Mumbai : Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers & Chemicals (GNFC) made it to the TEDx IIM Bangalore to talk about its Neem Project. This project was selected as a transformative idea and Rajiv Kumar Gupta (IAS), MD of GNFC, was invited by the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore’s TEDx team to present it to a global audience.
He went on to explain about the holistic steps that GNFC has undertaken to manufacture neem-coated urea and promote its agronomic benefits, while empowering rural women through backward and forward integration projects. The project has been active in more than 5,000 villages across 6 states of India. Since its inception three years ago, by collecting over 45,000MT of Neem seeds, more than Rs 60 crore income has been generated for around 4.5 lakh women in 53 districts. Due to the active participation of women SHGs, Pani Samitis (Water Committees), cooperatives, NGOs, etc., it has been hailed as an example in community-led transformation by laying a strong foundation for community building and cohesion.
This project came into existence after PM Narendra Modi’s policy mandate of 100 per cent of Urea should be neem coated was stated.
GNFC used established community structures in rural Gujarat to build linkages within its supply chain network for neem seed collection. The TEDx event recognises the company’s contribution to upliftment of women and girls by developing and implementing such a transparent, sustainable and pragmatic
socio-economic programme.
The talk was titled as ‘Neem Revolution’ and lasted around 17 minutes. The presentation explained the genesis and peregrination of the Neem Project, and concluded by elaborating on its replicable model.
