SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Philosophy
Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) has always believed in the mantra ‘simple living and high thinking’. Thus sustainability has always been in the background of all of NARI’s work. Apart from its work in agriculture, renewable energy and animal husbandry, NARI has also been actively formulating and spreading ideas on sustainable development. A few examples are – Conceptualizing a model for sustainable rural restaurants, envisaging a second green revolution through precision agriculture, investigating what should be the true price of farm produce etc. NARI staff have published over 30 articles on sustainable development in major academic journals, newspapers and magazines in the past two decades.
sustainable practices
NARI has been using sustainable practices for reducing energy consumption and managing waste in the institute campus. A windmill-powered pump is used to fill the overhead water tank. The drinking water for all the staff is purified by the solar water purifier developed by the institute. Also, the distilled water for use in chemistry laboratory is produced by a solar still. In the summer months, a green shade-net and wet gunny sacks on the rooftop of the main buildings provide excellent passive cooling at one tenth the cost of an air conditioner. All the agricultural residues and other organic wastes are put in pits and when composted used as manure in NARI fields.
bajaj CentrE for sustainable development
Bajaj Centre for Sustainable Development (BCSD) is a self-contained facility on NARI’s main campus. It is a venue for educational seminars on sustainable development, spirituality and the various areas of research in which NARI is involved. BCSD was designed to minimize its environmental footprint. Thus it is equipped with rainwater harvesting system, solar photovoltaic panels to power the pump for filling water in the overhead tank, solar water heaters for the guest accommodation, evaporative roof cooling for summer months (powered by solar pump), natural lighting and ventilation. Also, all the kitchen waste goes to the composting pit and all the waste water after passing through the septic tank goes into nearby fields for irrigation.
compost pit at NARI
Windmill at NARI
Dr. Anil Rajvanshi giving a talk on sustainability
