Climate Resilient Agriculture and Farming Techniques

As part of the main project titled ‘Eapakkam Watershed Development and Management Project,’ a project named ‘Climate Resilient Agriculture and Farming Technique’ is being undertaken, with Collonge-Bellerive, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), and Sandoz Family Foundation as funding and co-funding partners, and is being implemented by Hand in Hand Switzerland and Hand in Hand India.

Implemented in the Viluppuram district in Southern India, the project is being carried out for a period of 2 years, starting in 2024. Targeting small and marginal landholding farmers, the interventions aim to use climate-resilient agriculture practices to address the twin objectives of attaining food security and biodiversity restoration. As part of this effort, 100 farmers are transitioning from conventional farming methods to sustainable, climate-resilient techniques.

To attain the project’s goals, the strategy focuses on the conversion of barren land into productive land with a green cover, cultivating Dragon Fruits and Perennial Red Gram. In particular, a flagship intervention is the introduction of dragon fruit cultivation in the Eappakkam, Nolampur, and Theevanur clusters, since this innovative initiative is a first for the region and aims to improve farmers’ income levels by promoting high-value, climate-resilient crops.