Spowdi, SEWA sign 5-year pact to to introduce smart farming among women small-holding farmers
Spowdi, a green-tech company driving the evolution of agriculture and small-hold farms by powering drip irrigation with the help of the sun, and SEWA (Self-Employed Women’s Association), an association of informal workers with 2.5 million women as members across India, have signed a five-year agreement to introduce smart farming to women small-holding farmers in India. The collaborative effort will be carried out under the “Water Drop” initiative phase 2.
A media statement said the ‘Water Drop’ initiative is a multi-partner effort to enable small-hold farmers to transform their farming practices into smart farming, grow more food in less water and become more profitable.
It said the announcement comes after the successful completion of phase 1 of the initiative, where Spowdi and SEWA provided smart farming technology and training to SEWA grassroots members in four State.
Phase 2 initiative
Quoting Reemaben Nanavaty, Director of SEWA, the statement said: “The Water Drop initiative of Smart Farming Alliance is very much aligned with SEWA’s Swacch Aakash Campaign, where our mission is to work for creating more green livelihoods, and creating clean air, clean water, and cleaner skies for the next generation. This will help build the resilience of poor women workers, including small farmers in the rural areas of India. It will generate green livelihood. SEWA will be a green union. We look forward to strengthening the partnership with Spowdi.”
As a part of phase 2 of the ‘Water Drop’ initiative, SEWA members will receive training in smart farming best practices. This gives them the opportunity to become certified smart farming entrepreneurs and manage last-mile distribution of smart farming technology as impact centre managers, the statement said.
Stating that women are crucial contributors to food production, Henrik Johansson, Chief Executive Officer of Spowdi, said: “We are happy to collaborate with SEWA and introduce smart farming technology to tens of thousands of SEWA sisters. We see SEWA sisters as businesswomen or entrepreneurs who can transform the global food production system. To adopt smart farming technology, they require kickstart support like any other entrepreneur. Hence, we welcome grantees and CSRs to be a part of this transformative initiative.”