Karnataka women farmers to benefit from ’75 at 75’

Women’s biz body, Boston Centre of Excellence sign women-centric MoU to mark India’s 75th I-Day

BENGALURU:

Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WICCI), Food and Nutritional Council, has joined the ‘75 at 75’ initiative by signing an MoU with Boston Centre of Excellence (BoCE) for health and human development.

The MoU will greatly empower women farmers in Karnataka, said WICCI, Food and Nutrition Council, National President Shikha Sharma. “We are talking to state and local bodies to pass on the benefits of this project to a large number of our women farmers,” she added.

For the unversed, the BoCE-promoted ’75 at 75’ initiative aims to convert 75 villages across India into smart villages, making them self-reliant by providing access to clean and safe drinking water, and healthcare, energy, education and land and housing facilities.

“We planned this initiative to coincide with India’s 75th Independence Day celebrations. This women-centric initiative aims to create self-reliant villages free of malnutrition,” BoCE co-founder Pramid Maakoday said.

Aiming at ‘smart villages’

Participating in a webinar on sustainable family farming organised by WICCI, Food and Nutrition Council, on Saturday, Maakoday said BoCE is committed to creating a healthy ecosystem in Indian villages to meet the growing needs of clean water, health, energy, education, land and housing.

“Our team goes to villages, dreams with the villagers and designs, develops and delivers the required infrastructure, thus transforming them into smart villages,” Maakoday said, adding that BoCE brings global best practices in the implementation of the project.

Stressing the need to empower women who form 75% of full-time workers in the farming sector, WICCI, Food and Nutrition Council, Vice-President Radha Kolli said the MoU with BoCE would promote family farming, eventually ensuring health and nutrition.

Programme director at ’75 at 75’ Srikanta Bhaskara said women in Karnataka were enthusiastic in joining the initiative as 50% of the volunteers were women. “To attract more youngsters to the initiative, we have also launched a social media campaign,” he said.

‘Empower women farmers’

In his inaugural address at the seminar, JP Singh, IPS, Inspector General of Police, Armed Police and Training, Shimla, said it was imperative to empower women farmers to ensure health, nutrition and national food security.

Speakers at the webinar included Purushotham Dhiman, IFS, Chief Conservator of Forests, Indore Circle, Madhya Pradesh, Sameer Vyas, environmentalist and agricultural expert, Mahendra Singh C Jadeja, a UK-based Gujarati community leader, Italy-based Dr Jamuna Mishra, an ardent proponent of Adhatma Yoga, Nandhita Bhat, Airport Director, Maharana Pratap Airport, Udaipur, Preeti Rathore, WICCI, Food and Nutrition Council, Rajasthan State President and Harshad Brahmbatt, Ahmedabad-based social and cultural activist, besides other WICCI members from across India.

Go and Vote: Issued in Public Interest