Padma Shri Rahibai Popere and National Genome Saviour Farmer Award recipient Mamta Bhangare from Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, were felicitated by BAIF Development Research Foundation on December 7, 2021 at its Head Office in Pune. It was the BAIF Agrobiodiversity team, who had discovered and nurtured their passion for conservation of indigenous seeds and wild vegetables.

Rahibai from Kombhalne tribal village, popularly known as “Seed Mother”, is a Godmother to more than 3500 women farmers. Featuring among BBC’s 100 influential women trailblazers from more than 60 countries and in an award winning documentary at the Cannes Film Festival, recipient of Nari Shakti Puraskar, National Social Innovation Award and Vasantrao Naik Puraskar, this familiar face on national and regional television networks, has pioneered a movement to preserve traditional seeds while giving a boost to agriculture within the tribal community. This seed and plant conservationist is also an active member of the 2021 National Plant Genome Savior Community Award recipient Kalsubai Parisar Biyane Sanvardhan Samajik Sanstha, a community seed bank and seed saver group.

Mamta Bhangare from Devgaon village, who considers herself as a woman farmer, is modesty personified. This unassuming kitchen garden guide, has conserved 69 landraces of paddy, beans and local vegetables and has won acclaim for her conservation and cultivation techniques of wild vegetables while relying on organic farming and innovative vermi briquettes.

Bharat Kakade, President and Managing Trustee, Girish Sohani, Principal Adviser and Trustee, Rajashree Joshi, Programme Director and Sanjay Patil, Senior Thematic Programme Executive, BAIF, lauded Rahibai and Mamta’s knowledge awakening efforts and for linking science and technology to achieve the leap from Grassroot to Global and Research for Use.

BAIF’s Unique Approach to Migration free Rehabilitation with Ecological Restoration
Tribal communities in India are characterized by chronic poverty, alienation, lack of choice and absence of hope. Understanding the need to rehabilitate the families in their own environs and acknowledging their affinity towards trees, an innovative ‘Wadi’ programme was evolved by BAIF in 1982, by enabling tribal families to establish fruit orchards on their denuded lands, which generated cash income and food crops for home consumption. This system of agri-horti-forestry, ensured climate resilient food production, enabling over two lakh Scheduled Tribe families from 6483 villages in 11 states, to come out of poverty. This pioneering programme of Tribal Rehabilitation with an innovative approach to rehabilitate these forest loving families, has ensured food security, safe drinking water, improved health, education of children, empowerment of women and active participation in village governance. The programme has sequestered 2 million tons of carbon dioxide during the last 10 years.

The Tribal Development Centre established by BAIF in South Gujarat, has been recognised as a Centre of Excellence for developing rural technologies for improvement in livelihood and quality of life by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India.

On the occasion of the first Tribal Pride Day (Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas) observed on November 15, BAIF pledges to continue its efforts to restore the dignity of the true custodians of our green cover and groom them as the frontline development team of the country.

Dr. Manibhai Desai – the Founder of BAIF, was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi. Understanding the challenges of a majority of the rural families who were living in poverty with denuded natural resources, he focussed on promotion of appropriate technologies as a tool for conservation and making optimum use of them to generate sustainable livelihood. He gave priority to improving the progeny of non-descript cows owned by most of these families as a liability. The families were able to produce high yielding cows and buffaloes at their door steps without any investment, enjoy food security and come out of poverty.

This success motivated him to transform other challenges into new opportunities. As feeding of nutritious fodder could increase the profitability of dairy husbandry, he promoted cultivation of hardy, perennial fodder crops on degraded wastelands which were lying idle. Establishment of drought resistant fruit trees on denuded hilly terrains, was another initiative to rehabilitate the Scheduled Tribe families living in chronic poverty. To improve crop productivity, soil conservation and innovative water resources development programmes were introduced. Rural women were encouraged to participate in all the development programmes and to educate their children. These programmes conceived by him 5-6 decades ago, have addressed many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and are serving as the foundation for evolving climate-smart agricultural initiatives to counter the current challenges of global warming.

He was a rare Gandhian who made rural development and agriculture his mission and who worked for the welfare of the weaker sections of the communities until his last breath. On his death anniversary (November 14, 2021), we pay our homage to him and pledge our continued mission of rural prosperity.

BAIF is one of the signatories of the ‘4 per 1,000’ multi-country initiative which was launched by the Government of France at the COP21 Paris Climate Summit held in 2015, with direct participation in four Tasks to increase carbon storage in agricultural soils by 0.4% every year to mitigate climate change, increase food security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to ensure highly resilient agriculture through appropriate management of lands and soils to ensure carbon storage. BAIF is now formally a part of the Thematic Task Forces set up under the 4 per 1000 initiative to fulfil its mandate namely Reference Framework, Soil Regeneration, Good Agricultural Forestry and Other Land Use Practices (GAFOLUP) Helpdesk and Capacity Development. BAIF has developed suitable thematic proposals on restoration of soil fertility by adopting sustainable agriculture practices for food security and climate change adaptation and SDG Good Practices, adhering to the mandate of 4 per 1000 initiative.

On the occasion of “4 per 1000 Day” 2021 High-Level Segment held at Glassgow, Scotland on November 10, 2021, the President and Managing Trustee of BAIF, Mr. Bharat Kakade delivered a special talk.

BAIF is fortunate that its Founder, Late Dr. Manibhai Desai, a staunch follower of Mahatma Gandhi, had adopted the basic principles of Gandhian values for rural development and put them into practice through various field programmes. He used to ensure that the programmes benefitted the vulnerable sections of the society through inclusive development. While planning any activity, the first and foremost thought always in his mind was how this activity would be able to benefit the weaker sections of the society and hence, he used to modify the programme to address their problems. Keeping in mind the need for effective involvement of the community, BAIF has developed community-based organisations to take care of sustainable development. The programmes have been modified with time and new programmes have been introduced over the last five decades, but what has not changed till today, is our firm belief in the Gandhian Values for Rural Development.

The principles and perspectives articulated by Gandhiji have been applied by BAIF in all its programmes for rural livelihood to transform the Gandhian vision into reality. While Sarvodaya has been adopted by BAIF as the key to sustainable development, his dream of Gram Swarajya, continues to be the goal. On the occasion of the 152nd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, BAIF pays homage to the Father of the Nation.

BAIF Development Research Foundation (BAIF), Pune, organised a webinar on “Native Biodiversity Conservation and Seed Savers” on September 30, 2021. The forum included an in-depth discussion between BAIF’s Agro-Biodiversity Specialist and Senior Thematic Programme Executive, Mr. Sanjay Patil based at Jawhar in Palghar district, who is also a Member of the Management Committee of the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Padmashree recipient, Smt. Rahibai Popare from Akole, Ahmednagar district, popularly known as “Seed Mother” and 300 rural farmers, researchers, scientists and educationists working in the field of rural development and biodiversity conservation across the country including Pratham, People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), Sukh Bhoomi India Trust and Sahyadri School.

This thematic webinar focussed on native varieties of diverse food crops such as maize, rice and millets, their characteristics, nutritive value and the significant role of thousands of committed community seed farmers and seed savers located in remote areas of Maharashtra and other parts of the country in transforming Indian agriculture from a traditional system to a climate-based agriculture system and who have been recognised and awarded various national awards under various Government schemes. Smt. Rahibai also shared her vast experience in community development through conservation and popularisation of indigenous seeds and their landraces. The forum included a question and answer session at the end of the discussions.

This webinar marks the beginning of various webinars being planned by BAIF on similar topics. For more information, you may visit www.elearning.baif.org.in

Youth are an important plank of BAIF’s integrated development programme. The local youth have played a significant role in community development through their active participation in various development programmes launched by BAIF in remote villages across the country. These barefoot technicians have encouraged the community to adopt appropriate technologies for rural prosperity. Over the last one decade, realizing the role of urban youth too in the process of development, BAIF has launched various Fellowship programmes.

Under the SBI Youth For India Fellowship Programme, 9 youth and 5 youth under the SPARK-Janarth Fellowship Programme placed in various locations of BAIF, are involved in community mobilisation and application of appropriate science and technology in rural development. Some of these enterprising youth are also engaged in pilot production of pen stands, earthern lamps making use of cow dung; pine needle for making various handicrafts; digital promotion of BAIF’s tribal initiative Nahari; graphical and interactive manuals and identifying scalable interventions in value chains for locally abundant produce like Amchur (mango powder) and Mahua flowers and seeds. These youth are truly bridging the gap between rural and urban India.

On July 18, 1973, the Foundation Stone of BAIF Central Research Station was laid at Urulikanchan near Pune by Hon’ble Shri. Y.B. Chavan, the-then Union Finance Minister and Chairman of BAIF. In 1971, BAIF had received 200 heifers of Holstein Friesian and Jersey breeds from Denmark which had been housed at this campus. In the absence of adequate finance, the construction of the laboratories was delayed. Manibhaiji explained the noble cause for which the facility was needed, to Shri. B.G. Shirke, a local entrepreneur, who agreed to support and brought down the cost of construction to 30% of the market rate. The building was completed in record time. The laboratories became functional from January 1974.  

Today, the Research Centre, spread over 227 ha, with world-class laboratories, exotic bull mother farm and bull station, is engaged in state-of-the-art applied research, demonstration and extension of latest technologies in agro-based livelihood activities and is one of the Centres of Excellence in Animal husbandry and allied activities in India.

On July 7, 1987, Mrs. Gro Harlem Brundtland, Prime Minister of Norway and Chairperson of the Brundtland Commission, who had come to New Delhi to launch the Report of the Brundtland Commission – “Our Common Future”, took a special flight to Urulikanchan near Pune, to view BAIF’s afforestation programme which was very popular in the country. She was very impressed with the Subabul plantation.

In 1976, “Hawaiian Giant” type of Leucaena had transformed most of the barren lands of BAIF into Leucaena seed farms while leading wood-based industries, procured Leucaena wood from BAIF for production of paper and newsprint. Considering its utility and benefits, in 1981, Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, renamed the “Kubabul” plant as “Subabul”. BAIF launched several Agroforestry, Wastelands Development and Industrial Greenbelt Development Projects in collaboration with leading Industries and Forest Department across the country.