November 18, 2021
S M Sehgal Foundation received the FICCI Sustainable Agriculture Award 2021 (2nd place) in the category Climate Resilient Agriculture Development, in an event held at FICCI House, Tansen Marg, New Delhi. Ms Anjali Godyal, chief development officer and Ms Pooja O. Murada, principal lead, Outreach for Development, Sehgal Foundation, accepted the award.
FICCI Sustainable Agriculture Awards were coupled with a special session with Government held at FICCI House on November 18, following a virtual summit: Envisioning Smart and Sustainable Agriculture. YES Bank was the knowledge partner in this initiative. A major component of the summit was the presentation of Excellence Awards to agribusinesses/organizations that have performed significant, sustainable on-the-ground interventions in agriculture development.
The Agriculture Development program at S M Sehgal Foundation promotes sustainable livelihoods by building the capacities of farmers, including women producers, on improved agricultural practices and new technologies that increase crop yields, conserve water, and improve soil fertility. The team works with smallholder farmers in rain-fed and irrigated areas to facilitate adoption of improved and advanced agricultural practices that include soil health management, crop production management, input-use efficiency, small farm mechanization, water-efficient irrigation techniques, horticultural development, livestock management, and the use of information and communication technology in agriculture.
The Agriculture Development team uses a two-pronged approach, building resilience in agriculture and creating mechanisms to cope with or adapt to the effects of climate change in agriculture. The team works with farmers on key interventions that promote water-use efficiency in agriculture, soil health and nutrient management, renewable energy, use of appropriate farm machinery, protected cultivation, salt-tolerant varieties of cereal and vegetable crops, and greenhouses for crops.
Active in eleven states across India, the agricultural interventions have immense scope for scalability, and many farmers have adopted and sustained the practices beyond project period completion. Farmer capacity building and trainings have created a demand for information about better agronomic practices to make agriculture rewarding, and put farmers at ease using the technologies. Technological interventions have been readily adopted by farmers in project areas, and linkages with various institutions help sustain the information flow for farmers’ adoption of new technological interventions.
About Us:
S M Sehgal Foundation was established in 1999 as a public charitable trust to strengthen community-led development initiatives to achieve positive social, economic, and environmental change across rural India.
The foundation has five main program areas: Water Management, Agriculture Development, Local Participation and Sustainability, Transform Lives one school at a time, and Outreach for Development. These programs are supported by a skilled research team that engages in participatory research, impact assessment, and interactive dialogues to determine informed actions to achieve sustainable results. The foundation has entered its third decade in rural India with presence in 1,348 villages across 46 districts in 11 states of India (as of September 2021), and the work continues to expand its impact and reach.
Sehgal Foundation partners in the corporate, government, academic, social sectors, and on the ground in rural communities, are key to the success of its rural development initiatives and sustainable growth. Visit www.smsfoundation.org for more details.
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