India

Healthy Soils, Prosperous Farmers

BASF Agricultural Solutions and BASF Nunhems are committed to supporting communities of tribal smallholder growers, especially women and youths, to achieve prosperous, self-sustaining livelihoods through improving the health and sustainability of the agrifood systems in which they are embedded.

In 2024, we launched the Healthy Soils, Prosperous Farmers program with the ambition to help to raise and stabilize household income, increase climate resilience; regenerate soil and ecosystem health; promote nutritious, diverse diets; and shorten produce supply chains.

We currently engage more than 8,000 farmers across four Indian states: 3,000 farmers each in Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, and 1,000 farmers each in Assam and Jharkhand. The impact of these projects extends beyond agriculture, driving economic growth, improving social well-being, and promoting environmental sustainability for smallholder farmers and their communities.

Why

In India, nearly 60% of rural households rely primarily on agriculture for their livelihood, the majority being small-scale subsistence farmers who manage less than 2 hectares of land. Healthy Soils, Prosperous Farmers addresses critical and systematic problems they face, including low household incomes, lack of income diversification, degrading soil health, worsening pest and disease pressure, climate change-induced extreme events and water stress, and lack of market access and digital connectivity.

How

The program hinges on strong local partnerships, bringing together diverse expertise and resources to effectively support smallholder farmers. BASF Nunhems guides projects with the technical support of the World Vegetable Center and implemented by local partners: Solidaridad Network in Madhya Pradesh; Collectives for Integrated Livelihood Initiatives (CInI) in Odisha and Jharkhand; and Seven Sisters Development Assistance (SeSTA) in Assam. Projects focus on capacity building, participatory development, farmer-led field demonstration and knowledge co-creation, best practice dissemination, and technical impact assessment. Our main areas of intervention are resilient and regenerative horticulture, multifunctional landscape approaches and local value chain development.

What our partners say

Madhya Pradesh. “By empowering over 100,000 smallholder farmers through regenerative agricultural practices, we are paving the way for sustainable livelihoods, contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals,” states Dr. Suresh Motwani, General Manager at Solidaridad. “This program is about more than just improving yields; it’s about creating a sustainable future for India’s farming communities.”

Odisha. Santanu Dutta, Team Leader at CInI, comments, "First-generation smallholder farmers are feeling the effects of climate change. The collaborative efforts of the program help to build resilience through innovative solutions and the active participation of all stakeholders. CInI connects local organizations with value chain actors, driving positive change within the farming ecosystem."
 

SDGs

The program seeks to create positive irreversible impact on tribal households by increasing and diversifying their income from horticulture and associated agricultural activities, as well as fostering a culture of sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship.

Helping to boost local commercial vegetable production to increase and stabilize incomes (indirect impact) and own garden production for diversity and quality of nutrition (direct impact).

Empowering women as agricultural entrepreneurs, economic decision-makers and community leaders.

Adoption of drip irrigation technology for improved water usage along with water harvesting and infiltration techniques to ensure sustainable withdrawals in water-scarce areas.

Increasing agricultural productivity, resilience, and sustainability, and thereby securing higher and more stable incomes.

Demonstrating and promoting regenerative horticulture techniques to boost soil health, climate resilience, agrobiodiversity.

Collaboration with NGOs such as CInI (Collectives for Integrated Livelihood Initiatives), Solidaridad, and Seven Sister Development Assistance (SESTA), along with knowledge partners like the World Vegetable Center.

Suraksha Hamesha

Suraksha Hamesha means “Safety at all Times” in Hindi. The premise of this Indian campaign is simple but powerful, as it is designed to train farmers and crop protection applicators on the responsible and safe use of crop protection products, focusing on measures they can take to minimize risk. The Suraksha Hamesha program was honored with the 2018 Agrow Award for Best Stewardship Program.

Why

Agriculture contributes almost one fifth of India’s GDP and is the largest employer with two thirds of the population directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture. Sustainable farming and farmer safety is of paramount importance, and BASF is committed to making sure that crop protection products are used safely and responsibly.

How

All across India, BASF collaborates with local governments to offer farmers hands-on training and demonstrations on safe and responsible mixing, spraying and storing of crop protection products. Farmers are educated on the nine steps of responsible use of crop protection products and personal protection measures. Along with the training, BASF offers the Sanrakshan Kit, an affordable, high quality set of certified personal protective equipment. Through this initiative, BASF is promoting the responsible and ethical management of crop protection products throughout the entire lifecycle.

Result

SDGs

Promoting farmer safety and well-being across rural India.

Educating young people and offering training in schools across the country.

Reaching 7480 women farmers.

BASF partnered with the Department of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare.