Shwetdhara Program: Rural development through Dairy Farming
IDFC FIRST Bank, in partnership with Vrutti and End Poverty, has designed and implemented cattle care program in rural areas of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan to improve milk productivity of milch animals. This rural development program aims to increase the income of small and marginal dairy farmers, thereby providing them livelihood opportunities in a sustainable way. Rural households have been reached via this program through services, like, artificial insemination, treatment, feed and fodder services, medicines supply for the cattle. This program is run at the grass-root level by a cadre of women leaders in the community who enable last-mile service delivery.
This year, we are helping women entrepreneurs by providing them training on business development, financial literacy, forward linkages, cattle management, rural development through dairy farm and the best management practices. We’re also helping them to come together and set up their own farmer-producer organization.
Our Impact
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11,000
Rural Household
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800
Training
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2
States
Since the start of this rural development program in 2017, more than 800 community-level training sessions have been conducted to disseminate the best practices on dairy farming. These trainings focus on key aspects of dairying, like breed improvement and nutrition. The capacity building exercise is complemented with mechanisms that promote behavioral change among farmers. This program has enabled over 11,000 rural households across over 200 villages to gain access to good quality inputs and services required for effective dairy farming.
Over 200 Shwetdhara groups meet every month to discuss the best practices in dairying. This process is duly supported by a group of village-level female volunteers called the Gram Sakhis. 7 Pashu Vikas Kendras (PVK) have been established, which act as resource centers and are manned by veterinary doctors and extension officers. Till date, Artificial Insemination Technicians (AITs) engaged with the program, provided around 5000 breed improvement services
Voice of Impact
"I joined ShwetDhara around 2 and a half years ago at Bankhedi village where I reside. I have received many training programs imparted by ShwetDhara team and disseminated the knowledge amongst households in my community. Previously, the farmers in my village were not aware about basic practices such as deworming and its importance but now they are feeding deworming tablets to their cattle and have also stopped sending their cattle for open grazing. They also lacked the practice of feeding mineral mixtures which are important to cattle health but now they do. The input cost to us dairy farmers has reduced due to providing good quality of input and right at their doorstep. I am also receiving a source of income from Shwetdhara for my work which helps me support my family.”
Varsha Goswami's anecdoteGram Sakhi, Shwetdhara
Our CSR Programmes
At IDFC FIRST Bank, we aim to empower our customers to make a difference in the world. With this in mind, we bring you various initiatives in partnership with our partners that give you the opportunity to shoulder a cause of your choice.
Till date, we have 24+ programs that have impacted more than 50574 lives. Come, let’s together, put others FIRST.
