The emancipation of poverty through education and child rights for children of marginalized communities. Also reaching out to every child of Meerut district and other areas through a 24 hour free telephone helpline, a project by the Government of India.

Sustainable use of natural resources, to ensure that our environment does not pose a risk to human health, and can sustain an appropriate and diverse wildlife.
Empowerment of marginalized communities to improve their own environment and safeguarding their human rights.

How we use so much less yet make so much more

Water quality protection and provision of safe drinking water, water Resource Conservation and provision of safe, sufficient and sustainable water resources for all

Restored and protected agricultural land, providing nutritious and healthy food sustainably, for current and future generations.

Contact Us

Registered Office:

Janhit Foundation
180/7 Shastri Nagar,
Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
India

Telephone:

Voice +91.121.2763418
+91.121.4004123
Fax : +91.121.2763418

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From Seed to Market: Strengthening the farming community by promoting organic farming towards income enhancement in Meerut district

Janhit Foundation undertook this innovative project in partnership with the Ford Foundation. This project aimed to strengthen the agricultural economy through the development of market opportunities for organic produce.

We provided support and encouragement to the farmers, inviting them to attend seminars, training and the opportunity to visit other similar successful projects allowing them to stay with other farmers, learn from them and then use that knowledge in their own fields. Training programs were conducted by eminent agriculture scientists and literature was printed in the form of manuals, booklets and posters depicting the importance of organic farming and how it enhances the income of the farming community. We also provided farmers with seeds for sowing and bio fertilizers which we produced for nominal costs to the farmers as well as the knowledge to produce their own composts. We established Western U.P.’s first exclusive outlet for organic products, named ‘Organic Aaharam’ (LINK TO ORGANIC AAHARAM PAGE) where the products produced by the farming community such as wheat, flour, porridge and mustard oil were displayed and sold to the consumers at a fair to maximize the income generated through the farms. At the same time the outlet also aimed to increase awareness and thus the consumption and demand for organic produce. As a direct result of the Seed to Market project over 300 farmers have exchanged monocultural farming in favour of cultivation of pulses, paddy, cereals, vegetables, fruits and medicinal and aromatic plants. They have been able to significantly increase their profits generated per acre of land.

In addition they have reduced the water consumption in areas by up to 35% and have drastically reduced the levels of POP’s persistent organic pollutants and other pollutants such as dioxins and furans in the air, soil and water. As a result the farming communities have benefited enormously. In addition to this the outlet is purchasing the produce much higher price, which has increased the producer’s household incomes: during the 1st year of farming organically the increase is 15%, 2nd year 25% and now in the 3rd year it is 50%.

Environmentally there are numerous long-term benefits achieved, the soil, air and water pollutant levels continue to drop and as the continuation of crop rotation occurs there has been a marked increase in biodiversity and a return to the area of wildlife species throughout the food chain which were previously considered absent. Socially there have been also many long-term benefits. With the increase in incomes farmers have been able to provide more for their families in terms of education, health care etc. In addition the more prosperous farming community has been able to contribute more into the local economy and assist in generating income for other businesses and partners in their community. What’s more the risk of health conditions connected with agro-chemicals such as Lindane and Endosulphan have diminished and the improvements in the quality of the environment have benefited the populous as a whole.

At the foundation we consider the Seeds for Market project to have been innovative in that we have challenged the longstanding monocultural form of farming that was triumphed during the green revolution of the 1960s and has been the dominant agricultural paradigm since. Further to this they have been able to marry the best aspects of modern farming techniques with those of ancient traditional less environmentally damaging techniques to create a productive and sustainable method of agricultural production which can be easily recreated throughout the nation. This ability to transfer the skills and knowledge developed has further been enhanced through the numerous publications designed to disseminate and share our learnt knowledge. At the present time we are working a report outlining how this successful project can be repeated in other areas within the country.