Dr. Nilratan Shende
GM-CSR at Allcargo Logistics
Through its Maitree initiative, Avashya Foundation, Allcargo’s CSR arm carries out tree plantation in Maharashtra’s tribal belt near Karjat, Jawahar and Mokada. Farmers are encouraged to nurture these fruit-bearing trees that not only help them earn their livelihoods but also increase the green cover and reduce carbon footprints.
Dr. Shende spoke about how Maitree came about as an effort to empower the community, provide sustainable livelihood and mitigate rural migration. He also shared Maitree’s glorious journey right from 2014 onwards that has today culminated into over 650,000 trees benefiting more than 12,000 farmers.
Like any success story, Maitree too has had its fair share of challenges. Identifying beneficiaries was a major one. After that, ensuring their minimum initial resources, reducing plant mortality by introducing adult grafted trees, focusing on capacity building of the farmers, etc. were measures that needed to be undertaken in order to make Maitree sustainable. It was also vital to manage all this while keeping in mind the aspirations of the beneficiaries.
In the true spirit of teaming up for social good, Allcargo has partnered with dedicated teams who have expertise in the areas of agricultural and environment protection to bring in experts to train farmers on good agricultural practices. We have also set up cooperative societies to help farmers share the produce at good rates.
During the interview, Dr. Shende also shared his learnings from the Maitree initiative and mentioned how adopting innovative ways can motivate people and play a significant role in doing justice to their aspirations. Speaking about future plans, he shared the vision of planting a million trees by 2021 and taking Maitree to a much wider base of beneficiaries by involving colleagues, partners and associates too.
Wouldn’t you support an initiative that’s based on such a simple but brilliant idea that contributes to not just community development but environment sustainability too?
You can read the full interview on: https://indiacsr.in/allcargos-csr-arm-helping-farmers-earn-sustainable-livelihoods-by-growing-fruit-bearing-trees/
