Agriculture accounts for more than 80% of the surface water used in India*, which adds to continuous depletion of groundwater. Deteriorating quality of drinking water is another major concern in rural areas. FMC India remains committed in its endeavor to enhance stakeholders’ sensitivity towards water stewardship issues. It promotes efficient and sustainable methods to optimize water use and improve quality of drinking water in rural areas.
With its multi-year program – SAMARTH, FMC India is empowering rural communities through advancing water stewardship, which in turn enhances their quality of life. 'Samarth' is a Hindi word that means Empowered. The 3 main foundations of the program are - Water for Health, Water Conservation & Per Drop More Crop.
Project Samarth started its journey from Uttar Pradesh in 2019 and today has been expanded to other states also. Below are some of the highlights of the program –
HIGHLIGHTS PHASE 1, 2019
- 15 Water Filtration Plants installed in Uttar Pradesh, with a capacity to filter 2000 liters per hour; 48KL per day.
- Addressing the safe potable water needs of around 40000 farmer families in 60 beneficiary villages served by the plants.
- Dispensing units are controlled by swipe cards.
- Each beneficiary family is allotted a swipe card that entitles them to 20-liter drinking water per day.
- The plants are managed by village communities themselves. FMC field staff supports local communities on training and management.
HIGHLIGHTS PHASE 2, 2020
- 18 new community Water filtration plants installed in Uttar Pradesh.
- 9 new community Water Filtration plants installed in Punjab.
- 80,000 farmer families across 100 villages targeted to be served.
- Dispensing units are controlled by swipe cards.
- Each Family gets a swipe card with 20-liter water allocation per day.
- FMC staff supports local communities on training and management.
PLANS 2021
- Project to be expanded to 5 new states, besides Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.
- 30 new community water filtration plants to be commissioned in need assessed locations in rural India.
PROMOTING WATER STEWARDSHIP
- FMC celebrated World Water Day 2021 on February 22, 2021 promoting water stewardship through 400+ farmer meetings across 18 states, reaching out to more than 14000 farming communities.
- FMC improved water use intensity by 26% at its Panoli manufacturing site in FY2021.
Samarth, will be expanded with added dimensions in 2021 also. Watch this space for more.