Concern India, Verizon empower women farmers in Tamil Nadu

Concern India – The only source of income in Tamil Nadu’s Chengalpattu district, which was originally a part of Kancheepuram district, is agriculture. 
 
The majority of the residents of Chengalpattu—nearly 21%—are marginal farmers and landless agricultural labourers who lack access to basic necessities including decent housing, clean water, and medical care. 
 
For agricultural purposes, the government gave 12 acres to a group of 72 women from the L. Endathur panchayat and 38 acres to 76 families in Vellapathur. 
 
Concern India Foundation, based in Mumbai, recognised that these women farmers would require assistance with farming because they were presently employed as day labourers on other farms. 
 
“Despite owning their own farmland, these women farmers from the underprivileged communities in the villages of Vellaputhur and L. Endathur were working menial jobs prior to our assistance. According to Kavita Shah, CEO of Concern India Foundation, “they were unable to establish irrigation and other infrastructure to make agriculture their livelihood option due to their low economic situation.

Concern India and Verizon

Concern India and Verizon India’s CSR arm launched a livelihood project in April 2019 to enable marginalised women farmers to establish a sustainable living. 
 
The project aims to combine them, offer infrastructure support, ease market connections, and train them to pursue agriculture as their primary occupation.

Carrying out the project

Since the majority were either unskilled or semi-skilled, the unemployment rate was high among the marginalized communities in the project villages. Many of the male members moved to major cities in search of work because they had no steady source of income. 
 
“The programme helps us aid the transformation of women from daily wage workers to self-reliant farmers and entrepreneurs by optimising their land resources,” says Vijayaraman J Subramanian, Vice President and Managing Director of Verizon India.

The project was carried out by Concern India in two stages. 
 
During Phase I of the project, the land was levelled, the soil was treated, three irrigation wells were revived by de-silting, and drip irrigation was installed for 50 acres of land. Training on agricultural practises, cropping techniques, seed processing, natural manure preparation, water management, etc. was then provided. 
 
Through team building and high-quality seeds, the organisation also supplied marketing and financial management services, enabling women farmers to pursue cooperative farming. 
 
Concern India supported infrastructural development and modern farming techniques in Phase II to enhance the agricultural sector. Additionally, it offered protection for irrigation ponds and wells to lessen the impact of unpredictable power supplies on irrigation. 
 
In order to save money and effort on weeding, they were also able to implement and manage solar-powered irrigation systems with water sprinklers and multipurpose power tillers. 
 
According to the Concern India Foundation, the project’s goal is to empower women from underprivileged communities to support their families financially, raising their standard of living on both an economic and social level.

Impact induced

Concern Resource people from the horticulture, agricultural, and agriculture marketing departments of the state government of India are involved in the project, together with farmer producer associations, conventional organic farmers, and organic farm scientists. 
 
They received instruction in organic farming, soil improvement, horticultural techniques, intercropping, creeper sheds, seed processing, mulching sheet cultivation, marketing tactics, natural manure preparation, insect control methods, herbal tonic preparation, and water management. 
 
Women farmers are growing a chilli, tomato, and brinjal nursery. 
 
Currently connected to six farmer’s markets, as opposed to just one before, the women farmers of Vellaputhur and L. Endathur villages have more opportunities to sell their produce. 
 
Additionally, farmers from nearby villages travel here to learn from these women. 
 
The Kancheepuram District Collector and representatives from the state’s agriculture department paid an official visit to these villages in 2020 to observe how the farming project had improved productivity. 

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