Hyderabad: The FLO Hyderabad Centre of Excellence for Training Women in Modern Vegetable Farming marked a significant milestone with a Crop Showcase held on Saturday at Ravalkore Village near Medchal.
FLO Hyderabad launched in May this year ‘Centre of Excellence for Training Women Vegetable Farming’.
The initiative is to train women in cultivating, managing, and harvesting nearly 50 hybrid varieties of vegetables and greens. Now that they completed the one season of the crop, they showcased to the group of visitors from both the organizations the same, what they learnt and how they used those skills and what is the outcome etc
The Crop Showcase event was attended by Agripreneur Eatala Kshamita Reddy, FLO Hyderabad Initiative Mentor Shubhraa Maheshwari, FLO Past Chairperson, Manjula Reddy, and senior members from FLO.
The initiative, a collaboration between FLO Hyderabad Chapter and East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer Foundation, is empowering 100 women farmers from 16 villages with skills in commercial vegetable farming and entrepreneurship, fostering sustainable growth and economic independence in rural communities.
The project aims to build the technical skills of the women farmers, with a focus on advanced agricultural practices that will not only ensure better productivity and improved quality, but also the long-term sustainability of their farming efforts. In addition, the women are being imparted digital and financial literacy basics, go-to-market strategies, and sessions on thrift.
Talking about the ambitious initiative, Priya Gazdar, Chairperson, FLO Hyderabad, emphasised the project’s transformative impact. “Empowering women farmers means uplifting entire communities. Through this yearlong initiative, we are not only providing skills but also instilling confidence and economic agency among women, which is critical for driving inclusive growth. The confident smiles of our women farmers today has redoubled our determination to place the power of livelihood generation in their hands. Our train the trainer model means each of these women will be able to teach many more in their immediate communities. The cycle of learning, earning and teaching can thus go on… “
The Crop Showcase highlighted vegetables such as bottle gourd, bitter gourd, ridge gourd, okra, sweet corn, cauliflower, and marigold flowers — each carefully selected for its market value and sustainability. The East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer team has played a pivotal role in supporting and training the women farmers, ensuring the program’s success.
GC Shivakumar, Country General Manager of East-West Seed India, expressed his commitment to the collaboration. “Our mission has always been to help women farmers grow better crops and achieve better livelihoods. This partnership with FLO Hyderabad and the incredible dedication of our women farmers truly exemplifies the power of shared vision and relentless effort. We are deeply committed to creating lasting change.”
The Resilient Roots project of FLO Hyderabad – headed by UVL Ananda and supported by Samta Dharewa – all is set to continue its journey of growth, hope, and transformation, empowering more women farmers to become leaders in agriculture.