As part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, the Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd (RECL) is partnering with ICRISAT to improve the livelihood of smallholder farmers by adopting a science-led integrated watershed development approach.
The initiative -- farmer-centric Integrated Watershed Management for Improving Rural Livelihoods -- will benefit more than 10,000 families in Mahabubnagar district of Telangana and Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, covering a total area of about 11,000 hectares. This initiative will be spearheaded by the ICRISAT Development Center (IDC) headed by Suhas P. Wani.
Conserving rainwater
The major thrust of the project will be on conserving rainwater and augmenting the groundwater and surface water resources in the watershed and efficient use of land and water resources through improved and sustainable management of natural resources, according to a release by ICRISAT on Thursday.
“This is the first time RECL has undertaken agricultural interventions under CSR and we would be glad to expand this collaboration to benefit larger number of farmers in the country. We appreciate ICRISAT’s approach of focusing on improving watersheds to enhance farmers’ livelihoods,” Mr. Rajeev Sharma, Chairman and Managing Director of RECL said.
“This is a novel CSR initiative being taken up for the first time to benefit small and marginal farmers. We will employ all the necessary expertise and technical help to ensure the success of the project,” said Dr William D Dar, Director General, ICRISAT.
The major activities under this initiative include rainwater harvesting, soil and moisture conservation, reuse of domestic water, selection of appropriate crops based on market demand, growing forage for livestock and rehabilitation of wastelands. Training and capacity building of local community members and institution building for long-term sustainability will be important cross-cutting activities.
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