Lakhpati Kisan - A story of People, Planet and Prosperity

Nandurbar, a district in the wester state of Maharashtra, has one of the lowest Human Development Index in India. It has been identified as one of the Aspirational District in need of urgent attention from the Government, businesses, civil society and other stakeholder.

Within Nandurbar, the geographically isolated blocks of Akrani (Dhadgaon) and Akkalkuwa with 99% Tribal population, are marked by high levels of poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy and ecological degradation.

Lakhpati Kisan - Smart Villages Program was launched by Tata Trusts and Collectives for Integrated Livelihood Initiatives (CInI) in 2015 in Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra and Gujarat. The same year, Tata Communications Transformation Services Limited (TCTS) and CInI partnered to implement the program in Nandurbar.

Lakhpati Kisan aims to enhance the household income of rural tribal families from approximately INR 30,000 to INR 1,00,000 annually through multilayered livelihood interventions within the framework of UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Satpuda Mountain Range, Dhadgaon Block, Nandurbar, Maharashtra did not have any easy source of water. No well, no bore well. Barring elders and children, everyone used to migrate to Gujarat for work. It was also accompanied by poor farmer productivity with near total dependency on rained irrigation.

To significantly improve the lives of 6000 families by bringing them irreversibly out of poverty and enhancing their quality of life and life choices to develop Dhadgaon block as a driver of regional growth and prosperity. The program followed the key principles of -

Gangaram Paware, Drip Farmer (High Value Vegetable)  says - ‘ Earlier, we were doing only rain-fed farming. There was not enough water to farm in larger area. We got to know in a Village Institution (VI) meeting that CInI is planning construction of wells with people’s participation.3-4 of us families got together to construct the well. We installed a drip system and started growing vegetables throughout the year. Initially, we planted 100 saplings, then 200 and then kept increasing. In 2016, I earned INR 23,000, then in 2017, I earned INR 30,000 and in 2018, I made INR 70,000 by only selling vegetables. I also got around INR 20,000 income form other crops.’

The program has impacted 41 villages, 213 Hamlets, covering more than 6000 families. More than 50% families have already doubled their income. The program covered 4 hamlet-based drinking water schemes and the new irrigated area is of 1075 acres. There has been 80% reduction in migration. Now, there are 6000 families cultivating improved cereal crops, 1625 families diversified to produce high value crops and 1000 families have adopted horticulture. 3000 families have improved goat management practices and vet care and goat mortality has reduced from 55% to 5%. 1300 students accessed ITE based learning in 9 Government and  Ashram schools; 36 village institutions formed and nurtured, 1 farmer producer company - Yahamogi Farmer Producer Company formed.