Bhoomgadi Mahila Krishi Utpadak Sangathan
Jagdalpur, Chattisgarh
Rohini Nayyar Prize Winner 2023
Deenanath Rajput
Deenanath Rajput, 33, led the establishment of a women-only Farmers’ Producer Organisation (FPO) in Jagdalpur, Bastar, Chhattisgarh in 2018. Bastar is a Naxal-affected, backward area and classified as an aspirational district by the Government of India. The FPO began with a membership of 337 tribal women. Since then, its membership has grown to 6,100 tribal women in four districts. Mr. Rajput’s work has involved providing agricultural extension services to women farmers, building a cold storage infrastructure, connecting them with national and international markets for their produce, and helping them diversify into value-added products like pickles. His work has transformed the lives of tribal women and their families in a disadvantaged geography of India.