FROM A MODEST BEGINNING TO AN INSTITUTIONALIZED INITIATIVE: UTKAL ALUMINA’S SUGANDHA PROJECT SHOWS THE WAY
Badal Tah,Odishabarta
Rayagada, August 8: As a unit of Hindalco Industries of Aditya Birla Group, Utkal Alumina International Limited(AIL)’s novel strategy of convergence has witnessed smiles in the faces of most impoverished farmers in the peripheries of this company. As a responsible corporate citizen and driven by the constant motivation to give it back to society, in Odisha, the Aditya Birla Group reaches out to more than 5 lacs people touching more than 2 lacs people’s lives in the 128 villages of five districts. The Group’s CSR programmes are being executed bythe Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development chaired by Mrs Rajashree Birla, whose vision is to actively contribute to the social and economic development of the communities in which we operate. In doing so, build a better, sustainable way of life for the weaker sections of society and raise the country’s human development index.
Rayagada district has shown the way regarding sustainable projects like Sugandha to be replicated elsewhere. To make best utilisation of not so fertile uplands & bring value addition to the agro-products, the 1st lemon grass oil extraction unit was jointly inaugurated by UAIL Mazhar Beig and Deputy Director of Horticulture(DDH) at Sorisapadar village in Rayagada district. The transition of subsistence farming to commercial cultivation for small and marginal farmers in and around Tikiri in Rayagada District, has now become a reality with UAIL driving the change from the front through its initiative “Project Sugandha”. This journey by UAIL, which took off in 2018, has marked a positive difference in the income level for the beneficiaries too.
The initial hesitancy to adopt a new crop is gone as the farmers had not been sure about the profit. Now, they are a more confident lot, with 102 farmers earning more than Rs 29 lacs by selling lemon grass oil. That’s only one part. The project has also played a key role in boosting employment, generating substantial labour days for the locals.
A classic case is Sri Nursingh Dishari of Nuagaon village. “I have never ever had this amount of money in my hand at any point in time,” he says, pointing to his income of Rs 17,277 through sale of lemon grass oil.
Speaking on this Mr Mazhar Beig, the unit head of UAIL says, “Under this project, we offer end to end assistance to the farmers, ranging from cultivation of lemon grass, value addition to marketing of lemon grass oil – all under one roof. The pilot programme has indeed come a long way, which now covers 16 villages, 147 farmers and 198 acres in 2020-21, a huge improvement from just 1 village, 12 farmers and 20 acres in 2018-19.”
To ramp up productivity of lemon grass, the farmers are provided with quality inputs like seeds, fertilizer and pesticides, agro-advisory services and irrigation facilities through government convergence. For value addition, two oil extraction units — one each at Jogiparitunda and Sorisapadar – do the job. On top of all this, the company is instrumental in holding farmers-traders meet for better realization of income and sale of lemon grass oil at the farmer’s doorstep.
“After turning around the lives of the local farmers for the better over the past two years, the project is going places, with the company replicating the business model in adjacent villages. We have planned to take this programme to 276 farmers, 32 villages and 350 acres with 3 Oil extraction units in coming days,” adds Mr Beig. He further reiterates that the success story of Project Sugandha speaks volumes about their CSR goal of promoting sustainable livelihood and has set an example for others to replicate.
