Changing lives needs just a powerful thought –  “Lighting up farmer’s lives” an initiative by Mahadhan to help curb road accidents

• Maharashtra is second highest sugarcane producing state in India
• Farmers mostly use bullock carts to transport their produce
• These farmers travel post sunset to transport their produce and face fatal accidents due to speeding trucks and cars
• According to a recent NCRB study, every year over 100 farmers in India lose their cattle and crops due to accidents at night
• Major loss of life or serious injuries incurred by farmers and their bullocks and damage to crops and loss of revenues

Thursday, Pune 10th March, 2016:Observing this challenge, Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd (DFPCL) which has strong hold in Maharashtra with its much established fertilizer brand “Mahadhan” decided to take up an initiative that would provide solution making real life changing impact for the farmers and eventually their families.

Together with their creative agency, Xebec Communication, DFPCL came up with the simple, yet smart idea of “Lighting up farmers’ lives”. To do so, the bullock carts were installed with battery operated LED strips that would be lit when the farmer is plying the highway in the night. The cart was then visible from a distance in the night, thereby reducing the risk of accidents. The concept turned out to be simple, cost effective while successfully addressing the challenge of poor lighting on highways and roads for typically those 4-5months when the crop needs to be transported. The approximate cost for lighting up one bullock cart was around Rs. 2000 and one such installation was sufficient to typically last for eight to nine months.

“Some of the accidents have dented the lives of the entire family as the main bread earner lost his life. We felt that there was a dire need to address this issue immediately and approached various agencies to come up with a solution that could help in avoiding accidents”, Mr. Arvind Kulkarni, Vice President Agri Sales DFPCL.

The initiative currently is in its test phase, and is being piloted in Daund, a small taluka near Pune, where sugarcane is one of the primary crop. The feedback from the farmers and more importantly their families has been nothing short of inspiring and heartwarming, encouraging us to do more.

Mr. Kulkarni further added, “Maharashtra farmers have been vulnerable to various natural and man-made calamities. This is a small step to salvage a situation that has huge social and financial impact. We need more corporate houses to take up such initiatives that will help the farmers lead a better and safer life.”