Strategic and sustained philanthropic approach is required to build climate resilience within agricultural systems. This involves direct investment in localized solutions and capacity building for long-term systemic change, with a focus on empowering smallholder farmers.
Farmers in places such as Odisha and Jharkhand, states with some of the lowest income farmers, face significant climate-induced challenges, including erratic monsoons, declining water tables, soil degradation, and pest proliferation. Initiatives that showcase the efficacy of providing local farmers with smart and regenerative agricultural practices.
This approach extends beyond immediate livelihood support to foster ecosystem regeneration, enhance local economic stability, and build agency within farming communities.
One of such case studies of Mamata Nayak, in Mandaguda village, Koraput district, showcase how upgraded infrastructure can help in efficient and timely processes. Mamata Nayak’s family were dependent on 3 acres of rain-fed farmland but through the interventions, she joined groups and received support for a dug well and solar pump. This intervention enabled year-round irrigation, unlocking the winter crop season for the first time.
Through her training, she learnt using indigenous, climate-resilient paddy varieties (e.g., Kalajeera, Lal Balsa, Basanti Chudi), organic pest management with bio-inputs, and post-harvest handling and market linkages.
On her 3-acre plot, Mamata now cultivates organic vegetables, including tomatoes, onions, gourds, watermelon, and cucumbers. This diversification ensures income across seasons and reduces climate risk.
Another such story belongs to Dasha Topno, in Banabira Beritoli village, Jharkhand, who struggled with conventional agriculture. After receiving lac cultivation training, he started with two ber trees in 2022. His first harvest yielded ₹20,000. With technical training, Dasha scaled his operations by renting 20 ber trees, adopting treated seed lac, using pesticide spraying via gator machine, and employing advanced harvesting tools. This led to a harvest of 210 kg of lac, generating ₹2,00,000 in revenue and a net profit of ₹80,000.
Dasha’s wife, Sushma Topno, also joined the movement, together, they are building a micro-ecosystem of circular farming, incorporating practices from vermicompost production to mixed cropping.
The Role of Strategic Philanthropy for Systemic Change
Such interventions, exemplified by the experiences of Mamata Nayak and Dasha Topno, are not isolated successes but replicable models for building agricultural resilience. The common factor is the alignment of strategic philanthropic capital with community-led action.
There is a need for future oriented philanthropic strategies to prioritise Long term Funding commitments, capacity building for grassroot organisations, data driven monitoring and through collaborative ecosystems.
Philanthropy can move beyond project funding to actively build scalable platforms that enable smallholder farmers to be central actors in climate resilience, contributing to a more secure and sustainable agricultural future.
Views of the author are personal and do not necessarily represent the website’s views.
Author of the above article Naghma Mulla serves as the CEO and Director of EdelGive Foundation, where she has dedicated over a decade to fostering collaborative philanthropy. Her mission is to democratise access to grants by bringing together government, business, philanthropic, and grassroots leaders to co-design ambitious projects. Her work emphasises creating solutions that integrate high accountability with measurable impact, particularly for smaller organisations striving for sustainability and serving the most marginalised and socially excluded communities in India. A chartered accountant by education, Naghma has leveraged her financial expertise to forge valuable partnerships with diverse stakeholders, both international and Indian.