The challenges

Agricultural dealers in Palnadu region of Guntur District were misguiding farmers and promoting the unnecessary use of chemicals and fertilisers.  This was creating multiple problems.

Firstly it was pushing farmers into debt and making agriculture an unprofitable enterprise. Additionally, soil in the Palnadu region of Guntur District was majorly contaminated which meant crops produced a lower yield and therefore lower profits.

Secondly the excess usage was contaminating the drinking…

The challenges 

Located in the coastal region, the salinity ingress due to over exploitation of ground water had contaminated the water table. This adversely impacted the quality of drinking water as well as the water used for other purposes including agriculture – the primary source of livelihood.

Scarcity of quality water was leading to several problems :People were forced to rely on tanker water, which affected their health. It increased the drudgery…

The challenges

The local community mainly depends on agriculture for their subsistence, and the mountainous terrain presents many challenges for farmers and communities alike.  Indeed, this is one of the toughest areas for ACF staff to work in due to long travel times to reach villages and the difficult terrain.

Whilst major parts of Darlaghat are hilly and mountainous with highly dissected and undulating terrain, Nalagarh falls under a sub…

The challenges

Amarwara is located in between the mountains of Satpuda, confined between Dulha Dev Ghati and Bhumka Ghati. It has a market for Chironji / Charoli, which is supplied from here to points all over India. It also belongs to the tribal belt of MP.

Agriculture is dependent on rainfall, and farmers are only able to grow 2 yields per year. Due to the tribal belt, people are hesitant…

The challenges

Chandrapur is located in the eastern edge of Maharashtra in the Vidharbha region. The predominantly tribal area had to contend with issues such as uneven rainfall, poor infrastructure, few irrigation facilities, traditional farming methods, high cost of cultivation and low yield, along with injudicious use of nitrogenous fertilisers and chemical pesticides, resulting in loss of soil fertility. The ‘Dedi’ System meant farmers were in the control of moneylenders,…

The challenges

Prior to ACF, there was a large drug problem in the community, which is also prevalent across Punjab. Women faced a lot of health issues from the drudgery of collecting water and were not very involved in the political or social decisions of the community. With free electricity, farmers were using excess water on their crops, which was affecting groundwater levels. Additionally, crop residue burning was creating air…

The challenges

ACF operates in Rabriyawas, Marwar Mundwa and Chirawa, areas that are all located in Rajashtan. Two-thirds of the state’s area is covered by the Thar desert. As such, the entire state receives scanty rainfall. Thar Desert is particularly characterised by low and erratic rainfall, high air and soil temperature, intense solar radiation and high wind velocity. These factors not only give rise to frequent droughts and famines, they also make…

The challenges

The community was extremely conservative and lacked awareness. They, in fact, did not even want any change in the situation – due to fear and doubts and also their laidback attitude. Men were mostly into gambling and drinking and women in the families were overburdened with work. The condition of the women was not great – they were harassed and lacked social stature. Youth in the community lacked…

The challenges

Ground water nhas been contaminated due to industrialisation. Up to 100 feet of ground water is contaminated and not suitable for drinking purposes. This has resulted in the community depending on shallow hand pumps for drinking water, which was affecting their health.

Farmers had small and scattered land holdings which was impacting their profitability and there was the problem of drug addiction in the community. Health issues were…

The challenges

ACF is operating in two locations in West Bengal – Sankrail and Farakka, with different set of challenges and issues.

Sankrail is an industrial block with nearly 130 heavy industries. The landholding is small and fragmented and the area under agriculture has been decreasing over the years owing to increase in population.

Farakka is situated just beside of Ganges Basin and agro climatic zone of Gangetic Alluvial Zone.…

The challenges

The two main occupations of the people are agriculture and service in cement factories.  With high investment and low returns, farmers working in agriculture, horticulture, goatary poultry and other traditional work started moving to other livelihood opportunities. Looking at the problem, Ambuja Cement Foundation introduced innovative aproaches to agriculture and package of practices to make farming a profitable business in the area.