MSSRF Wins HDFC Bank’s Parivartan Excellence Award 2026 for Integrated Rural Development Initiative in Kerala

The M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) has won the national-level Parivartan Excellence Award 2026 for its Holistic Rural Development Project, implemented in the districts of Wayanad and Idukki, Kerala.

The award recognises development initiatives demonstrating strong programme design, effective implementation, measurable outcomes and sustained social impact. MSSRF’s project emerged as a winner following a highly competitive national evaluation process involving more than 130 projects.

Implemented across 20 villages in Wayanad and Idukki, MSSRF’s three-year project placed the region's spice economy at the centre of an integrated rural development approach, reaching more than 5,000 farmers and 1,139 women. The project connected scientific spice cultivation and access to quality planting materials with processing, value addition, branding and market access, while also addressing natural resource management, livelihood diversification, education, waste management and community infrastructure.

Small and marginal farmers, tribal communities, women, youth and farmer collectives were central to the initiative. Community nurseries, demonstration and conservation plots, bio-input production, decentralised spice-processing enterprises and market linkages helped strengthen the local spice value chain. This project also supported enterprises in areas including mushroom cultivation, apiculture, poultry, dairy value addition and food processing.

The Erattayar Waste Management Model is one of MSSRF’s notable achievements under this project. This community-led initiative improved waste-management infrastructure and the livelihoods of members of Haritha Karma Sena — a Kerala state government initiative, targeting sanitation and waste management.

This model received national recognition in the Economic Survey 2024–2025 as an example of sustainable development and community empowerment.