About Us
OUR HISTORY
FORWARD traces its roots to a tragic incident of farmer distress, when debt-driven suicides and land seizures shook poor tribal and dalit farmers. Sri Sebastian Lima’s confrontation with exploitative practices led to his imprisonment, but later inspired the formation of a farmers’ group that evolved into a registered NGO in 1995. Since then, FORWARD has dedicated itself to empowering small and marginal farmers, women, youth, and vulnerable groups through sustainable agriculture, research, and community-led initiatives. Guided by resilience and social justice, it works to combat hunger, malnutrition, and poverty with climate-resilient and inclusive development approaches..
Farmers Organisation for Research Welfare Agriculture and Rural Development (FORWARD) works to strengthen the agricultural community by combating hunger, malnutrition, and poverty through research-driven and field-based interventions. Its initiatives aim to enhance sustainability, productivity, and the nutritional value of crops. Under the Agricultural Greater Good Initiative, FORWARD partners with small and marginal farmers, women, and agricultural labourers, enabling them to adopt climate-resilient, nutrition-sensitive practices, improve household food security, diversify income sources, and build long-term community resilience.
OUR VISION , MISSION & GOAL
Vision
We envision, An Egalitarian, Empowered, Self-Reliant, Just, Peaceful, and Environmentally Sustainable Society with more accountable leadership.
Mission
To create grassroots development models that ensure sustainable livelihoods, food security, health, social enterprise, education and conservation of natural resources through direct field interventions, collective action and institutional support.
Aim
To facilitate process for creation of inclusive and equitable development of the most marginalized, vulnerable and socially excluded communities in the state of Odisha by the creation of organic agriculture development models through direct field interventions .
OUR STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
- Creating models of sustainable agriculture and livelihood options to improve the quality of lives of the poor marginalized and excluded.
- Facilitating gender justice, promoting and protecting rights and entitlements of women with dignity and participation of women in all spheres of life for an empowered, gender-sensitive and violence-free just society.
- Promoting and protecting rights and entitlements of children with demonstrated intervention models of child protection and care. Specific focus on Disability.
- Promoting collective action among CBOs and Civil Society Organizations by building capacities and technical expertise to effectively address the issues affecting the lives of women and children, both at the grassroots and policy level./li>
- Developing capacities of small farmers for efficient and effective functioning to become a centre of excellence on gender, child rights and protection and sustainable livelihood in a systemic, transparent and accountable work culture.
