61,000 fruit saplings in a single day

On 2 October 2019 the grounds of Rohilkhand University in Bareilly filled with farming families. In a single day, 61,000 fruit saplings were distributed to 5,215 villagers at one of the largest camps the Vriksh Mitra–Gram Mitra Abhiyan has organised. More than 2,000 people from Bareilly city were also invited to join the programme.

The camp was part of our largest project to date: in 2019–20, with CSR support from ONGC, 98,800 saplings of jackfruit, litchi, custard apple, mulberry, falsa, guava, lemon, ber, karonda and grafted mango reached 10,522 families across Bareilly, Mathura, Sonbhadra, Kasganj and Sikandra Rao.

Every family left with a packet of saplings and a promise to protect them — and as the trees come into fruit, they bring better nutrition, extra income and more green cover to their villages.