April 16, 2025: The community-led climate actions of BAIF once again received national recognition! BAIF became a recipient of the prestigious JSW-The Times of India Earth Care Award among more than 1500 entries. The 12th edition of the awards, held on April 16, 2025 in Mumbai, honoured BAIF for its community-oriented approach towards climate action with solutions which are replicable in various parts of the country as well as in other developing countries. BAIF received the award at the hands of Sangita Jindal, Chairperson, JSW Foundation, Rajat Gupta, Senior Partner-Sustainability Practice, McKinsey & Company and Sivakumar Sundaram, CEO (Publishing) of the Times Group and were joined by the Programme-supporting organisation – HUL Prabhat team on this occasion.
The community-based project entitled “Breakthrough solutions for natural resource management and effective use of water” which is being implemented by BAIF with the support of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) in 25 villages of Khamgaon, Buldhana, Silvassa in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Kutch since 2019, has proved to be a boon for 12,243 farmers as it has led to conservation of 6.46 billion litres of water and saved 9.9 billion litres through suitable soil and water conservation measures, groundwater recharge and micro-irrigation systems such as drip and sprinkler irrigation systems. Crop diversification, improved agricultural practices on 8556 ha, vegetable cultivation and promotion of agri-horti-forestry have given a boost to the crop yield and income of farmers of Rs. 42 crores, while nurturing the environment.
In his address, President of BAIF, Dr. Bharat Kakade, highlighted the vulnerability of the communities – almost 60% of whom are dependent on agriculture which is again dependent on the vagaries of nature. BAIF is working on adaptation measures for building resilience and livelihood of 4 million families across about one lakh villages in various parts of the country, to fight against climate impact by reducing methane through livestock management and by reducing carbon emission through water, soil and crop management for ensuring natural resource management. He expressed his gratitude to HUL for their wholehearted support and to JSW and The Times of India for recognising the good work of BAIF.
