Kumaraguru College of Technology – Ranveer Bhonsale – 2025
Summary
Ranveer Bhonsale strengthened climate-smart dairy adoption in Tamil Nadu by designing a composite Climate-Smart index (CSI) and documenting scalable farmer-led innovations.
Goals
As a Climate Corps Fellow with Kumaraguru Institutions, Ranveer Bhonsale focused on strengthening sustainable agriculture and future-proof dairy value chains in Tamil Nadu. His fellowship addressed the pressing challenge of low awareness and uneven adoption of climate-smart practices in dairy farming. The project aimed to evaluate the economic, environmental, and social benefits of climate-smart dairying while creating a Climate-Smart Index (CSI) to benchmark farmer performance and identify scalable pathways for sustainable dairy practices.
Solutions
Ranveer Bhonsale conducted extensive field research across 15 dairy farms, collecting both quantitative and qualitative data on animal health, nutrition, fodder management, water and energy efficiency, manure utilization, and farmer livelihoods. Using this data, he developed a Climate-Smart Index spanning ten key sustainability pillars. He additionally produced in-depth case studies, including Paal Dappa Dairy, Tribal Ooty Fresh, and Alva Dairy Farms, that highlighted innovative practices like biogas integration, indigenous breed conservation, and value-added dairy product development. By framing these insights within the triple bottom line framework, he demonstrated how climate-smart dairying can enhance profitability, strengthen resilience, and mitigate environmental impacts.
Potential Impact
The Fellowship outcomes equip Kumaraguru Institutions with a structured roadmap to engage farmers, policymakers, and industry stakeholders in scaling climate-smart dairying. If implemented, the recommendations could lower greenhouse gas emissions, improve resource efficiency, and increase farmer incomes, while also fostering consumer trust in sustainable dairy products. In the future, the analysis could serve as a foundation for policy advocacy in collaboration with TANUVAS and NDDB, potentially supporting the integration of climate-smart approaches into India’s dairy development initiatives.
