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| Dedicated Services to Rural Development |
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| Realising that livestock was a degraded liability and threat to the environment, he developed a programme to promote crossbreeding, using the non-descript cow as a seed bed. He was responsible for introduction of frozen semen technology for providing efficient livestock breeding services in the field. This has helped in stall feeding of cattle and conservation of forests, while providing gainful employment to rural people. He demonstrated that with three crossbred cows, a poor family can lead a sustainable livelihood. Today frozen technology has been successfully adapted throughout the country, enabling millions of rural poor to ensure their food security. |
| Realising that livestock was a degraded liability and threat to the environment, he developed a programme to promote crossbreeding, using the non-descript cow as a seed bed. He was responsible for introduction of frozen semen technology for providing efficient livestock breeding services in the field. This has helped in stall feeding of cattle and conservation of forests, while providing gainful employment to rural people. He demonstrated that with three crossbred cows, a poor family can lead a sustainable livelihood. Today frozen technology has been successfully adapted throughout the country, enabling millions of rural poor to ensure their food security. |
| With a view to address the problem of water shortage in arid and semi-arid regions, he promoted lift irrigation schemes, as a part of the drought relief programme. Lift irrigation is popular in Maharashtra even today |
| As an extension of wastelands, he promoted agri-horti-forestry for rehabilitation of poor families belonging to scheduled tribes. This programme popularly known as wadi, has become a role model, widely recognised in India and abroad. This programe presently benefiting over 1.25 lakh families has demonstrated the viability to provide sustainable livelihood to small farmers without destructing the green cover. |
| He emphasized he need for empowering the rural women for ensuring sustainable livelihood and better quality of life. |
| Manibhai promoted the development of People's Organisations at the grass-root level to support their own development programmes in close association with the Gram Panchayats. |
| Manibhai pioneered Rural Development Movement through sustainable use of natural resources. Today, it is because of his initiative that over 1.5 million families have benefited to come out of poverty through dairy husbandry, water resources development agroforestry, women empower and tribal rehabilitation. He has inspired thousands of youth to join has mission to uplift the rural poor. He has sensitised the corporate world to take up rural development as their social obligation and influenced the policy makers to support voluntary agencies to for mobilizing the rural communities to sustain their livelihood. |
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