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T ndhe 52 Foundation Day and Annual

Award ceremony of BAIF was celebrated

on August 24, 2019 at BAIF's Central

Research Station, Urulikanchan. “Neer,

Nari and Nadi”, are the basic components

of a balanced eco system. Only when

sc ience i s used wi th sense , wi l l

community wisdom be recognised”,

stated Dr. Rajendra Singh, Chairman,

Tarun Bharat Sangh, Alwar, Rajasthan.

Solar energy needs to be used effectively

for water conservation and Mother Earth

nurtured through sustainable watershed

management, climate change adaptation

and mitigation methodologies and by

guiding the community

towards a r i ver-based

approach.

“Hydraulic drought, a

serious effect of climate

change, is changing the

production pattern of food

and fruit crops with apple

orchards being the worst

a f f e c t e d w i t h s e v e r e

destruction of apple crops,

while frequent droughts

with atleast 2-3 in quick

successions have direct

impact on the lives of vulnerable

families”, stated Mr. Bharat Kakade,

Executive Vice President of BAIF. While

BAIF has shifted to climate proofing

measures such as desert development in

Rajasthan and water conservation

measures in drought prone Karnataka

and Andhra Pradesh and climate resilient

tree-based farming on dryland, it is

necessary to assess which model is

suitable for the community. Chemical-

free farming has also been initiated on a

pilot scale with the introduction of

Integrated Renewable Energy and

Sustainable Agriculture (IRESA) and

Phosphate Rich Organic Manure.

Suman Self Help Group, a tribal

group from Baretha village of Betul

district, Madhya Pradesh, was awarded

“Dr. Manibhai Desai Gaurav Puraskar

2019 and Smt. Vijayatai Deshmukh

Gaurav Puraskar” for Best Self Help Group

in BAIF Programme for its efforts to

BAIF Foundation Day Celebrated

Suman SHG receives Best SHG Award fromDr. Rajendra Singh, Chairman, Tarun Bharat Sangh

enhance village hygiene

and sanitation through

construction of 45 toilets

under Water, Sanitation

and Hygiene (WA S H)

Programme and Swachh

Bharat Programme, use of

waste water to establish

kitchen gardens for intake

of nutritious vegetables,

p r a c t i c i n g o r g a n i c

farming to reduce risk of

chemical hazards and

adoption of smokeless chulhas to reduce

health and environmental hazards.

Bajrang Women's Group from Dixal

village, Kaprada, South Gujarat won the

“Dr. Manibhai Desai Gaurav Puraskar

2019” for Second Best Self Help Group in

BAIF Programme. The group launched a

campaign for prohibition of alcohol in the

village while establishing a grievance

platform for marital disputes.

Sidheshwar Women's Group from

Shirapur village, Parner, Ahmednagar

district of Maharashtra, was the recipient

of “Dr. Manibhai Desai Gaurav Puraskar

2019” for Best Self Help Group in

Maharashtra Programme. The group

initiated Custom Hiring Centre through

BAIF from 2017 and so far, they have

earned more than Rs. 85,000 with 149

farmers from different villages availing

hiring service of various farm

implements. They have also

p r o v i d e d a g r i c u l t u r a l

i m p l e m e n t s t o n e e d y

farmers free of charge.

S m t . K e m p a m a n i ,

G u d d e n a h a l l i v i l l a g e ,

Holenarasipura, District

Hassan, Karnataka was Best

Dairy Farmer; Smt. Lalita

Baraskar, Banspur village,

Ghodadongri, District Betul,

Madhya Pradesh was Best Bajrang SHG receives Second Best SHG Awardfrom Shri. Uday Shirsalkar, CGM, NABARD Regional Office, Pune

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Sidheshwar SHG receives Best SHG in Maharashtra Programmefrom Ms. Ritu Nathani, Director, Cybage Software, Pune

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Agriculture Farmer; Smt. Nilu Devi,

Sarobag, Dharhara, Munger, Bihar was

the Best Farmer from Non-Potential Area;

Shyam Sunder, Cattle Development

Centre at Atai, Gautam Buddha Nagar,

Uttar Pradesh, was the Best Cattle

Development Centre In-charge; Manoj

Wakode, Cattle Development Centre at

Wa r i , K o p a r g a o n , A h m e d n a g a r,

Maharashtra was Best AI Technician from

Multi-Activity Centre; Anil Kumar Mishra,

C a t t l e D e v e l o p m e n t C e n t r e a t

Chandanbhati, Bolangir district of Odisha

for Best AI Technician from Non-Potential

A re a . P r i ze s we re a l s o g i ve n to

meritorious students and for the best

scientific paper and case study. The BAIF

Annual Report, Research Report and a

book on Mahua Recipes were also

released on this occasion.

S h r i . U d ay S h i rs a l ka r, C G M ,

NABARD, Maharashtra Regional Office,

Pune, compl imented the women

fraternity who were felicitated for their

work and for their confidence to share

their experience. Ms. Ritu Nathani,

Director, Cybage Software Pvt. Ltd. and

Head – Cybage CSR, Pune, appreciated

the women for establishing their identity

through their empowerment. Others

who spoke on the occasion were

Dr. Anand Sardeshmukh, former Director

General, MCCI and Shri. Sunil Lalbhai,

Trustee, BAIF. Earlier, Dr. Ashok B. Pande,

Group Vice President, BAIF, welcomed

the women groups. Dr. Jayant R. Khadse,

Research Director, BAIF, proposed the

vote of thanks.

Sucharita Dhar

Release of BAIF Annual Report. L to R : Dr. A. B. Pande, Ms. Ritu Nathani, Shri. Uday Shirsalkar, Dr. Rajendra Singh, Shri. Sunil Lalbhai, Dr. A. Sardeshmukh and Shri. B. K. Kakade