Enhancing Farming Incomes
Reliance Foundation enables rural households to enhance their incomes through farming, fishing, livestock, poultry and other means of livelihoods with approaches including:
• Equipping communities with knowledge of improved practises and support schemes
• Strengthening collectives
• Disseminating new skills, ways to reduce input costs, support in acquiring improved material/inputs/tools
• Strengthening market linkages
• Information leverage for higher income
These are part of the Integrated Value Chain Development (IVCD) initiative.
Lowering costs, increasing yields
To help increase farm incomes, Reliance Foundation works with farmers on the input side to lower costs and increase yields. Cost reduction efforts involve adopting efficient resource management practises and sustainable farming techniques that reduce dependence on supplemental inputs.
Farmers are also supported in choosing crops that are best suited to their agro-ecology. Through partnerships with agriculture research institutes, improved seed varieties are provided to farmers. By obtaining necessary information from the Reliance Foundation during the entire duration of the crop cycle, farmers are able to confidently take timely decisions related to field operations.
On the output side, farmers are supported in post-harvest primary or secondary processing, where there is scope, through farmer collectives. These collectives, either mentored or supported by Reliance Foundation, procure produce from the farm-gate, help farmers utilize technologies and overcome labour shortage, provide grading or sorting services, process the produce and ensure fair compensation to their member farmers.
Through these collectives, farmers also get an opportunity to explore new markets for their produce. They are made aware of government social security schemes and supported in availing of them.
Adequate water and healthy soils are key ingredients to good yields. Farmers are supported in getting their soils tested and encouraged to enhance soil health through cost-effective and environmentally sustainable initiatives. Water availability for agriculture is improved by community and individual efforts to harvest rainwater and improve groundwater recharge. Tailored water harvesting plans for each village help increase water harvesting capacity and ensure availability of soil moisture during rabi and summer seasons.
So far, more than 1,413 lakh cubic metres of water harvesting capacity has been created across India. This has helped farmers in cropping more than once during the year and increase their earnings.
Raising poultry, livestock and fishing incomes
Reliance Foundation supports households in rearing high-yielding breeds of livestock and poultry. Best practises in livestock rearing and feed management are shared and capacity to adopt these practises is built. After initial handholding, households are supported in scaling up their activities.
Information about weather and disease alerts, and expert prescriptions for vaccination and treatment provided at free livestock camps help households mitigate livestock related losses.
For marine fisherpersons, information about potential fishing zones helps increase the chances of a good catch in the ocean. PFZ information also leads fisherpersons safely and quickly to areas where fish is available. By reducing the fuel expended, this information contributes to lowering the environmental footprint of fisherfolk.
Promoting non-farm livelihoods
Given the inherent risks in farming and allied activities, Reliance Foundation encourages households to take up non-farm activities alongside farming. Landless and tenant farming households as well as farm labourers are also supported in diversifying their incomes.
These activities are entrepreneurial in nature. Tailoring, groceries, confectionary, printing and data entry, other vending and service enterprises are some of avenues for alternate livelihoods. By leveraging government grant and loan schemes through self-help groups, rural households can start, sustain and scale up alternate livelihood activities.
