Improving livelihoods through agricultural sustainability training

08 May 2024

Intertek India has been working closely with 250 marginalised farmers – mostly women – in the village of Narspur, Hyderabad, on a transformative initiative designed to build sustainable farming capabilities and support the development of the local economy.

‘Planted with Purpose’, launched in April 2023, helps to improve the quality of life for those in rural communities and their surrounding areas by focusing on skill enhancement and promoting entrepreneurship. This includes training on medicinal mushroom cultivation, organic farming, soil testing, livestock management and microenterprise creation, as well as helping the farmers to establish links to market.

This is an especially important initiative in Narspur, where women have often struggled to maintain stable livelihoods due to limited access to education and employment opportunities. Most families have no land, and many men are seasonal migrant workers. ‘Planted with Purpose’ has therefore empowered its beneficiaries to start small businesses and generate much needed income.

In the first year of the project, the farmers cultivated 156 kgs of medicinal mushrooms. Encouraged by this success, they are looking at broadening their mushroom cultivation to include various seasonal varieties.

To enhance the impact of these efforts, Intertek helped establish a Farmer Producer Organisation called Organicoasis. This project is also helping with the creation of sustainable rural livelihoods and socio-economic empowerment of local people, again mostly women from marginalised communities.