National Agro Foundation Targets New Green Revolution for India's Rural Poor

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - The National Agro Foundation is putting in place agricultural technologies and livelihood and training programs that have the potential to benefit millions of small farmers in India, says Foundation Managing Trustee S. S. Rajsekar.

Mr Rajsekar, who is the son of Shri C.S. Subramaniam, the architect of India’s ‘green revolution’ in the 1960s, gave a presentation on the Foundation's work at Asian Development Bank (ADB) headquarters today.

The Foundation is a charitable trust dedicated to improving the lives of rural families. It operates in the state of Tamil Nadu where it has a research and development center, including state-of-the art laboratories for soil and food testing, and another facility dedicated to training.

It has had significant success in adapting and bringing technologies out of the laboratory and to poor rural communities who are facing the challenges of shrinking available land and growing food demand, says Mr. Rajsekar. The adaptation of technologies to suit local conditions has sharply improved yields and farmers’ incomes. A livestock development program has also had success with a big increase in milk output.

Livelihood and training programs have been set up to provide new income generating options, while community self-help groups have been established to boost social networks. The Foundation, which partners with government, corporate entities, non-government organizations (NGOs), research institutions and individuals, has also helped train bankers on how to effectively interact with rural communities.

Following today’s presentation, participants discussed contract farming and how it could benefit small farmers; the need for subsidies to farmers for services such as soil testing; how to address underinvestment in agriculture; and ways to implement integrated rural development projects through local NGOs.

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