Village Associations formed by the marginal farmers, the peasants are getting benefitted in Madhya Pradesh and others States of Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal.
The Reliance Foundation (RF) initiated Rural Transformation programme that initiates work with the collective formation of ‘Village Association’, a platform created for the mutual benefits of villagers. Under the ‘Dharti Farm’ initiative, the focus remains to de-risk marginal farmers through enhancement of farm productivity by developing mixed cropping, and enhancing soil fertility through sustainable agricultural practices.
All these not only increase the farm productivity, but also provide long term food security to marginal farmer families. Till date, RF initiatives have converted nearly 54,000 Ha of unproductive land across India into productive ones. Along with land development activities and providing training on sustainable agricultural practices, the RF team also ensures usage of organic manures and creation of seed bank to make the farmers self-reliant.
The seed banks have quality seeds stored for farmers. The farmers are encouraged to practise multi-cropping and crop rotation to ensure food security for their families. The farmers, who once cultivated only one crop during the Kharif season, are now cultivating nearly 10 various crops throughout the year. Along with crops, orchard plantations are also encouraged to improve the quality of the land and increase the income of the farmers.