Sustainable Way to Transform Lives of Tribal Women Farmers
Schneider Electric has won the FICCI CSR Award for its ‘Energy for Sustainable Livelihood’ project under the Food Security and Agriculture category at the 20th FICCI CSR Award Ceremony.
The winning project aims to transform lives of tribal women farmers in 10 economically backward districts (9 out of 10 are aspirational districts) in Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha by providing assured irrigation through 428 solar powered irrigation system, supporting 8356 farmer families for their agricultural use resulting in income enhancement.
Venkat Garimella, Vice President- Strategy and Alliance & Sustainability & CSR Schneider Electric India said, “Schneider Electric endeavours to solve real-life problems in the most sustainable yet efficient way. The Energy for Sustainable Livelihood project aims to push the pedal on inclusive development for achieving the SDGs at the grassroots level. The selection of aspirational districts reflects our resolve to enable local communities to achieve Atmanirbharta. It is an honour for us to provide an enabling environment for promoting sustainable livelihood opportunities for farmers. We are grateful to FICCI and the jury for recognizing our efforts as we look forward to continuing the momentum for partnering in India’s journey of Atmanirbharta (self-reliance).”
Since 2004, Schneider has been working in the sustainable livelihood domain and had transformed lives of more than 10,000 farmers by proving assured irrigation through 600 plus solar irrigation pumps. We have been aiming to improve their quality of life and break the vicious circle of poverty by ensuring sustainable operational model for attaining food security, enhancing income of farmers and improving agricultural practices. By 2025 Schneider Electric aims to support 6000 more farmer families through installation of 300 additional solar pumps.
FICCI Corporate Social Responsibility Awards, India’s first CSR awards was instituted in 1999. The selection process for the FICCI CSR Award is extremely competitive and is assessed by an eminent Jury through a 3-tier assessment process which includes application submission, field visit and final presentation.