, she proudly added. One of the group members whose daughter-in-law refused to bring up her third daughter volu nteered to bring up the grand daughter singlehandedly. They have also disbursed loans for supporting the education of two of the younger children of one of the members who has four children. Two of their members not only look after their agricultural operations but are also working to enhance the family income.

Maa Ashapura Women's Group from the backward block of Banswara district of Rajasthan and the recipient of the "Second Best Self Help Group" is now enjoying better economic status and receiving orientation in reading and writing from their children who are attending schools and are now looking towards a brighter future.

The "Second Best Self Help Group" award was also won by the Adarsha Mahila Bachat Gat and Dhiran Juth from Songadh block of Tapi district of Gujarat who proudly stated that apart from the improved socio-economic status of their members, their children are

Ekta Mahila Swayamsahayta Mahila Bachat Gat from Boriandi village in Daund taluka of Pune district also received the Best Self Help Group award jointly with Maheshwari Self Help Group and highlighted the role of their members in e nsuring smooth agricultural operations by purchasing farm machinery such as a tractor and hardship reduction with the installation of a handpump with their cumulative savings and promoting scholarships for the village children to motivate them to study and improve their future prospects. To ensure quality life for their women who otherwise lead a drudgery existence, they organize an annual picnic for their group every year. Although every woman in the group have achieved functional literacy and can make their signatures, their reading skills are still very weak and this is when their children who attend school help them to write records of their group activities. The representative of

8 The BAIF Journal

now pursuing degrees in the hi-tech city of Hyderabad while others are completing their education in computer sciences, social work and business administration.

Jai Gurudeve Mahila Bachat Gat from the remote cluster of Dhadgaon in Nandurbar district and the recipient of the "Best Self Help Group in Maharashtra" has motivated other women in their village with the result that four more groups are functioning in their village. The group engaged in custard apple marketing has been trained in harvesting, grading, packing and marketing and earn Rs. 5000/- each during peak sales from the stall operated by them which they have used for purchasing small ruminants such as poultry and goats. Aware of the need to protect the environment, the women have stopped felling trees for wood.

Various other categories of awards included "Best Scientific Paper", "Best Case Study", "Best cattle development centre In-charge which incidentally was won by a woman

technician from Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh, Ms. Vijaya Rani, apart from two other recipients; "Best Farmer" award recipient, who was also felicitated by the Government of Maharashtra for innovative farming practices and whose son is pursuing engineering in Bhopal and felicitation of an "Innovative Farmer" from the tribal belt of Jawhar block of Thane district were the highlights of the ceremony.

Padma Bhushan Dr. Devendra Raj Mehta,

IAS (Retd.), Trustee, BAIF and Founder and

Chief Patron, Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang

Sahayata Samiti (Jaipur Foot) and also former

Chairman of the Securities and Exchange

Board of India and Deputy Governor, Reserve

Bank of India and Shri. Sharad Upasani, IAS

(Retd.), Trustee, BAIF and former Secretary

to Government of Maharashtra were the

Guests of Honour. Shri. Hrishikesh A.

Mafatlal, Chairman, BAIF was the Chief

Guest. Shri. Sunil Lalbhai, Trustee, BAIF and

Chairman and Managing Director of Atul

Industries, Gujarat was also present on the

occasion. Mr. Ramesh

Rawal, Executive Vice

President, BAIF, Dr. Ashok

B. Pande, Senior Vice

P r e s i d e n t , B A I F ,

Shri. Bharat Kakade, Senior

Vice President, BAIF and

Mr. S.B. Karvande, Adviser,

BAIF were also present on

the occasion. Dr. Jayant

Khadse, Chief Campus

Coordinator, BAIF Central

R e s e a r c h S t a t i o n ,

Urulikanchan proposed the

vote of thanks.

9

aharashtra Institute of Technology MTransfer for Rural Areas (MITTRA), has developed a model for floriculture suitable for small and marginal farmers in the tribal areas of Jawhar, Vikramgad, Dahanu, Talasari and Palghar in Thane district. The model, locally known as 'Fulsheti' and with its focus on jasmine cultivation on small plots of land and collective marketing through common interest groups, has ensured an assured income to the tribal families who were earlier dependent on agriculture for their livelihood and whose returns were low due to dwindling natural resources and fragmented landholdings.

Under this model, 200 saplings of Arabian nights (Jasmine sambac) variety was cultivated on 0.05 ha with critical inputs worth Rs. 3500/-. The gross income per year is Rs. 37000/- from an yield of 210 kg. The plants provide regular income for 10-12 years.

Formation of Flower Cooperatives: To

explore better marketing opportunities, the farmers formed a collective Vrindavan Pushpa Utpadak Sangha covering Jawhar, Vikramgad, Dahanu, Palghar and Talasari clusters to avail the benefits of informal collective marketing. A Management Committee consisting of 15 flower grower

representatives from each hamlet was formed which meets once in a month to review their collective marketing efforts and to strengthen the programme and ensure distribution of payment.

Collective Marketing: Collective marketing of flowers in Dadar market was initiated in September 2007. The flowers are harvested early in the morning at 5 am by the family members and thereafter brought to the collection centres in the village. The produce from each member is weighed and packed in jute sacks. The produce from different villages is collected at the bus stand from where it is transported to Virar railway station by bus and later on to Dadar by train. Everyday, a person from each Sangha goes to Dadar market with flowers. He is given Rs. 200 per day as honorarium in addition to the travel and food expenses. At least 15 persons from each Sangha are identified and one among them goes to Dadar market every month on a rotation basis. The flowers are supplied to a wholesale trader. The transportation cost is borne by Vrindavan Pushpa Utpadak Sangha. The rates of the flowers in the market vary on a daily basis based on the demand and supply position. The trader makes payment to the Sangha on a monthly basis based on the prevailing rates for

The BAIF Journal

Hi-tech FloricultureJasmine Cultivation for Sustainable Livelihood

10 The BAIF Journal

each day. Payment is made by the trader in cash, which is deposited in the bank account of the Sangha on a monthly basis.

The Secretary of the Sangha maintains the records of income and expenditure and calculates the rate per kg to be paid to the producers. Payment is made during the monthly meeting where all the executive members are present. The Sangha maintains a

sustainability fund in which Rs.5-10 per kg is deducted from each farmer. This fund is used for meeting administrative expenses and Foundation Day celebration. The Sangha also support the members to meet their emergency needs viz. accidental health needs etc. from their Sustainability fund.

The Sangha also provide support to the farmers for promotion of diverse floriculture by providing good quality planting material for cultivation of marigold, Golden champa (Sonechapha) and Native Rose and technical support to install drip irrigation system at a reasonable price through collective purchase.

Presently all five federations (Sangha) are actively involved in floriculture and approximately 315 tons of jasmine flowers worth Rs. 5.07cores have been sold in Dadar market. During the year. jasmine flowers fetched an average price of Rs. 180 per kg.

Bud collection Family enterprise

Aggregation of flower Transportation by bus Monthly meeting of sangha members

Le s en Ey

11 The BAIF Journal

Flower Supply Chain

Impact

4

4Flowers worth Rs. 5.07 crores have been marketed from 2007-2014 in Mumbai from six tribal talukas of Thane district

4Livelihood generated for 1904 tribal farmers

4Enhanced family Income thereby leading to end of migration of participating tribal farmers and improvement in their quality of life

4The 'Five Guntha Floriculture' Model developed by MITTRA has been adopted in various rural development programmes.

Minimum gross annual income is Rs.35, 000 - 40,000 from 0.05 ha

Produce

Village level

collection centre

Centrallevel

collection centre

MumbaiDadar

wholesaleflorist

CustomerFlowerplants

Recognition and Documentation

4Krishi Sanman Purashkar - 2014 awarded to Floriculture Farmer of Vikramgad, Baburao Lahare for "Dry Agriculture Cultivation of Flower crops Jasmine, marigold and Sonechafa on 0.33 ha fetching an income of Rs. 2.27 lakhs and telecast on Zee 24 hours television channel and sponsored by Media roots and Neta fem Drip Pune for Dry land Agriculture - Floriculture.

4Maharashtra State Rural Livelihoods Mission under Rural Development and Panchyat Raj Department, GOI, conferred Special Jury Award to MITTRA Nasik for improving lives of rural poor in Maharashtra through the innovative floriculture model for Tribal Families.

4Success story of Farmer Producer Organization 'Adopting Floriculture as an Alternative Source of Livelihood ' published in Krishi Sutra II, published by Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, GoI , New Delhi: January 2014.

4"Buds of Hope Organic Jasmine Floriculture Supplements Farmer Income in Maharashtra" published in 'Policy Innovations' A Publication of 'Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs' , New York: December 11, 2012

4Success story on "Collective Marketing for better income through Floriculture' was published in the special issue on Farmers' Organization in the September 2012 edition of 'LEISA India, Bangalore.

Kailas Andhale, Associate Thematic Programme Executive Nasik

12 The BAIF Journal

Regional News

BIHAR

In the last 4 to 5 years, Munger district has witnessed drought conditions along with constant fear of floods. To address these vagaries of global warming and climate

change, System of Wheat Intensification (SWI) method was promoted with zero tillage method resulting in an yield of 3 tons/ha. SRI was adopted for a new variety of paddy (PHB-71) and also for short duration varieties such as linseed, horse gram, lentil, black gram, pigeon pea and maize. Cultivation of foot yam, ginger and turmeric also showed encouraging results in terms of increased productivity under climate-stress conditions.

Climate Smart Technologies

JATH

N

RAS

A

Shri. Manoj Pinguawa, Joint Secretary, Tribal Area Development Department,

Government of India accompanied by Shri. P.K. Mishra, Project Director, Agriculture, TAD, Udaipur, Shri. R.S. Sharma, Chief Programme Coordinator, RRIDMA and Shri. B.G. Rathod, Senior Programme Coordinator, RRIDMA visited the Wadi and Livestock Development Programme in Baghpura, Jhadol block in Udaipur district on September 16, 2014 with special focus on mandap cultivation comprising of a package of vegetable crops and fruit crops such as guava and lemon adopted by some families in Manas village. The team appreciated the concept and

also interacted with the participant family engaged in this cultivation. The impact of Sirohi breeding buck was also observed and detailed discussions were held with the goat keeper as well as BAIF Field Officer on the profitability aspect of goat rearing. This was followed by a visit to the amla processing unit and cattle development centre sponsored by Jan Utthan Samiti. Shri. Pinguawa expressed satisfaction with the work of BAIF by stating that "BAIF has done outstanding work in tribal development".

***

A team of 25 NABARD officials from 11 states led by Shri. P. Satish, CGM, NABARD, Mumbai and Shri. Rajendra Singh, CGM, NABARD, Jaipur visited the NABARD-sponsored Tribal Development Project being implemented in Ogna cluster, Jhadol, Udaipur district on August 22, 2014. The team visited various amla and mango orchards

Impressive Development

13 The BAIF Journal

being developed by the tribal families and interacted with them as well as women SHGs involved in socio-economic development. While the CGMs, NABARD elaborated the schemes and benefits available for SHGs, the SHG members shared their experiences of efficient use of their savings for ensuring education of their children, improved agriculture, and water resource development. A cheque for Rs. 50,000/- of Marudhara Gramin Vikas Bank, Ogna was handed over while the leading five groups were handed cash prize of Rs. 1000/- each. Shri. Nageen Patel, Programme Coordinator highlighted various activities of the Amla Utapadak People's Organisation promoted under this project with the able support of Shri. B.G. Rathod, Senior Programme Coordinator and Shri. Mangilal Teli, President AUSSL.

HRK

AD

JA

HN

Sisai village is located at a distance of 15 km from Chatti cattle development centre in Lohardaga district. Samruddin Ansari, a marginal farmer from this village owns one acre of land and 7 animals apart from also maintaining backyard poultry. His annual income is approximately Rs.20,000 and has to take care of his family comprising of 7 members with this income. He owns a crossbred cow which was purchased by him as a heifer from Zakir Ansari of Kundo village for Rs.14,000. The cow was inseminated by our Centre In-charge Mr. Pappu Kumar on May 15, 2013 and she gave birth to triplets on February 3, 2014. The average weight of the calves at the time of birth was 19 kg. The cow which is in its second lactation, yields 3.5 litres of milk daily.

The triplet calves drew the attention of the media and the MLA of this constituency, felicitated the Centre In-charge. All the three calve are registered under heifer rearing programme. Looking at the poor condition of the family,

Birth of Triplets

50 kg of calf starter and 50 kg of adult cattle feed was provided to Samruddin free of cost. Tagging and deworming of all the calves has also been done. Presently all the calves have attained six months of age and all of them are healthy. Their body weight is 63 kg, 61 kg and 64 kg respectively. It is predicted that all the calves will come into milk production after two years and become a reliable source of income.

AN

TAA

KR

AK

14 The BAIF Journal

Visit of Mr. T.B. Jayachandra, Minister for Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of Karnataka to the training and demonstration campus at Lakkihalli, Tiptur, Tumkur district on August 2, 2014.

15 The BAIF JournalThe BAIF Journal

Shri. K.K. Malhotra, our revered Patron, left Delhi in 1985. After superannuation, Shri.

for his heavenly abode on September 17, Malhotra served as Executive Director of the

2014 after a brief illness. We pay homage to Oil Industry Safety Directorate in the

our beloved Patron in this issue of the BAIF Ministry of Petroleum for two years before

Journal and express our eternal gratitude to joining Reliance Industries as Chief

him for expressing his faith in the work of Executive of the Patalganga Petrochemical

BAIF. Complex. He steered the manufacturing

sites, corporate engineering division and Nine years ago, in the year 2005 to be the Jamnagar unit as Group President with precise, we came in association with Shri. commitment towards safety at the Kanwal Krishan Malhotra in Mumbai. What workplace and environment. From 1996 was clear in this acquaintance was his till his retirement in 1999, he assumed the earnest desire to improve the condition

responsibility of Advisor (Refinery) of the poor in India particularly w h e r e h e p l a y e d a v e r y those living in rural areas. Water

significant role in establishing conservation was his passion the Jamnagar Plant. with special focus on its

effective use to improve After completing their

agricultural productivity. parental responsibility of

settling their daughter Born in 1927 in Peshawar, Rukmini and son Vasant, his S h r i . K . K . M a l h o t r a wife Sunita and he felt that completed his graduation in

the time had come to share Chemical Engineering in their resources with the 1949 from Lafayette College,

needy members of the society. Easton, Pennsylvania, USA and With this divine realization, Shri. embarked on his career with the

Malhotra established two Trusts, the petroleum sector in Kuwait in 1951. Vaishno Mal Malhotra Public Charitable Thereafter, he moved to erstwhile Bombay Trust Fund for Rural Development and in 1956 and continued in the same sector. Research in memory of his revered father During this period, he also completed some and the K.K. Malhotra Fund for Rural foreign postings before joining Indian Oil Development and Research, Mumbai and Corporation as Deputy General Manager in diverted a huge part of his savings to 1974 where he successfully commissioned support various social development related the Greenfield Refinery in Haldia and pre-activities for the benefit of the poor. In 2005, commissioning of a critical project of the Shri. Malhotra donated Rs. 2.25 crores Gujarat Refinery before retiring as Director, through the Vaishno Mal Malhotra Public Refineries and Pipelines Division and Charitable Trust and the K.K. Malhotra Fund Director-in-charge of Assam Oil Division in

Tribute to Our Patron, Shri. K.K. Malhotra: The Messiah of the Poor

16 The BAIF JournalThe BAIF Journal

to create an Endowment Fund with BAIF. makers, to realize the potential of effective

The interest from these funds is being used soil and water conservation in improving

to implement suitable development the agricultural productivity. The project

projects particularly in arid regions. Our solved the problem of drinking water and

first project "Jalajeevani", covering 22 c re a te d g re a te r awa re n e s s a b o u t

villages spread over Madhugiri, Koratagere conservation of natural resources among

and Tumkur blocks of Tumkur district in school children and adults, while ensuring

Karnataka had the objective of helping the food security and giving a boost to the

poor farmers to earn their livelihood. While economy of small farmers apart from

planning this project, Shri. Malhotra, a boosting the confidence of the poor families,

perfectionist for precision and engineering particularly women.

skills, insisted on using effective planning Based on the success of this programme, and monitoring tools to improve the BAIF is now operating a similar project the efficiency of this Watershed Development Samruddhi Project in semi-arid villages of Project. As these modern tools were new Hirebendigeri, Jekinakatti, Hiremanakatti concepts, it was a challenging task for BAIF Hiremallur and Mantrodi blocks in Haveri to adopt and apply these systems in project district of Karnataka, to improve the implementation. After several rounds of productivity of rain-fed agriculture with the trials, we were able to bring down the support of Deshpande Foundation and the project time significantly by 20-30%, saving K.K. Malhotra Trust and Vaishno Mal nearly 25% on the cost. This project Malhotra Public Charitable Trust, to spending about Rs. 25 lakhs per year for the p ro m o te e f f i c i e n t s o i l a n d wa te r first four years, which also included a small conservation and tree based farming sum of farmers' contribution, was able to system. 162 families have joined the improve agricultural productivity and programme covering 150 hectare. livestock husbandry significantly. The

The teams of BAIF and BIRD-Karnataka are villagers could increase their agricultural grateful to Shri. K.K. Malhotra, all the produce by 25-30% amounting to surplus Trustees of Vaishno Mal Malhotra Public production worth over a crore of rupees Charitable Trust and the K. K. Malhotra every year. Under the project, over 100 Trust for their generous support and acres of barren lands were brought under encouragement. The generous grants agriculture and fruit orchards for the first donated by Shri. Malhotra and his family time after several decades due to improved members will continue to light up the faces technologies adopted for soil and water of thousands of poor in the years to come conservation. The Cost-Benefit Ratio of the while turning their problems into a distant project was 2.44 while the Internal Rate of nightmare. Return was 32%. With this impressive

record, the Jalajeevani Project has become a We are indebted to Late Shri. K.K. Malhotra, role model for farmers in the region. Mrs. Malhotra and all the family members

for their benevolent support. The programme has become an eye opener

for the farmers, field technicians and policy Dr. Narayan Hegde

17 The BAIF Journal

mong the very few women para- Aveterinarians in Jharkhand, Amli Soren has established a name for herself as the most skilled woman para-vet.

Since childhood, Amli wanted to do something different and set an example for other women in the society. Today, she has become successful in converting her dream into reality as a result of her untiring efforts.

Amli was born to a poor f a r m e r f a m i l y o f Sapdahar village in D u m k a d i s t r i c t .

Intelligent and hardworking, Amli enjoyed going to school. Whatever money she used to earn from sale of paddy was used to purchase books. Her father was not happy seeing her incline towards education and hence, after matriculation she was not allowed to study further and instead married off. Luckily her husband was very supportive and encouraged her to continue her studies. As a result, she was able to sucessfully compelete her higher secondary education.

At this juncture, Amli started searching for a suitable job to support her family. During this period, she became associated with the District Dairy Development Department and purchsed two cows under the existing dairy development scheme of the Sta te Government. With complete dedication, she took up dairy farming and underwent training on milk production to improve her knowledge and skills.

Soon, Amli became skilled in performing AI in cattle and buffaloes with confidence. Today, she is not only promoting BAIF activities in her locality but is also recognised as an efficient AI worker and very much in demand. Amli has become a role model in her region with women of the area encouraging their children to follow her footsteps.

Women Empowerment through Dairy Husbandry

Hard Work and Determination are the Key to Success

This is the story of 25-year old Phulkumari from Saadhobaad village, Thana Barwadih, Dhanbad district. Although the family could not afford to educate her or her brothers and sisters, as her mother was illiterate, she had a desire to educate her children. Phulkumari was enrolled in a school and she secured first

division in the secondary board examination. With the support of her maternal uncle, she was able to complete her Intermediate in the Science stream from Rajganj, Dhanbad.

As was the custom in their community, her marriage was arranged and she soon settled down to a new life. The turning point in her

When Dreams Come True

18 The BAIF Journal

life came with the visit of an AI technician to their house based on a call made by her husband after finding one of their cows in heat. Her husband had come to know about the benefits of AI and the value of crossbred cows from the cattle development centre at Rajganj. During the visit of the AI technician, they received additional information about the activities of the centre. Fascinated by the information, Phulkumari developed interest in pursuing the job of an AI technician. In response to an advertisement which appeared in the local newspaper, she applied and received a call for interview on December 17,

2011 and qualified for the post of a Trainee Programme Operator. On January 6, 2012, she attended a one-month classroom training in Ranchi along with 3 other women in the entire batch of 27 trainees. After completion of her training, she was posted as a field trainee at Jasidih cattle development centre, Deoghar for two months. Her efficient and timely services were appreciated by the In-charge of the centre as well as the overall District In-charge.

After 2 months of intensive training on the field, she was screened through an examination where she secured a distinction and thereafter, she was posted as an independent In-charge at Jamtara district. It was a challenging period of her life as she had to be away from her family and two-year-old child. She worked for 3-4 months but she was constantly saddled with the guilt of neglecting her child. On compassionate grounds and the

efforts of her immediate Area Programme Officer and head office, she was posted in Dhanbad district as In-charge of the Barwadda cattle development centre.

Soon after taking charge, she realized that the earlier In-charge had performed only 9 AI during a tenure of 9 months. Phulkumari worked very hard to improve the efficiency of the centre. She took a lot of effort to sensitize and create awareness among the villagers of the villages under her jurisdiction resulting in the performance of 919 AI (77 AI on an average per month) in cows and buffaloes during 2013-14. Out of this, 404 cows and buffaloes conceived.

Phoolkumari is still able to maintain 77 AI per month which is much higher than the AI achieved by her male colleagues. Her story is a source of motivation for other Centre In-charges, especially women.

Food products from BAIF's marketing outlet Vasundhara

Agri-Horti Producer Company Limited (VAPCOL), an

exclusive tribal enterprise, are now online. BAIF in

association with Snapdeal, one of the country's most

popular online shopping portal, has launched its

assortment of nutritious snack s on this portal. Along

with food products, a wide range of silk sarees, garments

and accessories produced under BAIF's homestead-

sericulture programme and carrying the "Silk Mark"

trademark, are also available on this portal. These

products which are a testimony of the hard work of the

tribal families are available in attractive combos or as gift

items ready to be delivered across the country. To view

these products, please visit http://www.snapdeal.com

and https://www.facebook.com. You may also contact

vapcolpune@gmail.com

Smart Marketing

19 The BAIF Journal

he one-year State Bank of India Youth Tfor India Fellowship Programme was launched in March 2011 with the objective of providing an opportunity to young professionals and graduates from urban areas to realise ground realities. Realsiing the need to sensitise these youth on the challenges and opportunities in rural development and to enable them to engage in community mobilization and to introduce modern technologies relevant in rural areas for improving the scope for rural livelihood, these youth were associated with reputed NGOs such as Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (India), BAIF Development Research Foundation, Gram Vikas, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation and Seva Mandir for a period of one year. A majority of these fellows continue to be involved with the development sector based on their assignments with the Government, NGOs and corporate foundations as well as in policy, planning and research. The youth also had an opportunity to meet the-then Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and interact with him.

Based on the encouraging response, the Second batch of this Fellowship Programme was launched on September 8, 2014 at BAIF, Pune in the presence of Mrs. Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman, State Bank of India and Ms. Lise Grande, UN Resident C o o r d i n a t o r a n d U N D P R e s i d e n t Representative in India. The second batch of SBI Youth for India fellows were selected from 6,500 applicants from leading corporations and premier academic institutions like the IITs, IIMs, LSE, amongst others.

Mrs. Bhattacharya in her address, welcomed this fellowship as "a very responsible endeavour" and stated that this was the reason why "State Bank of India - the bank with the largest rural footprint, has thought it necessary to come forward and institute this fellowship, so as to make it easier for those who want to have this experience, to actually go ahead and fulfil their dreams".

"It's terrific that such talented young people

are committing themselves to work in rural

areas. This is a wonderful opportunity

provided by the State Bank of India and

supported by a number of frontline NGOs. It

is an excellent example of how corporate

social responsibility is helping transform

India", expressed Ms. Lise Grandt, while

focussing on development perspectives and

trends in rural areas whereupon the

agricultural growth has gone up by 3.5%

annually, number of infant deaths has

decreased, death of expectant mothers at the

time of delivery has decreased by three times,

incidences of HIV are lower in the country.

However, the gap between urban and rural

development is growing widely and the

number of people living in poverty are the

highest in the word and commended the State

Bank of India for extending credit to rural

Bridging the Gap between Rural and Urban India

20 The BAIF Journal

women, she pointed out in her address to the

youth.

The question-answer session between the

youth and the Chairman, State Bank of India,

UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP

Representative in India apart from Dr.

Narayan Hegde and Mr. Girish Sohani from

BAIF, focussed on various critical issues

related to qual i ty of l i fe , heal th ,

empowerment of women, safety aspects of

women, role of women in decision making

and environmental sustainability.

Dr. Narayan Hegde, Trustee and Principal Adviser, BAIF welcomed the youth and the dignitaries including the Coordinator of the SBI Youth for India Fellowship Programme, Mrs. Geeta Verghese and proposed the vote of thanks.

An intensive orientation programme was arranged for the youth numbering 45 on various aspects of social development from September 9 to 13 at BAIF, Pune. Thereafter, an orientation of mentors who would be guiding the youth and an orientation session for youth who had decided to associate

themselves with BAIF were organized on September 15-16 with focus on BAIF's major programmes covering livestock development, water resource development, sustainable agriculture and environment / biotechnology applications - Plants, Soils, wadi, women empowerment, health as well as support activities such as appropriate technologies and IT application in rural development and new age marketing channel. Subsequently, a field visit was organized to BAIF's tribal development programme at Jawhar and Vikramgad in Thane district of Maharashtra. The youth have now been placed at various locations across BAIF programmes.

BAIF has established the

for promoting sustainable livelihood in rural India.

We invite generous donors to support this worthy cause by associating

with us as our Patrons and Associates.

You can become our Patron by contributing over Rs. 25 lakhs and

our Associate by contributing over Rs. 10 lakhs.

Dr. Manibhai Desai Endowment Fund

PATRONS AND ASSOCIATES OF BAIF:

A CALL FOR PARTNERSHIP

This book is a compilation of various Research, Thematic papers and Case Studies on livestock development, watershed development, natural resource management and sustainable agriculture, with focus on sustainable livelihood of rural families and food security, published in national and international journals, workshop proceedings and research reports in the year 2013.

From the

Book Shelf

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