In a stimulating conversation with Thrive, J.P. Tripathi – DGM and vertical head for Agriculture at Ambuja Foundation reveals the most significant risks to agricultural livelihoods in India and how Ambuja Foundation has been addressing these risks.

The Rupnagar Producer Company was recently adjudged the best performing FPO out of 103 FPOs in Punjab – making it the second time they have taken away this award.

The Ambuja Foundation supported Shivam Milk Producers Co-operative Society in Nalagarh was felicitated by the Honourable Chief Minister Ram Thakur for the best work done by a Farmer Producer Organization in the areas of aggregation and marketing during the Himachal Pradesh State Credit Seminar organized by NABARD.

On 29th April, 2017,Mangi Budruk village was declared a Smart Village and awarded a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh by the Govt of Maharashtra. Yet a little over a decade ago, barely 10 of its 234 households even had a toilet.

Throughout the world, people want the same things - access to clean air and water; economic opportunities; a safe and healthy place to raise their kids; shelter and a say in the decisions that affect their lives.

"Whenever we have enabled communities to chart their own progress, they have reached far greater heights," points out Pearl Tiwari - CEO of Ambuja Foundation in this riveting interview with Thrive.

Livestock rearing plays a major role in the rural economy, with goats providing a valuable source of livelihood and pathway out of poverty - particularly for women. But many goat keepers experience high herd mortality and poor returns - due to traditional practices, lack of veterinary services, and poor feeding/sanitation practices.

"In my village, cotton farming is hard work and families often struggle to make a living, particularly now that the rains are increasingly unpredictable," says Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) farmer Balubhai Parmar.

One of our earliest learnings at Ambuja Foundation, was that to tackle poverty in rural India, we needed to build the livelihood capabilities of rural people.

The 2019/20 Annual Report was launched in September, highlighting the achievements of the Foundation over the last 12months, and once again an e-version of the report was distributed online to all key stakeholders.

Did you know that 72.4% of India's workforce lives in rural areas? And that agriculture supports nearly 70% of this rural workforce? But with small land holdings and an over dependence on the monsoon, these livelihoods are often unsustainable. Couple that with outdated farming methods, lack of irrigation, and difficulty in accessing markets, and agriculture-dependent households quickly spiral down into a kind of poverty which is hard to break out of.

Ambuja Foundation's lift irrigation work in Farraka, West Bengal, has been featured in Village Square - a public interest communications initiative, focusing on rural India. The story outlines how Ambuja Foundation helped farmers expand from growing just 1 crop a year, to growing 2-3 crops per year.