Agriculture & Rural Livelihoods

NIWAD has played a pivotal role in advancing rural agriculture by integrating climate-resilient practices, sustainable farming systems, and community-led solutions to improve livelihoods. Through long-standing collaborations with institutions such as the Directorate of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture, Tamil Nadu, NABARD Chennai, and Iyarkai Velaan Inaiyam (IVI), NIWAD has positively impacted the lives of over 12,000 farmers, including smallholders, women, and vulnerable groups. One of the landmark initiatives, the Integrated Watershed Management Project (IWMP) (₹55,00,000, 2012–2016), supported by the Directorate of Agriculture, significantly enhanced water conservation, improved soil quality, and strengthened agricultural productivity for 1,700 farmers across target villages. Complementing this, the Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA) programme (₹12,00,000, 2012–2014) empowered 500 resource-poor farmers with exposure to modern agricultural practices, crop diversification, and scientific extension services. Additionally, the ongoing Sustainable Agriculture and Solid Waste Management Programme, initiated in 2012 with an annual investment of ₹90,000 by NIWAD in partnership with IVI, supports 600 farmers annually by promoting organic inputs, composting, and eco-friendly waste management techniques. These interventions underscore NIWAD’s enduring commitment to fostering resilient farming communities, enhancing food security, and promoting environmentally sustainable rural development.

Between 2019 and 2022, NIWAD intensified its efforts to build climate-resilient rural livelihoods, focusing on marginalised communities facing the harsh impacts of environmental degradation and changing weather patterns. The Mission on Sustainable Agriculture and Dry Land Agriculture (MSDA), supported by the Agriculture Department with a funding of ₹5,10,000, reached over 4,000 vulnerable individuals and women farmers. The programme promoted drought-tolerant crop varieties, low-input techniques, and adaptive farming models tailored for dryland ecosystems. Building on this, the National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC) project (₹6,20,000, 2020–2022), implemented in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Tamil Nadu, enabled 2,480 farmers to adopt climate-smart agricultural practices. These included weather-resilient cropping systems, micro-irrigation, and water-use efficiency technologies, equipping communities to better cope with erratic rainfall and shifting seasons.

To strengthen farmer livelihoods through market integration and collective strength, NIWAD also implemented the Producer Organisation Promotion Initiative (POPI) between 2019 and 2022, with generous support from NABARD Chennai amounting to ₹20,30,000. Through this initiative, over 3,000 small and marginal farmers were mobilized into Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs). These institutions enhanced the farmers’ access to quality inputs at competitive prices, facilitated bulk marketing of produce, and helped secure better price realization by reducing dependency on middlemen. Collectively, these climate-focused and livelihood-enhancing projects reflect NIWAD’s unwavering commitment to fostering economically secure, environmentally conscious, and community-led agricultural ecosystems across rural Tamil Nadu.