TISS study: Work done by politician-turned social activist’s NGO led to tenfold rise in farmer incomes

“While education, healthcare support, etc, are good for maintaining the status quo of the nation, the only way to transform India is through sustainable agriculture at scale,” said Mayank Gandhi, managing trustee of Global Vikas Trust. In 2011, Gandhi had started the India against Corruption (IAC) movement with Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal and later became part of the National Executive of the AAP.

In 2016, he completely quit politics and started Global Vikas Trust to work in some of the worst areas of India for farmer welfare.

According to Gandhi, multiplying incomes of small and marginal farmers can make India a “sone ki chidiya” again. “A tenfold increase for tens of thousands of farmers’ incomes in some of the worst areas validates our path of transforming India,” he said.

The report was prepared by the Centre of Excellence in CSR at TISS. It analysed the impact of GVT’s agriculture development initiatives across various districts — including Palghar, Nanded, Beed, Solapur, Osmanabad (Dharashiv) and Jalgaon in Maharashtra, and Burhanpur and Dhar/Barwani in Madhya Pradesh — by undertaking surveys encompassing 1,248 farmers and stakeholders.

“It is observed that the availability and utilisation of high-quality saplings hold the key to ensuring increased agricultural production and resilience against challenges posed by pests and climate change. The adoption of quality saplings not only contributed to greater agricultural productivity, but also played a crucial role in ensuring crop diversity and economic prosperity in the Western region. GVT’s promotion of horticulture also contributed to environmental conservation, as the organisation employs sustainable farming practices, such as organic farming and permaculture,” said professor S Siva Raju, deputy director at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad Campus.
“One of the important things we focused on was to extend training to farmers in different agri techniques. It was a great aid to our effort. We even focused on an alcohol ban movement, worked on making water available for agriculture and also refilling acquifers,” said Gandhi.

GVT’s flagship project, a fruit tree plantation drive, seeks to transition farmers to fruit tree cultivation aiming to significantly increase their incomes and promote sustainable farming practices. GVT works in more than 4,100 villages, covering an area of over 33,000 acres in 27 districts of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

A new, state-of-the-art Global Krishikul farmer training centre is under construction and will be used to train farmers from all over the country to multiply their incomes by 4 to 10 times.

Ravindra Chamaria, an industrialist and philanthropist from Kolkata, “The work done by Mayank Gandhi is commendable. The model can be replicated elsewhere including Kolkata and I appeal to others to join it.”