Teaching farming to over 1,000 families in India

In January, one of our trustees, Yasmine, travelled to Kolkata to witness the impact of our Agri-Management programme at first hand.  Yasmine joined our board of trustees in the UK in May 2017 having recently retired as Chairman of Shell Companies in India (click here for biogs of all our trustees) and this was her first opportunity to visit the field team in India and meet some of our farmers.

At the board meeting following her visit, she gave this account to her fellow board members:

"When you sit around this table and try to imagine what life is like for some of the world's very poorest people, it's hard.  I'm from India so have been to rural villages before and this visit brought it all back to me - these are really, really poor people. And yet, a simple programme like ours can change their lives considerably.  Not by our standards but in rural Bengal these small changes make a big impact.  Having access to a private toilet for example, or electricity.  Seeing our farmers get access to these things really puts what we are doing into perspective. For me seeing is believing. I have to say, seeing the impact of the AMS farming programme was absolutely amazing. I cannot stress it enough. I could see the fields that had been subject to chemical fertilisers compared to the ones our farmers are working, using the techniques we have shown them, with organically produced fertilisers and pesticides. And the vegetables in those fields were healthier and bigger and growing faster. It was there, in front of my very eyes. 

Back in the office in Kolkata, we had many discussions about how we can commercialise the programme so that our farmers are able to sell their wonderful produce for the best prices, locally and in new markets further afield. The team in India are investigating a few possibilities including working with a supplier in Delhi who has set up a business to deliver Bengali products to the diaspora there. This is a very exciting development. I’m confident that we can link our farmers to a supply chain like this to build their business for long-term sustainability.”