Indian Grameen Services @ 25 –

Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods:

Learning from the Field

Indian Grameen Services

and
The Livelihood School
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in this publication are the views of the case authors and not necessarily those of the Indian Grameen Services
Acknowledgement
We gratefully acknowledge the valuable and generous financial and technical support of our partners, advisory committee
members, writeshop participants and production staff.

Partners
We acknowledge the support of The Livelihood School (TLS) and BASIX Academy for Livelihood and MicroBanking
Practice (B-A-LAMP). We are also thankful to Ford Foundation for sponsoring part of the writeshop.
How this resource book was produced
This resource book consists of a compilation of proven experiences that are totally field-derived.This book is the result of a
participatory writeshop process conducted on January 23 – 28, 2012 at Agragami India; 1/A, Vivekanand Marg, North S.K.
Puri, Boring Road, Patna,Bihar. Forty five participants including production team and logistics staff from across India
worked closely with a production team of editors, artists and desktop publishing staff.

The design of the writeshop and the entire facilitation was done by Dr. S. S. Tabrez Nasar with valuable technical inputs and
process support coming from the core team: Mihir Sahana; Sachin Mardikar and Kaushiki Rao.

Prior to the writeshop, an initial list of topics was developed by the steering committee. A set of guidelines for developing
the first draft papers was drafted and sent to the participants.

During the writeshop, each participant presented his or her first draft with the help of an LCD projector. The
author/presenter was asked to read it verbatim – the idea behind this being that the 'reader' will not have the opportunity to
get explained by the author/presenter. Copies of the draft papers were also provided to all participants who critiqued the
draft and suggested revisions. This was the key to improve the cases as the discussions that happened after each
presentation took into account suggestions and critiquing. So, while the author/presenter presented his/her experiences
and thoughts, it was actually improved largely with this critiquing process.

After the first presentation, an editor-artist team helped the author revise and edit the draft and draw illustrations to
accompany the text. The edited draft and artwork were then desktop published to produce a second draft.

Each participant then presented his or her revised draft to the group for the second time, also using LCD projection.
However, on this occasion, what was being presented was in the form of the desired layout for the book. This helped the
audience to critique it at a different level who again suggested revisions. After the presentation, the editors, artists and
desktop publishing staff again helped the author revise the material and develop the third draft. At the end of the writeshop,
the drafts were put on display for review and sign off by the authors.

Throughout the writeshop, the participants worked together in informal groups to discuss and improve the manuscripts.
Although the principal authors are listed on each paper in this resource book, all the papers benefitted from a critical
review by participants.

Comments were made during the writeshop and subsequently thereafter during special reviews that many conferences
and meetings do not provide enough of an opportunity for healthy and constructive critique. The views presented in this
publication remain those of the authors (whose names appear at the end of each article). The fact that the reader is
presented with a diversity of viewpoints and perspectives, make portions of this resource book of relevance to a wider
range of development practitioners, local government officials and academic institutions.

After the writeshop, a semi-final draft was reviewed by the advisory committee members namely Sankar Datta, Arijit
Datta, N V Ramana, Hemanth Valvekar, Sachin Mardikar, Kaushiki Rao, Tabrez Nasar and Mihir Sahana. The writeshop
design and subsequent reviews benefited greatly from inputs from members of the advisory committee. However special
mention must be made of a few individuals who provided strategic inputs during the entire process. Without their inputs
this publication would not have been realized: Mr. Vijay Mahajan; Dr. Sankar Datta; Mr. NV Ramana; Sachin Mardikar; Mihir
Sahana; Tabrez Nasar; Kaushiki Rao and Arijit Dutta.

Special thanks go to Barna Baibhaba Panda and Sanjib Sarangi for finally editing it and making the cases look uniform.

Very special acknowledgments are due to Ford Foundation for sponsoring part of the case writeshop.

The partners in this documentation effort encourage wide use of these materials.There is no copyright. Feel free to use the
materials in advocacy, training, planning and field-support work. Consider using in newsletters and newspapers (including
presenting the materials in serialized forms) after acknowledging the original authors and the co-publishers of the
resource book.

We all realize the value and need for upscaling our efforts: this publication could potentially feature prominently in any
effort to broaden the opportunities for improved livelihoods for the poor, based on the careful use of these experiences.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
How this resource book was produced

Institution Building 1
1. Milk or Not to Milk:The Dairy Intervention in Jharkhand 3
2. Sustainable Co-operative:The Koutla-B MACS Success Story 11
3. Changing lives of women in urban slums of Indore 15
4. Women Power Unlimited: The story of group owned enterprise 21
5. Reorienting Outlook, realigning structure 27
6. Empowering Gram Sabha to reduce poverty 33
7. Coir Power in within Women SHGs 39

Lab to Land Solutions 43

1. So(y) Responsible! 45
2. Behtar Nasl, Sunhera Kal 53
3. SRI Se Samruddhi 59
4. Promoting Sustainable Agriculture in Koraput 67
5. Reviving a Diversion-based Irrigation System 73
6. Large Potential of Small Scale Fisheries: A model from Banswara, Rajasthan 79
7. Bio-organic Aquaculture for Livelihood Support 85
8. Will only Microfinance Do? 91
9. Crafting Zari, lifting Standard 95
10. Empowering Village Economy: A case of Kandhamal 99
11. Backyard Poultry: A better option for the poor 105
12. Ensuring money in emergency 109
13. Promoting Credit plus approach 113
14. Half way out-of-the cocoon 117
Table of Contents
Market Based Initiatives 123
1. Beyond Microfinance:Potato Contract Farming in Jharkhand 125
2. Market Linkages and Livelihood Promotion in Rural Economy 133
3. Facilitating grounded solutions for the farmers 139
4. Thar Mein Rozgar 145
5. Making best out of waste 149

Financial Inclusion 157

1. Land rights to livelihoods by promoting a community based MFI 159
2. Towards an order out of chaos 169
3. Establishing an irrigation system through Livelihood Financing 173
4. Bank on Me:Lessions from Financial Inclusion Initiatives 179

Conservation and Livelihoods 187

1. The ‘Resettled Livelihoods’ : Rehabilitation and Resettlement of Melghat Tribals 189
2. Restoring Livelihoods, Reviving a relation 197
3. Promoting Livelihoods, Preserving Forest 203
4. Birds and People: The Mangal(a)jodi 207
INSTITUTION BUILDING

1
 INSTITUTION BUILDING
Institution building is an important strategic option exercised by livelihood promoting organisations to
influence livelihoods. Institutions facilitate effective collective action, generate confidence among the
members, invite attention of the world outside, bestow a sense of power amongst the participants and
enable better terms of trade while transacting in the marketplace. It is all the more important when the
target group/beneficiaries/clients are poor. Lack of confidence and powerlessness are cited as two
major factors hindering participation of the poor in development programmes and consequently failing
to benefit from the same.

IGS has over the years used building, trusting and empowering local community institutions as a key
element of its strategy to support and promote livelihoods. Institutions of people that are effective and
participatory often form the bedrock of successful livelihood interventions. Seven interventions that
focus on institution building route to promote livelihoods of women, poor and marginalized sections of
society are included in this publication in the form of case studies. In Jharkhand, cooperatives of dairy
farmers were thought of as appropriate institutions to enable better returns by catering to the demand
for fresh milk in households of Ranchi. Though social dynamics impeded the emergence of properly
functioning cooperatives in the two project villages, the process of formation, the role of various players,
the incentives and motivations of various stakeholders and the collaborations forged offer immense
lessons. On the other hand Koutla B mutually aided cooperative society is a case of farmers
successfully running an institution of their own for almost a decade. In the process, they have benefited
from lower input costs, better output linkages, and access to credit and appropriate technology for their
crops. The case of Aparajita focuses on building the capacity of women slum dwellers to enable them to
establish and run a community based micro finance institution. The case highlights the need for proper
orientation of the leadership and continuous engagement on the part of the facilitating agency to guide
the change process. SHG federations coming together to form and run a multi layered community
based retail enterprise are discussed in the case titled Women Power Unlimited. However the
dependence on staff for day to day operations and premature withdrawal of staff due to the closure of
the project shows the inadequacies of the institutional model for the purpose. The case of Women
Development Corporation Bihar is about organizational reengineering to fulfill a sacred mandate. A full
fledged transformation involving structural changes at various levels, bringing in ownership and a
revenue model was attempted in a govt. owned body. In Madhya Pradesh Rural Livelihoods Project,
IGS worked with Panchayatiraj institutions namely gram sabha for better livelihood outcomes of
existing govt. programmes like MGNREGA. Capacity building of the gram sabha members enabling
better participation of women and other marginalized groups and operation of gram kosh are the key
features of the intervention. Bandhu attempted to organize women from landless households around a
skill and enabled them to earn more money and respect.

It may be noticed that various institutional forms have been adopted in different contexts. These forms
demanded different levels of engagement on the part of IGS. In some cases it has directly worked and
promoted producers’ cooperatives. In some other, it worked with already existing SHGs and their
federations and enabled them to acquire appropriate legal form to suit their needs. These cases offer a
range of choices to a potential livelihood promoter and the experiences relating to each choice.

2
 To Milk or Not to Milk
The Dairy Intervention in Jharkhand
- Mihir Sahana

This case shows how a well designed intervention in the dairy sub sector can go astray.
The lessons from this story are crucial in understanding what makes for a successful dairy
intervention and project exit.

Context infrastructure and support system. Except in a few

Indian Grameen Services(IGS) with financial support pockets, individual milk producers reached only a limited
from an UN development agency undertook a study in the portion of the market, since there were no functioning milk
state of Jharkhand in the year 2003 and identified dairy as cooperatives and established milk routes. Further,
one of the potential sub-sectors which, if developed, could farmers had never received proper training in
promote a large number of rural livelihoods there. The key entrepreneurial skills in general and knowledge about
constraint identified during the study was high cost of dairy in particular. Finally, the effective available credit
production of milk and consequent low profit margin per from banks was extremely limited. The combined result of
litre of milk produced. As a result, despite high demand for all these factors was the high cost of production of milk,
milk and milk products, Jharkhand farmers were reluctant which came to as much as Rs7-7.25 /litre.
to take up dairy as an income generating activity.
The state dairy federation, COMFED popularly known by
The study revealed that low animal productivity was one of its brand name SUDHA, paid Rs.9.50-10.50/litre, based
the major problems faced by the farmers of Jharkhand. on fat and SNF content/kg for cow milk. SUDHA is the
Average yield per animal in the state was 0.49 litres per largest dairy in Jharkhand, selling more then 60 thousand
day, whereas the national average was 2.78 litres per day. litres of milk per day to meet the local demand in and
Per capita milk availability in Jharkhand was only 50 around Ranchi. Data from SUDHA Dairy showed that,
grams against the recommended requirement of 220 due to the under developed dairy sector in Jharkhand,
grams per capita. The factors responsible for low they were not able to procure more than 6,000-9, 000 liters
productivity included poor genetic potential of milk yield of milk per day from Jharkhand. They met the shortfall by
of the available breeds and limited availability of fodder procuring milk from milk surplus states like Bihar, Odisha
due to lack of irrigation facilities in the state. The factor and Anand, the milk centre in Gujarat.
responsible for low market penetration was poor/missing

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Designing the Intervention But the question remained - why would a farmer opt for
Under the same UN project and based on the study, IGS dairy if it were not remunerative? On one side, dairy was a
took up an action research project to develop a model for sector where market was not a problem, production was,
possible intervention in the dairy sub-sector for promoting and hence a large number of sustainable livelihoods could
livelihoods in Jharkhand. The project duration was 12 be promoted due to this wide gap between demand and
months with manpower and project costs of INR 1.5 supply. On the other side, people did not take up dairy, as it
million, with the possibility of arranging further funding was not remunerative for them at all. Designing a model
from the same donor or new donors. which could bring down this gap was the challenge
for IGS.
The project started in January 2004 with the objective of
promoting dairy farming in Mandar and Burmu talukas of Around the same time, some trainees from XISS, Ranchi,
Ranchi district and set up a marketing mechanism. The did a market survey where they studied the consumers'
Project Manager of Jharkhand, Sanjay Sinha placed preferences for different types of milk. They found that the
Rohit Kumar, a young, energetic graduate from a premier home segment had a strong preference for farm-fresh cow
management institute based in Bhopal, as leader of the milk compared to pouched milk supplied by SUDHA.
dairy action research in Ranchi. Although they were getting adulterated milk from khatals,
they were buying it as they had no other option. For pure
IGS, with its experience in dairy sub sector, planned the farm fresh milk they were ready to pay a higher price.
intervention in Jharkhand the way it had done in Andhra
Pradesh(AP). In AP, IGS has already collaborated with This study gave a spin to the entire action research. The
APDDCF as a channel for marketing where as the input action research team felt that the farmers could be offered
support in the form of credit and technical expertise to the a better price if they were directly linked with the home
farmers was provided by IGS. After three long years of segment and this way it would be remunerative for the
continuous work with the farmers in AP, IGS came up with farmers to take up dairy in a big way. To promote a large
a model that could be replicated elsewhere for promoting number of sustainable livelihoods in Jharkhand through
a large number of sustainable livelihoods and at the same dairy, it was very important to show the farmers that dairy
time can generate revenue. was a remunerative business. For this, it was necessary to
offer them a better price, which would have a demonstra-
Rohit initiated dialogues with SUDHA Dairy, the state tion effect. More farmers would come in, which would help
dairy cooperative federation, which promoted the AMUL in up-scaling, and then working on inputs would be
pattern of cooperatives, for the purpose of marketing; they possible. Based on this assumption, the team felt that IGS
agreed to be a partner in marketing support. They could handhold the villagers to form a cooperative and
proposed to intervene in Mandar and Burmu blocks where help them establish a market channel for farm-fresh milk.
they had their coverage. After quite a number of visits to
the villages, the IGS team found that taking up dairy as a Identification of potential dairy clusters and selection
source of livelihood was not a viable option for farmers as of villages
the costs of inputs were too high to make the activity This was a question of selling farm-fresh milk, and since
profitable. Those practicing dairy were of the opinion that milk had a very short shelf life, the preference was for
dairy was not contributing to their livelihood; rather it was selection of villages close to the city (Market). To fulfill this
only pleasure and religious faith that pushed them to keep criterion three dairy clusters were identified – Kanke,
at least one milch animal, besides meeting their house- Ormanjhi and Aerodrome area, all close to Ranchi city.
hold requirements at the most in certain months of the Ormanjhi was rejected for the action research being the
year. The scenario was such that one person who had farthest among the three potential clusters. Aerodrome
taken up dairy on a large scale was even planning to area was a good dairy cluster but was too close to the city
downscale the activity. and the farmers could manage their sales in the city on
their own. Finally, Kanke comprising three potential dairy
While designing the dairy intervention in Jharkhand, IGS villages, namely Boreya, Hochar and Sukurhuttu, was
concluded that there were only two options available. selected.
l Reduce cost of production of milk or increase price
realized /litre of milk. Increasing price in this model Once the cluster was selected, the next question was
was not possible as SUDHA Dairy was paying the which village? Preliminary visits were made to all the three
national rate; moreover, Jharkhand was one among villages. Among those, Sukurhuttu was not given priority,
several states where price was kept high compared to as it was having relatively less potential. Hochar was very
some other states. good in terms of average daily milk production, but
l The other option, i.e. cost reduction in the form of SUDHA Dairy was already operating there. Some private
fodder cultivation, etc., could be taken up; but they dairies had already cheated dairy farmers of Hochar.
soon realized that for this to happen, a scale was Hence there was a lot of resistance on the part of the
required which could be attained only if there was villagers to go for this new concept of IGS. It was not
cattle induction on a large scale. possible to work there at that point of time. Boreya was

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 To Milk or Not to Milk:The Dairy Intervention in Jharkhand

finally selected for reasons like good connectivity by road, take up the responsibility of running the dairy cooperative.
interest of farmers and a fairly good quantity production of
milk, though not as high as Hochar. At this point the Dairy Development Department of the
state govt., having learned that IGS was doing something
Introduction to the village: Boreya in dairy, approached IGS and extended a collaborative
Boreya is around 15 km from Ranchi city, well connected hand. It offered to work on cost reduction of inputs; one
by road to the main town. It was a big village with two main possible path was the state loan-cum-subsidy scheme,
hamlets, namely Boreya and Arsandey. The village had which aimed at reducing the cost of cattle through
around 480 households, 40% belonging to the tribals, provision of subsidy. This idea was shared with the women
followed by Sahus, Tiwaris, Muslims and then Mahtos. too and people became enthusiastic to be able to buy
Other groups, like Nayak and Kesari, accounted for a very cattle at 50% subsidy. Lured by this subsidy, many others
small number. The average family size ranged from 4-6 without cattle also showed interest in joining the coopera-
members. The village was quite well off, both in material tive. There was lot of confusion among the members as to
and non-material parameters. Literacy level was quite whether the cooperative was meant for selling milk or
high but higher education had been pursued by only a getting cows through Dairy Development Department
small number as people go for employment at a very early (DDD). This confusion was however sorted out by clearly
age. The majority of the houses were pucca; the earthen mentioning that the overall aim of the project i.e. income-
houses that existed belonged to tribal families and some generation through improving the local dairy industry and
other marginalized sections. However, land holding is one way to achieve the same is to get better price for their
pretty good. Since agriculture was rain fed, paddy was produce while another is to improve the herds through the
mainly grown in the kharif season; in the Rabi season, the DDD subsidy scheme.
main crop was vegetable, which is sold in the nearby
markets. Formation of Shree Madan Mohan Mahila Doodh
Sahakari Samiti (SMMMDSS)
Nearly 65% of the people belonged to the service class. The women's cooperative was formed in the name of
People were mostly working in Birsha Agriculture SMMMDSS in the month of April 2004; it was named
University (BAU), Ranchi Veterinary College (RVC), Shree Madan Mohan because the dominant Tiwari family
Bacon factory and government offices. Dairy was not the of Boreya used this name everywhere.
primary activity, though a few households are engaged in
it on a large scale. However as per the estimation, nearly Collaboration with Ranchi Kshetriya Grameen Bank
30% of the households had dairy as the secondary source (RKGB)
of income. In April 2004, DDD conducted a training session for the
members of SMMMDSS, which was attended by some
Caste dynamics played an important role in the village. bank officials, along with the Chairman of RKGB. The
Although in terms of numbers, the tribals were in a chairman was approached for lending cows to the
majority, it was the Tiwaris (a brahmin Caste) who ruled villagers under the government scheme. Though, initially
the village, followed by the Sahus. The tribal, Nayak, resistant to the idea of promoting dairy, he finally agreed to
Muslim and Kesari communities had no say in the go ahead after being convinced by the Managing Director
decision making of the village. The village activities were of IGS, with whom he had a good professional relation-
basically governed by village politics dominated by the ship. The Managing Director of IGS assured him of good
upper caste. work on dairy in the future.

Implementation Milk collection and distribution

Finally after concept sharing, the operations started in the
Concept sharing with the villagers month of May 2004. Milk was sold in the name of
Once Boreya was selected as the village for intervention, 'DoodhGanga'. The initial volume of 16 litres per day
some resource persons were identified and approached increased to 80 liters per day by the end of the month. The
at the first level. As the response was positive, Rohit and membership also increased to 45 members by the end of
his team conducted a series of meetings in which farmers the month. Milk was distributed in steel cans but the
seemed to agree with the concept and formed a male co- logistics involved in distributing cans were difficult and
operative. But it was an institution by name only. The time consuming. The steel cans purchased were heavy,
producers were ready to sell their milk through the too heavy when filled with milk for one person to lift and
institution, but not ready to invest time and effort in it. The distribute milk at the door steps. Search for an alternative
institution was formed but it was found that it completely started at this point to make the distribution system more
lacked the spirit of co-operation essential for its growth efficient. The alternatives for milk distribution were two –
and sustenance. While working with the male cooperative either bottle the milk or use plastic pouches. A pouch-
in Boriya, IGS team discovered that some women SHGs filling machine was a costly affair, nor was it budgeted. The
existed there. That available platform was approached second option was bottling the milk. For bottles, there
and the women agreed to form an institution that would were two options – either use a glass bottle or use food

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

The entire range of activities from collecting milk at the

village level, to weighing, recording, testing and packag-
ing was done by IGS contractual employees (LPAs) with
the support of one or two cooperative members. Lack of
community participation was serious even at this point.
The assumption IGS team took was that as the business
became lucrative, farmers would slowly become active
and would participate in managing the dairy business on
their own, both in terms of logistics arrangements and in
handling the financial aspects. The project team also
recommended that the farmers be given a price higher
then the normal market rate @11.50 /litre and that IGS
bear the initial overhead cost of doing the whole business.
Their thinking was based on a calculation which is
enclosed in Annexure I. Since farmers were getting an
assured price with no extra burden of sales (which IGS
was doing on behalf of the cooperative), people continued
to supply milk to the cooperative and the volume reached
grade plastic bottles (preferably PEARLPET). The 300 litres/day.
probability of breakage was high in the case of the former,
so PEARLPET bottles were purchased. Bottling the milk Expansion: Formation of cooperative in Hochar
reduced the distribution time and the whole process When the farmers of Hochar, neighboring village of
became relatively simpler. With increasing volume, the Boreya, saw all these benefits, they invited IGS to come
number of bottles increased and so did the time and effort and guide them in promoting a dairy cooperative. This was
required for cleaning them. Moreover, every day indeed an opportunity as regular, continuous flow of milk
Doodhganga received a number of complaints that the was required for sustaining the enterprise. Concept
plastic bottles were not cleaned properly. The DDD Officer sharing was followed by a series of meetings, and finally
advised replacing the bottles by pouches. He presented an exposure visit to Boreya led to the formation of another
one or two examples in which the cooperative started with cooperative at Hochar. The difference between the
a manual pouch-filling machine and when the volume cooperative formation process in Boreya and Hochar was
increased, it could purchase a semi-automatic machine. that Boreya was a pushed effort of IGS whereas in Hochar
He helped in identifying shops where food-grade plastics the community came forward on their own after seeing the
were available and demonstrated the pouch-filling benefits accrued to other farmers. The team had already
process. learnt some lessons from the Boreya experience; so all
the mistakes committed there were rectified while
Election of Board members intervening in Hochar. Hochar was a good dairy cluster
The board elections were held in the month of May 2004 and could assure milk supply on a regular basis. The
so that some lead members could be identified and volumes in Hochar were gradually rising and more
trained to take up the responsibilities. A board of nine farmers were tying up with DoodhGanga.
members was formed. One of the very active members of
the cooperative, Sushma Devi, was not elected but offered
the post of accountant in the cooperative. She could not be
continued in that position as she was found guilty of
misappropriations. These incidences made her play
against the interest of the cooperative. Her actions badly
affected community participation, since she had played a
crucial role in community mobilization for cooperative
formation. As she was from the Sahu community, she also
tried to use her caste power to close down the coopera-
tive, though did not succeed in her intentions.

IGS Over-involvement?
An increasing concern was that IGS could not manage to
involve the community in the day to day activities of milk
procurement and distribution. IGS was carrying out all the
activities with the help of contractual employees.
Community participation was missing even with the
women cooperative. The members did not take responsi-
bility despite their promises during concept sharing.

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 To Milk or Not to Milk:The Dairy Intervention in Jharkhand

Challenges:The Social issues that affected the project

Box 1: Caste dynamics. Power and Money
Problem of leadership
The three main board members of Boreya, i.e. President, The main caste groups in Boreya were the
Secretary and Treasurer, were quite keen to participate in Scheduled Tribes followed by Tiwari, Sahu, Mahto
the activities of the cooperative and at first acted in unison and Muslims. Tiwaris have been the dominant
while taking any decision or carrying out any activity. But people followed by the Sahu, then Teli and finally
the friendship did not last long. There were continuous Mahto. Caste dynamics has played a very important
conflicts amongst the three. The President and the role in DoodhGanga operations and one of the
Treasurer played all kinds of politics against the Secretary, reasons for poor functioning of the cooperative has
with the result that the Board had to be dissolved. Another been the caste dynamics of the village.
factor was that the leading members, being non-
producers, clearly tried to influence through politicking. The Tiwaris were the dominant people in the village
This power game affected the performance of the and no decision could be taken without their
cooperative negatively. consent. Next to Tiwaris (represented by Gopal
Narayan Tiwari), were the Sahus, in terms of power.
Most of the cooperative members were Sahus, who
had their own interests in the cooperative. They
were not as loud or as disturbing as the Tiwaris but
out of nine elected board members, four were
Sahus, and they manoeuvred constantly for power.
Sushma, who was removed form the post of
accountant, also tried to use her Sahu power at that
time and finally succeeded when the DoodhSagar
dairy started.

The Mahtos were supportive, but when it came to

caste issues, they were united. Tribals were the most
disadvantaged group; people hardly interacted with
them. Interaction with tribals occurred when the
tribal was relatively rich. Money power affected not
only the social status but also one's influence in the
Ownership Issues village institutions including the cooperative.
One underlying fact for a lot of hindrance to the operations
was the ownership issue. People in Boreya considered
that the cooperative as an entity that solely belonged to
IGS, as any decision relating to change in systems, Discontinuing Boreya
logistics, human resources planning and implementation The problems at Boreya were growing more complex day
was taken by that organization. Moreover, people were not by day and handling operations were becoming difficult.
convinced about certain ideas such as cash security, fat- Everyday, some new problem came up. Problems related
based system of payment, HR planning, etc. Those to ownership and leadership soured relationships across
members who were working and active gave time the line of responsibility. There were conflicts amongst
because of the stipend/fees they were paid, for which they members themselves. Nobody was ready to take up
considered themselves employees, and not members. responsibility for the operation of the cooperative.
They did not involve themselves in the decision-making Everybody wanted to cut their connection with
process nor did they attend meetings, as the cost of DoodhGanga as they had other better alternatives.
reaching the urban centre from the village was high. A large number of cases of adulteration with water, starch
Moreover, the majority of the decisions were taken by IGS and urea were reported. Under these circumstances, it
without notice and put into effect immediately; Rohit was a was difficult to move ahead in Boreya. IGS called a
dominating executive in that sense. The element of meeting during which producers took the opportunity to
ownership was seriously lacking. This needed serious express their dissatisfaction. As a result, IGS decided to
rethinking about the intervention and its continuance. close down Boreya operations. After Boreya was discon-
Clear instructions were given by the seniors of the tinued, the project as a whole was reviewed; the most vital
organization to Rohit that until the community took up the problem was clearly the financial crunch. IGS was left with
responsibility, in terms of both logistics and finances, the just Rs.50000 and with that money, the cooperative had
project could not be continued any further. In spite of to be made financially sustainable. That meant the costs
repeated prodding and mild threat to close down the had to be ruthlessly cut even though the overheads at
operations in the village, things did not improve and Boreya were brought down to zero by closing down the
participation remained minimal. operations there.

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Box 2: Village politics: Gopal Narayan Tiwari

Tiwaris, who had been rulers once upon a time, were the dominant people in the village. They had a temple in the
village in the name of Madan Mohan, which could be visited exclusively by the Tiwaris, and the entry of other caste
groups was strictly prohibited. Any decision, big or small, could be taken only with the consent of one of the ruling
Tiwari family that belonged to Mr. Gopal Narayan Tiwari.

When IGS entered the village, it first approached Mr. Gopal Narayan Tiwari and shared the concept with him. Since
Mr. Tiwari himself had 15-20 cows, it was definitely in his favour. He gave a green signal for it and at the same time
also convinced some big producers to join the troop. He gave his house on rent to start the activities there. But quietly
he pursued his interest in ruling the cooperative. His wife became a member. When she did not win in elections, he
did not give up. Every new day, he created some problems, one being erratic supply of milk to the cooperative to
show that the cooperative was entirely dependent on him. He also did not let activities like washing the bottles go on
smoothly and used all possible methods to make the cooperative dependent on him and his family. Those were the
motivations credited to him by the IGS team. When the milk agent system was discontinued, he was the first one to
withdraw support for the cooperative and accept the new system. He supplied 40 litres of milk per day but could not
continue at that level as he was himself facing loss by supplying it to local traders. Consequently he came back to
DoodhGanga within 10 days.

The cooperative was not strong and the spirit was always missing. Tiwari used that as an opportunity and suc-
ceeded in dividing the leading members. Finally, when his house was vacated and point of transactions in the village
was shifted to a new place, he withdrew his support, resulting in substantial reduction in the daily volume of available
milk. When things were being shifted from Boreya, he and his family created problems and made all possible
attempts to make the issue take political colour. However, winding up was accomplished, but not in a peaceful
manner.

The exit: IGS having intervened in the area did not want the farmers
After the discontinuation in Boreya, IGS' focus was on to be left in the lurch and fend for themselves. Hence it
Hochar. In January 2005, IGS decided that the team must explored the possibility of other institutional players
withdraw soon. After a review, IGS decided to allow the interested to leverage the model and take it as an
cooperative three months, i.e. till March'05, to become entrepreneurial activity. Finally, IGS identified a local
financially sustainable and to provide it another three entrepreneur who had a good reputation and good
months support to enable it to grow. Given the situation, business turnover. He was to integrate the project into a
the best way to withdraw was to link the farmers with dairy business – providing a distribution channel for the
SUDHA or a private dairy, even if they get a lower price; milk from January 2005. This entrepreneur, Mr Rohan who
but SUDHA / private Dairy would offer them regular, was from Ranchi had been watching the model for one
assured price and would take up the mammoth task of year and had also started his own business with the milk
milk marketing. IGS organized a meeting and explained producers of Boreya and Hochar in a small way. He saw
to the farmers that it would get out of the marketing an opportunity to tap the farmers who were being served
process, and the alternatives were to sell to local traders by IGS and were in a dilemma about whether to sell to
or sell to SUDHA. SUDHA or any other dairy where they could get a better
price and where the terms of procurement were not so
stringent.

When the farmers agreed to sell their milk to SUDHA,

an exposure visit to that dairy was arranged for the
cooperative members by the SUDHA staff. Finally they
were convinced to supply milk in the SUDHA collection
centre from 1st Feb 2005. The team was quite happy that
they could now get out of the task of milk marketing and
had been able to link the farmers with SUDHA.

Unexpectedly after 5 days the farmers sent word that

they had decided not to sell their milk to SUDHA but to sell
their milk to Rohan , the entrepreneur who has agreed
to pay them Rs.11/litre, where SUDHA pays between

8
 To Milk or Not to Milk:The Dairy Intervention in Jharkhand

Rs.9-Rs10.30 /litre and is strict about the /kg fat and SNF With additional funding and time, it would have been
content. possible to apply the lessons learned in Boreya to Hochar.
However, IGS was happy to see that the groups formed in
In Retrospect both the villages continued to collectively purchase cattle
Over-involvement of IGS staff in the cooperative's feed and other vet care services even after IGS' with-
operations in Boreya contributed significantly to the drawal.
discontinuation of the project in that village. A healthy
balance between providing guidance and building the Even though IGS could not sustain and take the livelihood
villagers' capability to manage their organization and the intervention to a model which could be scaled up in a large
dairy activity is crucial to creating a sense of responsibility area and to a large number of households of Jharkhand, it
and ownership. did manage to create a model where it kick-started dairy
farming which incentivized a small entrepreneur to
IGS found that one and a half year's of funding support is continue with the same operation at a lower cost,
inadequate for introducing dairy farming in a new area. benefiting the farmers as well as his enterprise.

Annexure I-Analysis of the overheads of Proposed DoodhGanga Cooperative Limited

Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept
Milk volume in liters 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600
VPOT COST
Purchase cost of milk 69000 86250 103500 120750 138000 155250 172500 189750 207000
Transportation Cost 10000 10000 10000 10000 10000 10000 10000 10000 10000
Packaging Cost 6750 8437.5 10125 11812.5 13500 15187.5 16875 18562.5 20250
Cost of 'VPOT operations 6000 6000 6000 6000 6000 6000 6000 6000 6000
Rent (VPOT) 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800
Miscellaneous 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000
Printing and Stationary Cost 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000
Wastage at VPOT 3450 4312.5 5175 6037.5 6900 7762.5 8625 9487.5 10350
Total 'VPOT cost (Rs) 98000 117800 137600 157400 177200 197000 216800 236600 256400
Total 'VPOT revenue (Rs) 88500 110625 132750 154875 177000 199125 221250 243375 265500
Net revenue to VPOT (Rs) -9500 -7175 -4850 -2525 -200 2125 4450 6775 9100

MPOT COST
Vendor Cost 6000 7500 9000 10500 12000 13500 15000 16500 18000
Wastage 2212.5 2765.625 3318.75 3871.875 4425 4978.125 5531.25 6084.375 6637.5
Printing & Stationary Cost 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000
Rent 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500
MPOT COST (Rs) 9212.5 11265.63 13318.75 15371.88 17425 19478.13 21531.25 23584.38 25637.5
MPOT Revenue (Rs) 13500 16875 20250 23625 27000 30375 33750 37125 40500
Net revenue to MPOT (Rs) 4287.5 5609.375 6931.25 8253.125 9575 10896.88 12218.75 13540.63 14862.5

IGS COST
Employee (Number) 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1
Cost 15000 15000 15000 10000 10000 10000 5000 5000 5000
Market Development 4000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 0 0 0
Overhead deficit 9500 7175 4850 2525 200 0 0 0
Total Liability 53525 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Training and capacity building 2500 2500 2500 2500 2500 2500 2500 2500 2500
IGS COST (Rs) 82025 24175 21850 14525 12200 12000 5000 5000 5000

About the author

Mihir Sahana is the Managing Director of IGS, based at Patna and he may be reached at [email protected]

9
10
 Sustainable Co-operative
The Koutla-B MACS Success Story
- K Vasumathi and Vanga Ram Reddy

Koutla-B Mutually Aided Cooperative Society (Koutla-B MACS) is a pioneer intervention in

promoting producers' collectives. It has enabled cotton farmers to exercise more control over
input, output and credit markets of their village. Spawned by its success, farmers in neighbour-
ing areas have also adopted the model. The case is about grounding this model.

Cotton farmers in India were struggling with severe pest

infestation which induced them to over-use pesticides. As
a result, farmers had to spend a lot of money to buy the
pesticides. They either purchased it from traders on credit
or by taking loan from money lenders at exorbitantly high
interest rates. When the yields were not sufficiently high to
repay debt, farmers became desperate and committed
suicide.

In Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh, cotton cultivation is

the major source of livelihood for a large number of
farmers. Here the majority of arable area is rain-fed. After a
number of farmer suicides, BASIX in the year 2001, took
the initiative to study the problem and concluded that
farmers were using chemical pesticides indiscriminately,
borrowing in kind from pesticide dealers and thereby
losing heavily. In addition, farmers suffered from compara- practices, for better access to agricultural technical know-
tively higher input costs, lower price realization and how, inputs at cheaper rates and market their produce at
fluctuating prices. higher rates. The first such attempt was made with farmers
in Koutla-B, a village at a distance of 16 km from National
One way out was to bring farmers under the banner of a Highway 7 in Sarangapur mandal near Nirmal, in Adilabad
collective in order to effectively help them change their district of Andhra Pradesh.

11
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

The Formation of Koutla-B MACS were hard to come by reliably in Koutla-B, and the best
In 2002 BASIX started the intervention with village solution was to link the farmers directly to seed, fertilizer,
meetings and discussions with farmers about the and pesticide companies. BASIX first identified a local
challenges faced by them. Later, integrated pest manage- reputed dealer in nearby town and connected him to the
ment practices (IPM) as a solution was put in place. It cooperative. Some interim period was allowed for the
turned out to be economical to farmers. After winning the management of the cooperative to get familiarised with
confidence of farmers through adoption of IPM, they were the basic functions of a dealer, and then it was linked to a
encouraged to establish a mutually aided cooperative reliable distributor. Subsequently, BASIX facilitated the
society (MACS) in the year 2003. dealership and distributorship licenses of reputed
companies for the MACS. In this manner, Koutla-B MACS
established backward input linkages through stocking the
Box 1: Brief about Koutla-B MACS entire range of inputs including seeds, fertilizers, bio-
pesticides, pesticides and farm equipments for its
members.
lDate of Inception: 12th June, 2003
lStructure & composition: members, nine
directors of the Board, four paid workers:
Manager, office boy, computer operator and a A Simple Technique: Stem Application in IPM: By
supervisor for water treatment plant. giving the chemical sprays continuously from 20
lNo. of members: 82 DAS (Days after Sowing), farmers are killing the
lIn the year 2009-10, the total cash transaction by existing predators on field such as ladybird beetle,
the Koutla-B MACS was around INR 31.4 million chrysopa etc. The farmers were advised to do
and net profit was INR 2.4 million (audited stem application with Monocrotophos @ 1:5/ 1:4
figures) ratio based on the crop age which gives protection
from sucking pests for 20-30 days. This method
Governance Structure cost the farmer Rs. 75 per acre in comparison with
l Nine directors including President, Vice earlier practice of multiple foliar sprays which cost
President and Secretary. Annual election with Rs. 750 – 1000 per acre.
mandatory replacement of three directors is
being practised. Both members and non-member farmers have benefited
l Directors responsible for overall functioning of from this intervention. They are able to access quality agri
the MACS, each director voluntarily responsible inputs, without the fear of spurious products. There is an
for one of the initiative like: stock position(seed, assured availability throughout the season. Prices are
fertilizer, bio-inputs and pesticides), lease and affordable and fair. Farmers save about 5-10% on input
purchase of agri equipments like harvester, costs alone. Further, they benefit from saved travel time
gunny bags, one for Water plant operations, etc. and money since agri-inputs are available in the village.
l Directors’ meeting on 9th of every month and
General Body meeting on 10th are being held The MACS sells these agri-inputs at a small mark up price
regularly. to cover their administration costs, which is lower than
those at agri-input shops in the nearest town. In the first
year of their operations (2004-2005), they achieved a
turnover of around INR 6.8 million - an amazing achieve-
An exposure visit of selected farmers of Koutla-B village ment by any yardstick says one of the directors. They had
was facilitated to a MACS in Ramakrishnapuram village originally thought that they would achieve a turnover of
near Nandyal in Kurnool district, which was successfully INR 0.2 million.
managing a bore-well investment by the AP government
about 500 kilometres away. After the visit, they realised Output Linkages
that if marginal farmers with much less resources could As a next step, in 2005, output linkages were established
run MACS successfully, then they could run one even with cotton ginners and traders. BASIX had helped MACS
better. Another method used to interest farmers was to install an electronic weighing machine in the year 2004-
take farmers individually and show them how to do a 05. On the price information front as part of market
simple technical farm practice like stem application of intelligence, it facilitated the installation of a price display
pesticide than a foliar spray. Gradually, farmers were terminal of National Commodity Derivatives Exchange
introduced to other best practices which lowered their (NCDEX) in the year 2007. This gave online, real time
costs and improved their decision making ability. information on cotton prices in both spot and futures
markets. In 2006-07 the MACS also invested their
Input Linkages accumulated profit in ginning activity. This allowed the co-
Once the co-operative was on its way to stability, in 2004 operative to add value to the cotton crop of their members
IGS began to link it with input markets. Quality agri-inputs by converting raw cotton into tradable bales.

12
 Sustainable Co-operative: The Koutla-B MACS Success Story

Further, due to bulk selling, better price negotiations were

done. Farmers were able to get 7 -10% higher price than Figure 1 - Mr. Reddy with Dr. Abdul Kalam,
they used to get earlier. Ginning mills (cotton traders) give the then President of India
commission to MACS at better price compared to the
market. MACS retains some amount and shares the rest
with farmers creating a win – win situation for both the
parties. Further, traders seek out Koutla-B, saving time
and energy of farmers from chasing them.

The MACS manages inventory of inputs and produces on

a weekly basis through a computerised system. It has
adopted Tally as its accounting software and uses
commodity exchanges' websites through internet
connection to know market prices.

Credit Linkages
Earlier the members of Koutla-B MACS used to take crop
inputs on credit from various input dealers individually. In
the first year i.e. 2003, MACS members availed credit from
BSFL(BASIX) through joint liability group loans and used
the money to buy inputs. In 2004, it availed a bulk collateral
Mr Y Bhooma Reddy had joint family who was
free loan of Rs. 30 lakh in MACS' name from BASIX,
holding 30 acres of cultivable land, he used to buy
bought inputs in bulk on cash basis, which helped the co-
crop inputs worth of two lakh rupees every year
operative to create a reputation.
from a nearby sub town shop which is about 12 Km
from the village. He used to pay about 50 thousand
With input linkages established, the cooperative made
as interest on the worth of goods purchased @
credit available to their members and used the loan wisely
24% per annum basis though he used to buy the
to enhance their business.
stock s in June July and again in November with
average stock holding period of 3 months but
Graph 1: The Loan given by BASIX and business done
ended up paying annual interest on flat basis. He
by Koutla-B
thought over and calculated economic gain he is
going to get on becoming a member of Koutla-B.
He joined as member and on utlisizing stock worth
of same two lakh rupees has ended up paying Rs
14,000 as interest where he saved about Rs.
36,000/-, he got the price advantage of a min of 5%
which is Rs 10,000/-, has reduced risk of spurious
inputs or unknown companies inputs, and got
quality branded companies seed based on his
need. Like Bramha variety of seed from Monsanto
or Monochrotophos pesticide from Nagarjuna
The institutional credit helped farmers to be independent company. He also gained technical know how
of the dealers and the traders for financial support to because of Scientist farmer interactive meets
purchase inputs. Therefore, they were not obligated to do happening in the village through MACS. He started
any transaction with any particular agency. savings of Rs 50 per month apart from having one
share. When the family got divided into 3, he took
National Recognition additional 2 shares on other family members.(his
sons)who became independent by paying a share
Koutla B MACS has received recognition at various value of Rs 45,000/- per share. This share value
levels. The president of the Koutla B MACS received has become double in the next year.
the fellowship award by the then President of India,
Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam on 11th July 2005 at New Delhi
organized by Jamshedji National Virtual Academy
Fellowship for Rural Prosperity. He has also been
felicitated by the District Collector and he was one of Till December 2011, 435 persons visited Koutla-B MACS
the farmers to interact with Mr. George Bush, the from various backgrounds and levels; visitors were
then President of USA during his visit to Hyderabad farmers, practitioners, researchers, policy makers, public
in 2006. and private organizations including bankers and liveli-
hood professionals from Africa and South East Asia.

13
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Way forward Conclusion

Koutla-B MACS was incorporated with 51 farmers in 2003. Koutla-B MACS started with the objective of providing
It has 82 members as on 31st March 2011. Starting with a technical, financial and forward & backward linkages.
share value of Rs. 1,000 per share / member, it has It supported the production and business of each
graduated to an estimated value of over Rs. 30 ,000 per producer household who were members. Later it sup-
share. Today the Koutla-B MACS has an annual turnover ported producer households of their village and also
of over Rs. 40 million. Some of the challenges faced by farmers from other surrounding villages. The MACS has
Koutla-B MACS while moving forward are categorised into withstood as cotton commodity cooperative by providing
internal and external, which are as follows: cotton production services to farmers and in the process
a. Internal generated income for the group. This case clearly
l Accessing Venture Capital Fund for few years indicates the collective bargaining power of farmers to
supporting the activities of MACS would enable MACS gain competitive advantage. Koutla-B MACS has shown
to expand their activities in a more professional way. that farmers have some advantages being a part of
l There is a need for full-fledged training to the staff of sustainable producer groups. Some of them are
MACS on MIS (to enter the business transactions into l Sharing risks and reducing production costs
the system)to strengthen existing processes and l Improving scale of production through input provision
keeping the system online. & infrastructure sharing
l No member or staff of MACS is equipped with the l Improving access to markets
ability to develop project proposals; there is a need to l Managing the pressure of traders through collective
create interest among them to undergo training for it. strength
b. External l Improving access to credit
l Accessing funds from Government and other l Leadership development through participating in
development agencies for infrastructure such as MACS governance and management
godowns, etc. l Increase in social status due to getting access of
l Taking support from a competent agency as a village development funds eg. MP fund for establishing
facilitator for capacity building & knowledge manage- 5000 litres capacity Water Treatment Plant
ment of MACS, technical support for taking up l Increased confidence in interacting and negotiating
diversified activities such as dairying and technical with dealers.
solutions for other crops like chilly that they take up.
Additionally, the MACS has established itself as an
expression of collective authority and has taken on the
moral responsibility for the well being of the village.

Thus the MACS is a sustainable, responsible business

model achieving increased efficiencies, developing solid
business management, and improved product quality and
production practices, and is an inspiration to new
producer groups. Through its success, it has become a
role model and paved the way to form about 100 producer
groups in BASIX operational areas alone. Today around
25 MACSs are operating in Adilabad district inspired and
influenced by the success of Koutla-B MACS.

About the authors

Ms K. Vasumathi is Associate Vice President, Agricultural, Livestock, and Enterprise Development (AGLED)
Services, BASIX Group. She is based in Hyderabad, India and can be reached at [email protected]
/ [email protected]
Mr Vanga Ram Reddy is President and Founding member of Koutla-B Mutually Aided Cooperative Thrift
Society based at Village Koutla-B, Sarangapur Mandal of Adilabad District, Andhra Pradesh, India and can be
reached at ([email protected]).

14
 Changing lives of women in
urban slums of Indore
Building a sustainable organization through
institutional development services
- Kumaresh Rout

This case study describes the role of Institutional Development Services as well as initial fund
support in building a community based microfinance institution called 'Aaparajita Mahila
Sahayata Sangh Maryadit' in Madhya Pradesh state. The systematic engagement and planned
progression of the organisation offers a model for replication.

The Context members. One of these, Aprajita Mahila Sangh (AMS)

Between 1997 and 2002 four cluster level SHG associa- had a mandate to become a robust micro-finance
tions had been promoted by Friends of Women's World institution, and was willing to modify its systems, pro-
Banking with support from Department for International cesses and organizational structures in order to do so.
Development(DFID) in Indore city of Madhya Pradesh Upon AMS's request in 2003, IGS came forward to offer
state. These associations were owned, run and managed Institutional Development Services (IDS) and mobilizing
by groups of women living in different slum areas of initial fund support to ASM. This resulted in the formation
Indore. The SHGs offered credit and savings services of the micro-finance focused co-operative Aaparajita
and they had unsuccessfully been attempting to obtain Mahila Sahayata Sangh Maryadit' (AMSSM).
loans from formal financial institutions for on-lending to

15
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Table 1: Evolution of ASM and AMSSM

Year Facilitator Entity Supported Type of Support
1997-2002 DFID - FWWB ASRA (SHG Federation) • Promotion of SHGs and SHG federation, registering them into Societies
• Promoted AMS within ASRA
2003-04 IGS AMS • Orientation to microfinance.
• Rs 1.05 lakh as returnable grant for MIS automation.
2004-05 IGS AMS • AMSSM was registered as Cooperative linked to AMS
• Rs 2.5 lakh was disbursed as loan for on-lending
2005-06 IGS AMSSM • Setting up the system & processes for the co-operative.
• Rs 8 lakh was disbursed as loan for on-lending
2006-2011 IGS AMSSM • Advance level planning for expanding of operations
SBI, BSFL, PMSSM • Inflow of loans from different financial institutions

The Intervention establishment of accounting systems that could

cater to a vast number of accounts.
Strategy tMIS was automated and software named FAMIS
The Institutional Development Services(IDS) provided to Plus was introduced. This was later converted into
ASM and subsequently to AMSSM can be classified into more sophisticated microfinance software called
three broad areas: DELPHIX NANO.
l orienting the organization towards micro-finance (mF) tAn Operations Manual was developed that laid
operations, and improving operational efficiency by down the systems and procedures involved in
putting in appropriate systems and processes lending, including loan appraisal, disbursement,
l building the capacity of SHG members and staff of accounting, monitoring and recovery.
AMSSM, including building HR systems and organiza-
tion redesign These inputs were accompanied by regular handholding
l strengthening the governance system by IGS, including support from the senior management of
the IDS team of IGS. The senior management of AMS and
In addition, IGS also focused on mobilizing initial fund AMSSM was extremely supportive, a crucial component
support for MIS automation and on-lending. of a successful IDS intervention.

Institutional Development Services Through this institutional development support, AMS was
Using a participatory approach, a model was customized, able to float a micro-finance institution named AMSSM in
field tested in a few areas and then replicated across the 2005. Its legal form was that of a cooperative. It was
organization after making necessary modifications. chosen because it allows the community to own as well as
It included: manage the institution; allows for savings; and gives most
l Changing the mindset of the organization to a flexibility to the community in decision making.
commercial mode of lending: A core team consisting
of a mix of staff from different levels of the organization Financial Support
was selected to work in close coordination with IGS IGS extended financial support in the form of returnable
and be responsible for implementation. The team was grants and loans to AMSSM. These loans helped the
exposed to other community based microfinance organization understand the systems and processes for
institutions within the country with different models dealing with external financiers and built members’
and legal forms. The annexure gives the salient confidence to deal with external financial institutions.
differences between each type of legal form.
Table 2: Year-wise borrowing from BASIX
l A visioning workshop was held after which the core
team chose their desired legal form and structure. Type of Financial Product Year INR in Lakh Purpose
Ownership was ensured by assigning important roles Returnable Grant 2003 1.05 MIS installation
to the entire Board of Directors of ASM as well as Loan 2004 2.5 On Lending
many other active members. Further activities Loan 2006 8 On Lending
included ensuring credit discipline as well as timeli- Loan 2011 40 On Lending
ness.
l Establishing sound operating procedures within the External Borrowing:
organization: With initial fund support from IGS, AMSSM was able to
t An SHG Quality Improvement Program (SHG QIP) increase its portfolio outstanding. This helped it mobilize
addressed the accounting process first by loans from financial institutions such as Rashtriya Mahila
strengthening manual systems, then automating Kosh (RMK), State Bank of India (SBI) and Bhartiya
the accounting system. These included the Samruddhi Finance Limited (BSFL) on a ongoing basis.

16
 Changing lives of women in urban slums of Indore

Table 3: External Borrowing

AGENCY 2003 -04 2004 -05 2006 -07 2007-11 2011-12
BASIX – LAMP FUND 100500 250000 800000 0 4000000
State Bank of India 303’500 0 111’000 7’305’500 0
BASIX – BSFL 0 0 0 2’000’000 0
Priyashakhi Mahila Sahayata Sangh Maryadit 0 0 0 1’490’000 0
Friends of Women’s World Banking 0 0 200’000 0 0
Rastriya Mahila Kosh 0 0 0 0 2’500’000

Results
The intervention resulted in the following:

lA logical and grounded business model being chosen

– the savings brought in by the cooperative model
allows for liquidity and better cash flow.
lThe organisation has reached the outskirts of Indore
and also has extended its operations to Ujjain and
Dewas districts. Within five years, the membership has
increased from 652 to 5955 women.
lAppropriate savings and loan products being
designed. Compulsory & voluntary savings as well as
loans were designed differently for use in different
portfolios(Agriculture, Allied, NFS)
lThough AMSSM struggled at first with MIS automation
because of unfamiliarity with computer systems, they
have found an automated MIS system largely useful.
lAMSSM has graduated to become a professional
micro-finance organization and has shown excellent
growth as depicted in Graphs 1 & 2 Box 1: About the CEO of AMS and AMSSM

Graph 1: Growth of micro-finance operations of AMSSM

Ms. Rekha Kaushal is the CEO of AMS as well as
AMSSM. She is a Commerce graduate and has
been working with the community for the last 10
years. As she belongs to an economically average
family residing in a slum in Indore city, she has
personally gone through the challenges generally
faced by women in urban slums. She decided to
work with women residing in slums for their social
and economic upliftment. She started forming Self
Help Groups in the vicinity and facilitated the
federation of these SHGs after being exposed to
different training programs and workshops.
Graph 2: Financial Growth of AMSSM Subsequently she was instrumental in registering
AMSSM. Rekha has struggled with the grassroots
work of forming the first SHG to now operating a
co-operative micro-finance institution with a
portfolio outstanding of INR 13.6 million and
savings of INR 8.8 million. She has made a mark
within the development as well as financial sector.

The financial status of AMSSM for the preceding five

financial years depicting the changes in various parame-
ters has been presented in Table 4.

17
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Table 4: Financial Status – AMSSM

Particulars Mar-06 Mar-07 Mar-08 Mar-09 Mar-10 Mar-11
Loan Outstanding (Group) 623994 2114734 4241297 8267127 10398963 13616085
Savings in Co-op 666178 1783140 3080099 4880620 6482860 8846418
Borrowings 46110 78370 1456433 3812299 7358111 4250066
Share Capital 6000 6000 6000 98400 703700 975300
Reserve & Surplus 4068 905 70591 154083 403807 648184
Cash & Bank 97562 316207 46473 231513 3115414 166365

Other changes are given below:

Entry Stage (March 2004) Progress as on March 11
Organisation structure Has federal structure with cluster & federation Well defined organization structure for mF operation with 11
members Board.
Organisation form Society, not intended to do microfinance AMSSM was registered under the MP MACS Act.
Crystallization of strategy NA Significant amount of inputs has been given to the Sr.
regarding long term loan management. Got support from multiple financial institutions.
Portfolio classification system No system of portfolio classification Portfolio classification system in place
Internal Audit and control External auditing done once in a year for the Quarterly internal audit of SHG books and mF operations
organisation. including the external yearly audit of the organisation.
Accounts and book keeping At SHG level accounts and books are maintained, New accounting formats have been implemented at SHG level and
which is designed by AMS. Even these are not at organization level along with Manual system. They have
adequate to capture all portfolio details like graduated from simpler software FAMIS Plus to a complex
repayment schedule, loan outstanding, overdue etc. DELPHIX NANO.
Information technology system Information systems are managed in excel system DELPHIX NANO installed and used for online disbursement but
needs more inputs on critical hardware & software problems.
Lending and operations systems Not well defined lending and operating system, no Operations and lending system designed and documented as
written operational guidelines operation manual.
Governance and management Governance structure defined but the systematic The Governance structure is well defined with roles and
involvement was not there. Just that they were responsibilities of each director assigned. The agenda of the
meeting quarterly without clarity on the agenda. For meetings are well defined with maximum emphasis on review and
the field staffs the capacities are not adequate to growth of operations. From time to time senior management from
manage the program independently. IGS provide inputs on management and governance issues.
Cash flow No system of projecting cash flows as of now Every quarter cash flow projections are made.

Lessons for IGS matters, including familiarisation with accounting

lChange management process within AMSSM was the software, accounting procedures, grading of groups,
most difficult part of the intervention. IGS found that it record keeping, and compliance with standard
was crucial to have the backing of AMS and AMSSM operating procedures
senior management to ensure that the core team took lfurther behavioural change, especially among the
on their responsibilities. older SHGs associated with AMS
lHaving a local IGS office made handholding support lfurther training on systems and processes for the
more accessible to AMSSM and easier to deliver for Board and senior staff of AMSSM
IGS.
lVisible changes within the organization motivated Conclusion
both AMSSM as well as the IGS intervention team. While the institutional development process is effective, it
lInfrastructure and financial support catalysed change. needs plenty of patience and constant engagement to see
it through effectively. Results cannot be delivered in a
All said and done the process of IDS with AMSSM is far hurry and they show only over a period of time. Even in
from complete. The organization's projected growth the most willing and participative organizations, there is
demands similar growth within the organization's design resistance to change within the organisation. Any
and human resource capacities. Capacity building external and new thought is rejected outright and it takes
therefore emerged as a major agenda in the continuing time to introduce and build in new ideas into the system. A
institutional development of AMSSM. It is possible to change management process is effective only with those
identify three broad strands: institutions where the owner / management have a clear
l technical training on operational and procedural mandate for and ownership over the intervention.

18
 Changing lives of women in urban slums of Indore

Annexure 1: Co-op model vs. pvt. ltd. model vs. society – The salient differences:

Type of entities Not for profit Mutual benefit For profit For profit
1 Legal form Society / Trust / Section 25 Mutual Aided Co-operative Non Banking Finance Local Area Bank(LAB)
Company Societies(MACS) Company(NBFC)
2 Laws under which Societies Regulation Act,1860 / AP MACS Act,1995 or State Companies Act,1956 Companies Act
incorporated Indian Trust Act,1920 Co-operative Act or Central
/Companies Act, 1956 Multi-State Coop Act
3 Laws under which No License provided for Cooperative Societies Rules, Reserve Bank Of India Banking Regulation Act,
Licensed for 1966 Act, 1934 NBFC Rules 1949
banking
4 Ownership No Owners in case of Societies Shareholding member Shareholders Shareholders
and trusts. Shareholders in case
of Company.
5 Governance By governing Board / Trustees not Elected Board Of Directors Elected Board Of Elected Board Of
replaceable. Sec 25Co. by elected Directors Directors
board of Directors
6 Entry Level Risk Not prescribed Not prescribed for MACS Rs.2.2million but there is Rs.50 million
a view in RBI to increase
it to Rs.50 million
7 Deposit No clear guidance One view is Allowed. No upper limit, Not Allowed unless rated Allowed No upper limit ,
mobilization that after the 1997 RBI although, in practice, max is A. max allowed is 4 times although, in practice,
guidelines, deposit taking by over 10 to 12 times net net owned funds for AAA max is over 10-12 times
such bodies is not allowed / owned funds (NOF) rated Companies net owned funds (NOF)
illegal
8 Restriction on No clear guidelines Can take current, recurring, Only time deposits with Can take all kind of
type of deposits savings and time deposits min. one year maturity deposit
9 Interest rates on State level money leading Acts Deregulated Deregulated Deregulated
loans prescribed caps from 9-14%
10 Supervision by Nil Low Low to medium (due to Medium to high
RBI large nos of NBFCs)

About the author

Kumaresh Rout is Manager of the LAMP Fund, based in Kolkata, West Bengal and may be reached at
[email protected].

19
20
 Women Power Unlimited
The Story of Group Owned Enterprises
- Akhoury Prabhas

Food security is a major issue for rural tribal households of Tupudana and Namkum, located on
the outskirts of Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand state. Agriculture provides just about six
months of food security. Rapid fragmentation of land and inadequate incomes affect people's
choice and livelihood pattern. Farm wage labour rates too are low and most people are forced to
find work in non-agriculture sector. The average weekly earning for a household in a good week
is around INR 200. Indian Grameen Services (IGS), in 2004, believed that the livelihoods of the
poor could be strengthened through community-based retailing enterprises (they named it
Suvidha), if the community purchased goods and services required by them in bulk thereby
developing their own distribution channel. Retailing of products for rural consumption by
women SHGs would generate income in terms of work and profits. Such an organization and
enterprise could also be a source of food security. The products would be given on credit,
which the recipient would repay after finding work or alternative income source.

Suvidha Today tribal women also think in the same way as Jagrani and
Jagrani Kujur, President of the Mahila Swalambhi Sahkari ask “Rouraman hamin ke kahan fansa delakh?” (Where
Samitee Limited, a cooperative formed for retailing have you trapped us?). The noble social cause for which
consumer goods with a member base of 1126, is worried they came together is dying. Whenever the primary
about the fate of the enterprise they had developed. She is stakeholders visit the shop, they demand refund of their
also thinking of the popularity that they gained through the share capital which was invested between 2004 and 2006.
self-help groups (SHGs) and setting up of a community Jagrani and others are not in a position to visit the remote
based cooperative retail enterprise called Suvidha. villages, as the villagers demand the share capital they
Juliyani Dahanga, Sushmita Dhanwar, Monika Minz, had invested.
Pushpa Ekka, Minz Mai and many other poor, landless

21
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

other things. It is estimated that a rural buyer pays

substantially higher price than his urban counterpart
where the markets are slightly better regulated and
consumer awareness is high.

Empowering women
Much of Nav Bharat Jagruti Kendra's (NBJK) work has
been in women's empowerment, promoting SHGs,
working on sustainable technologies, etc. in Jharkhand.
Since 2001, NBJK has roped in 1,834 tribal women in
Namkum block and formed 126 SHGs under their
Swashakti project funded by International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD) through Ministry of
Welfare, Government of Jharkhand. These SHGs are in
the business of credit and savings. The huge base of
organized women at field level is the opportunity for
Like others, these women are tribal, poor, and anyone to do a profitable business with them.
trying everything possible to make both ends
meet. They had very high hopes when an SHG The above conditions of villagers, presence of SHGs,
was set up in their village. Their hopes and dreams presence of NBJK, and experience of IGS in community-
found no boundary when Suvidha was established based retailing can play a role in livelihood promotion by:
and were very satisfied when it was running l reducing consumption expenditure
successfully. And one day they, along with others, l assuring good quality food and production inputs and
were left in the lurch when the promoters withdrew accurate quantity
all of a sudden. But these women did not lose hope l assuring food security in adverse cash-flow situations
and expectations and are looking forward to the l quick/high return on investment for members and
return of the better days. federated groups
l creating avenues for employment generation

Objectives
The village level entrepreneurs promoted as part of the The objectives of the intervention were to
distribution channel have stopped purchasing goods from l set up a community-based retailing enterprise to be
Suvidha. Suvidha runs the shop to serve the local people run by women's SHG federation,
including a hotel in the nearby area. The daily turnover is l strengthen the household food security and reduce
INR 1,000–2,000 with a recurring expense of INR 9,750 the cycle of indebtedness by enabling women's
per month. An amount of INR 241,000 still remains to be groups to manage an alternative community distribu-
recovered. They have put two sewing machines in their tion system, through purchase and sale of commodi-
shop to earn additional income. ties,
l benefit at least 2,000 women through the retailing
SHGs at village level still meet weekly as usual where the enterprise in three years, and
point of discussion is how to obtain a grant from the l cater to the consumption and production needs of the
cooperative department or NABARD. Another reason for targeted beneficiaries through retailing enterprise.
these meetings is to make themselves believe that the
enterprise is still functional. The profit from retail enter- The Intervention
prises of Suvidha has come down to INR 100–200 per IGS received sanction for a project aimed at setting up a
day. social and economic venture under the central govern-
ment's Swarna Jayanti Swarozgar Yojna. The role of IGS
The poor are being provided goods and credit in cash or was to set up the systems of SHGs, cluster, federation and
kind by moneylenders, kirana shops and input suppliers. the enterprise to be established by roping in all the SHG
They have to contend with high interest rates, less clusters. NBJK's role was to deliver services on the field
volume, low quality and spurious products. related to community mobilization and enterprise running.

Haats, or weekly bazaars, constitute an important link for It was decided that hub and spokes model would be
the rural customer to get exposed to the latest arrivals in adopted since it would help establish a good distribution
the markets. The distribution channel for goods and channel for financial and non-financial services. The
services are also not well developed. They serve as a share capital to be contributed by each shareholder of the
market maker. However, these also suffer from systemic enterprise was fixed at INR 400. The institutional model
issues related to fairness of terms of trade, quality of planned was to set up a cooperative through the federa-
products sold/offered, and weighing instruments among tions of SHGs.

22
 Women Power Unlimited: The story of group owned enterprise

It was expected that income would be generated from the of 1,834 SHG members, out of which 1,126 were mem-
proposed enterprise through wages, lower prices, better bers of the retail enterprises as of September 2006.
quality, and service. A federation of women SHGs was
formed at the apex level to look after the business. The Jidanhora CBRE at Tupudana caters to over 19
villages. There are 43 SHGs in these villages which are
The business model was initiated at federation office from members of the cooperative. Out of 639 members of the
Tupudana cluster. Some executive body members of the SHGs, 537 were members of the CBRE as of September
federation went to Andhra Pradesh to have a first-hand 2006. The share capital raised by the members was INR
experience of the running of a CBRE. After the exposure 207,050.
and detailed field demand analysis by IGS executives, the
federation purchased grocery items from Pandra The Deepangahora CBRE at Namkum covers 20 villages.
(wholesale market located at a distance of 15 km from There are 77 SHGs in these villages which are members
Tupudana), with the share capital they generated. The of the cooperative. Out of 1,195 members, 579 were
entire set of equipments including weighing balance, members of the CBRE as of September 2006. The share
cleaning materials, packaging machines, etc. were capital raised by members was INR 162,220.
purchased and kept at the federation office. A paid team of
10 to 12 members raise the demand, purchase the goods,
package it after cleaning, keep an account of all the SUVIDHA
purchases, sales and petty expenses and send it to SHG Cooperative
federation
clusters. The members of the SHGs gave their demands in
the weekly SHG meetings. Through their cluster, the
demand reaches the federation office. From federation JHMSSSL (applied) DHMSSSL (applied)
office the supplies were routed through clusters and Tupudana

SHGs to members.
SHG Clusters: 4 SHG Clusters: 4
The Constraints
During implementation, the following problems were
encountered: Shareholders from SHG Shareholders form
l The preference of villagers was not considered when SHG
the items were purchased and supplied.
l The items were purchased and given on credit to
Self Help Group members
SHGs without imposing any interest. The collections
come after one or two weeks.
l The demand from far away SHGs sometimes do not
reach in time and consequently supplies are not made CBRE Operations
on time. This reduced the essence of urgency for the The two shops at Namkum and Tupudana acted as
members and, in turn, delayed payments. mother shops from where 34 sub-retail shops, managed
l The staff engaged in SHG strengthening and either by SHGs or individual entrepreneurs, purchased
enterprise development visit the village once in a week consumables. The operations of the shops were managed
to collect the demand primarily because of the by five members who were selected by the members. The
distance involved often 30km for some villages. purchase decisions were taken by the empowered
purchase committee. The committee members, usually
The New Intervention Model accompanied by a representative of the supporting
After a year, the team was in a dilemma as to whether run institutions (IGS/NBJK), used to visit the wholesale
the project to provide food security or as a business. It was market at Pandara. The sale price was fixed based on the
assumed that if CBRE could achieve the target of enlisting cost of purchase plus a margin of 2%.
2000 members with minimum purchase of INR 500 each
from their own shop, they can achieve a financially self-
sustainable model. For achieving that scale and to run the
CBRE as a business enterprise, a new intervention model
was designed with the following attributes:

Ownership
Two CBREs were established in the year 2004. The
Namkum and Tupudana CBREs were owned by two
distinct cooperatives that had representations from SHGs
in the respective regions. The shops were proposed to be
registered as a separate cooperative store under the
Cooperatives Act. The cluster level federation comprised

23
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Product Variety Reasons for Initial Success

All items of daily needs such as grocery and fast moving lSystem setting of the institutions
consumer goods (FMCGs) were kept by the mother tSHGs up to the federation level meet regularly,
outlets. However, at the sub-retail level, rice, edible oil and follow the norms set at each level, write minutes
salt were the major items stocked. Rice, which is the main and keep proper accounts.
staple food here, is the most demanded item. No item t Problems faced by retailers or members of the
made by SHG members or groups were sold through the apex body are dealt with in detail in board meet-
retail outlets. Also up to 2007, there was no clear plan for ings.
product diversification which suits the rural consumers t Staff of NBJK regularly report to the apex body in
such as agri inputs, fertilizers, etc. the meeting. For any new intervention, permission
is taken from the board.
Scale, size and intensity of operations t Jidanhora Mahila Swalambhi Samitee and
The main units were located at Tupudana and Namkum, Dipengahora Mahila Swalambhi Samitee were
16 km from Ranchi. Each outlet catered to between 16–18 clubbed together to form the Suvidha Mahila
sub-retail outlets, the average distance being 8 km. In Swalabhi Samitee which was registered with
addition to members, the customers included residents of members from both organizations.
the town/bazaars. In fact about 70 per cent of the custom- lAssuring good quality food and production inputs and
ers were non-members. The sales in 2005–06 were INR ensuring accurate quantity
557,000 at Tupudana and INR 711,000 at Namkum. t The quality of goods supplied by CBREs at
Tupudana and Namkum was better than what was
Five members managed the shop, including Elizabeth normally available in the market. The quantity too
Minz, who also headed the cooperative society. In was accurate.
addition, there was project staff on deputation from NBJK
and IGS, who provided necessary services including Reasons for failure
training and capacity building, accounting and stores lAssuring food security in adverse cash-flow situations
management. tWithdrawal of grains for personal use was
common. The value of such goods and cash being
taken out for personal consumption equalled a
week's expenditure (INR 150–175).
The 2008 Microfinance India Summit, the fifth in a
t Members replenished this as soon as they
series of annual summits organized by ACCESS
received cash from other sources.
Development Services, was held at Hotel Ashok,
t Reduction in stocks could have been reported as
New Delhi. The critical theme for the summit was
sales.
The Poor First. It was heart-warming to listen to
lReducing consumption expenditure
Madam Jagrani Kujur who delivered a talk at the
t No significant decrease in the consumption
plenary sitting from a dais occupied by such tall
expenditure at the household level.
figures as Mr Sushil Modi, Deputy CM of Bihar; Mr
t As CBRE procured items from the wholesale
Vijay Mahajan, Mr Vikram Akula, Mr Deep Joshi,
market, the prices were market driven.
Mr Nachhiket Mor and the likes. She spoke briefly
t Prices were significantly higher than those of PDS
but confidently in Hindi though the slides were in
outlets.
English. Her unfailing confidence and deep rooted
lQuick and high return on investment for members and
inclination comes from her deep and committed
federated groups
involvement in the project.
t Enrolling new members had become difficult.
lCreating avenues for employment generation
t The possibility of generating additional employ-
The roles of NBJK and IGS, the supporting institutions, ment was remote.
were to t In most cases it was found that household
l ensure that purchases were made from the mother excess/idle labour was absorbed in the running of
outlet, the shop.
l canvas sales through SHG meetings and schemes, lAt the end of the project period, all the 11 persons who
l promote new memberships, helped manage the enterprise were pulled out by IGS
l promote sales through personal contacts, and and NBJK. There was a sudden and complete gap
l recover outstanding amount from retailers. across the enterprises and field. The sales started
decreasing. The recovery from the customers was
The present form of enterprise makes it mandatory that all also affected.
decisions related to expenses, prices, discounts, offers,
sales, etc. have to be approved by the board.

24
 Women Power Unlimited: The story of group owned enterprise

At present only four retail outlets are present and they also
Juliani Dhanwar, Hulhundu, Jidan Hora do not purchase goods from Suvidha because they get
items at a cheaper rate from other local traders or from
Juliani manages a retail shop out of her bedroom. wholesalers. The intervention has almost collapsed due to
She invested her own money in the business. Her the withdrawal of promoters thinking that the community
husband works as a labour. She is illiterate. She was empowered and could manage on their own at the
decided to start the shop because once she was end of the project.
forced to go hungry for three days. Her sister gave
her some foodgrains and they managed to Learnings
survive. She knows how to make mudhi (puffed The intervention in promoting community based retail
rice). The raw material comes from her own shop. enterprise offer important lessons for the practitioners.
This has helped her to become independent, as They are presented below.
she does not have to depend on outside traders for l The objectives of food security of tribal households
rice which is the main raw material. She needs two and successful running of a business enterprise could
to three quintals of rice per week and the retail not be synchronized.
shop is an important source. She operates the l Ownership of a group enterprise and more so a retail
shop in the mornings and evenings. All the enterprise should not only be viewed with the lens of
customers are women and children, the average share capital contribution. More than seventy per cent
expenditure being INR 15 per customer. In a week of the customers were non members. Patronage was
she manages a sale of INR 250–300. In a village it clearly lacking.
is difficult to sell on credit because people are poor l Entrepreneurship is about risk taking and a profile of
and have limited capacity to pay. The local trader 34 successful sub-retail outlets indicated that these
offers credit and hence most people prefer to buy were backward integration for these households.
from him. She too purchases some of her l Retail trade, especially in the rural areas, is influenced
requirements from him to maintain good relations. by livelihood patterns of the people and hence
She saves about INR 50 a week. seasonality is an important consideration in designing
the business model.
l Though women have been empowered in many ways,
the critical skills required for running the business
The Sinking Ship were lacking when the promoters withdrew.
All leaders such as Jagrani, Monika, Suman, Asha, and Community leaders taking up the responsibility of 11
Minz Mai, etc. stuck at that time. They tried hard to staff is a difficult proposition to work on.
continue even after the withdrawal of the promoters. They l The promotion of group enterprise is a long process.
tried to generate demand and recover the dues. But due to Gradual withdrawal backed up by mapping of acquired
the very distant location of SHGs, they could not reach all capacities would help in building confidence and take
villages. They did not have the mobility or enough time to out the element of abruptness.
spend on such a mission. They also could not employ new
staff due to the precarious financial position. It was like a Conclusion
sinking ship. The captains held on, but the passengers It is not easy to set up a livelihood enterprise without the
escaped in life boats. help and cooperation of all participants. It is very difficult to
run it. It is even more difficult to sustain the activity after the
The board hesitated to invest any more money in the promoters' premature withdrawal. And here are five poor
enterprise. The purchases also declined as the size of tribal women, who spent several sleepless nights on the
sale. They also started local purchase which was costlier setting up and running of an enterprise, looking to the
than wholesale market purchases. The credits given to the future, hoping against hope that one day Suvidha will
retail outlets were also not recovered. resurrect to live up to its name once again serving the poor
villagers like it did in its heydays!

About the author

Prabhas Akhoury is Manager of IGS,based at Ranchi and he may be reached at [email protected]

25
26
 Reorienting outlook,
realigning structure
- Dharmendra Sriwastawa

Women Development Corporation (WDC), Bihar was in search of a sustainable mechanism to

support SHGs for empowering women. IGS was appointed in 2007 to bring in the required
change to accomplish WDC's mission of empowering the poor rural women. It was an uphill
task starting from reorienting the outlook at the highest level to implementing a revenue model
at village level. The case describes the challenges of bringing in change in a government
organisation.

Grappling with an ineffective mechanism lConflicts in SHGs for having no proper accounting and
Women Development Corporation(WDC), Bihar was set understanding among the SHGs about their savings
up with the mandate to ensure development and integra- lDefaults in repayment of inter lending amount by SHG
tion of women and adolescent girls into the mainstream, members
through economic, social and cultural empowerment. To lInability to get linked with banks for credit needs
accomplish its goal, WDC started forming SHGs and SHG lNo gradation of the SHGs
federations through local NGOs. Over the years the lSHGs getting trapped by brokers of block offices for
limitations and ineffectiveness of the mechanism came to getting benefits of SGSY scheme
the fore. Some of the problems noticed are
l Absence of NGO facilitator on any given day affects Such a scenario, common across the districts, reflected
regular meetings and savings the limitations of existing mechanism in achieving the goal
l Staff of NGOs siphoned off money from SHGs of empowering the women. WDC was in search of a

27
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

mechanism that would make change happen and The administrative structure was realigned and profes-
sustainable. In 2007, IGS was appointed as partner to sionals were brought in to provide the required support to
devise and implement an alternate mechanism for women the SHGs and skill building of the federation. For this
empowerment through SHGs that would ensure service recruitment, training and exposure programmes were
delivery at every level which in turn would make change organized to build the capacity of community leaders and
effective and sustainable. support staff to bring in change related to process,
planning and execution. Along with the training
Change gets going programmes at village, block, district and state levels,
IGS’s partnership with WDC started through a formal there were inter-state exposure visits as well.
contact with an assignment of organizing and skill building
of SHG Federations to emerge as SHPI and service To start with, IGS first facilitated structural changes and
delivery organizations that would facilitate the SHGs to helped develop a structure that spanned from block level
develop thrift and credit practice and promote livelihoods federation to SHG in the village. The structure developed
of women. is presented in figure 1.

To accomplish the objective, IGS would Figure 1: Revamped structure for effective action
lDevelop operating system for the federations
lPromote livelihood activities
lDevelop federations as Self Help Promoting Institution Structure
Institutions (SHPI) and service delivery agency
lScale up the thrift and credit activities BoD comprises of 10 members selected from
lConvergence with government schemes and promoter members, two WDC representatives
departments and One CEO
lDevelop market linkages

Promoter members / Representative SHG group

In the same study conducted in 2007 involving 7 members (equal representation in terms of class,
federations and 150 SHGs, it came to light that cast and geography)
within six months of ending the support, only 25%
of SHGs could continue; rest were either non-
existing or defunct.
Informal cluster of SHG comprises of 10 to 20
SHG and represented by 2 member from each
First, a study was conducted to understand what was group on rotational basis
ailing the SHGs in eight districts as well as the WDC. The
study revealed that around 50% of the SHGs were in ‘C’
grade, 20% of the SHGs lost their money to the brokers, SHG (Comprise of 10 to 20 members)
clarity of understanding among the SHGs were low and
only 10% of the SHGs were in ‘A’ grade.

Management Structure

Board of Directors

Federation Development Executive

Master Trainer /CEO Master Book Keeper

Supervisors

Cluster Coordinator
Meeting of SHG members

28
 Reorienting Outlook, realigning structure

Table-1: Training Summary

Type of training Level/frequency Participants
Induction & Role Clarity (5days residential training) State Level/twice in a year FDE, MBK, MT
Visioning , Institution Buildings & Livelihoods (7 days of residential training) State Level / Once in a Year Office Bearers, FDE, MBK
Operating Systems of Federation (3 days of residential training) State Level / Once in a Year BoD, FDE, MBK
SHG Federations & Livelihoods (2 days of residential training) State Level / Quarterly FDE
Cooperative Accounting & Cross Learning (2 days of residential training) State Level / Quarterly FDE, MBK
Audit, Book Keeping & Accounting (2 days of residential training) State Level / Once in Six Month FDE, MBK, BoD
Audit, Book Keeping, Grading, System Building, Data Sheet, Federation Management District Level / quarterly FDE, MBK, BoD
(3 days of residential training)
SHG Audit, Accounting Procedure and SHG data Sheet Block Level / quarterly BoD, MBKs, FDE, CC
SHG Concept Training , Visioning Exercise and Institution Building Process Block Level / monthly BoD, CC
SHG data Sheet Village Level / monthly SHG members, CC
SHG Audit Village Level / quarterly SHG Members, CC

Conceptualization and Visioning for sustainable Block level federations are tertiary level community based
federations organizations. So far WDC promoted 76 Block level
WDC promoted block level SHG federations that are Federations with a membership base of 3,456 SHGs.
registered under Bihar Self Supporting Cooperative When IGS started collaborating with WDC, it was
Society Act 1996. They are to act as the Self Help grappling with a mechanism that neither provided
Promoting Institutions (SHPI) and as mentors and service incentives nor disincentives. As a technical agency, IGS
providers to the SHGs. But the federations were struggling focused on enrolling SHGs with federations to sustain the
to promote SHGs. They lacked the required professional SHGs in the long run since the benefit of the cooperative is
skill and financial strength. Technical skill building was on membership basis; however membership of the
rather easy, what was the pressing need for the cooperative is on individual basis.
sustainability of these federations was reorientation of the
outlook. At this juncture, IGS introduced a revenue model Block level federations were empowered to collect a share
for the federations. It took some time and negotiation with capital of Rs.100 along with a membership fee of Rs.10
WDC and persuasion of SHG members to institutionalize from each of the SHG members directly. INR 4.48 million
this model. has been generated as share capital by 76 federations

29
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

initial capitalization fund. The procedure included the

A revenue model is one in which any livelihood following
intervention will earn revenues so that it will meet l Poverty Ranking: poorest among the SHG will get first
its operating expenses and earn some surplus for priority for getting credit
future investment. l SHG group grading
l Priority should be given to loan applications for
productive purposes
l Introduction of loan processing fee @ 2% of loan
promoted by WDC. The purpose of the fund was to amount
support businesses and enterprises of members the profit
of which could be shared among members. The table 2 shows the reach of ICF; table 3 shows
livelihood initiatives supported from ICF. The status of
Training was imparted to enable the SHGs, Clusters and SHGs is given in table 4.
Federations to liaison with banks, block officials and other
line departments; to articulate their issues and demands Table 2: Status of ICF
in gram sabha, Panchyate and block officials respectively.
They were empowered to act as platforms for awareness Initial Capitalization Fund Received From INR 25,838,000
generation and information dissemination among the WDC by SHG Federation
women, besides acting as pressure groups to address the Initial Capitalization Fund Disbursed by SHG federations INR 33,069,000
social and livelihood issues of women. It improved the Number of SHG groups received ICF loan 1817
members’ sense of responsibility and brought in financial Number of SHG members received ICF loan 4980
discipline among the members at all levels. In addition to
Repayment Rate in % 97.87
these, IGS continued to provide handholding support to
groups to keep the momentum alive, and the change to Loan Processing Fee INR 327,300
get rooted.
Table 3: Livelihood initiatives supported from ICF
Operating System/policy of the SHG federation
IGS as part of its assignment and during the course of System Of Rice Intensification 5000 SHG members
handholding support to the SHG federations developed System of Wheat Intensification 19 SHG members
detailed operational manual based on its learning and in
Wheat By Zero Tillage 34 SHG members
consultation with WDC and other technical agencies.
Maize 27 SHG members
The manual attempted to introduce the following as part of Productivity Enhancement in Dairy 300 members had availed this service
the system: AI Centers 4 AI centers established
l Reconceptualising federation keeping its sustain- CBRE 3 Outlets opened
ability in perspective, its objective and service offered Back Yard Poultry 300SHG members, 3000 Day Old
to the SHGs
Chicks Inducted
l Federation’s roles and responsibilities and how it
would discharge its duties and service obligations Banana Bark Crafts 45 Master trainers identified
l Background, core value and purpose of WDC from SHG
l Byelaws
l HR policy and guideline for running the office
Table 4: Status of SHGs
Besides this, a detailed accounting procedure and manual
had been developed and practiced at SHG federation Total No. of SHG Formed 6808
level. SHG data sheet had been introduced to capture SHG bank account opened 4685
each SHG’s activities on monthly basis. Consolidated (Documents ready for bank account opening)
reporting formats for MBK and FDE were also developed. Cumulative SHG saving INR 60,927,691
Trainings were conducted for cluster coordinators, master SHG Enrolled (Members Enrolled) with Federation 3663
bookkeepers, supervisors, federation development
Share certificates issued to members 29,030
executives and board members to enable monitoring at
their respective levels. Legal Compliances addressed: by laws, governing body, All Federations
registration, annual return filing, AGM, authorized share
Effectiveness of the revenue model capital in line with share capital, bank accounts,
Initial Capitalization Fund (ICF) is provided by the WDC to board of directors meetings
SHG federations with the purpose of starting the micro
credit activities to enhance the existing livelihoods of the
federation members. For federation, a well-defined
procedure was designed to disburse and recover the

30
 Reorienting Outlook, realigning structure

Constraints and challenges existing approach of getting services free of cost. Hence, it
The staff and functionaries of federations including helped in creating a greater sense of accountability and
professionals from WDC were not in favour of charging ownership in sustaining livelihood promotion activities
fees for services as it was a Govt. run programme. But it through community based organizations.
was a crucial element in developing the federation as
SHPI for women empowerment. So, series of dialogue Fund flow from WDC to federation was delayed (lengthy
with stakeholders continued for six months. Moreover, Govt. procedure for releasing the fund) in such a way that
mandatory membership fee of INR 100 for each SHG the support staff of federation was not getting honorarium
member was also not acceptable to WDC. The proposed even for six months. This demotivated them that resulted
policy was that every member of every SHG must pay a in poor field work.
membership of INR 100, without which no SHG would
come under federation. With this membership fee, The other constraints are as follows:
federations could create a fund for developing business lThere was a strong need for data management at
whose profit could be shared with the members. It also SHG federation level through appropriate software.
took substantial effort to make all the stakeholders see the l There was a need to introduce the incentive based
point. To speed up the SHG enrollment with federation, an remunerative structure at SHG federation level.
incentive scheme for the cluster coordinators was l The principle of rotational leadership among the board
designed and it worked. of directors or governing body should have been
introduced.
The federations were also provided with handholding l ICF still required constant monitoring and fine tuning
support in coming up with business proposals, which in of the system of cash management to prevent frauds
turn helped in livelihood promotion activities being taken or misappropriation.
up by the women. The technical support also instilled in l There was need for more funds for meeting loan
the members the idea of paying and charging service fees requirements of the federations.
for accessing various kinds of services contrary to the

About the author

Dharmendra Sriwastawa is working as Senior Manager with IGS, based at Patna and he may be reached at
[email protected]

31
32
 Empowering Gram Sabha to
Reduce Poverty
- Navneet Naik

This case shows how it is possible to improve the livelihoods of the poor through the Panchayat
system by building a robust and active Gram Sabha.

Madhya Pradesh Rural Livelihoods Project (MPRLP)

works with Gram Sabhas to facilitate and guide commu- Box 1:The institutions in the panchayat system
nity driven collective and individual action to reduce
poverty. It works to strengthen the capacity of the Gram
Sabha to plan and manage resources, to ensure equitable Gram Panchayat is local self-government at the
village or small town level in India. The Gram
distribution of funds, and to protect and promote the
Panchayat is the foundation of the Panchayat System.
interests of the poor and the vulnerable, paying particular
A Gram Panchayat can be set up in villages with a
attention to enhance access to resources, information minimum population of 300. When the population of the
and services1. IGS was an implementing partner for individual villages is less than 300, two or more villages
MPRLP in 38 villages of Madhya Pradesh. The case is are clubbed together to form group-Gram Panchayat.
about one such village called Chargaon Mall.
Gram Sabha is the core of a Gram Panchayat. All
Introducing the village adults in a village are automatic members of their
Chargaon Mall is a tribal village in Bijdandi taluka of village Gram Sabha. In tribal districts in MP, 10% of
Mandla district in eastern Madhya Pradesh. Undulating members must attend the meeting for Gram Sabha
terrain, teak and sal (Shorea robusta) forests and decisions to be valid. The Gram Sabha is a check on
scattered land holding2 are the key features of the village. the Panchayat to prevent it from misusing money or
Of its population of 905, 90% belong to Scheduled Tribes favouring certain people. Both the Gram Panchayat
of which 47% are categorized as living Below Poverty and the Gram Sabha hold constitutional status and are
Line(BPL). Gond and Baiga are the predominant considered the most vibrant democratic institutions at
communities. The primary livelihoods of rain fed the rural grassroots level.

The village development committee (VDC) is a

1
http://www.mprlp.in/
monitoring entity for the Gram Sabha and is constituted
2
Forested area is 127 ha and agricultural area is 386 ha. Of this 266 hectare is
by non-office holders of the Gram Sabha.
unfertile. Only 62 hectare is partially irrigated during Kharif season and 3
hectare in Rabi season. The rest is rainfed.

33
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

agriculture3, livestock rearing (non descript cow, buffalo4,

bullock and goat), and wage labour are supplemented by Box 2: Identifying the target group
non timber forest produce (NTFP) collection from the
forest5. Seasonality of these livelihoods and vulnerability
to shocks and stresses cause many in the village to Sl. No. Category (as per WBR) No. HH
migrate seeking labour for short durations each year. The 1 A (Well-off) 28
average annual income per household is INR 7000-8000. 2 B (Manageable) 100
A general lack of awareness of government programs and 3 C (Poor) 104
historically low involvement in Gram Sabha has resulted 4 D (Very-poor) 15
in minimal benefits from existing government schemes.
Toal HH 247
At Chargaon Mall, the Gram Sabha was not as robust an
institution as it should be. Villagers attended mainly the
special gram sabhas, and the participation of women was categories as shown above. This is meant to enable the
notional. Women were unable to raise issues, take part in intervention to adopt relevant strategies for each group,
governance or participate in decision making. The well off be it financial assistance or other sorts of development
in the village dominated the decision making process in support. Some characteristics of each group are:
the sabhas excluding the poor from the benefit of
government schemes. The village level committees were C&D: landless, engaged in agricultural work on a
defunct. seasonal basis, and manual labourers in forestry, mining,
household industries, construction and transport.
As an implementing agency of MPRLP, IGS began a three B: small and marginal farmers and rural artisans,
year intervention in the village commencing in June 2008. weavers, and those self-employed in the urban, semi-
Having identified the target group (Box 2), IGS planned urban informal sector as hawkers, vendors, and workers
a three pronged intervention focused on strengthening in household micro-enterprises.
the Gram Sabha, with the eventual aim of improving A: small and medium farmers growing food grain and
livelihoods6. This intervention had an institutional commercial crops besides being engaged in dairying,
dimension, an economic dimension, and a social poultry, fishery, etc. This segment also includes those
dimension. engaged in processing or manufacturing activity, and
service enterprises such as provision stores, tea shops
IGS facilitated a well being ranking (WBR) exercise in and repair workshops.
which the villagers categorized themselves into well being
groups on the basis of their economic status. The process These and other characteristics are described in the
classifies the entire population of the village into four MPRLP document shown below.

3
The major crop grown is Maize of which productivity is very low i.e.1-2 quintal / acre.
4
Productivity is low with most of the animal giving approx ½ litre of milk which is used for home consumption.
5
94% of population depends on agriculture & related works and rest of the people depends on labour work, some short of services and some businesses.
6
The intervention ran from June 2008 to Dec 20011.

34
 Empowering Gram Sabha to reduce poverty

The Intervention IGS was the first agency in MPRLP to introduce micro
finance through Gram Sabha as a part of its intervention
The Institutional Dimension strategy. Rather than support beneficiaries through
The objective was to make the Gram Sabha robust in grants, the intervention strategy devised focused on
terms of member attendance and participation, and instill evolving and developing a self-renewing microfinance
confidence in the ability of members to access govern- program which would be more sustainable and also
ment and other resources. Through tola baithaks (hamlet cheaper in the long run.
meeting) IGS team motivated villagers to participate in
Gram Sabhas and facilitated for conducting Gram Sabhas
regularly on monthly basis. Continuous efforts were
made to hold meetings with women's groups, especially
SHGs, to become familiar with their problems and to
convince them to use the forum of Gram Sabha to raise
their issues. IGS trained members of the Gram Sabha on
norms for running Gram Sabha and mechanisms to
manage and utilize their funds.

New committees were formed with different members

responsible for specific activities and sort out the common
issues. These were Nigrani Samiti, Village Development
Committee, Implementation Committee, Water and
sanitation committee, Van Samiti etc. New SHGs were
formed which promoted the participation of women in
Gram Sabha.
Box 3: Gram Sabha model for financial services
For long term development the Gram Sabha prepares and
executes micro plans for village development. The
responsible committees were not playing their roles Individual and village level proposals for micro-credit
effectively and the gram kosh, treasury of Gram Sabha, are submitted to the Gram Sabha. These are discussed
was being selective about disbursing money as power and sanctioned by the Gram Sabha (including deciding
dynamics of the village came into play. The project team whether to loan or grant the money), and ratified by the
addressed this by building the capacity of all the members Village Development Committee, the monitoring body
of the Village Development Committee for effective for the progress of the project for each area. The Gram
monitoring and remedial action. Kosh disburses the money.
At the start, the project framed a ceiling on the
The Economic Dimension individual household-level financial support based on
The objective here was to improve the livelihoods of their wealth category: the lowest categories C & D to
villagers through skill building, accessing government get a grant of INR 20,000 per household, while A and B
schemes such as NREGS and developing a system for to get a financial support of INR 5,000 and 10,000
affordable financial services. respectively, based on the approval of the Gram Sabha.
Besides, these individuals are also eligible for a loan of
The intervention facilitated capacity building and technical upto INR 10,000, again based on the consent of the
7
programs in various areas including sustainable agricul- Gram Sabha . These loans are given at an annual
interest rate of 12%.
tural practices, livestock de worming, vaccinations,
formation of producer organizations such as farmer Loan installments are paid to the Aajivika Mitra – IGS
producer groups and SHGs. Relevant legal issues and Team Member - who in turn provides the payer a receipt
policies were discussed, such as the Van Adhikar Act and deposits the amount in Gram Sabha account.
(Forest Rights Act). Gram Sabha, Aajivika Mitra and Village Monitoring
Committee all participate in following up on overdue.
To check migration of those aged between 18-36 years, Over the past 3 years the Gram Sabha has approved
the project team assisted the people in getting involved in 171 business proposals and 64 individual proposals for
the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment micro-enterprise development of bamboo craft, brick
Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGRS), identified relevant kiln, hotels, and grocery shops. Of these 51 proposals
work and built skills in those particular sectors to ensure in were from women headed households. The Gram
job guarantee at the village itself. Sabha utilizing Rs 7,19,141 of which Rs 1,54,231 was
used for community work, Rs 68,910 for administrative
expenses and Rs 4,96,000 for loans. Rs 3,00,036 has
been repaid, with a recovery rate of 60%.
7
Guidelines for Gram Kosh-MPRLP

35
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

lGram Sabha members did not take adequate

ownership of their gram kosh. This resulted in delays in
The Social Dimension repayment of loans. Members of the monitoring entity,
The social dimension of the project focused on creating the Village Development Committee, delayed their
social protection measures and promoting gender equity. own repayments and so were not willing to pressurize
IGS sensitized the Gram Sabha on concepts of social others to repay.
protection, specifically for vulnerable households. The lSanctioned loan and grant amounts were inadequate
Gram Sabha has established a Village Relief Fund with an to promote long term development of individual and
initial contribution of INR 10,000 from Gram Kosh for group based livelihood activities. Long pending
emergency loans. Soft loans are provided to the poor proposals forced several people in the village to give
families especially for medical treatments. up their entrepreneurial ideas and either migrate or
take up NREGS work.
Gender sensitization trainings were also conducted
where Gram Sabha staff, Ajivika Mitras and villagers
discussed concepts of gender equity. They discussed
issues related to women headed households, and
women's active participation and potential for leadership
in the economic, political and social spheres in their
village.

Challenges
IGS faced several challenges in implementing this project.
The prominent ones are:
l The Secretaries and Sarpanch of the Gram Sabha
wield an undue control over its functioning and
resources. For example, they have delayed disburs-
ing grant and loan money. This made it difficult for
other villagers to actively participate or perform their
duties in the various committees in which they were Results
members. Attendance in Gram Sabhas has increased significantly
l Elections (Parliament and Panchayat) held during the from 8% of members to 40% of members. These
project period hampered the work as enforcement of members represent diverse sections of the village
code of conduct for elections did not allow disburse- population.
ments of money during election period. Villagers'
patience ran out; they lost interest making further Women actively participate in the Gram Sabha, not just in
mobilization difficult. the meetings but also in the leadership. Draupadi Bai has
l Past experiences of SHG members, including the acted as Gram Sabha President for five consecutive Gram
perceived failure of SGSY schemes in terms of Sabha meetings. They raise issues relevant to women
building strong SHGs, left women in the village specifically and those relevant to the village as a whole.
reluctant to participate in any institution building
activity. Increased awareness about different government & non
l Often Gram Sabhas banked on the technical support government programs and better understanding on the
of IGS for sanction of loans / grants and to ensure needs of the village has helped them develop and execute
repayment. It was difficult to build ownership over the appropriate micro plans for the development of Chargaon
microfinance program. Mall. A sample section of a micro plan is given in table 1.

36
 Empowering Gram Sabha to reduce poverty

lIGS experience of delivering microfinance through the

Gram Sabha in this village has convinced MPRLP that
“Improvement in access to financial services leads to
enhanced economic opportunities for individuals,
households or inclusive community groups or
institutions8.”
lAdditionally, ten farmers who were taken for an
exposure visit, cultivated soybean for the first time in
the history of the village. Several others have been
inspired by them to cultivate soybean in the next
season.
lSelected rural youth have been trained as Aajeevika
mitra and have found a livelihood in facilitating the
Gram Sabha in financial accounting, book-keeping
and handling day to day financial transactions.
Snan Ghar built at Chargaon Mall lVillagers have been successful in getting 214 micro
pension cards through Kisan & Majdoor Surksha and
Bhavan Sanniraman Evam Anya Karmkar Mandla
Table 1: Sample micro-plan from Chargaon Mall Scheme
l40 villagers were linked with Briddha Pension, 52 were
Item Units Cost (Rs) Source of funds linked with JPA (Janta Personal Accident) and four
Farm Pond 1 100,000 NREGS were linked with Viklang pension.
Garbage Bin 7 3,500 NREGS l223 BPL households got medical and life insurance
Travish for Livestock 1 6,000 MPRLP through the Jan Shree product of LIC.
Concrete Road 1 150,000 Panchayat lThe village prepared 87 proposals to build farm
Bath-room for women (Snan ghar) 2 5,000 Panchayat bunding, well digging, and farm pond for INR 22,
32,875 through NREGRS. This has been principally
School Boundary 1 15,000 Other govt. dept
agreed to by the government.
Hand Pump 2 300,000 Other govt dept. lCommunity Health Centre: Villagers availed 77
Total 579,500 certificates of Din Dayal Scheme (free medical
treatment only for BPL households).
lFive near defunct Self Help Groups (SHGs) in the lSome farmers were also able to source seeds and
village have been revived which enabled increased spray pumps at a subsidized rate from the agriculture
participation of women in Gram Sabhas. They actively department.
used the Gram Sabha to grow. Ganga SHG for
example won a contract to cook the mid-day meal of Lessons Learned
the local school. They have accessed credit from the Poverty can indeed be addressed through grassroots
Gram Sabha, did liaison with the Department of level governance institutions such as the Gram Sabha.
Education and have set up a revolving fund to Some of the learning for IGS are narrated below.
generate working capital for this business. Other l Before reviving Gram Sabhas, it is crucial to build the
SHGs, motivated by this experience, have started necessary buy-in through tola baithaks. This builds
meeting regularly, saving, and lending. awareness about the roles and advantages of a robust
lAs shown in table 2, out of the 64 households who Gram Sabha, increases participation in the Gram
received micro-credit, 43 households have moved up Sabha, and brings to light villagers' problems at an
one level in the wealth classification. informal forum.

Table 2: Changes in well being status post intervention

No. Category (Start of Intervention) No. of Participating HHs No. HHs moving to next category (After Intervention)
(Post Intervention) No HHs
1 Well off (A) 28 7 0 54
2 Manageable (B) 100 27 26 91
3 Poor (C) 104 19 17 97
4 Very Poor (D) 15 11 10 5
Total HH 247 64 43 247

8
Detailed Introduction to Outputs: Phase II (http://mprlp.in/downloads/Outputs%20phase%20II.pdf)

37
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

lStrengthening of Gram Sabha on all aspects of lThere is a demand for financial and other support
development planning and management of resources services for enhancing the livelihoods of tribal poor
should go on simultaneously. belonging to A and B well being category which was
lThe project has to make thoughtful attempts to inspire beyond the mandate of the project.
and guide community driven micro enterprises, lPossible disruptions due to elections need to be
collective action by the disadvantaged groups and accounted for both in terms of loss of time and
also individual pursuits in the tribal areas. All three are implications.
necessary to impact poverty.

About the author

Navneet Naik is Manager with IGS, based at Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. He may be reached at
[email protected]

38
 COIR POWER within
Women SHGs
- Susanta Sahu

Mechanisation of manual, local level processing of petty items generally produced by rural
women may help enhance their income in a significant manner. If it is coupled with formation of
a collective of such producers, the change becomes more sustainable. It is demonstrated in
this case which depicts an intervention designed for supporting coir processors in Puri district
of Odisha in collaboration with a local NGO, Bandhu.

Puri apart from being the abode of Lord Jagannath is

known for its exquisite craft items produced in the villages
of this coastal district of Odisha. Rural populace of the
district primarily depend upon agriculture and petty
businesses for livelihoods. Coconut trees are abundantly
found in the district. Often lines of coconut trees welcome
a visitor to the villages. Rural women, especially from the
scheduled caste community, are involved in making coir
products. In most cases this is done manually resulting in
low productivity and less income. These earnings,
however small, supplement the family income coming
largely from male work-force engaged in farming or in
wage labour in urban pockets of Puri district.

Coir products have high demand in the national and

international markets. However, it is important to have of a loan of INR 2 million and a grant of INR 350,000 was
high quality design and finishing in these products to fetch sanctioned to the organisation.
higher price. In the absence of required technical skills,
the traditional products lack good finishing and are sold in Emphasis was given to ensure operational viability of the
local markets only. If the rural women had access to model as this was considered a novel one. Consequently,
machines, adequate skills and access to finance, it would whereas loan was given to meet the working capital costs,
have been possible for them to get significantly higher grant was provided to meet the initial investment required
income. for procuring machineries and training. However, to
ensure adherence to the strategic plan outlined in the
In this background, Bandhu, an NGO working in 300 proposal, release of grant was subject to completion of
villages across eight blocks of Puri district since 2000, certain stages. These were:
devised an intervention to work on bridging this gap in l Identifying and selecting resource persons for training
2010. It decided to provide two important inputs to groups women
of women namely, financing support to purchase l Selection of human resources necessary to guide and
machines along with raw materials and skill enhancement control the intervention
training. As a pilot, it targeted to start the intervention with l Training of the target beneficiaries
200 women. l Stage-wise achievement of business targets

At this juncture, BASIX Consulting, a sister concern of Intervention Strategy

Indian Grameen Services (IGS), was helping Bandhu in Satyabadi(Sakhigopal) block of the district was chosen for
developing MIS for the institution. After preliminary the pilot. Bandhu had promoted women self-help groups
discussions with IGS, Bandhu submitted a proposal to (SHGs) in the region. It was decided to use the institutions
access the critical financial support from LAMP Fund to of SHGs as channels of intervention. 20 SHGs of 10
execute its plan. During appraisal, it was concluded that members each were identified. Strategic plan was
the proposed intervention was in sync with the BASIX developed for intervening in the value chain. The same is
mission of livelihood promotion and a fund-mix consisting presented in table 1.

39
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Table 1: Intervention in coir value chain

Points in value chain Existing scenario Planned Scenario
Access to raw material From local traders From a wholesale agency at SHG level using credit
Coir rope making Individual manual production At a centralised location accessible to all SHG members
Preparing coir products Manual; Single product production Manual; Multiple products production
Skill enhancement trainings None On in-demand products using external experts
Marketing of finished goods To local traders at individual level Sale at SHG level (and later at the producers’ organisation level) against market prices

Activities Undertaken
First, realising the importance of quality human resources
in achieving potential success of such an intervention, a
team was put in place by Bandhu by recruiting two
professionals. To access the necessary technical
expertise, a consultant with the Coir board1 was assigned
the role of designing the policy for the intervention. In
addition, two additional trainers were taken in on contract
to ensure regular hand-holding support under the
intervention.

Thereafter, SHGs were identified on the basis of their

interest level to be included under the intervention.
Further, to identify 200 members, around 246 members
were imparted training over five days and final list was
drawn up from these trainees. They were given credit to
meet the working capital cost.

In addition, Bandhu developed linkages with govt.

Bandhu had the responsibility of facilitating market
agencies viz. ORMAS2 and DRDA3 to access marketing
linkages for finished products. It was also conceived that
opportunities provided by state and district level exhibi-
the SHGs involved in this activity would be federated to
tions. A market assessment exercise was also undertaken
form a registered producers' organisation in order to
to identify and establish linkages with local traders in Puri
exercise higher bargaining power in the market.
and Bhubaneswar.
Further, it was decided that:
lOne machine would be provided to each SHG using
the grant support. Three members are required to
operate the machine. Normally, women engage in this
activity for 2-3 hours only along-side their household
work. It was envisaged that by rotation, all members of
an SHG would be able to work on an average of two
hours per day.
l Using loan, initial credit of INR 5,000 would be given to
each member of SHG to enable SHGs to purchase
and stock raw materials.
l Using grant, training would be provided to producers
on designs in-vogue, product innovations, quality
considerations etc.

To ensure community ownership of the intervention, it was

decided that SHGs should contribute a total amount of
INR 10,000 in the form of raw fibre and labour. Also,
Bandhu provided INR 100,000 towards raw material
required during the training of members.
1
It is a statutory body established by the Government for promoting & developing coir industries.
2
Orissa Rural Development and Marketing Society is an an autonomous body under the Societies Registration Act of 1860 dedicated to facilitate rural producers
and artisans.
3
District Rural development Agency

40
 Coir Power in within Women SHGs

Intervention Results Table 3: Economics of Intervention

Immediate benefit to the producers was in terms of input Economics of Intervention (Unit of analysis:
costs, which was reduced by up to 20%. As it was one SHG of 10 members and one quintal of raw coir)
purchased at the level of SHG, members availed the
benefit of wholesale rate and also reduced transportation Revenue
costs. However, the indirect benefit was in terms of quality No. of Mats (@average mat weight of 475 gms.) 211 211
of raw coir. Pre-intervention, it was a challenge to get it Unit Price (INR/ Mat) 22.5 27.5
with low wastage which used to be in the range of 15-20%. Total Revenue 4,737 5,789
After intervention, due to direct purchase from wholesale
agency and increased business scale, the women were Expenditure
able to get good quality coir with wastage percentage Raw Material Cost 2,470 2,000
in the range of 5-10% only. The net effect on the raw
material costs may be understood from the data pre-
Gross Margin 2,267 3,789
sented in table 2.
Table 2: Effect of intervention on Raw Material Costs Applicable Labour Charges
No. of Members 10 10
Particulars Pre-intervention Post-intervention
Average no. of working hours per day 6 6
Rate (INR/ Kg.) 18.75 17.00
Days required (to process one Quintal of raw coir) 10.8 4.4
Transportation Cost (INR/ Kg.) 1.75 1.00 Labour Req. (person-hours) 651 267
Total Raw Coir Cost (INR/ Kg.) 20.50 18.00 Wage Return (INR/hour) 3.48 14.21
Wastage 17% 10%
Actual Unit Cost (INR/ Kg.) 24.70 20.00 In addition to direct economic benefits, the intervention
Wastage 17% 10%
has also helped generate a healthy sense of owning the
work rather than being treated as a marginalised pro-
Actual Unit Cost (INR/ Kg.) 24.70 20.00 ducer. Intervention has led to the collectivisation of labour
which is helpful in building a scale and consequently
Along with this, increased productivity because of enhanced bargaining power in the trade. It validates a long
machines and higher quality of finished products have held belief of BASIX that commercial interventions, if
ensured almost four fold increase in earnings to the executed with desired rigour, can provide a sustainable
members. The detailed analysis is presented in table 3. source of livelihood to the marginalised poor.

About the author

Susanta Sahu is working as Assistant Manager, IGS and is based at Bhubaneswar, Odisha. He may be
reached at [email protected]

41
42
LAB TO LAND
SOLUTIONS

43
 LAB TO LAND SOLUTIONS
Livelihood challenges often defy easy solutions. The challenges are contextual involving resource
constraints, technological limitations, market imperfections, sociological barriers, emerging
environmental compliance regimes, etc. Hence there is a need to innovate and experiment with various
options and design grounded solutions for optimum impact on the livelihoods of target population. IGS
is a learning organisation. It is striving continuously to come up with newer solutions to emerging
challenges. Dwindling productivity and increasing costs of crop production have spurred projects on
organic farming and test farmers’ response and adaptability to such changes. The issue of poor returns
to tribal producers has driven the thought on exploration of value addition possibilities and skill building
initiatives. Climatic changes affecting production cycle has meant designing appropriate weather
insurance product. The fourteen cases included in this section present a wide array of interventions
involving introduction of new technology, a new package of practices, new ways of delivering services
like artificial insemination, introduction of new crops and improved breed of poultry bird to diversify the
livelihood basket, etc.

In SRI se Samruddhi case, SRI method of paddy cultivation is taken to farming households of Bihar
through Village Resource Persons(VRP). The model of promoting and nurturing the VRPs through skill
development and continuous handholding support resulted in timely service delivery in the farmers’
fields. In Responsible Soy case, efforts have been made to disseminate knowledge on Round Table on
Responsible Soy Association (RTRS) principles to Soy farmers in Madhya Pradesh to ensure
environment friendly cultivation practices. Livestock Development Centres emerging as a hub of
activity for extending a range of services including artificial insemination for better livestock breeds
showcases an economically viable model of providing services to the poor. The case on revival of
diversion-based irrigation talks about the need to prioritise investments in traditional irrigation systems
for better livelihood outcomes. The fishery intervention in Banswara of Rajasthan is about recognizing a
resource, designing appropriate technology in consultation with experts and leveraging the strength of
the govt. extension machinery and infrastructure. The case on aquaculture in Assam talks about the
application of bio-organic inputs for promoting aquaculture for enhanced income and better
environmental health. The interventions in paddy, vegetable and dairy sub sectors by Adarsa in Odisha
are aimed at addressing the livelihood needs of its micro finance clients. The organization’s support for
new and improved cultivation practices has resulted in productivity enhancement. In the case on lac,
tribal farmers of Jharkhand were aided for scientific cultivation and better market linkage along with the
provision for finances and risk mitigation measures. Similarly the poultry interventions are about large
scale backyard poultry emerging as a major source of family income. A new breed, feed linkage and vet
care services has enabled poor households to adopt it as a major livelihood activity. The case on tribal
turmeric farmers and leaf plate makers of Kandhamal in Odisha is about moving up in the value chain
and taking up local level processing for higher income. The case on zari workers of Sunderbans of West
Bengal is also about working on the value chain and providing input and output linkages. Harsha Trust
addresses the issue of land degradation and consequent low productivity through appropriate land and
water conservation technology and methods. The credit plus approach of Barasat Unnayan Prostuti is
premised on organic cultivation reducing costs of production and promotion of this approach among the
credit customers of the micro finance programme of the organization. Some of the interventions are still
at an early stage and results are yet to come in. However, the cases offer a ready compendium of
learning to practitioners in different geographies and organizational settings.

44
 So(y) Responsible!
Transformation through 'responsible soy
cultivation' principles
- Vandana Kumari, Sarvesh Sharma and Jyotindra Prasad Saha

The following case describes the process employed in introducing international 'RTRS
Principles' to soybean farmers in the state of Madhya Pradesh between 2009 and 2012. While a
quantitative evaluation is not yet available, qualitative observations show significant improve-
ments in cultivation, environmental and labour practices.

The Round Table on Responsible Soy Association production. RTRS, the Dutch NGO Solidaridad and World
(RTRS) is a multi-stakeholder initiative created in 2006 Wide Fund for Nature developed the Soy Producer
which aims to facilitate a global dialogue on soy produc- Support Initiative (SOYPSI) which is a four year
tion that is economically viable, socially equitable and programme starting in 2009 and ending in 20121 . In May
environmentally sound. It provides stakeholders and 20092 'RTRS standard for responsible soy production –
interested parties – producers, social organizations and version 1.0' (RTRS Principles) was developed to address
business and industry - with the opportunity to jointly environmental, social and economic issues related to soy
develop global solutions leading to responsible soy cultivation. These are given in the Box 1.

1
For more information on RTRS and SOYPSI see http://www.responsiblesoy.org/
2
See http://www.responsiblesoy.org/

45
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Box 1: Main RTRS Principles

Legal compliance and good business practice

lFarmers should be able to demonstrate awareness of responsibilities according to the applicable laws of the
country. For example:
w Farmer will have land ownership or rental agreement documents as per the applicable law.
w Farmers will have evidence of taking permission for felling tree, wherever required within the property
w Farmers will have evidence of taking permission for using water for irrigation from reservoir wherever
applicable
Responsible labor conditions
l Child labour, forced labour, discrimination and harassment should not be engaged in or supported
l Workers directly or indirectly employed on the farm, and sharecroppers, are adequately informed and trained
for their task and are aware of their rights and duties
l A safe and healthy workplace is provided for all workers.
l There is freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining for all workers.
l Remuneration at least equal to national legislation and sector agreement is received by all workers directly or
indirectly employed on the farm.
Responsible community relations
l Open channels of communication and dialogue with the local community on topics related to the soy farming
operations and its impacts.
l Fair opportunities for employment and provision of goods and services are given to the local population.
Environmental responsibility
l There will not be burning on any part of the property of crop residues, waste, or as part of vegetation clearance,
except under one of the following conditions:
w Where there will be a legal obligation to burn as a phytosanitary measure
i. For drying soy
ii. For generation of energy
w On farm biodiversity is maintained and safeguarded through the preservation of native vegetation.
Good agricultural practice
l In order to increase productivity through
w seed replacement, soil management, correction in spacing while sowing, Integrated Pest Management,
Integrated Water Management, Integrated Nutrient Management
w Agrochemicals listed in the Stockholm and Rotterdam Conventions are not used
w All application of agrochemicals is documented and all handling, storage, collection and disposal of
chemical waste and empty containers, is monitored to ensure compliance with good practice.
w The quality and supply of surface and ground water is maintained or improved.

The goal of the SOYPSI programme is to support small- international market. With the help of Solidaridad, they
scale farmers and farm workers and prepare them for are sold to international dairy companies like Friesland
certification. The programme is running in 5 countries Campina and CONO who buy them as part of their CSR
namely Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, India and Paraguay. In initiative.
India, the programme is being implemented in 18 districts Figure 1: Twin benefits
of Madhya Pradesh (MP), the largest producer of soybean
in the country. Producer Group practicing
RTRS principles
Soy farmers participating in the SOYPSI program are
expected to comply with RTRS principles and are
Soy Harvested
monitored through an internal audit and an external audit.
On successfully passing the external audit, farmers are Revenue Revenue

awarded a certification stating that they have followed

RTRS principles in cultivation and have produced Soy Certificate

'responsible soy'. Certifications are given at a group level,

rather than at an individual level and are tradable. As India Sold in international
Sold in local mandi
does not allow the export of soy, the produce is sold in the market with the support
from Solidaridad
local mandi. However, the certificates are tradable in the

46
 So(y) Responsible!

The intervention
As part of the SOYPSI initiative, Indian Grameen Services
in collaboration with Solidaridad has developed an
intervention to enhance soy productivity in MP by
adopting RTRS principles through institutionalizing small
and marginal farmers into producers' groups. 3452
farmers in Ujjain, Dewas, Harda, Hoshangabad, and
Khargoan districts are benefiting from the intervention.

Components of intervention

Identifying Farmers
a. Village identification and baseline survey of potential
Context and Need in India participating farmers
Soy cultivation in India is mainly concentrated in the states i. Villages within a radius of 15 km from cluster
of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and centre are selected for better implementation and
Gujarat; Madhya Pradesh is known as the “soybean state” easy monitoring
of India. In MP, soy is produced mainly by smallholder ii. The survey found that farmers were unorganized
farmers and they grow only non-GM soy in their family and it would be best to adopt a group approach as
fields as a Kharif crop. In recent years there has been an working with individual farmers would have made it
increase in the cost of soybean production in MP leading difficult to execute effective training and facilitate
to lower incomes for these already vulnerable farmers. certification.
b. Farmer identification
Apart from the increasing price of agricultural inputs, this i. Soy farmers with land up to 4 ha, belonging to the
increase in cost can be attributed to highly unsustainable target villages. These farmers either had legal land
farming practices which degrade soil health and produce papers or submitted a self declaration that it
a low yield. Some of these practices have been described belonged to their father or husband.
below: ii. The project staff conducted 3-4 meetings for
l Continued monoculture identifying the farmers to form Producers’ Group.
l Poor adoption of new varieties
l Soybean sowing is often done hurriedly with the onset Organizing Producers’ Groups
of monsoon without the desired level of tilling. a. Formation of producers' group through producer
Inadequate tillage exacerbates the weed problem. meetings and promoting good governance and
Water-logging in low-lying fields leads to stunted management principles
growth and nitrogen deficiency. i. Producer group (PG) chosen as method of
l Low seed replacement rate at 19.37%3 organization as these are easy to form, informal
l Using a high seed rate of up to 135 kg/ha against commodity focused groups. The groups in Dewas
recommended 80 – 90 kg/ha4. and Ujjain districts have formed two producer
l No seed treatment or inoculation, resulting in Single companies, one in each district.
Super Phosphate fixation in the soil. ii. President and secretary chosen by group
l In the areas of Harda, Hoshangabad, Maheshwar, members to effectively manage the group.
farmers were keeping a low row to row spacing (9
inches) which was resulting in low yield and many
times infertility in soybean
l Use of unnecessary pesticides
l Farmers burn crop residues on the field instead of
mixing the same in the soil; thus instead of enhancing
or maintaining soil quality, they degrade it.
l Wage rates for women and men were different, and
wage was not at par with minimum wage
l Poor market accessibility and aggregation of produce
l Inefficient use and/or lack of access to agri - inputs
such as good quality seed, fertilizers and pesticides
especially for small farmers limits productivity. A lack of
weed control measures means the soybean crop is
often highly infested with weeds.

3
http://mpkrishi.org/krishinet/Compendium/input_SeedReplacementRate.asp
4
IGS baseline survey and http://plantarchives.org/paper/Vol-11,%20No.-2,%201107-1111.pdf

47
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

iii. Facilitating the PGs to develop their own norms ii. Fair labour – minimum wage, equal wage for men
(rules, regulations, values), which the individuals and women, child labour, safe working conditions
within the group evolve for themselves, accept and - The implementing agencies along with India
to which they adhere. Soy Forum have involved experts from ILO and
iv. Facilitating leadership development and good experts from other NGOs on gender issues on
governance for the purpose of ensuring effective this program
decision making within the group. iii. Environmental protection – safe handling of
v. Training on record keeping. pesticides, safe disposal of pesticide containers,
safe use of implements, intercropping with mango,
Package of Practices related to RTRS principles guava, amla and lemon for maintaining soil health.
delivered
a. One demo plot per 25 – 30 farmers to show practices
based on RTRS principles
i. Lead farmers concept ( as shown in the box below)
was developed in the 2nd year
b. Group training on
i. Good agricultural practices as defined by RTRS
principles – e.g. INM, IWM, IPM, bio-pesticides,
sowing practices, water management practices
including bund plantation

Safe seed treatment

Safe pesticide application

Demo plot assessment

48
 So(y) Responsible!

Box 2: Lead farmers

Lead Farmers
The concept of Lead Farmers was successfully introduced in the second year of the intervention. The rationale
was to engage farmers who have successfully practiced RTRS principles in the first year and who can motivate
and educate fellow farmers. A great advantage of such demonstration is that it can show how an innovation works
in practice.

Mr. R.K. Nigam is a lead farmer. From 1999-2009 his average yield was of 8-11 quintal of soy/acre. After following
RTRS principles his yield has increased to 16.6 quintal of soy/acre. The average yield of the village is 10.36q/acre
and the district average is 4.74 q/acre (see www.sopa.org). In the year 2010 his yield was 15q/acre and he was
awarded by a Birla Group Company for being a progressive farmer and responsible cultivation of soy.

Criteria for lead farmer: Should be literate, moti-

vated to devote few hours in weak for PG, able to
disseminate technologies practiced on their plot
(demo plot)

Role: to act as leader for entire activity and lead the

PG members

Responsibilities: to organize farmers for the

meeting, disseminate the PoP followed in their field
and its output to members as well as other farmers of
village, take responsibility of members for seed
treatment and inoculation practices, agro-chemicals
container disposal.

Facilitating the certification process c. For soybean produce

a. Internal audit on compliance of RTRS principles by i. While the project has not actively facilitated output
IGS and PG lead farmers linkages, the soy processing industry has taken an
i. Training on how to do internal audit for lead interest. As food and animal feed companies
farmers become aware of international trends, companies
b. External audits by external auditors like Unilever, Cargill, and Nutreco have started
i. Certification by Indocert was conducted in the first proactively identifying soy cultivated following
two years in all districts while in the third year in 4 RTRS principles.
districts (Dewas, Harda, Hoshangabad,
Maheshwar) by Indocert and in Ujjain by Control Challenges faced
Union. These certificates are tradable in interna- Agricultural Package of Practices adoption
tional market. (Refer http://www.indocert.org/, 1. Initially it was difficult to mobilize farmers under this
http://certification.controlunion.com/) project as changing their cultivation practices meant
behavioural change. Thus we identified lead farmers
Market linkages to organize demo plots.
a. For agri-inputs 2. Balanced dose of fertilizer: Farmers were not using
i. Linked producer groups with fertilizer companies Murate of Potash (to supplement recommended K2O -
because of which they got wholesale rates; with 20kg/ha); they were saying that nitrogen was not
Government departments for neem oil and seed relevant for this crop as it helps in longitudinal growth
treatment and inoculation material only. We had to convince them that Murate of Potash
b. For certificates helps in increasing the oil content in the soy bean and
i. Initially farmers were motivated because of this vegetative growth is necessary for formation of soy
factor, as they saw trade of certificates in interna- fruits.
tional market as additional revenue 3. There is a lack of market for certified soy. While
ii. Sold with the help of Solidaridad to Friesland certificates are being sold with the help of Solidaridad
Campina and all farmers got INR 35/quintal after and local industry is taking an interest in certified soy,
deduction of certification cost. there is huge potential for developing this market.

49
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Certification
Box 3 Certification of all the farmers is also a challenge as some
farmers even though they follow the principles are unable
to demonstrate it to the auditors and new farmers (farmers
Under Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation)
who are added to the group each year) generally are not
Act, 1986, it is mentioned that children should not
able to follow the entire criteria and indicators. To address
work in certain occupations, one of which is
this issue, monthly meetings of PGs are conducted, and
handling hazardous chemicals. However, in the
India Soy Forum also supports farmers by building
project area in many instances children were
awareness.
spraying hazardous agro-chemical based
pesticides. Table 1: Intervention outreach
(all figures are cumulative)
The Equal Remuneration Act prohibits discrimina-
tion of wage on the basis of gender, but often Particulars Year Year Year
farmers were paying different wages to men and 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012
women for the same work (mainly weeding). No. of registered farmers 2725 2843 3452
No. of Identified lead farmers 0 73 141
Insecticide Rule 1971, says the packages of
pesticides should be broken and buried away from No. of certified farmers 1859 2809 In process
habitation but farmers use these for keeping Certified area in hectare 4043.22 5251.24 In process
spices and for toiletry purpose. Certified production in ton. 4627 9082 In process

Progressive changes and benefits

Labour issues Farmers have started practicing soil tests and application
1. Wage equality: Farmers were initially reluctant to pay of balanced fertilizer doses on the basis of soil testing
equal wages to women and men as they claimed report, germination test for optimum seed rate, seed
women did less work than the men on the field. IGS treatment, and INM, IPM, IWM. They use bird perch for
along with the India Soy Forum and other SOYPSI pest control, use of pheromone traps and organic
implementing agencies suggested that the farmer pesticides. They also apply organic fertilizers. Spacing
could either pay on the basis of field area operated by has been corrected; the farmers have started opening
the labourer or working hours. Thus farmers decided conservative furrow. This has led to an increase in
to pay equal wage on working hour basis. productivity. In 2011, the average productivity of an RTRS
2. Contrary to RTRS principle, there were no provisions farmer was 13.65q/ha while the state average is
for emergency healthcare services to labourers. For 11.05q/ha.
that we provided primary health kits at the Producers'
Group level. They found it useful as in several cases Given below are sample farmers' soy harvest yields in
the kits was used. Now they refill kits on their own. Sunwani Gopal village. As shown in the graph, following
RTRS principles has led to greater yield.
Environmental issues
1. Farmers were reluctant to use safety equipments
which were provided to them while doing hazardous
operations. With persistent explanations, they were
convinced.
2. Wheat season comes before soy. Farmers find it easy
to burn wheat crop residues instead of mixing it in the
soil. After several easily comprehensible trainings
from experts from Agricultural Universities and Krishi
Vigyan Kendra, they were convinced not to burn these
residues.
3. Due to lack of awareness, farmers were contaminating
water resources with agrochemicals and using
pesticides bottles for different purposes. Trainings on Findings by soybean scientists of Sehore
how this degrades the resources and harms their own Agriculture College, MP
drinking water supply convinced them to change the Soybean yield increases by 10% through
practices. appropriate seed treatment, 13% by recom-
4. Farmers were not disposing of pesticides in the legally mended spacing and conservative furrow, and 30-
prescribed manner; they were made aware of the rules 35% by keeping the plot weed free.
through trainings. The practices have changed for the
better.

50
 So(y) Responsible!

Additional income to farmers

Before intervention:
Yield from an acre – 8.5 q, market price INR 2000/q
Revenue to farmer = 8.5*2000 = 17000
After intervention:
In addition to above, INR 35 per quintal from certificate sale in international market (after deducting the certification cost)
Thus total revenue = 8.5*2000 + 35*8.5 = 17297.5
It is expected to increase in future as RTRS is planning to create online portal where all the certificates will be uploaded
and online auction will be organized for its sale.

Farmers' groups have given significant social benefits to Pace up the adoption of changes by introducing a
the group members such as promoting savings habit, revenue model: Changes are adopted more quickly if
cheaper agri-inputs through bulk buying, abjuring to use they can be shown to directly link to a source of revenue.
child labour, providing equal wages for equal work, being The promise of additional revenue from RTRS certificates
aware of the dangerous effects of pesticides and use of and tangible increase in yield both helped quicken
hand gloves and mask during pesticide spray, use of change.
primary health kit in case of emergency, disposal of
pesticide container after use, etc. Other environment Group pressure helps make change: Farmers earn
friendly practices like non use of banned pesticides, use of additional income through being certified, and a farmer's
vermin compost, bird perching and bio pesticide for pest failure to correctly follow RTRS principles disqualifies that
management, non burning of crop residues after harvest- farmer's entire producer group from being certified. As
ing and using the same for preparation of manure are all the practices of a single farmer affected the revenue of an
going to positively impact soy farming and soy farmers in entire group, peer pressure played a major role in
the long run. ensuring adoption of RTRS principles.

Some lessons References

There are many inappropriate and low yielding practices Alexander, M. (1977) Pulse crop edited by Baldex; B.
in the agriculture sector in our country. It has become Rajmanyan and Jain, H.K. (1998). Oxford and IBH
important to discuss how these can be corrected. RTRS Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. 55 pp.
principles evolved as one answer to it, specifically for the SOPA (The Soybean Processors Association of India)
soy industry. The industry seems ready to support this area & production estimate of Soybean in India kharif
under their CSR activity. Some lessons learnt through the (Monsoon) 2010.
project are: Solidaridad Annual Report 2010.
ISF (India Soy Forum) website
Lead farmers help quicken uptake: We learnt that it is
easier to convince the farmers through opinion lead-
ers/progressive farmers of the village. Lead farmers have
been an excellent method to convince other farmers.

About the authors

Ms. Vandana Kumari is Assistant Manager at IGS in Madhya Pradesh. She may be reached at
[email protected]
Mr. Sarvesh Sharma is a Manager at IGS in Madhya Pradesh. He may be reached at
[email protected]
Mr. Jyotindra Prasad Saha is an Assistant Manager at IGS in Madhya Pradesh. He may be reached at
[email protected]

51
52
 Behtar Nasl, Sunehra Kal
- Navneet Naik and M P Singh

The case is about a fee based model of provisioning vet-care services in rural areas through
dedicated centres. The model attempted to meet important parameters of quality, profitability
and door step availability of services on a wider scale.

Livestock rearing is one of the most reliable sources of

sustainable livelihood in rural areas of our country. India
has the largest bovine population in the world at 283
million, of which 65.3% are cattle and 34.5% are buffaloes
(Livestock Census, 2003). In Hoshangabad district of
Madhya Pradesh (MP), the intervention area in this case,
the number of indigenous cattle and buffalo are 120,690
and 68,862 respectively (State Livestock Census report,
2006). However, these livestock population are primarily
composed of local breeds with low milk yielding potential,
rendering it less lucrative as a livelihood option. It has also
meant that the rearing practices are poor; veterinary
services scarce and institutional support weak.
constraint to enhance milk productivity. The solutions
When BASIX started its operations in Hoshangabad in the were either procurement of high yielding breeds or breed
year 2008, dairy was identified as a potential sub-sector to improvement through artificial insemination. The former
intervene. Along with credit support for purchasing dairy was a costly option and hence not considered appropriate
animals, it also provided some vet-care services. for a poor household or marginal farmer. On the contrary,
However, low yielding local breeds posed a bigger Artificial insemination (AI) is a technology where breed

53
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

improvement is achieved using the semen of high quality

bulls. The progenies are considered a cross-bred variety
with much higher milk productivity compared to local
breeds. In MP, crossbreed cattle constitute only 1.68% of
the total cattle population and in buffaloes, the figure is
even less. In Hoshangabad, the number of crossbreeds is
a paltry 2,323.

Intervention Service
Indian Grameen Services (IGS) initiated an action Delivery
research to experiment whether a high quality, scalable Mechanism
and profitable model can be developed in this livelihood
space. Towards this, a project titled “Comprehensive
Livestock Development Programme (CLDP)” was
conceived. It aimed to ensure door step delivery of quality
veterinary services viz.
l artificial insemination and pregnancy detection
l required care till calving
l post calving advisory services
l minor veterinary services like de-worming, vaccina-
tion, primary treatment, regular health check up etc. The operations were modelled to ensure service availabil-
ity at farmers' doorstep. After receiving a service request,
the para-vet records the details of requested service and
moves to the respective village. As the nature of services
sought for is generally critical, it is important to ensure
faster response and hence mode of transportation for
para vets is motor cycle. After delivering the service,
details are entered into the records to ensure timely
follow-up.

Service fee of INR 100 each is charged only for AI

services. However, unlike other service providers,
additional services till calving is provided free of cost. Also,
treatments requiring medicines and cattle-feeds etc. are
provided on cost basis.

In addition, it was equally important to educate farmers on Para vet remains in contact with the farmer till calving and
good livestock management practices. This was done thereafter he guides them on better rearing practices. The
through farmers training, infertility camps, calf rallies, para-vet also creates awareness on detecting heat
exposure visits and feed and fodder cultivation demon- through specific symptoms and advantages of rearing
strations. cross breed animals over local ones. General methods
used are infertility camps, pamphlets in local language,
It was decided to provide these services in an integrated
manner through setting up “Samruddhi Livestock
Development Centres” (SLDC) in identified areas having
potential for dairy development. Cluster approach was
adopted wherein one SLDC was established in a bigger
and centrally located village surrounded by 15-25 other
villages. The catchment area was defined in such a
manner that around 3,000 breedable livestock is available
in the catchment area of each SLDC. SLDC acts as an
office for veterinary workers which stores the required
equipments as well as serves as the contact point for
farmers.

Operations
Trained para-vets were selected to manage the centres
under the supervision of project-in-charge. A veterinary
doctor was recruited as project in charge.

54
 Behtar Nasl, Sunhera Kal

AI Cycle

One major constraint was the regulatory approval. Project

was launched with verbal consent of District Magistrate
(DM). However, a few months into the project, government
veterinary doctors foresaw competition and consequently,
village level trainings and meetings. Awareness and the team were called numerous times for explaining the
capacity building efforts involved 2,178 village meetings, intent behind the intervention. Finally, IGS applied for a No
523 trainings and 97 veterinary camps involving 13,972 Objection Certificate (NOC) from concerned state
farmers from 7,647 households. department which was yet to come by the time case was
being written.
As of date, a total of 7,760 AI have been done leading to
birth of 1,226 calves (708 female and 518 male) and Results
diagnosed pregnancy of 5,362 cases indicating a success
rate of more than 65%. Also, 5,898 animals have been Developing a self sustainable model
vaccinated and 5,920 cattle were given the service of de- The experience shows that farmers are ready to pay for
worming. quality vet-care services, if it is available to them on time.
So far, revenue of INR 0.73 million have been generated
Constraints faced with fee-based AI and sale of inputs such de-wormers,
Initially, establishing SLDC was a major challenge as IGS mineral mixture etc. within a period of two years.
was not very familiar with the technical issues. For
example, farmers were averse to have AI in buffalo as the Average monthly operating cost of a SLDC is approx. INR
service was available at government centres at a high 10,000 which may be recovered by 100 AI (Annexure I).
cost, but with poor success rate. The main reason for this Looking at the data on AI of all twenty centres, which were
was the delay on the part of govt. veterinary workers in started in a phased manner starting October 2009, we
attending the case. It had led to the general belief that AI in may deduce that it would take around three to four years
buffalo does not work. Later on, experiencing a better for all the centres to break even, only on the basis of
success rate in cow and sustained efforts by para-vets, AI revenue generated by AI (Annexure II). In the graph
was started in buffalo too. presented in annexure, forecast has been shown for the
weakest centre which demonstrates that even this would
Creating awareness in the region on available services be able to cross break-even figure of AI by first half of the
was the biggest hurdle. Towards this, various promotional fourth year in operation.
methods were used in a sustained manner. These were:
l Village meetings However, revenue could also be generated on account of
l Wall paintings other veterinary services and sale of inputs, which had
l Veterinary/ Infertility Camps been provided free of cost under this project as a promo-
l Improved Animal Husbandry Practices (IAHP) tional tool. Another potential revenue source would be
trainings livestock insurance. This project has not been able to
l Handouts/ Pamphlets experiment on these variables due to design constraints.
l Audio Campaigns It is important to understand that the profitability of this
l Arranging Calf Rallies (of female calves from AI) model may be achieved only with follow-up requests from
l Nukkad Natak the farmers which is contingent upon the quality of first

55
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

experience. If it is ensured, continuous business is

generated because:
l By its very nature, AI is required multiple times in the
life of a livestock.
l AI is required even for female progenies of AI cases,
for four to five generations down the line, as it leads to
progressive breed improvement.
l A rural household generally rears more than one
cattle.

Enhanced income from animal husbandry

708 female calves, after reaching the lactation stage, shall
yield 5,600 litres milk/day (approx. INR 112,000 in
monetary terms at the prevailing rate) and would be Preparatory Phase
assets worth INR 20 million approx. considering its resale It is necessary to have a preparatory phase of at least two
value. It is an important parameter as the value of female months before launching the program. This phase should
calves of local breed is approx. INR 15,000 as against INR be utilised for input arrangements, marketing to create
20,000 -25,000 for cross-bred. Also, it is observed that the awareness of the services offered, livestock data
cross-bred female calves reach the pregnancy stage collection etc. Feasibility study is required to know about
within 12 months and lactation stage within 21 months the breeds available in the area. It helps in designing and
which is 18 and 27 months respectively in local breeds. planning the intervention in a better manner.

Reduced opportunity cost Designing for appropriate scale

Earlier, farmers had to travel with their livestock for miles A detailed plan to achieve the desired scale was prepared
to the nearest hospitals which meant significant transpor- for each SLDC so that they transition from cost centres to
tation cost and loss of time. revenue units. This enabled clear focus and extensive
efforts to popularise the services amongst target clients.
Better rearing practices
Consistent field presence and advisory services at Skilled manpower
farmers' doorstep has resulted in enhanced awareness AI, if done by poorly skilled professionals, leads to poor
on livestock rearing. Now, most of the farmers are able to conception rate. Further, it results in loss of confidence of
detect proper heat symptoms, know the time suitable for farmers in the technology. Hence recruiting skilled human
AI etc. resources and putting in place trained hands in SLDCs
were critical in restoring confidence which was somewhat
Lessons shaken by unscrupulous hands or delayed response.
The model of SLDC as a single point interface for dairy
farmers was crucial for the success of the programme. Quality inputs
Farmers saw in it an easy-to-access centre for quality Inputs used in such interventions should be of high quality
services. Artificial insemination, if provided on time with and needs to be procured from reliable sources. It ensures
quality, is a reliable and low-cost method for breed high percentage of desired results leading to repeat
improvement. But its acceptance was largely due to the requests from farmers.
promotional efforts undertaken. Increased awareness
among the farmers and increased confidence about On-Time Delivery
service quality were the twin success factors. For a para-vet working for AI, it is necessary to work
beyond office hours to make the conceptions successful
as time of insemination plays an important role.

Conclusion
Experience suggests that veterinary services can be
provided in a financially self sustaining model; however it
requires a gestation period of four to five years. IGS has
got the confidence to set up, run, review and monitor
SLDC centres for effective delivery of services to dairy
farmers and generate revenues out of it. However, new
technology being transferred to ground level needs
community mobilization and awareness creation. Only
then, it is accepted by the community. Its absence leads to
failure of the intervention and also puts a question mark
over the technologies involved.

56
 Behtar Nasl, Sunhera Kal

Annexure I
Monthly SLDC Expenses Amount (in INR)
Honorarium & incentive for Para-vet 4,000
Office Rent 500
Cost of LN2 (Including transportation cost) 2,000
Semen & Sheath cost 1041
Communication 150
Stationary & Other office Expenses 100
Travel and maintenance 2,000
Total Cost 9,791

Annexure II
Average monthly AI graph of all centres and exponential forecast of the weakest centre
among the ones opened in the first phase (C1)

About the author

Navneet Naik is working as Manager in IGS, based at Jabalpur and may be reached at
[email protected]
M P Singh is working as Senior Manager in BKSL, based at Bhopal and may be reached at
[email protected]

57
58
 SRI se Samruddhi
Ensuring food security through scaling up SRI
- Dharmendra Sriwastawa

An agricultural extension model that charges fees to the farmers for the services rendered was
experimented successfully in Bihar. A trained cadre of village resource persons acting as both
marketers of the model and service providers in farmers' fields is a key feature of the
intervention.

Background findings of this exercise was that intervention in rice

Indian Grameen Services (IGS) conducted a livelihood cultivation had huge potential of improving the livelihoods
profiling of Bihar in the year 2006 in order to design its of small and marginal farmers. Around the same time, IGS
intervention strategy for the state. The exercise was meant was engaged in an action research project on System of
to understand the livelihood patterns of rural households Rice Intensification(SRI)1 in Ganjam district of Odisha and
and identify potential areas of intervention. One of the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. Farmers at both
the sites though initially reluctant to adopt the method had
1
http://mpkrishi.org/krishinet/Compendium/input_SeedReplacementRate.asp reported improved earnings from the same unit of land

59
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

primarily on account of reduced costs. The increase in like water, seeds, fertilizers and stagnant or decreasing
yield was not uniform and appreciable as the farmers were yield were resulting in less interest in paddy farming more
hesitant to adopt the method fully in the first year. The so among small and marginal farmers. Farmers were fast
action research provided important leads about the fears becoming labourers and some of them were migrating out
and concerns of farmers, the local adaptations and as well. Household food security was getting impaired
modifications made to the method and the implications on irreversibly. It is in this context piloting and scaling up of
yield. The costs and benefits were meticulously recorded SRI in Bihar was conceived.
and computed. The process of continuous engagement
with the farmers including sourcing and provisioning of Scaling up of SRI in Bihar
various inputs, trainings imparted to farmers, social The conventional method of rice cultivation requires large
mobilization tools used were documented. The research amounts of water and several inputs contribute to the high
enabled IGS to develop a robust yet flexible model of cost of cultivation and depletion of water levels. Studies
intervention in SRI. show that cultivating a single kilogram of rice requires
5,000 litres of water through conventional method. The
Keeping the learning from the action research project in occurrence of frequent droughts in southern Bihar makes
mind, IGS started SRI intervention with 75 farmers in it imperative to thrust for conjunctive water use and is the
Bankey Bazzar block of Gaya district of Bihar in Kharif major concern for scientists and farmers. Indiscriminate
2007. This was the first time when a fee-based agriculture use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides also has an
extension model was introduced in Bihar where the adverse effect on the ecosystem equilibrium which
farmers who were willing to adopt the SRI practices had to reduces the quality of produces, leaving the residues
pay an upfront registration fee of Rs. 350/-. As per the behind and thus making cultivation unsustainable in the
model, IGS would train the farmers on all the six principles long run.
of SRI by organizing them in groups, training at the
farmers' field or hand holding support across the paddy
System of Rice Intensification (SRI)
season till third weeding. IGS also introduced a grabber
used for weeding at Rs.75/- per piece to registered SRI emphasizes on altering certain key practices used
under the traditional method of rice cultivation. The
farmers.
technique, originally developed in the 1980s in
Madagascar by the French Jesuit Father Henri de
Laulanie, latter on was spread by Dr Norman Uphoff,
Benefits of SRI professor at the Cornell International Institute for Food
Reduces seed quantity by 65–70%
Ÿ and Agriculture in the late 1990s.
Saving of water about 35–45%
Ÿ
More number of tillers/productive tillers
Ÿ
More number of spiklets per panicle
Ÿ The Pilot
Uniform maturity
Ÿ
In kharif 2008, IGS had done the intervention with 750
farmers by involving the SHG federations promoted by
More head rice recovery
Ÿ
Women Development Corporation, Bihar. Table 1 shows
Early maturity (5–20 days)
Ÿ
the land allotted to SRI by farmers in the initial period of
Healthy plants resistant to pests and diseases
Ÿ
experimentation.
1.5 to 2.00 times yield over conventional method
Ÿ
No competition between rice plants and weeds
Ÿ Table 1: Distribution of farmers
Providing healthy food and environmental protection
Ÿ Area in acres Percentage
Reduced use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides
Ÿ H< 0.1 2.06
o.1 to 0.5 57.73
The larger context 0.5 to 1 17.53
Bihar is one among the twelve states that fall in the >1 22.68
“alarming” category of hunger according to the India State Total number of samples 100
Hunger Index (ISHI) Study, 2008. The study also states
that improving child nutrition is of utmost urgency in most Here the role of IGS was to identify and train village
Indian states and more so for Bihar because of its large resource persons (VRPs) on SRI. These VRPs further
contribution to the ISHI scores. The state also needs to registered farmers willing to adopt SRI. This model was
improve strategies to facilitate inclusive economic growth, introduced to prove that community based institutions
ensure food sufficiency, and reduce child mortality. Paddy could also adopt and promote SRI in revenue model. The
is the major crop and the staple diet of most of the people results of the process were systematically collected and
of the state. Skewed landholding, increasing cost of inputs scientifically analyzed.

2
Like GHI, India State Hunger Index (ISHI) 2008 is calculated using three equally-weighted indicators: the proportion of the calorie deficient population, the prevalence
of underweight children under the age of five, and the under-five mortality rate.

60
 SRI Se Samruddhi

As a strategy to make farmers believe in the benefits of paddy sub-sector in Bihar. These services include
SRI, IGS did not force farmers to adopt any specific seed. lImplementation of SRI by small and marginal farmers
And farmers used the seed of their choice. The details of engaged in paddy cultivation.
inputs provided are given in Annexure 1. Data analysis of l Availability of appropriate equipment and implements
100 farmers during the productive and reproductive stage such as weeders and markers required for these
is shown in Annexure 2 & 3. activities.

After the farmers were convinced of the need for early

transplantation, line sowing, spacing, weeding, etc. the
results were very encouraging and yield and income level
went up substantially. There has been substantial
increase in grain and straw yield. The results are shown in
Annexure 4.

The Project
Seeing the result of SRI Kharif 2008, a state level
workshop on scaling up SRI in Bihar was organized in
Patna in which Director, Agriculture, Government of Bihar,
Managing Director, WDC, representatives from leading
civil society organizations, scientists from agricultural
institutions, representatives from NABARD, Sir Dorabji
Tata Trust(SDTT) and SRI farmers participated.
Consequently SDTT agreed to fund IGS for scaling up SRI
in Bihar.
Promotional Activities
Project Implementing Team Initially it took some time to make farmers aware of the
The project is managed and monitored by Project principles of SRI, preparing nursery beds, line sowing,
Manager, IGS, based in Patna under the guidance of its and single seed sowing by maintaining specified space.
Associate Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer. Farmers became interested after getting exposure to SRI.
The project is implemented in the field by field executives Community nursery had also been introduced with VRPs
under the technical supervision and guidance of Assistant guiding the farmers on the processes to be followed.
Manager who is responsible for training and ensuring the
technical aspects of SRI. Field executives monitored and A fee-based service delivery mechanism was introduced
extended handholding support to the office bearers of with SHG federation registering the farmers for adopting
SHG federations and Federation Development SRI for paddy cultivation.
Executives for implementing the project and extending
services to practice the principals of SRI. The farmers' motivation and willingness to take up short
duration paddy had infused optimism in the drought
Target Segment and Geographical Area scenario. Farmers had expressed their interest in sowing
The target group for this intervention was small and the short duration variety of paddy as late as September
marginal farmers in seven districts of Bihar namely Gaya, and adopted SRI. The farmers who had followed SRI are
Nawada, Jehanabad, Purnea, Samastipur, Muzaffarpur, not only happy with the growth of their crops but are
and East Champaran.

During the 2009 Kharif season a total of 5,227 farmers

were registered by 24 women SHG federations in 24
blocks of nine districts of Bihar for learning the package of
practices (PoP) followed during the complete cycle of rice
cultivation. To extend the services under the PoP to
registered farmers, 300 VRPs were selected and trained
through regular training programmes and motivated
through motivational trainings and performance based
incentive schemes.

The Collaborative Polygon

The project is implemented in a collaborative framework. It
was imperative to engage all stakeholders such as
farmers, SHG federations, and VRPs so as to ensure
efficient delivery of services and large-scale impact on

61
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

equally enthusiastic about suggesting it to their fellow from the federation based on the number of registrations.
villagers. Meetings were also organized in villages to The focus was on developing a strong cadre of VRPs to
explain about vermi compost and its use which motivated further disseminate message of SRI and to introduce the
farmers to prepare vermi compost pits. concept of fee-based extension service model among
farmers to adopt SRI.
In the initial stages, villagers seemed to be reluctant to
adopt this new method of cultivation which appeared quite A strong cadre of VRPs was developed for service
different from the traditional one. Their disbelief was even delivery to registered farmers.
more pronounced when they were told about the quantity
of seeds required for preparing nursery bed. They were One VRP looks after 15 to 20 SRI farmers.
equally inquisitive about the number of times the field Note 1. VRP could be an SHG member or a progres-
needed to be irrigated. In some cases farmers had to be sive farmer to monitor the implementation of SRI.
engaged in intensive interactions to alley their apprehen-
Note 2. VRP had assisted the SHG federation in
sions. More than 5,000 farmers were registered ulti-
registering farmers for SRI so that federation earn the
mately.
revenue and provide service charges to VRP.
The role of SHGs and their federations proved to be very
crucial in creating awareness on SRI and in mobilizing A strong cadre of VRPs was developed for service
women farmers. Discussion on SRI in regular group delivery to registered farmers.
meetings had generated much interest among SHG
members who then discussed the matter with their Registration fee Members INR 125
families and urged their families to take up SRI. The VRP Non-members INR 150
and networking models played a pivotal role in registering Breakup of Case 1: INR 125VRP commission for SRI registration
more and more farmers. registration fee from member – INR 20 per registration
VRP charges for service delivery –
Strategy: VRP Model INR 60 per registration
Since 2007 each year progressive and successful farmers (INR 15 per month per registration ×
were identified and recruited as VRPs for the subsequent 4 months)
year. An incentive structure was designed by IGS for them.
Incentives and motivational schemes,
In this model for every registration for SRI an upfront fee
etc. (as per guidance of IGS) – INR
was collected from the farmer and out of this registration
25 per registration
fee an incentive was paid to VRPs (minor part for registra-
tion and major part for service delivery). SHG federation income – INR 20 per
registration
IGS had opted to use community-based SHG federations Case 2: INR 150 VRP commission for SRI registration
of women to promote SRI, so that a large number of from non-member – INR 30 per registration
farmers would adopt it to enhance their income and food VRP charges for service delivery –
security. SHG federations had registered farmers for INR 60 per registration
cultivation of paddy through SRI and IGS charged fee (INR 15 per month per registration ×
4 months)
The Roles of IGS Incentives and motivational schemes,
Identification and selection of VRPs to assist SHG
Ÿ etc. (as per guidance of IGS) – INR
federation in registering customers as well as 35 per registration
delivery of services to ensure PoP implementation SHG federation income – INR 25 per
by registered customers registration
Motivational schemes and PoP training on SRI to
Ÿ
VRPs
Assistance to SHG federation to set up ideal
Ÿ
Adoption of SRI
demonstration plots to be used for training of IGS undertook the following activities for propagation and
registered farmers on different stages of SRI PoP adoption of SRI.
Input linkages for seeds, Mandwa weeders
Ÿ l Exposure visit of farmers was organized to previous
Handholding support to SHG federation to follow-up
Ÿ year field.
and monitor the implementation of SRI PoP by l IGS staffs were trained on the principles of SRI.
registered farmers l Awareness creation was undertaken using video
Designing MIS system for proper PoP follow-up and
Ÿ shows, handbills, short campaigns, posters, banners,
monitoring of VRPs and individual contacts.
Assisting the SHG federation in setting up vermi
Ÿ l Concept sharing meetings were organized with SHG
compost units federation members and farmers in villages.
l Technical training was provided to identified VRPs to

62
 SRI Se Samruddhi

A synergetic approach was adopted for efficient service

delivery through linking these VRPs with SHG federa-
tions, who in turn registered farmers for adopting SRI.
VRPs had got their service fee based on the services
provided to the registered farmers and the necessary
know-how for properly practising the six principles of SRI.

Since community building has been one of our

approaches, we also tried to strengthen the SHG
federation by involving it in the transaction process of all
inputs. This effort brought out their capacity for aggregat-
ing the demands and distribution of inputs at their level
itself.

Various technical steps being followed in SRI intervention

are as follows:
l Introduction of green manuring plant (dhaincha) in SRI
plots: The farmers and the VRPs were trained. Many
follow up and implement SRI PoP. farmers, however, did not follow the practice because
lVRPs registered the farmers interested to adopt SRI. of draught.
lIncentives and gifts were distributed among VRPs for l Introduction of vermi compost in SRI plots: Training on
customer registration. This was a time-bound making the vermi compost pit was conducted in all
motivational scheme. SHG federations. Village level meeting with farmers
lRegistered farmers were trained at village level for and SHGs were also organized to explain in detail
selection and treatment of seed, preparation of about vermi compost, its preparation and use, etc. In
nursery bed, raising of nursery, transplanting young Banke Bazar and Arwal SHG federation vermi
seedlings, application of weeders and fertilizers, etc. compost unit had already been installed with active
lMandwa weeders were provided to farmers at the rate community participation and formation of producers
of one weeder for a group of five persons per SHG. group was completed.
lOne spraying machine to each SHG (if all members of l Introduction of seed treatment was fully implemented.
the SHG agreed to adopt SRI). l Preparation of seed sowing and raising of nursery bed:
lSRI training tool, consisting of literature, photographs, Farmers were trained at individual as well as cluster
video CD, and bag was developed for farmers. levels for preparation of community nursery through
lOnline advice was provided to farmers by an IGS live demonstrations. At first IGS executives demon-
expert. strated the process of nursery bed preparation to the
lFarmers were provided field training. farmers by raising nursery beds in the plots of VRPs.
l Main field preparation with proper dose of fertilizer:
Networking Model Farmers were trained by VRPs. Since due to draught
A networking model was developed by IGS where every in kharif 2009, majority of farmers were not able to
farmer was given an opportunity to earn incentives and cultivate paddy in order to demonstrate the principles
prizes by registering other farmers of the village. In this of SRI. Thousand SRI plots were developed with short
model, a farmer has been given opportunity to earn duration paddy variety (Prabhat) and used as farmers'
incentives up to INR 450 per year. field training for other farmers.
l Introduction of Cono/Mandwa weeder: A total of 1055
The Intervention weeders were purchased and given to federations for
As the implementation progressed, it was required to distribution to SRI farmers. The farmers used the
multiply efforts through strong cadres of VRPs. This was weeders for the first time in their plots. Weeding
done through regular trainings to motivate and monitor the through machine has been gaining popularity among
implementation of SRI (all six critical stages) taken up by farmers as they found it easy in the case of SRI.
farmers. The farmers who expressed interest in pursuing l Implementation of recommended dosages of
this method of cultivation and actively participated in the chemical fertilizers and organic manure: Farmers
village meetings were identified and trained as VRPs. This enrolled for SRI were trained on recommended
was essential also to sustain the activities and ensure the dosage of chemical fertilizers and organic manure
long term benefit of every effort undertaken. IGS always during the implementation process.
tried to build a sustainable revenue model both for the l Linkages for inputs and equipment: Linkage were
community and for itself. In 2008 kharif, a strong cadre of established with Usha Martin and SRI Industries for
service providers/VRPs was identified for training the Mandawa weeder, and Arize company and RAU for
villagers on SRI. Three hundred VRPs were identified and seed. From Arize, 1206 kg seed (6129 variety) was
trained on SRI. purchased and distributed to farmers through

63
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

federations. Four hundred kilograms of seed (Prabhat) lLocal human resources were trained and motivated to
from RAU and 600 kg of bio-fertilizer (Azetobactor and disseminate and transfer the knowledge and skills for
PSB) were purchased from Dayal Fertilizer Private large scale adoption of SRI by farmers of Bihar.
Limited, Merrat, U.P. lThe project had been successful in proving the role of
lIDS Process: Twenty two SHGs and its federations women in promoting SRI for food security and
had been trained and oriented on SRI and its impor- economic empowerment of small and marginal
tance and impact on food security. They had been farmers of Bihar.
capacitated to become an institution that can aggre- lLocal human resources were sensitized and their
gate the demand and distribute the inputs. knowledge on issues of retaining soil fertility through
green manuring and use of vermi compost was
Capacity building at various levels was the redeeming enhanced.
feature of IGS intervention in SRI in Bihar. The achieve- lThese SHG federations had adopted SRI and were
ments in this regard are as follows: able to aggregate the demands of SRI registration,
l Three hundred VRPs were trained on SRI PoP. VRPs inputs and successfully distributed the inputs.
were identified and selected from each SHG federa- Linkages were developed for input supply.
tion. While selecting, priority was given to farmers who lFee based model was introduced for extending the
had adopted SRI in kharif 2008. This training extension services that would keep on fetching
programme was comprised of both class-room as well revenue for SHG federation along with the cost of
as field training. Follow-up and monitoring of the VRPs.
training was conducted by IGS executives.
l IGS team along with development executives of SHG State government as well as several non governmental
federations was trained on all six principles of SRI. organizations has since adopted SRI in Bihar. As a result,
l Hundred demonstration plots were developed for by 2011 SRI was adopted in more than 3oo,ooo hectares
farmers' field training for live demonstrations on the in Bihar.
techniques and principles of SRI.
l Training material was designed and distributed to Learnings
farmers for implementation of SRI. l Large number of local resource persons(VRPs) need
l Motivational training and schemes were designed for to be created for scaling up SRI.
VRPs for registering farmers for adopting SRI. l More community-based institutions (SHG federations,
PACS, NGOs, etc.) should be involved in disseminat-
Outcome ing SRI principles.
l In spite of a drought year, 5,227 farmers agreed to l Trained VRPs should be sensitized to adopt and
adopt SRI. disseminate practices for retaining soil fertility.
l Structured Incentive programme for motivating VRPs
had been very effective for increasing the outreach
Parameter On-filed impact of SRI and scaling up.
Traditional method SRI l There is a need for weather insurance for furthering
Requirement of seed 50–80% of that of adoption.
traditional method
Straw yield 111.69 quintal/ha 151.36 quintal/ha Conclusion
Productive tillers (average) 19.41 4.40 Changing and modifying farming practices is a challeng-
Weight of grain per 1000 grains 21.44 gram 22.48 gram ing task. It is more so when the cropping system is
primarily determined by rainfall. The adoption of SRI by
Yield (quintal/hectares) 47.87 61.57
the farmers of Bihar demanded systemic experimenta-
tion, collecting and collating learinings, meticulous
planning, trained and dedicated team, building a local
cadre of knowledge and service providers and collabora-
tion with a range of institutions. The model developed is a
reasonably self sustaining model. Initial skepticism
amongst farmers has given way to enthusiasm and above
all enhanced income. SRI has emerged as a symbol of
hope in farming households of Bihar.

64
 SRI Se Samruddhi

Annexure – 1 : Location, Variety and Quality of Seed

Location Variety Remarks
Muzaffarpur Parmal, Hybrid Farmers show more interest in the hybrid variety for use in SRI.
Gaya Saryu-52, Mansuuri Seed replacement required
Purnea Swarna Very old seed, need to introduce new seed
Samastipur Foundation seed (R. Kasturi, Subhashni) Farmers only cultivate hybrid seed here.
East Champaran Saryu-52, Mala, Mansuuri Very old seed , SRR required

Annexure – 2: Productive Stage

Location Age of seedling transplantation Number of tillers per hill Number of productive tillers per sq. m
SRI Traditional SRI Traditional SRI Traditional
Muzaffarpur 17 24 29 15 448 383
Gaya 17 29 34 13 405 396
Purnea 20 24 18 333 204
Samastipur 19 27 -- 312 --
East Champaran 18 36 38 14 377 288
All Bihar 18 30 30 15 375 318

Annexure – 3: Reproductive Stage

Location Number of grain per panicle 1000 grain weight in gm. Yield in quintal per acre
SRI Traditional SRI Traditional SRI Traditional
Muzaffarpur 154 114 20 17 18.72 13.31
Gaya 169 168 21 18 36.56 23.97
Purnea 231 176 24 23 36.31 23.03
Samastipur 185 -- 19 -- 14.69 --
East Champaran 220 87 26 23 27.50 11.82
All Bihar 192 136 22 20 26.76 18

Annexure – 4: Yield Analysis

Muzaffarpur Gaya All Bihar
Grain yield (quintal/acre) SRI 18.72 36.56 27.64
Value (INR) 14,976 29,248 22,112
Traditional 13.31 23.97 18.64
Value (INR) 10,648 19,176 14,912
Straw yield (quintal/acre) SRI 27.6 28.1 27.9
Value (INR) 1,382 1,407 1,394.5
Traditional 1,894 2,619 2,256.5
Value (INR) 947 1,309.5 1,128.25
Cost of cultivation SRI (INR) 4,672 6,979 5,825.5
Traditional (INR) 4,942 8,082 6,512
Net profit /acre SRI (INR) 11,686 23,676 17,681
Traditional (INR) 6,653 12,403 9,528
Difference in profit (INR) 5,033 11,273 8,153

About the author

Dharmendra Sriwastawa is working as Senior Manager in IGS, based at Patna and he may be reached at
[email protected]

65
66
 Promoting Sustainable
Agriculture in Koraput
- Susant Padhy

Context livelihood due to poor management of natural resources,

The project is in Kundra Block of Koraput District, tribal low literacy rate and hence poor awareness level of the
and backward caste people share the majority of the people.
population of this area. Parja and Bhumiya are the main
tribes that predominantly inhabit in this pocket. The Land holding generally varies from 2 to 5 acres. However
remote location of this area speaks for itself that these about 53% of the family comes under small & marginal
people are quite removed from the main stream and farmers and 29% comes under landless labourers. The
communication has been poorly developed. The basic family economy largely is agrarian in nature. However the
amenities like education and health care has been a agriculture accounts only for 5 to 6 months food suffi-
distant dream for them. A sample study in this area says ciency in most of the family owing to low yield and
that only 15 to 17% of the total population is literate. The marginal land holding. The rest parts of the year depend
literacy percentage can be as low as 10% in some of these upon wage labor in the area or outside the district as
villages. Thus the awareness level is quite low. migrated labourer.

The project area is a remote part of the district where food People also rear domestic animals mostly goats and
scarcity is a major issue. The food is secured only for 5 to cows, pigs and buffaloes etc. But these are only meant for
6 months, thus malnutrition along with excessive coping mechanism in the lean period or to meet the
alcoholism has brought the people in to a vicious cycle. emergency need in the family.
Poor use and access to natural resources like land and
water has made them inconsistent in their livelihood. Thus Agriculture is primarily rain fed. People generally grow
the socio-economic situation of the people of the area can single crop during monsoon. Paddy, Millets & Maize are
be described as poor and regressed with inconsistent the main crop cultivated during monsoon. People also

67
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

grow vegetables like Brinjal and Tomato mainly for own 3. Similarly loans can be extended to dig small diameter
consumption. Agriculture has not been taken in commer- ring wells in the medium upland to take up paddy
cial way due to lack of knowledge and resources. cultivation by adopting SRI method followed by
Application of fertilizers and pesticides is sporadic. People vegetable cultivation during Rabi
depend upon forest for firewood. Thus, the poor crop 4. The productivity of maize and millets can also be
management and lack of irrigation have forced people to improved through providing working capital loan and
adopt other mode of livelihood which includes wage training the farmers on better agricultural practices.
earning in different construction work, migration to other
area and some non timber minor-forest based produces. The loan would be extended by the agricultural coopera-
tive to individual farmers with guarantee from at least five
People migrate for wage employment to nearby state other farmers who are part of the project. The wells in the
Andhra Pradesh after completion of the agricultural work. medium land would be on individual basis.
Most of them go to work in brick kiln and agriculture field.
They generally migrate after transplanting season and The harvest of trees for pulp wood after it matures in five
come back in October when the harvesting of upland years can be used to repay the Principal amount of the
paddy starts. Then they start migrating from January after loan taken for creating irrigation infrastructures and
harvesting of lowland paddy up to June when the first improving the crop production. There are nearby paper
shower of monsoon comes. mills like Sewa and Jk pepar mills to which these trees can
be sold. It is assumed that the interest to that loan could be
The Present cropping pattern and crop yield is given repaid from the sell proceeds of surplus maize and
below: vegetable cultivation.
Land Type Crops Grown Yield / Ac. Remarks
Each of the landless families would be assisted by the
Up / Hilly Land Niger, Horse gram, 1.0 - 2.0 qtls. Undulated, poultry cooperative for loan and other forward and
millet in alternate lacking bunds, backward linkages to rear 400 chicks per cycle of 40 days.
years high soil erosion The cooperative can provide loan to each of the landless
Medium Land & Upland paddy, Maize 5 - 7 qtls. Rainfed, families for individual sheds and to meet the working
Homestead land Millet, Vegetables 1.5 - 2.0 qtls. less fertile capital requirement. The cooperative also needs support
Low Land Paddy 8 - 10 qtls Fertile, fertilizer for market linkages at Kundra block through establishment
used of stock point. The birds can be supplied from these stock
points to the retailers based at rural pockets. The
The topography of the area is hilly with undulating terrain intervention is expected to provide a return of Rs 10-12
and the land slope varies from 2 % to 15 %. Several thousand as net income to the landless families.
drainage lines emerge from the ridgeline and finally meet
Kurlu Nadi. The land resource is divided into 3 categories HARSHA TRUST INTERVENTIONS
i.e. upland / hilly land, Medium land and low land / valley Harsha Trust has undertaken development interventions
filled land. based on natural resource management including land,
water and livestock. The organizations lay special
Although there is no irrigation, agriculture still can be a emphasis on access to credit as a key to optimum
viable option by motivating people to go for some low utilization of resource base of the family. Therefore
water demanding remunerative crops or by modifying the promoting saving and credit through women SHGs is a
existing practices. route adopted by the organization to help people access
timely and appropriate amounts of credit for different
The project would have two distinct strategies one for the livelihood interventions.
landed and other for the landless families. With each of the
families having land integrated agricultural intervention Promotion of Self Help Groups:
would be taken up .So the proposed model for a marginal Harsha identifies SHG as a platform for initiating and
farmer would include sustaining interventions with the community. Promoting
1. Plant trees for pulp wood i.e. eucalyptus on the women SHGs and building their capacity continuously to
boundary of the half acre unproductive upland bring both social and economic empowerment to the
available with a family. There would be around 120 women, linking them with local financial institutions and
saplings that can be planted along the boundary of the helping them to initiate income generating activities. SHG
half acre of upland. members as well as the leaders are periodically exposed
2. The above tress can be taken as collateral by the and trained in SHG management, livelihood activities,
cooperative to lend to the farmer for irrigation infra- PRIs and other issues related to village development.
structure and agriculture development. Loans can be SHGs are being organized at the cluster level to enable
provided to raise horticultural plants like mango in the exchange of ideas and concerns and provide a forum for
upland and construct a well on shared basis for combined action.
irrigating the horticultural plants.

68
 Promoting Sustainable Agriculture in Koraput

Community based Natural Resource Management: taken up under different program across all location of
Land and water resources are being managed through the organization.
field bunding, construction of farm ponds and ring wells.
lCereal and Vegetable Cultivation: To make the
lDevelopment of water resources: Creation of small families food sufficient, the organization has targeted
and micro irrigation infrastructure such as tapping the productivity of two major cereals that are paddy
small streams, river and ground water for irrigation has and maize cultivation across all its project locations.
been the key intervention of Harsha trust. It has The families are motivated, trained and supported to
demonstrated innovative models of pipe flow gravity take up improved paddy cultivations including SRI and
irrigation both for irrigation and domestic use. The low cultivate maize in the uplands. The maize farmers sell
cost (Rs15000/Well) irrigation models like 4ft diameter the dried grains to the poultry cooperative promoted
ring wells have worked well to provide protective by Harsha Trust. The farmers have assured market for
(lifesaving) irrigation to paddy during Kharif and the surplus grain they produce, to provide some cash
irrigate vegetable during Rabi season. income to the families during cash crunch Kharif
season, the organization has extensively promoted off
season vegetable in three of its project locations. The
farmers on an average get Rs 5000-6000 net income
from cultivating 10-15 decimals of land. In the Rabi
seasons the farmers mostly use water from the small
dug wells in the medium land to take up crops like
vegetables and Onion.

Farm and Non-farm based livelihoods:

The natural resource management efforts feed directly
into the farm based livelihood activities. In agriculture,
promotion of hybrid maize cultivation, vegetable during
Kharif and Rabi season and System of Rice Intensification
(SRI) is carried out in all locations. A Farmer producer To make difference to the lives of the landless families the
cooperative has been registered in Jeypore and all farm organization has actively promoted non-farm activities
based activities are now being coordinated through the like commercial broiler poultry farming, scientific goat
cooperative. Availability of irrigation through water rearing. Each land less family rears 400 broiler birds every
harvesting structures enabled expansion of area under forty days and earns Rs 10000/ - 12000/ of additional
vegetable cultivation as well as introduction of new income per year. The poultry rearers have formed a
vegetables. Plantation of papaya, drumsticks, mango and cooperative and the cooperative is managing the input
cashew were promoted, with support from NABARD, supply, guiding rearing practices and marketing of ready
Ministry of Tribal Welfares and the National Horticulture birds. Apart from directly benefiting the rearer farmers the
Mission. intervention has provided avenues to rural youths to act as
service providers in its value chain and earn Rs 2500 to Rs
lPromotion of Horticulture: Horticulture has been 3000 per month. The process of capacity enhancement
strategically taken up for better utilization of upland and systems development in these member-based
with minimal irrigation requirement. Promotion of institutions is ongoing, in order to develop them into
mango and cashew cultivation in large scale has been independent institutions.

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

FAMILIES COVERED
Name of Village Total Household HH for Agro – Horti. HH for Poultry
Banuaguda 52 12
Nara kenduguda 63 31
Baragaon 54 12
TOTAL 169 43 12

INVESTMENTS PER FAMILY

Sl No Intervention Expected cost in Rs Expected benefit

1 Ring well of 4ft dia and 20ft Depth in medium lands 15,000 investment Would provide irrigation during dry spells in Kharif
and for vegetable cultivation during rabi
2 Improved paddy cultivation in ½ acre medium land 1000 as working capital Increase the productivity by 1.5 times and provide
(where well is dugged) additional 5quintal of paddy (Rs 3500/-) to the family.
3 Pulses or vegetable cultivation after the harvest of paddy 3000 as working capital Can provide at least Rs 3000/- additional income.
in ½ acre land
4 Maize cultivation in homestead land/uplands in 0.5 acres 1500 working capital Augments food sufficiency and provides at least
Rs 3000/- additional income to the family.
5 Improved millet cultivation in 1/2 acre upland 500 working capital Ensures food sufficiency and meets essential
nutrient requirement.
6 Fruit (Mango) orchard in ½ acre upland 9000 investment Provides an additional income of Rs 10000/yr
after 4 yrs.
7 Poultry(Broiler) shed with 400 poultry birds 30000 fixed capital & Provides an additional income of Rs 12000/yr
30000 as working capital to the family

So for a family with land we require an investment of Rs Objectives:

24000 and working capital of Rs 6000 to ensure food i. To take up farm based livelihood enhancement
sufficiency and generate additional income of at least Rs interventions on revenue model to ensure food sufficiency
19500 per year from 4th year. For a landless family the and increase the income of 40 mostly tribal families in
requirement is little higher, for a poultry shed of 400sqft maximum two villages of Kundra block by at least
size the fixed capital is Rs 30, 000 and additional Rs additional income of Rs 5000/- per annum.
30,000 is required as working capital and generate ii. To take up commercial broiler poultry farming with 10
additional income of at least Rs 12000 per year. landless families in a village of Kundra block to increase
each of their income by at least Rs 10000/ annum

70
 Promoting Sustainable Agriculture in Koraput

PROCESS INTERVENTIONS:

Item Activities
Preparatory Phase
Village finalization Select maximum two tribal dominated village of around 50-60 HH in Kundra block where more than with more than
70%families are BPL. Preferably one village where Harsha Turst is already working
Community Mobilization and Base line data collection, sensitization through audio- visual show and exposure visits.
Orientation
Implementation Phase
Group formation Groups of 5-6 farmers who can share common irrigation infrastructure in the upland and agree to stand as guarantors
for each others loan are formed. Meeting conducted every fortnight to establish norms and work towards benefiting
each other.
Livelihood planning with families Household level livelihood planning in line with the proposed model but with suitable modification depending on
the resources available with the family. Revenue model food sufficiency and income enhancement would be core
to the planning
Month wise activity plan with Activity plan for each of the farmers with time line on group basis.
each of the groups
Implementation by resource Cooperatives, both agricultural and poultry cooperative would provide loans and technical support for
mobilization and technical implementation of project
support through cooperative

PROCESS INTERVENTIONS:

AMOUNTS In Rs ' 000

S.No Item TOTAL Contribution Contribution from
Amount from IGS Cooperatives
1 20ft depth 4ft dia ring wells @ Rs 12000 for 40 families 480 0 480
2 25ft 4ft dia ring wells in upland( one well shared by 4 families) @ Rs,20000/well 200 0 200
for 40 families
3 WC for horticultural intervention( cost of earth work, planting material and fertilizer) 160 160 0
in upland in half acre land for a family @ Rs4000/family for 40 families
4 WC for plantation of trees ( cost of earth work, planting material and fertilizer) 160 160
for papaya & Ginger cultivation as intercrop in upland @ Rs4000/family for 40 families
5 WC ( cost of compost, seed, small farm equipment and fertilizer) 40 40
for establishment of Kitchen garden @ Rs 1000/family for 40 families
6 Working capital( cost of seed, fertilizer and compost) for improved paddy, maize, 240 240
millet and vegetable cultivation @ Rs 6000/family for 40 families
7 Construction of 10 poultry shed for 10 landless families @ Rs 30000/shed/family 300 300
8 working capital( cost of chick, feed and medicine) for 10 poultry farmers @Rs 30000/farmer 300 300
9 Establishment of stock point at Kundra, cost of weighing equipment, furniture and 80 80
security deposit for rent
10 Working capital ( to purchase birds from members and sell it to retailers) 420 420
for stock point for 10 days to trade 600kgs of poultry meat per day@ Rs70/kg
11 Implementation and coordination cost @ Rs 20,000/Month for 12 months 240 240 0
Total 2620 1560 1060

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

RESULTS lThe project demonstrates an approach where

l PMove the families out of the poverty cycle by collaboration between the nonprofit and business is
ensuring food sufficiency and having enough forged to further both commercial and social goals.
disposable income to meet other health, educational lThe project helps to strengthen local area economy
and recreational needs. through focusing on value addition of produces and
l The project caters to the need of the both landless and local consumption. Like the surplus maize would be
families having land through adoption of different used for producing poultry feed to be used by landless
interventions. families taking up broiler poultry farming.
l The project demonstrates an integrated agricultural lThis also generate additional employment at coopera-
development through adopting revenue model and an tive level to provide different services and run the
institutional mechanism which has large scope of enterprise
replication in south Orissa.

About the author

Susant Padhy, is working as Project Coordinator at Harsha Trust based at Koraput and he may be reached at
[email protected]

72
 Reviving a Diversion-based
Irrigation System
- Dharmendra Sriwastawa

The process of revival of a traditional irrigation system and the attempt to do it in a revenue
model are focused in this case. The meticulous planning that went into making this intervention
an enabler of improved livelihoods and the challenges encountered are discussed in detail.

History and Context

Gaya region of Bihar is known for the system of Ahar and Ahar resembles a rectangular catchment basin with
Pyne, a traditional irrigation system. Practitioners have embankment on three sides and is used for stocking
posited that Ahar–Pyne is historically the most important water. Rivers in this region are dry most of the year, but
source of irrigation in south Bihar and even today provides swell during monsoons. Hence, a system of Pynes
was usually developed to lead off water from these
a shining example of Participatory Irrigation Management
rivers to agricultural fields and also to divert the water
(PIM). Prior to Independence, Ahars were owned by
flowing through these rivers into Ahars.
zamindars. They collected the tax and were responsible
for operation and maintenance of the system.
Mahakhap, Sahnoo, Srisanichak, Mobarakpur, Pinderia
A chahka1 was constructed on river Jamuna, a small and Niskha villages of Sherghati and Bodh Gaya blocks of
perennial stream, connecting the two banks at a cost of Gaya district of Bihar. Ghorijara and other villages
INR 10,000 at village Ghorijara along with a pyne in 1860 obtained water for irrigation of about 1,650 bighas (1 bigha
for irrigation of Ghorijara, Sansri, Mohiuddinpur, = 0.74 acres) of land thanks to the chahka.

1
Chahka, in technical terms known as weir, is a low dam built across a river to raise the water level, divert the water or control its flow.

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

The chahka was made of strong stone masonry but Table 1: Expenditure on diesel in villages
eventually a portion of it was broken on account of heavy
pressure of water (due to a high flood) prior to the survey Name of the village Expenditure on diesel in INR
and settlement proceedings. The broken portion of the UPunadih 223,300
chahka was repaired by building an earthen dam to Garibchak 297,924
redirect the river water to flow into the pyne and to Niskha 3,462,712
Ghorijara and other command area villages. Farmers Mahahdipur 1,067,022
benefiting from the system used to repair it every year till
Belamordhi 498,300
the 1980s. After the 80s farmers stopped taking interest in
repairing the broken structure and started depending on Sahnu 864,622
either rain water or by drawing out groundwater using Mubarakpur 259,776
diesel pumps for kharif paddy. Also, farmers had to Vishnubigha 852,104
depend on diesel pumps for providing irrigation during Shrichak 1,028,456
panicle imitation and grain filling stages of paddy crop. The
rent paid for using diesel pump is INR 60 - 75 per hour and After the receipt of application, IGS consulted with Mr.
on an average 25 hours of irrigation is required for Sanjay Kumar Ray, a civil engineer with more than 10
irrigating one hectare of land under paddy. Poor farmers years of experience in constructing dams and community
were unable to pay for the rent and hence unable to mobilization. He surveyed the wali bandh site along with
irrigate their lands. If there is no rain during the critical the community and finalized the estimates and designs of
stages of the paddy crop in any year, majority of the the masonry structure. After confirmation by Mr. Ray that
farmers in the villages were unable to save their paddy re-construction of the broken chahka was possible, IGS
crop. The average household level food security in the planned to move ahead with community mobilization and
nine villages was less than three months per year and community consultation. After a series of meetings,
there was semi-permanent to permanent migration of up villagers realized that unless the community comes
to 32%. together as a larger group, it would be almost impossible
to realize the ambitious objectives. The village wise total
Background and relevance of intervention land to be irrigated is given in figure 1. The existing
Gaya lies in the southern part of Bihar and falls in the dry irrigation capacity is given in Table 2.
zone. The average annual rainfall in the region is more
than 1000 mm; but it comes in two to three spells. The Figure 1: Land to be irrigated in kharif,
terrain is also undulating resulting in minimal storage and rabi and zaid seasons (in kattha)
recharge. Most of the water flows downstream. Hence
there is greater demand for watershed to collect the
rainwater during the rainy season and irrigate during the
Rabi and Zaid seasons.

Villagers had formed krishak sabhas (farmers’ assem-

blies/groups) in all the nine command area villages of
Garibchak, Niskha, Mahahdipur, Belamordhi, Sahnu,
Punadih, Mubarakpur, Vishnubigha, and Shrichak. It had
a membership of 324 poor and small farmers who were
unable to irrigate their crops after the chahka was broken.
Krishak sabhas used to build kaccha dam (earthen dam)
every year by contributing labour till 1980s; but with a
Table 2: Capacity of ahars in the villages
single event of heavy rainfall in the catchments, the
structure got broken under the pressure of water. Name of the village Name of ahar Irrigated capacity
Bela No
The villagers of nine villages, whose lands fall under the
Garibchak No
command area of the broken chahka known as wali
bandh, requested IGS to provide technical and financial Mehedipur No
support in re-constructing the broken chahka. Villagers, Sahnu Bulbuli 25 bigha
along with their application, also submitted copy of a court Srichak No
verdict stating that a bandh could be reconstructed at wali Mubarakpur Bhaisa 30 bigha
bandh. With a dam in place, even 600 mm of rainfall would Punadih No
provide sufficient water for irrigating paddy crop. Two Vishnu Bigha No
social workers, Mr Durga Das and Mr Chandan Das,
Nishkha Ahari, Tetar, Nathua, 40,120,65,40,30,10
working in Gaya area for the past 20 years played a major
role in mobilizing the farmers and liaisoning with IGS. Juhia/Chotka Nathua, Bigha Respectively
Hadhadwa, Belmarwa

74
 Reviving a Diversion-based Irrigation System

Objectives of the intervention lComposition of members should be of similar

Keeping the background and the initial consultations in economic profile as disparity in land holding could
mind, IGS designed a project with the following objectives. hamper the essence of SHG.
l Conservation, regeneration and judicious use and lFinancial assistance will be provided to the groups on
management of water resources the basis of land holding.
l Enabling local employment opportunity to prevent lTen per cent of the financial assistance has to be
seasonal migration deposited before disbursement of the principal
l Assisting small and marginal farmers to adopt new amount.
methods such as SRI and market-led cropping pattern lThe group will take joint responsible for repayment of
so as to enhance household income the loan.
l Formation of grassroots level institutions and apex lSHG has to follow the repayment schedule and stick to
federation for proper management of water and on-time repayment.
natural resources lSHGs shall be linked to Ag/BDS later on.
l Setting up of an equitable water distribution system
and profit sharing mechanism for all people in the Krishak Sabha at Village Level
village lKrishak sabha was formed at village level having
representations from all SHGs of the village.
Implementation l The sabha was responsible to solve conflicts and
IGS was discussing this project with potential donors water management issues at the village level.
especially Sir Dorabji Tata Trust(SDTT). Simultaneously it l The sabha would meet every month and have its
was doing the ground work in the villages. IGS was clear by-laws for maintenance and functionality of the
that the intervention had to be owned and managed by the structure.
communities in order to be sustainable. Hence it focused l The sabha would be responsible for the repayment of
on formation of local institutions at village levels. loan from its villages.
Accordingly Krishak sabhas and Wali Bandh Mahasangh
(federation of nine krishak sabhas in nine villages), were Federation
formed at village and project levels respectively. 26 SHGs l The federation will be directly responsible for financial
were formed at village level covering all 324 families. They assistance and repayment/contribution to/from the
were trained through various group trainings where it was SHG members.
emphasized that benefits would be multifold in reviving the l The federation is represented by all villages and is also
diversion-based structure. responsible for the overall management of the
structure and water usage. Wali Bandh Mutual Benefit
Second strategic choice that IGS made was that it would Trust is the registered body of the federation.
be a loan based model. Hence it was proposed that the
cost of the project would be shared with community It took nearly a year and a half for the structure to take
contributing 10% and rest 90% coming as a loan from IGS shape. The team had to stay in the village to clear doubts
at an interest of 8% per annum to be paid back in 10 years. and queries and to explain the perceived benefits to the
Individual contribution and loan would be determined by members. This process went on in all the nine villages
the amount of land to be irrigated. The contribution of simultaneously. For maintaining transparency at all levels,
villages and SHGs would be computed on the basis of wall writings had been put up at prime locations in all the
total land to be irrigated in a particular village and that of all command area villages.
the members of a particular SHG. The loan would be
extended to women SHGs through the federation. One Nukkad Natak (street play) was organized in all villages to
woman from each benefiting household has already been make people realize the benefits of this structure and to
part of a SHG. Village wise details of contribution and loan make them willing to contribute 10% to the project cost.
extended have been dealt with in the later sections. Water
distribution, conflict management, repair and mainte- Pre-construction
nance of the structure were the responsibility of Krishak The estimate and design was finalized through participa-
Sabhas and the Mahasangha at village and project levels tory planning process. It involved consultations with the
respectively. It was proposed that these collectives would farmers and Krishak Sabha members from all command
also be used for credit intermediation, processing and area villages and farmers from upstream villages so that
marketing of farm produces so that the producers get the the conflict due to submergence could be resolved.
maximum benefits.
The following were the outcome of this exercise:
Different institutional structures were created along the lSome villages do not get any benefit from the
following norms. reconstruction of wali bandh. Some area will be
flooded during rainy season obstructing mobility of
Self-Help Groups women farm workers, farmers and students.
l Groups were formed to avail financial assistance.

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

area of land to be irrigated using water from wali bandh.

This was followed by farmer-wise plotting of land in each
village with the help of the ‘Amin’ (villager who measures
land). This individual land plotting exercise was conducted
in the villages by the Krishak Sabha with technical help
from IGS (Table 3). This list was revalidated by the
farmers.

The next step was to estimate the community contribution

and arranging funds for the re-construction of wali bandh.
The land to be irrigated was the basis for calculation of
individual and community contribution and the loan to be
lA foot bridge is required in village Ghorijara to facilitate extended and serviced. The total investment required was
movement. divided by the total units of land to be irrigated. Individual
lSince the land to be submerged was bhoodan land, contribution depended on land units(katthas) held by one
there was no serious issue of conflict of submergence household.
of private land.
lAs the pyne passing through the government land had Collection of Contribution for Reconstructing Wali
already existed, there was no encroachment of private Bandh
land. All the 324 families understood the benefits of reviving the
lTotal cost of reconstruction would be INR 2.45 million. diversion based structure and were also aware of the
estimated cost and details of contributions required for
Area to be irrigated after reconstruction of Wali Bandh this purpose. The process of loan repayment within three
Before starting the actual construction, list of all the water years from the date of completion of construction at a flat
users were prepared in consultation with the respective interest rate of 8% was explained to all SHG members
Krishak Sabhas. The list also contained the details of the (Table 5).

Table 3: Land plotting of villages

Sl No. Village Panchayat Block Distance from Dam (km) Total members Total land (in kattha)
1 Mehedipur Bela Sherghati 2 58 1273
2 Shri Sahanichak Mor Mardana Bodh Gaya 4 56 1562
3 Vishnu Bigha Nishkha Bodh Gaya 5 36 1752
4 Sahanu Mor Mardana Bodh Gaya 3 24 1075
5 Mubarakpur Nishkha Bodh Gaya 4 10 259
6 Punadih Nishkha Bodh Gaya 4 14 365
7 Garibchak Kachuri Sherghati 1 11 48.5
8 Bela Bela Sherghati 0.5 27 605
9 Nishkha Nishkha Bodh Gaya 5 74 4063
310 11,002.5
Note: 27 kattha = 1 acre; 1 kattha = 3.75 decimal

Table 4: Village wise share of contribution and loan

Name of village Total number of Total land Total loan 10% contribution Principal Interest Total
Households (kattha) (INR) (INR) amount(INR) @8% (INR) amount(INR)
Mehedipur 58 1273 283,879 28,387.90 255,491.10 20,439.29 275,930.39
Shri Sahanichak 56 1562 348,326 34,832.60 313,493.40 25,079.47 338,572.87
Vishnu Bigha 36 1752 390,696 39,069.60 351,626.40 28,130.11 379,756.51
Sahanu 24 1075 239,725 23,972.50 215,752.50 17,260.20 233,012.70
Mubarakpur 10 259 57,757 5,775.70 51,981.30 4,158.50 56,139.80
Punadih 14 365 81,395 8,139.50 73,255.50 5,860.44 79,115.94
Garibchak 11 48.5 10,815.5 1,081.55 9,733.95 778.72 10,512.676
Bela 27 605 134,915 13,491.50 121,423.50 9,713.88 131,137.38
Nishkha 74 4063 906,049 90,604.90 815,444.10 65,235.53 880,679.63
Total 310 11002.5 2,453,557.5 245,355.75 2,208,201.75 176,656.14 2,384,857.89

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 Reviving a Diversion-based Irrigation System

Table 5: Status of Repayment of loan and contributions in villages

Name of village No. of SHGs Total no. of Total land Total loan 10% of the Present Status Balance to
Households members (kattha) (INR) contribution (INR) of Repayment be recovered/Due
Bela 2 27 605 134,915 13,491.5 0 13491.5
Mehedipur 5 62 1232 274,736 27,473.6 25655 1818.6
Garibchak 1 15 66.5 14,829.5 1,482.95 1487 -4.05
Punadih 1 14 385 85,855 8,585.5 8582 3.5
Nishkha 6 75 3987 889,101 8,8910.1 61053 27857.1
Vishnu Bigha 3 36 1609 358,807 35,880.7 24018 11862.7
Shri Chak 5 60 1425 317,775 31,777.5 23146 8631.5
Sahanu 2 25 1162 259,126 25,912.6 16445 9467.6
Mubarakpur 1 10 259 57,757 5,775.7 5771 4.7

Crop planning Current Status

Crop planning was conducted with krishak sabha Masonry work is completed; however stay was imposed at
members with focus on paddy cultivation, as all command the construction site by the Hon'ble High Court of Patna in
area farmers have to go for similar duration and variety of response to a PIL filed by Mr. Amar Pratap Singh.
paddy so as to minimize the conflicts regarding water Command area farmers had given a written petition to the
distribution. Focus was on planting similar variety of paddy District Magistrate of Gaya that this stay from high court
whether it is long, medium, or short requiring similar was violating the human rights as this dam is meant to
amount of water for irrigation. This was a key decision to provide livelihood security to the poor and small farmers
accept as it also made sense in backward and forward along with the dalits and maha dalit households. It
linkages. provides assured irrigation along with enhanced opportu-
nity of agriculture wage labour. Based on the petition,
Construction Human Rights Commission Bihar had visited the area and
The construction work was undertaken by Wali Bandh interviewed with the beneficiaries of dam. Further
Mahasangh; a review committee was set up to monitor the protective and strengthening work of “wali bandh” can the
progress of construction. The payment of wages to carried out only after the stay order was withdrawn.
labourers engaged was made weekly as per the wage rate
under MGNREGA. Women workers were also engaged in
work. Employment of 3,485 person-days was created by
this work.

News clipping on the initiative

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

lDealing with greedy and unscrupulous people.

lObstruction from the upstream villages for fear of
water logging in lower areas.
lDelay in purchase of material due to Panchayat
elections.
lStone Crushers in the area were seized by the district
administration around the time the construction
started. It resulted in price hike by 20 to 30% of
boulders and chips and non availability of boulders on
time. Even though labours were arranged but boulders
did not reach on time thus leading to loss of money and
wages.
lUnion of labourers was difficult to deal with.
lPrice hike in materials and labour due to delay in
Outputs and Impacts starting the work.
lAfter 30 years farmers of the nine villages cultivated lDamage to the upstream of wali bandh due to heavy
kharif paddy without fear of monsoon failure and rainfall.
without recourse to diesel pump sets in 2011. Nearly lDealing with legal cases.
400 acres of land was irrigated with the diverted water
through pyne. With the success of kharif paddy, These challenges were addressed through social
farmers are preparing for rabi crops in 200 acres in the mobilization and strengthening the group by enhancing
2011-12 season. their interest and helping them to solve the problems by
l Considering the last monsoon rain and kharif paddy, themselves. These challenges led to major strategies to
the farmers reported a saving of INR 4.8 million on be followed for further implementation in the area
diesel and pump operation cost. concerned.
l Water level of dug wells in the command area of the
dam has reported to have increased by one to three Conclusion
metres. The wells which had dried up are now The revival of this diversion-based structure opens
recharged and usable. several livelihood improvement avenues for all the
l Since the last monsoon, the dam site and community households in the nine command area villages as well as
organizations have become a hot spot for many the upstream villages. There is assured irrigation for kharif
development stakeholders. The effort of IGS with and rabi crops. Water table has gone up. It is now at 10 feet
support of SDTT has been widely acknowledged. depth; earlier it used to be at 30 to 35 feet. The water
l With the success, farmers of 12 new villages (at the stored in wali bandh is approx 15o,ooo cubic metre
trailing end of the canal) are demanding to be covered providing ample opportunity for fishing. Poor people are
by the Wali Bandh Trust. benefiting from this. The valuation of land in the area has
gone up. Drudgery of women in summer season has been
Challenges faced during implementation reduced as the tube wells are working during the period.
lDifficulty in convincing farmers that the dam can be Reverse migration is now being observed. Farmers have
renovated through a loan model. started thinking of improved practices and new methods
l Collecting 10% contribution from the farmers when for productivity enhancement in agriculture.
material was not in stock.

About the author

Dharmendra Sriwastawa is working as a Senior Manager with IGS, based at Patna and he may be reached at
[email protected]

78
 Large Potential of
Small Scale Fisheries
A model from Banswara, Rajasthan
- Dileep Gupta

Even in dry regions such as Rajasthan fishing can be an important approach to livelihood
promotion. This intervention describes one such model of fish farming.

The Background The Intervention

Rajasthan Mission on Skill and Livelihoods (RMoL) was In late 2009, IGS initiated a pilot to establish and prove an
mandated to promote and create large number of approach and methodology to promote a fishery cluster in
livelihoods in the state of Rajasthan. Towards this, it works Banswara district. This initiative was intended to eventu-
to explore the potential of various sectors and provide ally help in scaling up the intervention throughout
modalities to ensure livelihoods in the sector. The RMoL Rajasthan. Accordingly, the specific objectives of the pilot
sponsored 'Fishery Study 2009' which was carried out by were to:
Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE), Mumbai l sensitize and motivate 100 tribal households or other
had suggested that fishery has tremendous potential for interested poor families in Garhi block to adopt fish
livelihoods generation1 in certain areas of Rajasthan. farming as a livelihood option;
l promote a community based institution so as to
1
The CIFE study states that “As per data available with Dept. of Fisheries, there
sustain the activity of fishing;
are 438 water bodies in Banswara district with total area of 21,969 ha which l document and share the learning and experiences so
includes 21000 ha of 2 large reservoirs Mahi Bajaj Sagar (13000 ha) and as to be able to scale up the intervention.
Kadana backwaters (8000 ha). In addition, during the survey of three blocks at
least 15 no. of unlisted water bodies covering an area of 150 ha were found,
some under public domain and some privately owned.”

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Box 1 Box 3

Tribals account for 72% of the population of Amount of financial support / investments
Banswara district. 82% among them belong to BPL made for the intervention
families/vulnerable groups. The main tribes are 2010: INR 1,998,000 for Fish seed, supplementary
Bhil, Damors, and Ninamas. The district has a feed, harvesting, marketing, training, project HR
geographical area of about 5 lakh hectares. As this
is mostly undulating rugged terrain, only 46% of 2011: INR 200,000 for Project HR to provide
the land is under cultivation. Subsistence farming handholding support
Note: Funding from RMOL
is the main occupation of the tribal population with
average land holding of 1.36 hectare. This,
coupled with sporadic rainfall has perhaps led to
tribal out-migration into the neighbouring state of The Intervention
Gujarat. The National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act has increased the family income Identification of cluster areas
marginally but has had little impact on migration. At inception, a team of IGS, ASSEFA and RMOL staff
visited villages and ponds of Garhi block to understand
local community dynamics, the condition of water bodies,
The Intervention Strategy and Activities and the involvement of Panchayati Raj Institutions
The project began in 10 villages of Garhi block with 102 pertaining to project implementation.
farmers with 10 ponds. However, during the course of the
intervention the membership came down to 96. These While selecting the water bodies, the following factors
members were aggregated into nine groups around nine were considered: perennial water bodies, un-allotted and
ponds. Among other things, the main approach was to undisputed water bodies with suitable area, water bodies
stock good quality and good sized fish seed (fry size 25 having adequate depth and willingness of local commu-
mm) in ponds, increase the productivity by adopting nity to take up fisheries as livelihood activity.
scientific breeding practices and increase the sales
margin of fish farmers by aggregation and collectivisation. Leasing of Ponds
Ponds were to be leased from the gram panchayat.
However, none of the significant stakeholders – the
Box 2: Key stakeholders panchayat administration, Department of Fisheries(DoF),
or community – saw fishery as a priority, which delayed
the authorization process. Yet, in three to four months of
lFish farmers and the local community project implementation, IGS was able to sensitize and
lPanchayat Raj Institutions create an interest in the administration, DoF and the
lFish Farms (government and private) communities about fishery as a potential livelihood option;
lLocal markets this led to expediting the authorization process.
lDepartment of Fisheries
lRMoL Box 4: Cluster Details
lIGS

: Garhisupport / investments
Cluster of financial
Amount
The planned activities were to: Sub-clusters : Rohida and Arthuna
made for the intervention
l identify and sensitise the implementation team;
2010:
Rohida INR 1,998,000
ponds for Fish
: Bulla, seed,Nathela,
Hajania, supplementary
l build awareness among villagers on fishery as a
feed, harvesting, marketing,
Ghamela, training, project HR
Choti Saredi
potential source of livelihood;
l form and strengthen group based institutions of Arthuna ponds : Naya Talab, Rojaba,to
2011: INR 200,000 for Project HR provide
Bharkot,
handholding supportPoriwal (later dropped), Hatolia
fishers; Note: Funding from RMOL
l lease ponds suitable for fish production; Combined water : 57 hectares over 9 ponds
l test pond water; spread area
l expose fishers to successful fish farming groups;
l train fishers on fish rearing, basics of marketing and
value addition;
l provide inputs and equipments (seed, manure, boats Challenges
and nets) to fishers ; l The timing of panchayat elections delayed leasing
l establish market linkages for harvested fish; decisions. Moreover, sarpanchs were newly elected
l explore possibilities for value addition. and were unable to guide the process.

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 Large Potential of Small Scale Fisheries: A model from Banswara, Rajasthan

Training
Box 5: Pond politics The target community was trained on management,
governance, systems and processes of group and cluster
functioning, technical aspects of fishery, on harvesting
While nine of the ponds had been leased in the
and value addition of harvested fish, and on marketing.
name of the fisher groups, one was leased in the
name of an individual group member who had prior
On Group and Cluster Institutions
experience of fishing in that pond. Internal conflict
ASSEFA staff conducted a multi-day training on building
in the group led him to refuse to share the pond or
the systems and processes of groups and clusters in
allow seed stocking. He decided to opt out of the
order to build a robust institution. The cluster association
group, and he kept the possession of the pond with
was given responsibility to manage day to day affairs of
himself.
the cluster.
A new pond was identified and the local panchayat
agreed to lease it out. Based on this assurance
fish fry were stocked in the pond. But soon after, a
new problem cropped up: local villagers from the
Rajput community demanded an exorbitant sum
for use of the pond. The panchayat was not willing
to go against this community. Despite IGS’s best
efforts, the issue could not be resolved and the
group was left with no choice but to give away the
pond.

lAt the time of harvesting, a contractor claimed to have

lease of one of the ponds. However, the group was
able to produce its record of the pond lease, records of
the stocked seed and feed and prove that it had indeed
taken the pond on lease. Other villagers have come
forward to support the group, which united the group On Technical Aspects
and reinforced its faith in itself. Fishers were imparted ten days of training by the DoF,
Banswara. Trainees were offered a small stipend to offset
Community Mobilization and Awareness the opportunity cost of attending the training.
As part of the community mobilization efforts, the project
took special care to include marginalized and underprivi- Challenges
leged people, those experienced in aquaculture and those l As it was difficult to find trainers, the DoF recruited
who were in dire need of some source of livelihood in the fishermen as trainers for the first training program. For
intervention. Intensive interactions with individuals and the second program, the DoF identified a resource
communities created an understanding about the fishery person from a local training school.
project and how it would benefit them. l Motivating fishers to invest ten days of their time and
spend their money on travel and refreshment up front
is only possible if they are grouped and are properly
oriented towards looking at fishery as alternate source
of livelihoods.

On harvesting, marketing and value addition

The five day training module on the subject consisted of
fish growth monitoring, transportation of fresh fish from
pond to market, and retail and wholesale marketing of fish.
Farmers were also taken on a two day exposure visit to
Ankeleshwar to observe live transportation, dressing,
packaging and marketing of fish.

For Para-workers
IGS attached ten enthusiastic local youth with the DoF
with the request that they engage themselves in all
activities related to fishing. The department involved them

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

in pre-breeding activities such as repairing of water Harvesting and marketing of fishes

pipeline, pond repairing, filling up ponds with water for The challenges in harvesting and marketing were as
rearing the spawn. They were also involved in injecting follows:
the brooder for breeding. They got the opportunity to learn l In the summer, water levels began to recede drasti-
how hatching is performed and how spawn / fry is packed cally and in several ponds the low water level was a
for transportation. threat to the survival of fish. Fish were harvested
quickly to prevent losses.
These para-workers were also trained on harvesting, l Post monsoon, harvesting was difficult because of the
including knitting of harvesting net, boating and handling depth of water. While the farmers waited for the water
net while harvesting. to recede, the festival season arrived and there was a
decline in prices of fish because of an influx of fish in
Purchase of Equipments: Seed, Feed, Nets, Boats the market and it was not advisable to harvest fish at
Fish fry was procured from the DoF. Because of this, DoF that juncture.
agreed to allow the project team to rear these at their l One group which had hired the services of a contractor
hatcheries so that the fry could attain a reasonable growth to harvest fish on their behalf faced fraud – the
before being stocked in the community ponds at the contractor had cheated them on the weight of the fish
fingerling stage. High mortality at one of the DoF hatcher- he had harvested. The group resolved to harvest the
ies led to additional purchase from private hatcheries. fish themselves for the next season.
Fish feed – rice bran and mustard cake – were procured l Fish poaching by villagers also occurs. Interestingly, if
locally. Necessary equipments such as boats (18) and poaching is done for self consumption, the groups do
nets (200 kg; 10 per pond) were also procured and not mind as the quantity is minimal.
distributed to the farmers.
Formalization of cluster association
During the last quarter of the project, the groups and
Box 6: Fish-seed Procurement clusters discussed formalizing their organizations either
as a co-operative or a producer company so as to
professionally run the fishery activity. This was discussed
l1.5 lacs Rohu seed from Bhilwara fish farm with a chartered accountant, but given the expenditure
l6 lacs Catla from Prem hatcheries, involved in registering a formal organization, they decided
Ankeleshwar, Gujarat to defer formalization.
lBesides this, the entire available seed of
different sizes (5.86 lacs) and 12 lakh spawn Establishment of a retail shop
was purchased from the DoF Banswara. A fish retail shop was set up in one of the villages. But
there were not enough volumes on a regular basis to
make the enterprise viable. Additionally fishers lacked the
Challenges marketing skills to run the shop effectively.
l Non availability of fish fry both from government and
private hatcheries posed a challenge; but the cluster Bank Account
based approach meant that the need of individual The local bank was reluctant to open a bank account in the
ponds could be aggregated into a single large name of the cluster as it was not a registered organization.
demand. This helped resolve the problem. The solution was to form an SHG with representatives
from each group and open the bank account in the name
Exposure visit to Jaiswal Hatcheries, Ankleshwar, Gujarat of the SHG. This account is used for managing revenues
Representatives from each group were taken to Prem and expenses of the retail shop as well as maintaining
Jaiswal Hatcheries in Ankleshwar, Gujarat. It was an eye contributions to the cluster from all the groups.
opener for them as they learnt that more than 4000 Kg per
hectare fish yield is being achieved as rearing is done Results
scientifically. They shared these lessons with other group l For the first time in Banswara, harvesting and retailing
members and this motivated the groups and enhanced of fishes are managed and done at the cluster level by
interest in fishing. the community;
l The cluster has a source of income;
Pond management to protect fishes from overflow l Groups have realized the importance of stocking seed
Heavy rains had caused the ponds to overflow. Groups for getting income in one year. They also realized that
were alerted about potential losses of fish from this and stocking of advanced fry/fingerling size are important
they folded the fishing nets multiple times to narrow the for high survival rate;
gaps in the ponds' embankments. l All groups realized that regular group savings was a
prerequisite for availing bank credit;

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 Large Potential of Small Scale Fisheries: A model from Banswara, Rajasthan

lInfrastructure assets for harvesting and marketing Outcomes

have been created by the project for the use of the This project, focused on tribal households coming
community. together and pursuing fishery as their livelihood, encour-
aged the DoF to further support the project. Given the
The concept of a 'revolving fund' has been established assured demand of fish seed, the department decided to
among the group members. Each group will deposit 33% cater to the demand from its own hatchery. Accordingly, it
of their sale proceeds in their cluster account. This money repaired its hatchery's engine, pipe and pond structure.
will be used for further short and long term investments in For breeding, it procured breeders weighing 5.5 quintal
the business such as harvesting infrastructure (boat and and stocked in Bhimpur hatchery which produced about
net), labour for harvesting and marketing outlet for 50 lakh spawn.
retailing. Clusters also undertake harvesting and
marketing and generate revenue to meet its operating The cleaning and levelling work of the boundary of Barkot
costs. pond of the project was done through MGNREGA.
Looking at this, the District Collector had advised all the
Fish sale up to December 2011 Panchayats to take up pond cleaning and levelling work
Pre monsoon sale: 5000 kg of fish worth INR 0.16 million under the scheme.
Post monsoon sale: 417 kg of fish worth INR 0.03 million
Lessons Learned
In order to introduce fisheries as a livelihood option for
Member of Matsya Palan Samuh, subsistence farmers, it is necessary to understand how
Tali showing Catla of his pond fisheries impact other livelihood activities.

Fish fingerling availability and distribution is a major

constraint in geographically isolated areas. Therefore
farmer-based fingerling production is critical for
sustainability of such interventions.

Nursing of fingerlings to a larger size separately in nursery

systems will overcome many production related problems
- transportation stress, short grow out season in rain fed
ponds, predation, water quality stress at stocking, etc.

Women's' involvement in fish culture is not guaranteed,

although many women participate. Fish ponds and / or
culture systems should be close to the house to enable
women's involvement.

Theft of stock is a primary concern of farmers and deters

investment and inputs to the system. It is another reason
why ponds and cages near the houses or within the
30 paise turned 30,000 paise - community area are well fed and productive. Ponds away
1000 times value addition in just 16 months! from home do not encourage proper investments.

Fish seed of 25 mm stocked on Regarding credit, farmers wish to have money to improve
31st August 2010 attained weight of their system but are unwilling to borrow at commercial
3 kg on 30th December 2011. rates. The transition from subsistence fish production to a
remunerative livelihood activity is gradual, time taking and
varies from farmer to farmer.

About the author

Dileep Gupta is the State head of Rajasthan, is based at Jaipur, and he may be reached at
[email protected]

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84
 Bio-organic Aquaculture for
Livelihood Support
Story of Small and Marginal Fish Farmers of
Goalpara, Assam
- Anupam Sharma and Hiren Kalita

Small and marginal fish farmers possessing homestead ponds in rural Assam adopting bio
organic aquaculture is discussed in this case. The case focuses on various technological
inputs provided, capacity building efforts undertaken and successful adoption by the fisher
community.

Context livelihood support programme was taken up in Kukurkata

Small and marginal fish farmers in Assam face several village located 45 km from headquarters of Goalpara
challenges in agriculture and aquaculture. These farmer district of Assam. The intervention was aimed at enhanc-
families possess homestead fish ponds that are ideal for ing productivity of underutilized agro-aquatic resources
aquaculture activities. However, fish farmers lack through regenerative and eco-friendly practices of
appropriate technology, institutional finance and exten- bioorganic aquaculture technology in farmers' field
sion support for undertaking aquaculture. Average condition. Further it aimed at developing core compe-
productivity from such ponds was less than 1500 tence of target community, i.e. small and marginal
kg/ha/year, much below the national average of 3500 farmers, in bio-organic aquaculture for sustainable use of
kg/ha/year. Farmers were culturing fish in an extensive fragile underutilized aquatic resources. The intervention
way using a combination of farm yard manure, inorganic aimed to create and strengthen producers' groups and
fertilizer and occasional feed in the homestead pond establish a value chain through market driven product
which was not remunerative. With the support from IGS, a development as well as entrepreneurship development.

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

one year to get the harvest from the field. Farmers had to
live with the threat of poaching and incidence of disease
outbreaks. This made small scale aquaculture a less
remunerative livelihood option for the small farmers.

The intervention model of bio-organic aquaculture

advocates the practice of single stocking and multiple
harvesting where the culture period has been shortened
and harvesting was done in two intermittent harvests
followed by one bumper harvest. This is expected to give
better returns on investment to the farmer instead of the
longer gestation period of traditional harvesting model.

Need for Intervention

For the intervention, small and medium fish farmers were
targeted whose average production per hectare of water
spread area was 1500 kg/ha/year or below. A few
interventions were initiated in the area to address the
Present practices of carp poly culture include combination productivity issue of homestead ponds. However, building
of six species including Indian Major Carp and Exotic competence of the fisher community towards sustainable
Carp and mostly depend on inorganic fertilizer for aquaculture was not focused in such interventions.
maintaining primary productivity of the pond. Due to Besides, women farmers had been sidelined in the
indiscriminate application of chemical fertilisers, there has development process and were not involved in the
been a deterioration of physical, chemical and biological production process, viz. releasing fish seed and feeding
properties of soil and water and consequently the the fish in the pond.
production potential has been affected. Under the
programme biodegradable material of microbial origin Farmers within the identified area mentioned non-
called Bacillus has been used for sustaining soil health of availability of quality fish seed and capital as the major
pond bottom or at least maintains its fertility and the bottlenecks in pursuing fish farming. Besides, knowledge
biological activity within it. This is as per the Indian and skill on aquaculture practices and market driven
National Guidelines for organic production. However, the methods of harvesting were not known to them. The area
fish produced through this environment friendly way need also experienced outbreak of fish diseases.
not necessarily be called as “organic fish”. In addition, fish
famers also use organic manure, i.e. raw cow dung. This Kukurkata village under Krishnai Development Block of
requires 15 days at 20 °C water temperature at the pond Goalpara district where the intervention was proposed is
bottom for degradation of the organic matter and its located about 75 km from the hatchery from where the fish
subsequent mineralization. Besides, it leads to the seed was obtained. The eco-hatchery which supplies
release of organic acids which is toxic in nature when fish seed does not have adequate infrastructure for live
seed comes in direct contact with it in the pond. transportation of fingerlings. Mortality was experienced
during transportation.
Farmers of the identified locality used to practice single
stocking and single harvesting model which takes almost The participating farmers belong to 25–55 age catego-
ries, with primary to high school level of education. They
have nuclear families and the average family size was five.
Land holding of both cultivable and non-cultivable land
possessed by small and medium farmers ranges from
5.00–7.5 bigha (7.5 bigha = 1 hectare). Apart from fish
farming, agriculture and petty business are the other
components of the livelihood basket of these families.
Table 1 gives the details of livelihood activities pursued in
the area.

Farmers rarely came in contact with different categories of

extension personnel and scientists. Farmers are also not
exposed to mass media such as radio and television
programmes on agriculture and farmers. Farmers of
Kukurkata had medium exposure to training on
aquaculture. During the pre-intervention period, the
income of the families was around INR 30,000 per annum.

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 Bio-organic Aquaculture for Livelihood Support

Table 1: Major Enterprises and Livelihood lDevelop site-specific demonstration units of bio-
Activities in the Intervention Area organic aquaculture through use of bio-fertilizer in
combination with Bacillus and Rhodobacter to
Categories Enterprise enhance fish production and promote aquaculture as
Crops Paddy primary option of livelihood for 30 fish farmers
Plantation crops Rubber including 5 women, 10 landless, 10 small and 5
Fruit plants and others Jackfruit, litchi, mango, areca nut marginal farmers in their existing rain-fed homestead
fish ponds.
Vegetables Chilli, brinjal, bottle gourd, pumpkin
Livestock Pig, cow lEnlighten farmers to adopt a market driven harvesting
Fisheries Aquaculture pond model of single stocking and multiple harvesting
Skill Tailoring, driving, fishing (SSMH) for faster and periodic revenue realisation and
thus reduce risk of failure due to poisoning, poaching
Service Postal and disease outbreak.
Market Fish selling related activities, rubber selling
Business Grocery, tea shop lDevelop the core competence of targeted farmers in
bio-organic aquaculture for sustainable use of fragile
Others Daily wage earner
under-utilized aquatic resources and untapped niches
for socio-economic upliftment through imparting soft
skills and addressing practical gender needs of
Key Stakeholders in the Project women fish farmers.
Indian Grameen Services (IGS), Kolkata extended Intervention Design and Structure
financial support in the form of grant to the tune of Kukurkata village has 85 households out of which 30
INR 1.19 million for the programme. Ajagar Social small and marginal fish farmers were identified for
Circle, Agia was the implementing agency. Ajagar intervention. Table fish production target was set at 7,000
Social Circle, Agia (ASC) is the initiative of eight kg/ha/year. The programme was conceived primarily to
likeminded young practitioners to bring about a develop an alternative eco-friendly mode of aquaculture in
change in social, economic, cultural spheres, less productive ponds of resource poor farmers for
support low income segments of population and livelihood support through training and demonstration.
increasing the livelihood opportunities of the Further, market driven model of harvesting was sug-
people in the North Eastern Region of the country. gested to minimize the gestation period normally taken in
The organization is engaged in a number of conventional aquaculture practices.
activities that are clearly demarcated and
collectively aim at providing social and economic Inputs
security to the farming and allied and non farming Initially several brainstorming sessions with stakeholders
community living in the Assam –Meghalaya belt of were organized for development of user friendly manage-
North Eastern Region. The Circle was formally ment protocol for bio-organic aquaculture for grow-out
registered in the year 2001 under Societies practices of carp culture through discussions with
Registration Act 1860 XXI vide Registration No farmers. Later, on farm training of farmers on pre- and
RS/GOAL/125/B/26 of 2001-02. Other stake- post-stocking management of bio-organic aquaculture
holders of the programme were Rameswar Fish were carried out every month for four consecutive months.
Seed Farm, Dhupdhara, Goalpara; Virbac Animal Besides, use of bacterial cultures including Bacillus and
Health Limited, Mumbai; Karnataka Agro Rhodobacter was demonstrated. This was followed by
Chemicals; Regional Office, Tezpur; Lakhi Rice demonstration of development of agro-waste based
Mill, Agia; and Babul Store, Agia. A total of 30 cheaper fish diet. After releasing the fish seed, water and
farmers, including five women, were the primary soil quality analysis and fish growth through test netting
stakeholders. were also carried out. During the project period, farmers
developed communication skills through sharing of
experience with non-participating farmers. IGS staff
Intervention Strategy visited the project site and interacted with the farmers and
The project on development of bio-organic aquaculture as the project staff of Ajagar Social Circle, Agia and advised
livelihood support was designed for rearing of fingerlings to develop a business model for bio-organic aquaculture.
@15000/ha to table size with Indian major carps (Catla, This generated a concrete vision for the implementing
Rohu, Mrigal) and minor carps (Bata, Bhagon, Calbasu). agency to undertake commercial scale aquaculture
The ratio of major to minor was 7:3. The envisaged through formation of fish farmers' producer group.
stocking density has been enhanced up to 75% by using
beneficial bacteria. The following strategies were
adopted.

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Farmers apply natural zeolite Women preparing fish feed Farmer harveting fish after fourth month

Planned Community Involvement lPre-stocking management, namely removal of weeds

In case of small and marginal farmers, marketing of the and predatory fish, desilting, drying of pond bottom,
produce was critical. Since the quantity of fish produced ploughing, application of natural zeolite and release of
by individual farmers was small, the expenditure on fish seed
transport and marketing of the produce was high. After the lPost-stocking management, namely feeding,
first harvest, an exploratory marketing was carried out. application of bio-remediator, test check of water
Fish produced by all the participating farmers were pooled quality and growth of fish
together and carried in a van to the nearest wholesale lIntermediate and final harvesting
market. There was a tie-up with Messrs Babul Das and lEstablishment of marketing linkage for the fish farmers
Messrs Narayan Das, fish merchants and commission
agent, New Fish Market, Goalpara. This exercise was All the farmers in the target area underwent grow out
successful and the farmers received a remunerative price practices training for production of table fish. As grow out
of INR 155 per kg which was the highest wholesale price practices appeared to be remunerative, nursery and
received during that season by any farmer in that market. rearing management were combined in the same pond.
This was due to the uniform size, freshness and bright Flexi times on farm training (FT-OFT) sessions were
colour of the product. In the next year, there was a felt need conducted to demonstrate the use of zeolite and Bacillus
for an exclusive marketing group with professional system culture. Training on group dynamics was imparted to the
to improve functioning of the market intervention and farmers. The farmers were happy. They realized that “fish
expand the existing marketing operation. The farmers in tank is money in bank”.
grouped themselves to form Joint Liability Groups(JLGs)
consisting of five members each in the first year. Based on Intervention Results
the performance of the group without financial support, lFive participating farmers have achieved a fish
such groups shall be pooled together to form a producers' production 7000 kg/ha/year at the end of the season
group. Moreover, within the cluster there will be an attempt including two intermediate harvests.
to create a cluster fish seed bank and a partnership with l The other 25 farmers have achieved a fish production
bio-manure and feed traders. The farmers have been of 6000 kg/ha/year from first two intermediate
divided into six Joint Liability Groups and their accounts harvests.
have been opened in the local regional rural bank. From l The project has been successful in developing
the JLGs, some members would be selected to form a competence among par ticipating and non-
marketing group for output marketing. These marketing participating farmers and implementing agency in bio-
groups shall be linked to the major whole sale markets of organic aquaculture.
the district. The JLG would be credit linked with the local l The project has developed an institutional mechanism
Regional Rural Bank for up scaling the activity. There of unorganized fish farmers for business transaction.
would be an effort to develop equity based producers'
group for aquaculture business promotion. Outcome
Income level of the best performing farmer has gone up by
Intervention process 25% resulting in cash accruals required for successive
The steps in the intervention process are operations. Women beneficiaries have been engaged in
l Rapport building with small and marginal farmers fish feeding and nursing in their homestead fish ponds.
l Identification of fish farmers in the project area Farmers have recognized aquaculture as a means which
l Conducting focused group discussions and creating can provide sustenance and satisfaction. Apart from
conducive climate for intervention agriculture, the earnings from aquaculture were used to
l Conducting training on bio-organic aquaculture meet several contingencies.
l Analysis of soil and water quality
l Technology infusion training for farmers

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 Bio-organic Aquaculture for Livelihood Support

Jaleswar Rabha, aged about 38, having primary level education, lives in
Kukurkata village. His primary occupation is agriculture. Since his agricultural
activity is not much remunerative, he sometimes works as a labourer on daily wage
basis. He owns a small rice field and one kattha of homestead plot used for keeping
pig and a small non-drainable homestead pond of water spread area of 0.03 ha.

Mr Rabha is one of the farmers benefitted by the intervention. The operational cost
was born by IGS. His pond was technically supervised by Ajagar Social Circle. He
used no synthetic chemicals. Instead he used beneficial culture of Bacillus and
Rhodobacter at regular intervals to enhance the primary productivity of pond and grow stocked yearlings, feeding
local feed from agricultural by-products. Since water exchange facility was not there, bacterial bioremediation
technology was adopted. The harvesting pattern was changed from yearly once to thrice (two intermediate crops
followed by a bumper harvest) so that he gets quicker returns than conventional farming. Thus, he obtained more
production compared to the earlier extensive system. During partial harvesting, Mr Rabha has also learnt the skill
of harvesting fish using drag net which most of the tribal farmers does not possess. He spent his first earnings from
aquaculture to repair his thatched house and kept INR 1000 in the JLG savings account.

Post project sustainability family. Use of nitrogenous fertilizer and super phosphate
lHorizontal scaling up: This includes geographical has been reduced by nearly 1000 kg and 500 kg respec-
spread to include more people and community, tively. Farmers have been trained to recycle biomass
involving expansion, and other stakeholder groups. through composting with bacteria. The aggregation and
l Vertical scaling up: This includes institutionalization of forward linkage has created a positive impact on the
the stakeholder groups in the process of expansion community. The fish seed trader, feed dealer and fertilizer
starting from grassroots organizations to development supplier have shown keen interest in supplying critical
institutions. inputs at farmers' doorsteps. Farmers have realized better
price. Farmers' capacity to negotiate with the market and
The intervention helped the target group as follows: get the best deal has increased.
Trained farmers shall be utilized as trainers of trainees
during upscaling of the programme through RSETI, A study done during the period of intervention indicated
Goalpara. Besides, financial linkages are proposed with higher net sale price of bio-organic fish at INR 135/kg,
Assam Gramin Vikash Bank. Market linkages are being after deducting the transportation cost and commission to
worked out with several wholesale and commission wholesalers, as against the realisation of INR 80/kg in the
agents. traditional supply chain. At the household level, reduction
of vulnerabilities was noticed. Increased income of the
Impact family has made them less vulnerable to stresses like
The project is set to end by March 2012. This was more of seasonal crop loss, poaching, etc. Self consumption by
a pilot; mainstreaming is aimed hereafter. Radical farmer families accounted for 15% of the production. Thus
changes in livelihoods of the target population or emer- nutritional security of the community was also aided.
gence of a business model are yet to be ascertained. Women and agriculture labourers have gained higher
However some impacts could be seen at this stage. income and their assets have increased. Farmers are
Through bio-organic aquaculture, unproductive ponds planning to procure fishing nets (drag nets) for their
were converted into productive assets. Income from operation.
aquaculture has contributed to other enterprises of the

Table 2: Profile of Fish Farmers

Particulars Past Present
Source of income Wage labourer in agricultural field, seasonal agriculture, aquaculture Fish pond, seasonal agriculture
Income opportunity Seasonal Round the year
Income assurance Very low Moderate
Status Wage earner Self-employed
Time spent daily on the job 8 hours 2 hours
Profit gain Low Moderate

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Challenges faced lFarmers were inexperienced in marketing and

The following challenges were encountered while hesitant to participate in the wholesale market.
implementing the project. lSome farmers sold fish at the farm gate which fetched
l The concept of bio-organic aquaculture programme less price.
was new; so farmers were sceptical about the nature lFarmers lack marketing infrastructure and market
of the outcome. intelligence.
l Obtaining fish yearlings of 50–100 gm size was lFarmers had undertaken grow out practice in the
difficult in the vicinity of the project. same pond along with nursery and rearing practices
l Feed ingredients were not readily available and had to due to inadequacy of nursery and rearing area.
be arranged with difficulty. lSeed producers do not possess seed transportation
l Farmers were not having fishing gear and were infrastructure facilities like oxygen cylinder, poly-
inexperienced in harvesting fish. propylene bags, etc. due to which mortality was
encountered during yearling transportation.

About the authors

Dr Anupam Sharma and Mr Hiren Kalita are at Ajagar Social Circle, Agia, Goalpara, Assam. They may be
reached at [email protected]

90
 Will only Microfinance Do?
- Susanta Kumar Sahu

The case is a conscious attempt by a development organisation to effectively integrate

microfinance with livelihoods of its clients for a win-win situation for both. The process
followed in piloting a model of provisioning multiple services for enhanced income from
agriculture and its subsequent upscaling across the organisation are dealt with in detail.

Introduction Agriculture in India is witnessing multiple challenges like

ADARSA is a grassroots level development organization obsolete technology, fragmented and reducing land-
working in Sundargarh and Sambalpur districts of Odisha. holding, dependence on monsoon rains, reducing
It is a LAMP1 Fund partner since 2008. Since inception, returns, etc. Primary livelihood options in the operational
ADARSA has been working for women empowerment area of ADARSA are agriculture and allied activities. Few
and livelihood promotion of the rural poor. In the year years into its micro-finance operations, the organisation
2001, it started to provide micro-finance services. realised that it was important to focus on improving this
However, due to lack of proper technical knowhow, it was livelihood option in an organised manner. In order to
not able to integrate the mandate of livelihood promotion complement and strengthen its credit services, it decided
with this program. to intervene in select sub-sectors of agrarian livelihood.
The organisation planned to intervene in paddy cultiva-
tion, vegetable cultivation and dairy. It decided to support
and make efforts towards productivity enhancement in
1
LAMP Fund of Indian Grameen Services was created to provide financial these sectors along with reduction in cost of production.
assistance to small organisations in the areas of Micro-Finance and livelihood
promotion, so that they may graduate to access mainstream capital in the
Maneswar block of Sambalpur district was chosen for the
long run. intervention. Here, rural populace largely consists of small

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

and marginal farmers, agricultural labourers and casual The intervention consisted of following activities:
wage workers. 480 farmers spread across 20 villages of 1. Training staff of the organisation on technical aspects
this block were chosen for the pilot. involved in these sub-sectors by hiring/involving
experts from Madhyam Foundation. Five staff
The organisation also decided that it would try to access members were trained on System of Rice
funds and expertise from its existing partners namely, IGS Intensification (SRI), vermin-compost preparation,
and Madhyam Foundation, to ensure that the pilot is pest management in vegetables, etc.
carried out in an optimal manner. In addition to fund 2. Identification and profiling of 480 farmers covered
support, IGS at that time was also providing capacity under the intervention: All farmers selected under the
building services to the organisation for its micro-finance intervention were small and marginal with land holding
program. Upon request by ADARSA, a grant of INR between one to two acres.
200,000 along with a loan of INR 1,500,000 was sanc- 3. Trainings were imparted on:
tioned for the organisation to carry out its livelihood a. Dairy: 46 farmers from five villages participated in
intervention supplementing the micro-credit services for a 10 training programs on green fodder cultivation.
period of 13 months starting June 2010. Later on, farmers from 10 villages used this
method to cultivate fodder on 24 acres of land.
The project and the pilot Also, 77 dairy farmers participated in two work-
The objectives of the intervention may be summarised as shops on cattle health management facilitated by
follows: resource persons from Govt agencies. In addition,
l Encourage small and marginal farmers to create cattle insurance service was made accessible in
village level informal organisations to access collaboration with Oriental Insurance Company.
improved technical know-how within sub-sectors So far, 116 cattle have been insured.
mentioned above in a cost-effective manner b. Vegetable cultivation: 70 farmers participated in
l Disseminate the knowledge of preparing/ accessing two training programs on cropping pattern, water
low-cost inputs viz. bio-fertilizers, bio-pesticides, agri- management, diseases and pest management.
equipments etc. which also leads to productivity
enhancement
l Train staffs to extend technical support in the field of
agriculture and allied activities so that the intervention
may be scaled up in future

Strategies formulated to meet the above objectives are

mentioned below.
l Using the method of farmers' field school wherein field
of a farmer is used as a demonstration plot who in turn
guides other member farmers of the school
l Focusing on knowledge dissemination and training
l Supplementing the livelihoods of participating farmers
with micro-credit support so as to enhance their level
of participation

Preparation of Handi Khata – an organic fertiliser

92
 Will only Microfinance Do?

Also, 26 farmers were taken on an exposure visit to Learning and next steps
SAMBHAV, an NGO working on organic farming in An important learning from the intervention was the
Nayagarh district of Odisha, to enhance their realisation that it needs sustained efforts to convince
awareness level on weed management, use of marginal farmers to use new technologies. Given the
organic fertilizer, mulching and collection of nature of agriculture, farmers are generally risk averse
indigenous seeds. and they prefer traditional method of cultivation with the
c. SRI: System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method hope of earning some money at the end of the season. In
of paddy cultivation was demonstrated to 173 SRI, the risks increase due to issues of labour shortfall,
farmers from 14 villages. Farmers followed it on a inability of 8-15 days nursery to withstand rains, especially
total of 124 acres of land. Also, farmers were given the importance of adherence to the schedule. To
trained on associated aspects like preparation of address farmers' concerns, village meetings, demonstra-
vermin compost, organic pesticides etc. tion, discussion on economics involved etc. have been
After harvest, production and expenditure data helpful. Exposure visits and meeting a successful fellow
were collected from farmers. It was found that farmer were found most effective to encourage innovation
under SRI, the cost of production comes to INR and promote adoption at field level.
6,500-7,000 per acre, as compared to INR 8,000-
8500 in traditional method. Also, the production From the experiences of this intervention, the service
increased significantly to 34 quintals per acre as delivery approach of ADARSA has shifted to integrated
compared to the average of 23 quintals in delivery of financial and technical inputs. The impact may
traditional method. be gauged from the fact that after the completion of this
d. Micro-credit support: All the 480 selected farmers pilot, ADARSA planned to use this strategy in its entire
were provided with credit-support totalling INR operational area in the district of Sambalpur and devel-
2,200,000. oped its capacity to extend technical guidance to marginal
farmers. It is an important outcome, especially in the
context of ongoing debate within the microfinance space
on whether micro finance alone would suffice in achieving
developmental goals.

About the authors

Susanta Sahu is working as Assistant Manager, IGS and is based at Bhubaneswar, Odisha. He may be
reached at [email protected]

93
94
 Crafting zari, lifting standard
- Gitanjali Satpathy

Women zari artisans of Sunderbans area of West Bengal finding new ways of doing their work,
honing their skills and improving livelihoods have been discussed in this case. IGS in
collaboration with a local development organisation have enabled restoration of livelihoods of
poor women reeling under the impact of a natural disaster.

Living on margins controlled by middlemen. Inadequate financial capability

Sunderbans area of West Bengal is one of the poorest and social customs force these women to accept the
areas of the state in respect of human development index. terms of trade offered by the intermediaries. They were
It's an eco fragile zone comprising of islands, swamps, never exposed to the market nor were aware of the prices
mudflats, creeks and backwaters. The infrastructure is these items fetch in the markets. Over generations having
inadequate and underdeveloped, and livelihood options lost direct linkage with the market, their imaginative ability
are limited. Agriculture is the primary occupation of the for new designs is steadily waning. However this is not the
people. Cyclone Aila which hit the area in May 2009 had a case with their production skills. More women took to zari
devastating impact on the livelihoods of the people work as means of earning livelihood in the post cyclone
especially poor. With fields sand casted, the subsistence situation.
farming of the area suffered heavily. Large scale migration
was the only way out for the population. With the focus on Kalighat Society for Development Facilitation (KSDF), a
relief and rebuilding of damaged houses, reconstruction development organisation working in Sandeshkhali
of livelihoods took a backseat. Block-1, North 24 Parganas district, saw an opportunity in
rejuvenating the livelihoods in the area around the zari
Zari work is a traditional livelihood among the Muslim and craft. It found that the artisans were unorganized,
Scheduled Caste women. For generations they are doing scattered and going through severe economic hardship.
it, and their production skill is commendable. However They were literally bonded under money lenders and
they never earn enough since the trade is completely middlemen. Traditional technology, old instruments, low

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

quality raw materials provided by the middlemen, Intervention Strategy

inaccessibility to markets made them crippled in all Keeping the objectives in mind, the project adopted the
respects. Frequent natural calamities made their lives following strategies:
more vulnerable. KSDF realized that unifying all women l Capacity building of staff of KSDF, the implementing
artisans under a platform would give them an identity in organization
respect of their skills, upgrade technology, enhance l Village workshops with women zari workers to select
quality production and provide market linkage. the beneficiaries and orient them
l Skill development training on innovative designs for
Renewing skill and linkage the women artisans
Since Zari work is always part of their tradition and they l Provision of improved wooden frame with stand locally
have commendable production skill, facilitating them to called Dhadda for artisans
upgrade the production and market linkage would result in l Exposure visit to acquire knowledge of raw materials
livelihood enhancement of poor women. Keeping this in sourcing options and marketing
perspective, the intervention had the following objectives:
l To empower the poor zari embroidery women artisans The project rolled out with the selection and recruitment of
through technical training for producing quality work four staff followed by skill building and orientation of the
and develop market linkages staff. The project activities included the following:
l To organize the poor women artisans into producer l Six Village workshops for women artisans and self
groups help group members for developing confidence and
l To provide financial support to enhance production orientation to own and run their business unit.
l Eight skill development trainings for 200 selected
Out of around 10,000 women artisans in the Block, a total women artisans for developing their expertise in
of 200 women zari artisans were identified from four making zari embroidery craft. These included
villages of Sandeshkhali for skill development and market developing sense of color combination, various forms
linkage. They were in the age group of 18-45 and of stitching, production process, proper costing of
belonged to Scheduled Castes and Muslim community. product, documentation process and strategies to set
The producer groups were supported with developing up and run business unit.
their production unit with support of new tools needed for l Skill development training was conducted by one
embroidery as well as enhancing skills through training. master trainer and one designer consultant from NIFT,
The project support included loan and other inputs for Kolkata.
developing their production unit. IGS provided financial l Six day marketing training was conducted by Institute
assistance comprising loan of INR 3 million and a grant of of Marketing, Kolkata.
INR 0.525 million.

Orientation of Project staff Orientation on zari business Training on design

Designing on the cloth Training on embroidery Sari in Making

96
 Crafting Zari, lifting Standard

their families. With the confidence gained from running

Product marketing in an Exhibition a business, they are seen involved in the decision
making at the production unit as well as household
levels. The extra income with some families has
helped in sending their children to school.
2. Elimination of middle men: Involvement as a producer
group has given confidence to women and their
dependence on the middle men has reduced drasti-
cally. Now the women are involved in every stage of the
process, right from buying raw materials to processing
to selling the products in the market directly.
3. Increased asset base: Many artisans have purchased
improved wooden frame with stand costing INR 3500
from their own income. It enhanced their earnings by
reducing the damage.
4. Improvement in quality: The product quality has
improved drastically thereby fetching better prices in
the market. New designs coupled with skill enhance-
ment trainings and improved machines have made it
possible.

Impacts
l 18 zari artisans have become Master Trainers for other
new entrants.
l 18 artisans have become designers.
l Group entrepreneurship has been established among
the artisans and now they have been working closely
for production and marketing of finished crafts goods.
Embroidery stall in textile mela l 12 selected and trained artisans have been looking
after marketing and also participating in fairs,
exhibitions organized in different parts of the country.
lExposure visit to craft exhibitions in Kolkata and Delhi Their mobility and interaction with city based traders
to develop understanding on market demand and have gradually upgraded their social status in the
marketing. village.
lProcurement and distribution of improved wooden l Members involved in zari work have increased their
frame with stand locally called “Dhadda” to 35 groups monthly saving to Rs.50.
to save costs, reduce damage to saris and other raw l Economic empowerment of artisans has resulted in
materials. Three groups already had improved increased respect within the family and outsiders.
“Dhadda”
lFinancial assistance of INR 3 million to 200 women Challenges and sustainability issues
artisans of 38 groups for starting their own production The single biggest challenge to the project was the
units opposition of middlemen as they feared loss of their
business. They even intimidated the husbands of the
Outcomes of the intervention members who in turn threatened their wives and insisted
The intervention has resulted in certain positive changes. them to drop out of the project of launching their own
Sourcing of raw materials from markets, supervising business unit. However, sheer determination of the
quality of production and participation in exhibitions are participants and persuasion of the project staff neutralized
some of the indicators of change. Each artisan is now the opposition of the families. Another challenge was to
earning around INR 2500 per month as net profit. It was overcome the reluctance of the women to interact with big
around INR 1200- 1500 before the intervention. Amount of business houses. Handholding for marketing for some
savings have increased from INR 30 per month to INR 50 months ensured overcoming it.
due to enhanced income enjoyed by the women. The net
profits also have contributed as current capital for However to ensure sustainability, the members need to
recurring expenses like cloth and raw material purchases. invest equity in the Producers Group to make it opera-
tional. Opening retail outlets for marketing and establish-
Some outcomes at the household level have been ing tie ups with different shops in Delhi, Kolkata,
narrated below. Bangalore and export business houses are some of the
1. Reduced vulnerabilities: Drudgery of zari artisans challenges that lie ahead.
have been reduced after assured additional income to

97
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Annexure
Economics of the Business per month

Total investment: Rs.25, 000 / household

Total number of beneficiaries covered: 200
Activity: Zari Embroidery

Sl. No. Particulars Qnty./No. Rate (Rs.) Total (Rs.) Remarks

A Total expenses
A.1 Equipments and other Accessories 01 3500 3500 Fixed Cost
A.2 Raw materials – cloths rolls & thread, chumki, stone etc. 10 pcs 600 6000 Raw materials for 2 and half months for
continuity of Business i.e. Rs. 15,000/-
A.3 Electricity 1 months 500 500
A.4 Travel 1 months 1000 1000
A.5 Personal Cost 1 months 3000 3000
A.6 Other cost like marketing, packing ,quality control etc. - - 2000
TOTAL 12,500 Total investment Rs 25000/
B Total Income
B.1 Sale of finished products/ Month 10 1500 15000
C Gross Surplus - - 2500
D Other expenses
D.1 Principal installment 420
D.2 Interest 125
D.3 Insurance premium 21
D.4 Handling loss 25
D.5 Overhead cost 10% of recurring expenses / annum. 105
E Surplus per beneficiary 1804
F Surplus per beneficiary /month 4804 Including the personal cost

About the author

Gitanjali Satpathy is the Secretary of Kalinga Society for Development Facilitation, based at Kolkata and she
may be contacted at [email protected]

98
 Empowering Village Economy:
A case of Kandhamal
- Susanta Sahu and Banmali Dash

Economic development of a region involves graduation of its character from predominantly

production to processing/ manufacturing and ultimately to services sector. There are major
bottlenecks in this progression and it requires a strong contextual experience of an organisa-
tion to catalyse this transition. In Phulbani, IGS assisted NIPDIT to initiate a pilot to help primary
producers to move into quality processing of turmeric and Siali leaves. Less than a year into the
intervention, the case demonstrates that a profitable model may go a long way in changing the
livelihoods of rural producers.

Kandhamal district of Odisha is richly endowed with forest

resources. More than two third of the geographical area of
the district is under forest cover. Scheduled tribes
constitute more than 50% of the population of the district.
The major sources of livelihoods of the people of this
district are forest products collection and sale, agriculture
and wage labour. The district is known for cultivation of
turmeric in organic farming mode by tribal farmers.
Collection of Sal and Siali leaves by women and its sale in
the local markets is the major source of cash for house-
holds.

National Institute for People Development, Investigation

and Training (NIPDIT)1 , a registered NGO is working in

1
To know more about NIPDIT, please visit www.nipdit.org

99
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

the region for the past 29 years on a wide range of issues. Under the first pilot mentioned above, processing of
It is operating in the districts of Bolangir, Kalahandi, turmeric and leaves were being done manually. It was felt
Keonjhar and Khandhamal. The mission of the organiza- that to achieve standard quality parameters, high
tion is to facilitate positive change in the standard of living productivity and enhanced income, mechanisation was
of the rural poor and tribal, especially the women, who important. However, it would be experimental in nature
have been untouched by any other livelihoods promoting with respect to parameters of profitability. Also, mechani-
agency. Its main activities in livelihood promotion include sation would require comparatively large funds which
sustainable agriculture, grain bank formation, procure- would not be available from mainstream financing
ment of the locally available Non Timber Forest Produces agencies. Also community institutions needed higher level
(NTFP) such as tamarind, Siali leaves etc. NIPDIT has of capacity to manage business at a significantly large
facilitated formation of 1,013 SHGs and federated 548 scale.
SHGs into six cooperatives under the apex institution
‘Anchalik Swayang Sahayaka Samabaya Sadhan Kendra In this context, NIPDIT approached LAMP Fund of IGS to
Limited’ (ASSSSK Ltd.). extend grant support to pilot mechanisation in two
activities viz. turmeric processing and leaf-plate making
In July 2010, NIPDIT initiated a pilot helping local involving 120 women over one year.
producers process turmeric into packaged turmeric
powder. By 2011, it had substantial experience in this As the mandate of LAMP Fund is to encourage profitable
business, acquired infrastructure, and developed livelihood promotion models which may access main-
community owned institutions to manage the necessary stream capital at a later date, this loan application was
activities. It also collaborated with government depart- duly considered. The grant request of INR 1,000,000 was
ments for financial and marketing support. made for:
l Purchase of machinery for leaf-plate making using
The organisation identified that in turmeric and Sal leaf Siali leaves and turmeric processing
value chains, high margins were being retained by middle l Skill building trainings to producers and community
men and local traders. One way to enhance the strength of institutions engaged in the activity
local economy was to create opportunities for secondary
sector activity, which is defined as processing of the Proposal of NIPDIT was duly assessed by IGS and grant
primary produce. It creates the opportunity of getting was sanctioned. During assessment, it was found that:
higher margins, generally available on processed l The organisation has significant experience in
products. implementing these kinds of interventions.
l Operational area of NIPDIT is endowed with required
However, there were potential challenges. Those were natural resources. Leaf plate making is a household
lPoor infrastructural facilities for turmeric processing industry in the district. Also, soil quality was very good
and leaf plate making interventions favouring large scale turmeric cultivation.
l Low technical and entrepreneurial skill at group level l Large section of the population was dependent on
which included absence of knowledge on marketing these two activities.
l Lack of knowledge on accessing finance and technical l Low productivity level due to manual processing of the
assistance from outside including government raw leaf and turmeric was a constraint in taking the
departments activity to a higher level.
l There was a need for up-gradation of knowledge of
producers on aspects like storage, procurement,
value addition and marketing of the produce.

Intervention Strategy
NIPDIT took the responsibility of procuring machineries,
facilitating skill development, developing market linkages
and monitoring the growth process. Existing co-
operatives of producers, as the most important stake-
holder, were entrusted with the ownership and manage-
ment of machines.

In addition, it was agreed that IGS would support the

intervention by way of regular monitoring of the implemen-
tation, achievement of planned targets and consequent
strategic suggestions in case gaps were found.

The intervention points were planned for both turmeric

and leaf making, as shown in the tables below:

100
 Empowering Village Economy: A case of Kandhamal

Turmeric Processing
Stages Pre-intervention Status Planned Post-intervention Status
Cultivation Traditional method Introduction of improved cultivation practices to enhance productivity
Storage of raw turmeric At individual household level At a centralised, co-operative level
Processing turmeric into powder form Manual, hand-made processing at Manual, machine based processing at a centre level;
individual house-hold level Value addition through polishing and packaging of the products
Sale of produce To traders in local market at To supply through co-operatives to traders in local market and
2
individual level outside market; Also to use BANANI

Leaf-plate Making
Stages Pre-intervention Status Planned Post-intervention Status
Collection Collection of Sal and Siali leaves Same
from the forest at individual level
Storage of leaves At individual level At a centralised, co-operative level
Leaf-plate making Manual, hand-made stitching at Manual, machine based stitching at a centre level;
individual house-hold level Value addition through packaging of the products
Sale of produce To traders in local market at To supply through co-operatives to traders in local market and
individual level outside market; Also to use BANANI

The various activities envisaged to execute the strategy A one day orientation meeting was organized to select the
were: producers for the intervention. It was envisaged that the
l Procurement and installation of machines at a central selected members would further transfer the knowledge
location and skills to other members. Finally, 20 members for
l Training and capacity building of group members on turmeric processing and 100 members in leaf plate
how to run and maintain the machineries making were identified.
l Identification of local and external marketing options
(i.e. in other districts) Inputs Provided
l Creating a legal institution of producers to enable Machinery: For turmeric processing, two sets consisting
scaling up of intervention of turmeric processing machine, weighing machines and
packaging machines, were installed at identified locations
Intervention design and structure in both the blocks.
NIPDIT had promoted six co-operatives in the region,
engaged in separate income generation activities. A few For leaf-plate making, ten sets of leaf-plate making
among these were also involved in turmeric processing machines and stitching machines were provided at
and collection of leaves from the forests to be sold for separate locations in both the blocks.
further processing. The intervention was planned to be
done in association with existing co-operatives. Capacity Building: A 15 day technical training was
organised for selected members. External resource
To ensure a focussed and systematic approach, two of persons trained producers on proper usage and mainte-
these six co-operatives were selected by ASSSSK for nance of machines. Further these members were trained
each commodity. It was planned that the procurement on various aspects of micro-enterprises viz. packaging,
would be done at a central level and inputs be provided at quality control, promotional activities, and overall
the cooperative level. Major part of the fund was to be management.
utilised for machineries, which were to be given to
cooperatives. Major activities completed by the time the case was being
written are given below.
Two blocks, Phiringia and Phulbani, within the operational l Operational plan was developed and shared with IGS
area of the organisation were selected. It was decided to l Necessary human resources for quality implementa-
form two separate commodity based producers’ organisa- tion of the intervention were recruited.
tions at each location. To ensure the ownership of the l 120 producers were selected.
producers in the intervention, it was decided that of the l Identified members were organised in two producers’
total project budget producers should contribute 10%. groups.
l Training of all members on their respective trades was
2
BANANI is a exclusive retail outlet owned by the ASSSK Ltd. to facilitate sales
completed.
of items produced by its member SHGs

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Intervention Results

Turmeric processing
Pre-intervention, the group of 20 producers used to earn
approximately INR 400,000/ year. The quality of hand-
made powder used to fetch them a price of approx. INR
35-40/ kg. Post mechanisation, the better quality turmeric
powder is priced at approx. INR 85/ kg. On an average
each member is able to prepare four to five quintals of
turmeric powder every year, which means total revenue of
approx. INR 850,000.

After making a provision of 25% towards operating cost on

account of electricity, salaries and promotion expense, net
profit to each group is approx. INR 650,000 which is a
significant increase of 60% over the previous stage.

lMachineries were procured and installed.

lFor packaging, materials and designs were finalised
and printed.
lMaster trainers were identified to ensure quality
production and formal agreements between them and
ASSSSK Ltd. were drawn up to achieve the planned
targets.
lLocal traders were identified, negotiations were
completed and formal agreements were entered into.
lSystem of monthly and quarterly progress report Leaf-plate making
sharing and quarterly monitoring of progress has Pre-intervention, a member on an average used to collect
been put in place. and stitch 200 to 300 leaf plates per day. At INR 7 per
lA suitable MIS was developed and put in place. packet of plates (which consists of 100 plates), maximum
income used to be INR 21. After mechanisation, average
Challenges faced per day production per member stands at 500-600. Also, it
The intervention experienced challenges common to new is sold at a higher price of INR 40 per packet. Considering
micro-enterprise ventures. Issues like identification and an operating cost of INR 100 including own labour
finalisation of locations, machinery procurement, charges, average profit stands at INR 140 per person per
seasonality of raw materials, inventory management, day.
getting through the official process to get electricity
connections etc. delayed the start of the intervention. Viability of the intervention suggests that by leveraging its
own savings base, which is generally in the range of INR
One problem worth mentioning is the competing claim on 30,000 – 35,000, SHGs of producers may access
producers’ time because of their simultaneous engage- commercial funds to expand the business and augment
ment in multiple livelihood activities. For example, during their house-hold income. It is being planned to access
sowing and harvesting time in agriculture, it was difficult this savings base in a more structured manner by bringing
for producers to keep working in these units. these SHGs under proposed producers’ organisation. It
would provide the intervention a real chance to approach
and get funds from banks.

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 Empowering Village Economy: A case of Kandhamal

Conclusion
Even though NIPDIT had good experience of working on
livelihood issues in its operational area and a thorough
understanding of activities in this case, before associating
with LAMP Fund it was not able to move ahead with this
intervention. Primary reasons were:
l It was not able to initiate the process in an organised
way on its own
l It lacked the crucial financial support. Also, there was
an apprehension if it would be able to handle a big
amount required for such interventions.

The initial results have demonstrated sustainability of the

intervention by increasing productivity and promoting
value addition. Next logical steps to upscale the interven-
Also, the intervention has provided the producers with tion include institutional strengthening and financial
new-found bargaining power in the market. High volume support, so that more number of women producers can
and consistency in quality has ensured that they use get higher income. This intervention has kept a modest
arrangements of written agreements with buyers and are target of reaching out to 3,000 producers over the next
paid suitably for their enterprise. three years, with the support of various stakeholders.

About the authors

Susanta Sahu is working as Assistant Manager, IGS and is based at Bhubaneswar. He may be reached at
[email protected]
Banamali Dash is working as Program Coordinator, HRD, NIPDIT and is based at Phulbani, Odisha. He may
be reached at [email protected]

103
104
 Backyard Poultry:
A better option for the poor
- Akhoury Prabhas

Backyard poultry has been termed as rural ATMs as it can be liquidated anytime anywhere! For
landless families, it presents itself as a reliable livelihood option as it does not require special
care, feed or place to live. IGS assisted Support, an NGO, to pilot establishment of large units of
a new, robust and fast growing variety, which hitherto has been used on a limited scale under
backyard poultry.

Target clientele of SUPPORT1 neither have enough arable scaling. Backyard poultry is done by other backward
land for agriculture nor alternative sources of regular communities in the area for long.
income. Continuous drought for the past two years in the
region has also affected the agriculture badly. The Because of low resource requirement and ease of rearing,
organisation strongly believes that risks associated with backyard poultry is common and mostly relied on as a
vagaries of climate may be reduced by promoting coping mechanism. Generally, indigenous variety of
diversified, women-friendly livelihoods. chicks is reared under this practice. These birds are hardy
with comparatively fewer incidence of diseases compared
Considering available skill-set and poor economic status to broilers. Community has the basic knowledge of rearing
of its target households, an activity requiring less input practices.
along with a predictable and regular cash flow is required.
Goat rearing and backyard poultry are identified as two However, growth, breeding capacity and meat yield in
such livelihood options. The factors considered in making indigenous variety is low. On the other hand, broiler birds
the choice are familiarity of the community with the are susceptible to disease outbreaks and fetch a low unit
activity, scope of scientific intervention and ease of up return. The latter also requires high care, quality diet
supplements, veterinary services etc. which is generally
1 not available in interior rural areas.
SUPPORT is a society working in 6 districts of North Chhotanagpur plateau of
Jharkhand to strengthen livelihoods and financial services.

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Backyard poultry using Croiler variety was being pro- as Field Animators. A veterinary or management expert
moted by an agency in Ranchi district of the state. In would be appointed to ensure professional management
comparison to broiler poultry, price of chicks is less and of the institution for initial two years.
mortality rate is low, growth is fast and it yields higher
return for a poor family. SUPPORT felt that there was a Intervention
reasonable scope of promoting organized poultry using Three villages viz. Gargali, Mandudih and Kuju in Mandu
Croiler variety wherein family may get dual benefits of block of Ramgarh district were selected for the interven-
hardiness as well as organised market by developing a tion. 100 members who had previous experience in
producers' institution of such community members. It backyard poultry were selected from SUPPORT pro-
decided to plan an intervention along these lines with a moted Self-Help Groups (SHGs). Further, an exposure
group of 100 households. LAMP Fund of IGS was visit of these families to Croiler poultry farm of KGVK at
requested to support this intervention as a one year pilot Ranchi was facilitated. Another exposure visit was
project. arranged to a poultry federation at Chauparan block
where experts shared information on cooperative
IGS evaluated the proposal and came to the conclusion formation, its legal aspects and management related
that the planned intervention was a good fit for the target issues. Also, five women members received para-vet
group and had the potential to strengthen their income training at KVK, Hazaribagh.
sources. Consequently, a grant of INR 1,200,000 was
sanctioned to the organisation. In addition, SUPPORT The following activities were undertaken:
also committed to provide loan to the beneficiaries under lTo identify potential markets, a village level market
the pilot for shed construction and purchase of feeds with survey was conducted in nearby villages.
community contribution of up to 80%. l Five women were trained as para-vets to do vaccina-
tion and provide general veterinary services
Intervention Strategy l Two training programmes were arranged to educate
SUPPORT had the responsibility of organising SHG poultry farmers on cleanliness, feed, vaccination and
women to participate in the intervention, facilitating co- shed preparation by experts from PRADAN and KVK.
operative promotion, arranging inputs and developing A specialised training programme for project person-
linkages with other stakeholders. While arranging inputs, nel was conducted at Mandu.
SUPPORT was required to provide chicks, feed, veteri- l To ensure uninterrupted supply of poultry feed, a feed
nary service and capacity building. Among other stake- mill was established at Mandudih.
holders, a bank agreed to extend credit support in future to
participating households for scale-up. NABARD agreed to Selected households had the responsibility to:
provide micro-enterprise training on poultry. lfollow rearing as per the training and guidance
lensure availability of suitable space for shed construc-
tion
lfollow low cost method of shed preparation as per the
guidance
lreturn the loan within a year
lensure timely sale of chickens with guidance from
SUPPORT till large scale market linkage is estab-
lished
lbear the cost of feed and shed construction
lseek regular visits of veterinary doctor and report
incidence of disease at the earliest

The intervention required intensive engagement with

selected families. Average family income of the selected
beneficiaries was observed to be in the range of INR
1,000-3,000 per month. Only after receiving training and
completing sheds, the households were given 60 chicks of
value INR 1,040 as loan with tenure of one year. Also, they
were assisted with INR 2,300 to procure feed utensils,
It was envisaged that by the end of the project period, a chicken feed, etc. One SHG took up the responsibility of
legally recognized poultry producers' collective would be producing poultry feed.
formed to carry on the intervention. Also, common assets
created during the project would be transferred to the Rearing Croiler in a lot of 60 was considered suitable for
producers' collective. Local youths, trained in various the area and the target households. It requires a shed to
aspects of poultry viz. feed management, veterinary care keep such a large flock of birds. Croiler birds, even though
and marketing would be encouraged to join the collective kept in shed, are allowed to roam in the open for at least

106
 Backyard Poultry: A better option for the poor

cost to manage this breed and structured way of rearing.

According to Ms. Fulmati Devi, a member participating in
the pilot, “This variety of chicken does not require much
care and attention; its survival rate is very high and is less
vulnerable to diseases”.

Chickens of the first lot are ready to sell. Prevailing rate for
this breed is INR 70 per kg. Detailed economics of Croiler
in comparison to broiler variety of backyard poultry is
presented in table 1.

Another perceived benefit of the intervention is the nature

of marketing. Earlier, it was the responsibility of individual
producer; but post-intervention, cooperative marketing
has started taking shape wherein ready birds are
aggregated at pre decided aggregation points and sold. In
future, it may be more organised at cooperative level at a
two times a day. In the process, the chicks also get to eat uniform price. However, by the time the case was being
from the wastes around the backyard. Progressively, they written, the registration of the poultry co-operative was still
are fed vegetable wastes inside the shed too. Because of to take place. It is critical in establishing strong value chain
its adaptation to the environment and less pressure on linkages.
feed, regular egg laying capacity and sales price, rearing
this variety leads to higher profit margins. Looking at the encouraging results, it is expected that the
activity would emerge as a major livelihood option in the
Results area. However, SHG clusters and federations need to play
Though it is too early to talk of results, initial feedback an important role to disseminate the benefits on a wider
indicate that the households are happy experiencing less scale.

Table 1: Economics of Croiler vs. Broiler

Kruiler Broiler
Unit Rate (Rs) Quantity/ Unit (Kg.) Total Unit Rate (Rs) Quantity/ Unit (Kg.) Total
Chicks 10 20 200 10 17 170
Vaccination 10 10 100 10 10 100
Mortality 20% 30%
Feed 8 21 2.3 386.4 7 55 1 385
Total cost for first 40 days 686.4 655
Income after one cycle
Selling Price for Chicks (after 50 days) 8 70 2 1120 7 65 2 910
Total 1120 910
Net Profit 433.6 255

About the author

Akhoury Prabhas is working as Manager, IGS based in Ranchi, Jharkhand. He may be reached at
[email protected]

107
108
 Ensuring money in emergency
- Tapas Kumar Pati

Poor families adopting improved backyard poultry as a means of earning livelihood through
provisioning of finances, inputs like quality chicks and feed and technical services and the
emergence of a scalable business model out of this are captured in this case.

Introduction what should be the right package, a study was conducted.

Poor households especially scheduled tribe and sched- It revealed the following constraints and possibilities.
uled caste communities in Ganjam and Gajapati districts l It is difficult to launch poultry as start up activity due to
of Odisha primarily depend on rain fed agriculture and lack of availability of chicks. General practice is to sell
wage labour for earning a living. The region is drought the birds only at adult stage. Though sometimes
prone and has got a hill and valley topography. The vendors come to village to sell the chicks, but the
landholding pattern is small, agriculture is rain fed paddy quality is poor and the mortality is very high.
and the productivity is low. The livelihood portfolio includes l Many quality breeds are available for back yard poultry
seasonal agriculture, wage labour and goat rearing. with potentially better returns; yet no formal distribu-
Income levels are low and income opportunities are tion chain exists in rural areas except in some
limited. There is barely any risk hedging asset available Govt./NGO project villages.
with households. Cash for meeting emergency needs is l The growth rate of indigenous birds is 750 gm to 1000
one of the major concerns of households. gm in one year whereas the improved breeds can
grow up to 2 kg in 3 months period.
Any substantial and sustainable livelihood initiative that l The egg laying capacity of indigenous birds is up to 80
requires much input is not viable here given the region's per annum whereas that of the improved breed is 120
underdevelopment. After preliminary scanning of the area to 150 per annum.
and discussions with knowledgeable persons, IGS zeroed l Moreover vaccines are also available for major
in on back yard poultry as an option for income enhance- diseases. However, villagers were not aware about
ment of these people. To determine how it would work and vaccination.

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

lState veterinary department mainly focuses on cow, including problems and actions taken. It was a very
buffalo, sheep and goat. Poultry sector is generally encouraging response as manifested by faster growth of
neglected. Hence availability of service for back yard birds in comparison with local birds (2.5 kg in 3-4 months),
poultry is inadequate. less affected by diseases and better returns.
lSince the right kind of knowledge and practice are not
there, the mortality rate is high which in turn make Table 2: Economic analysis at customer end (INR.)
people reluctant to go for back yard poultry. Expenses Income
Registration fees 500 No. of Live birds = 8 Body weight @ 2.5 kg
Objectives and the package of the intervention
Keeping this scenario of lack of awareness and availability per bird = 20 kg
of key inputs in perspective, IGS developed an integrated [email protected]/-
product and service package for back yard poultry. The Feed 300 = Rs. 2000
package was developed keeping it in mind that it should
Total 800 Total 2000
facilitate the people to have regular income with least
inputs and labour. The objectives and the package were Net Income = INR.2000 –INR.800 = INR1200 in 3 to 4 Months
as follows: Note: The egg laying starts from 6th month onwards to 18thmonths @
l To introduce poultry birds as the option to meet the 150 eggs per bird (hen). The selling price is INR. 4 to 5 per egg.
emergency need of people through making high
quality chicks available at village level Based on the result of the pilot project, scaling up was
l Provide required service to reduce mortality rate designed. It included the following activities:
l To develop a full fledged Agriculture Livestock l Finding out sources to procure good quality chicks
Enterprises Development Services (AGLEDS) l Staff training on managing poultry
product for small and medium poultry farmers l Refining the product, if required, and registering more
customers for the product
Taking inputs from Central Poultry Development l Exposure visit of Livelihood Service Providers (LSP),
Organisation, Bhubaneswar and state veterinary Executives, Unit Heads to pilot area to observe and
department, the different service deliverables were learn the product.
designed for a six month pilot phase. The same has been l Developing publicity materials like banner, leaflet, A/V
presented in Table 1. documentary movie for the promotion of the product.
l Leaflet was printed in 5 languages of Odia, Hindi,
Table 1: The service package for backyard poultry Bengali, Telugu and English and Audio-Visual
documentary in 3 languages Odia, Hindi, Bengali.
Services Indicative timelines
l Special DPSC to highlight the product features and
Awareness on different types of 1stmonth selling it was part of the scaling up. In DPSC, A/V aid,
breeds of poultry banner and leaflet were used. Once the DPSC is over,
Selection of particular breeds 2nd month the field staff went for one to one communication
(meeting individual villager) for registration.
Low cost housing for back yard poultry 2nd month
l Addressing different issues related to disease,
Supply of chicks 3rd month unavailability of chicks, poor quality of chicks, failure of
Supply of Starter feed for the chicks 3rd month vaccination programme etc.
Supply of medicine and growth promoter 3rd month
(Glucose D, Antibiotic, Multivitamin)
Training on preparation of low cost 3rd& 4th month
high value feed
Vaccination against major diseases 3rd – 6th month
Supply of chicks to customer to continue 6th month
the activity and renewal of registration

Piloting the product

The intervention was christened as Pakshi Samruddhi
Seva (PSS), and took off with 72 customers during
April’10 to June’10 in Bhanjanagar unit1 of Ganjam district;
and Paralakhemundi unit of Gajapati district of Odisha.
A close monitoring of growth of each unit was recorded

1
Unit is a defined geographical area for delivering livelihood promotion services
in the BASIX group companies.

110
 Ensuring money in emergency

Expansion to other states

Number of exposure visits was conducted for the staff
working in other states to explore the marketability of the
product. Around 75 staff from seven states visited and
interacted with local PSS customers to have required
understanding of the product. Now units in 10 states
namely Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Bihar,
Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan,
Maharashtra, Tripura and Karnataka have launched this
product in a big way namely.

Outreach and revenue

By Dec'11 IGS had registered 50,000 customers in a span
of 18 months, ensured supply of 3,72,000 chicks with
collection of INR 25 millions. The net profit to the organiza-
tion was INR 5 million by Dec'11. A customer is now
earning around INR 2000, and the net profit of INR 1200
out of 8 chicks within 3-4 months after deducting product
fee and feed cost. Egg laying starts after five months which
Ensuring productivity is an additional benefit and a source of regular income.
Two tools were developed using local resources to check
mortality and diseases. Initially customers were providing Table 3: Pakshi Samruddhi Seva status summary
drinking water using open plate. Most of the times the
chicks were getting on the plate and getting drenched Pilot Phase: 3 months April'10 to June'10
leading to infection. To provide drinking water safely, Pilot Area: 2 CSC units Bhanjanagar & Paralakhemundi
“Drinker” was developed using empty container with a
hole in the mouth and plate. To protect the chicks from rat Scaling up phase: 18 months July'10 to Dec'11
biting, hanging of basket was found fruitful; and to Number of customers registered 50,000
generate heat where electricity supply is not available, Registration fee collected Rs 2,50,00,000 (25 million)
“warmer” and insulation bed have been developed. One Number of chicks supplied 3,72,000
warmer is enough to protect 10 chicks from cold weather.
This warmer requires locally available fire wood, cow dung Highest number of chicks supplied 60,000
cake, coal etc. to provide heat. in a single month: December’10
Number of customers registered 500
Capacity building of staff for Mini Commercial Farming
There was continuous effort to enhance the capacity of
field staff and to keep them updated so that they could (50 chicks to 1000 chicks)
provide efficient servicesto the customers. We have sent Highest Ag/BDS fee collected from a Rs 29,050
40 LSPs to Central Poultry Development Organization, single customer for a single product
Bhubaneswar for a 6 days certificate training programme.
(PSS-1000, for 1,000 chicks)
They also field exposure and practical training.
First egg laying obtained from the December’10
supplied chicks
Expansion to other states: 10 Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand,
W.B., Tripura, Maharashtra, A.P.,
M.P., Karnataka, Rajasthan
Expansion to other group companies IGS – Odisha and Bihar; IGS
and external organization Lamp fund: Jharkhand;
BKSL – A.P.; Shivia – W.B.;
MAVIM – Maharashtra;
MART - Odisha

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Conclusion service provisioning is crucial for scaling up of the product.

The product was developed in the context of providing The interest shown by other NGOs in different states and
critical cash needs to resource poor families. The outreach its adoption by units in 10 states indicates the robustness
of the product and the revenue generated demonstrates of the model of intervention. The intervention has
the success of the same in a short span of time. attempted to address a critical gap in the livelihood basket
Developing situation specific product including adequate of poor households.

About the author

Tapas Pati, is working as Associate Vice President, BSFL, based at Bhubaneswar, Odisha and he may be
reached at [email protected]

112
 Promoting Credit plus approach
- Ranjit Kumar Dutta 1

The case talks about the attempt of a grassroots organisation to integrate livelihoods with its
micro finance programme. It realises that livelihood interventions require technical support,
continuous interaction with the community, change in orientation of the staff in addition to
provision of financial services.

Introduction the increasing needs of their client base, BUP also wanted
Barasat Unnayan Prostuti (BUP) is a registered society to venture into the more organised micro finance space. In
working in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal the year 2007 LAMP Fund, an initiative of IGS to promote
especially in South Barasat areas. It is engaged in micro finance, was approached for support. After due
promoting microfinance in the nearby villages. Women diligence, an amount of 1.5 million INR was sanctioned
from low income group households who are interested to from LAMP Fund and disbursed for expanding the
form SHGs for credit and savings form the major client of microfinance outreach. IGS staff used to visit the field
the organisation. The households are primarily engaged areas of BUP as part of programme facilitation and
in small trading, share cropping and wage labour as support. During visits to the field of the organisation it was
means of earning livelihood. In addition the livelihood understood that the loan has not benefitted the women as
portfolio also includes activities like masonry, hand much as it could have due to traditional methods of
knitting, handicrafts manufacturing, etc. vegetable production. The quantity and quality of the
product needs to be ensured for better income. After
Like many NGOs who started with promotion of SHGs and discussions between IGS and BUP, It was decided that
later wanted to expand their micro finance activity to meet BUP would also work with the community especially
vegetable farmers on enhancing technical skills. BUP felt
1
The author is the Secretary of Barasat Unnayan Prostuti. that their staff first needs to oriented on livelihoods.

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

With the support from IGS, BUP completed the orientation result in default and/or indebtedness in the long run.
of their staffs on livelihood where in they went through a
three days in house training. The training module included To steer the program, BUP employed a Diploma holder in
livelihood promotion approaches, various experiences Agriculture(Organic farming). BUP took support of
and processes for grounding involving use of tools for concerned Govt. Departments i.e. agriculture and animal
identification of livelihood opportunities. Then BUP staff husbandry departments. BUP field officers employed for
surveyed the operational area and identified the potential micro credit programme helped in organising the
livelihood interventions. The two activities identified for meetings, trainings etc. Exposure visits to Haringhata
intervention was agriculture and dairy. They also came up Govt. Dairy Farm and Bidhan Chandra Krishi
with a business proposition on the same for implementa- Vishwavidyalaya, Kalyani were organised. The technical
tion. This process was financially supported with INR training on vegetable farming focused on the following:
75000 by IGS. A livelihood specialist institution named l Selection of vegetable based on market demand
MART provided the orientation. l Procuring good quality certified seed and preparing
the seed
The program l Compulsory testing of soil
BUP proposed IGS for a financial support of INR 200,000 l Application of organic manures and bio fertilisers and
for training their staffs and reaching 200 households with preparation of land 10-12 days before plantation
the agriculture and dairy services. They also requested for l Use of natural insecticides e.g. neem khol, neem oil
a loan of INR Rs 3,000,000 for on lending in general etc.
including these 200 HHs if need be which was accepted.
Trainings Organised
The components of the program are BUP arranged four training camps up to January'2011.
l Training the BUP staff on technical skills in agriculture Those villages are Atghara, Madhabpur (Dograpara),
l Training 200 HHs with technical skills (including dairy) Harpara (East) and Harpara (West). All of these villages
and promote organic farming are under the Beraberia Panchayat of Barasat I Block.
l To set up and implement with 2 vermi compost units
and 10 demo plots Date Place of the training No. of Participants
l Exposure to the technical institutes i.e. Kalyani 3rd & 4th Dec’11 Head Office 10
Agriculture university & government dairy farm
23/12/2010 Atghara 24
The intervention strategy developed by Barasat Unnayan 06/01/2011 Madhabpur (Dograpara) 22
Prostuti rested on playing the role of a catalyst for 13/01/2011 Harpara (East) 20
empowering the target group in quality production of 27/01/2011 Harpara (West) 23
commodities. Besides this the target group will be
provided skills on how to earn more income with small
practice changes in agriculture & dairy management. The The awareness about organic farming and concept of
types of training provided are dairy management, sustainable agriculture is gaining momentum among the
agriculture management & within it specifically on organic farmers in the area. In this context, recycling of available
farming. Besides this, BUP also exposed the community bio-wastes from different sources has been prioritised.
to the Govt. Dairy farm and Govt. Agriculture farm to The impacts of livelihood programme implemented by
enable practical experience to the beneficiaries. BUP also Barasat Unnayan Prostuti are as follows:
intervened with two households and vermin compost pits l At least 20 persons have learnt the process of making
was constructed. Demo plots for production of organic vermin compost observing two demonstration plots.
manures were promoted for eight more households. Four persons have already taken the initiative for
These 10 households become local training places/ putting up vermin compost units by themselves.
centres for others in the community with the produce l 25-30 persons have started farming using the organic
being physically verified. manure. Among these, four farmers are using the
compost purchasing it from local vermin compost pits.
Moving ahead with Livelihoods l 42 farmers were enriched through exposure visit to
As mentioned above vegetable farming and dairy were Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Kalyani. 8-9
identified for livelihood promotion interventions. The farmers have started organic farming according to
bottlenecks identified were increasing cost of agricultural their learning from the visit.
inputs especially fertilisers. Moreover productivity is also l 30 persons visited Haringhata Dairy farm in Nadia
going down. The women beneficiaries are marginal district; ideas of cow rearing motivated the farmers
farmers having 0.5 acres of land on an average. Monthly enough and 12 persons have started cow rearing as
income averaged around 3000 INR for these households. per their learning from the exposure visit.
BUP believed that unless cost effective production
methods are adopted, these beneficiaries won't be able
benefit from the micro finance program either. This may

114
 Promoting Credit plus approach

Challenges faced the responsibilities. The technical training and trainers

Livelihoods were a new theme for BUP. A number of visit was not adequate for the kind of intervention thought
challenges were faced while implementing the program in of. The program needed long term support as well as
the last one year. The staff of BUP was facing difficulty in availability of technical person more often in the field. The
addressing technical queries from the communi- program management aspect of BUP needs to be
ties/farmers as they were not fully prepared for taking up strengthened.

Gift of vermin

Pravash Sarkar and Golam Haque are two energetic

farmers of Beraberia Gram Panchayat. Though they
used to work hard to produce more vegetables in their
small agricultural land, they could not get enough
income from cultivation. They used maximum chemical
fertilizers for more growth of vegetables. But this
practice was spoiling the land and the production was
gradually decreasing.

(“Hotash hoye porechilam, thik korechilam jomi bikri

kore kolkatar karkhanay kaj korbo”)- “Being depressed
once I decided that I'll sell my land and go to Kolkata for
working in a factory”- said Pravash Sarkar.

During this period, Barasat Unnayan Prostuti started to

intervene in the area. Encouraged by the trainer, these
two farmers agreed to prepare vermin composting.

(“Jomi e amader annadata, eta kokhono charbo na”)-

“Land provide us food, we will never leave it”.

Now these two farmers better incomes. Vegetable

production has been doubled and expenses for
purchasing fertilizers have been reduced by 50% with
help of vermin composting. Moreover, they have not
migrated which is a major problem in rural Bengal.

About the author

Ranjit Kumar Dutta, is the Secretary of Barasat Unnayan Prostuti based at Barasat and he may be reached
at [email protected]

115
116
 Half way out-of-the-cocoon
- Akhoury Prabhas

Lac is the natural resin, which is the excretion of the lac insect Kerria lacca (Kerr), which thrives
on the tender twigs of specific host trees. The raw lac has its use as a natural polymer and is the
source of three valuable and natural products i.e. resin, dye and wax. The two major lac-
producing countries of the world are India and Thailand. Jharkhand (41.98%) is one of the
highest lac producing states in the country. Once a substantial livelihood for thousands of
tribal people is on the wane from last couple of decades. A study by IGS in 2002 showed it still
had the potential since it had substantial industrial demand and that it required scientific
cultivation and better market linkage. However, the successive failures in restoring lac
cultivation do not end in vain for the potential is still there.

In the context of a potential of host (Palas, Kusum and Ber), suck the plant sap and
In Jharkhand lac cultivation is one of the important grow, all the while secreting lac resin from their bodies.
secondary sources of income for tribal people in Since the insects are closely spaced on the twigs, the
backward districts. The state ranks second largest resin forms continuous encrustations over the twigs of the
producer of lac in the country. The important Lac produc- host trees. Brood lac (mother insect) is induced in the host
ing areas in the state are Khunti, Bundu, Tamar, trees as a practice of lac cultivation. The mature female
Daltonganj, Latehar, Chandwa, Manika, Garwah, insects, gives birth to young larvae. After emerging from
Chaibasa, Chakradharpur and Chandil where most of the the mother cell, the young larvae settles on the fresh twigs
tribal population, who live in or around forests, practice lac of the host plants, suck the plant sap and grow to from
cultivation traditionally. encrustations. The twig containing encrustations are
harvested after they are fully grown to extract the lac resin.
The insect Karia lacca, living off the sap of certain trees, Usually there are two cycles of lac cultivation in a year:
secretes lac resin. This insect settles closely on the twigs Rangini lac (Oct-July) and Kusum lac (July to Jan).

117
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Since time immemorial, the tribal people have collected the largest consumer of Lac. Later the demand for lac
naturally growing lac from the nearby forest and sold them gradually increased due its use in food and pharmaceuti-
in the nearby market. People here are dependent on both cal industry as natural dye. Its use in paints and varnishes
agriculture (paddy and maize) and forest based livelihood. has also increased in 90's. Derivatives of Lac resin, wax
Percentage shared between agriculture and forest based and dye have various industrial uses.
livelihood were almost equal. Income from Lac cultivation
is next to paddy cultivation in tribal family in the state and The Intervention – aligning a tradition with the
constitutes 40% of total income. (Lac in Jharkhand- A modern
study, Binju Abraham- PRADAN). Demand of lac in The study, mentioned earlier, and extensive consultation
domestic and international market, and existence of with the stakeholders in the sector, warranted a collabora-
processing units are favourable for rejuvenating lac tion to promote lac cultivation in Jharkhand. Three
cultivation. organizations - IGS, PRADAN and Indian lac Research
Institute (ILRI) joined hands together in providing
Despite its livelihood potential, lac cultivation is beset with technical, financial and marketing support. Where in IGS
numerous risks and uncertainties. Till date advanced ensured credit and insurance support, PRADAN provided
technology is not successfully introduced in lac sector, institutional building support and ILRI provided technical
and people do not have access to adequate working support. The objective of collaboration was to increase the
capital to buy brood lac. Moreover, availability of quality income of lac producing tribal families by ensuring quality
brood lac was highly uncertain. The lac insect was inputs, working capital, risk coverage and marketing
vulnerable to predators, diseases and climatic factors (like support. Thus, the institutional development services
temperature, direct sunlight, and fog). In addition to these, (IDS), livelihood financial services (LFS), agriculture and
the non-availability of insurance coverage to mitigate such business development services (AgBDS) were ensured. It
risks contributed farther to its low productivity. is depicted below, having equal sides, showing equal
importance of each function.
The economy in the area is to some extend non-
monetized and specially lac is used to barter system for The product and different models tried out for lac
exchange of food grains in lean season by most of the intervention during 2003-07
poor farmers. They are also used to the system of benefit Keeping in view the above factual limitations IGS and
sharing with landlords whose lands these poor farmers PRADAN designed a mechanism by which the lac
cultivate. Also it was difficult to rope in an insurance producer gets inputs (brood lac, nylon net bags and agro-
company due to peculiar nature of the crop, which chemicals) on credit and at the same time an assurance or
primarily depends on the life cycle of an insect (Laccifera risk coverage was offered to the farmers to the extent of
lacca). The lac-producing farmers also do not recognize loss of investment in the crop. It was 60:40 harvest sharing
the need to purchase brood lac by paying cash. They mechanism; if crop failed IGS would provide the cost of
usually recycle their own produce or borrow the same labour i.e 60% of stick lac cost. The area chosen was
from neighbouring farmers. Khunti and Torpa block of Ranchi district in Jharkhand.
743 farmers came to join in first the year but project lost
Shellac industry has taken a downturn after fall of INR 783,574.
gramophone records industry in the 80's, which used to be

Intervention TRIAD:

Technology
Support (ILRI)

Lac
Cultivation

Institution Financial
Building Support –Credit
and Insurance
(PRADAN)
(IGS)

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 Half way out-of-the cocoon

Table 1: Model and Experiences of 2004 to 2007

Activity F Y 2004-05 F Y 2005-06 FY 2006 – 07

Intervention Rangini Lac (Oct 04 to July 05) Rangini Lac (Oct 04 to July 06) Kusumi Lac (July 06 to Feb 07). A second
cycle “Kusumi Lac cultivation on ber tree" a
new initiative taken up
Rangini Lac (Oct 06 to July 07)

No. Of farmers 307 221 307 (provided with Kusumi farmers).

provided with 736 (236 who had taken loan from IGS +
brood lac 500 farmers of World Vision) in the Rangini
season.+212 weather insurance

Loan Loan disbursement in Kind Loan disbursement of Rs 0.91 Lakhs in Cash and Loan disbursement of Rs 0.18 Lakhs in cash.
disbursement (brood lac) 3.18 Lakhs to facilitate brood lac availability on the date of Loan disbursement of Rs 2.36 Lakhs in cash
disbursement.
Insurance Product designed in such a way Rainfall index based product for lac cultivation in Retail 448 insurance policies in
that takes care off meeting the collaboration with IFFCO TOKOYO collaboration with ILRI and ICICI Lombard
risk specially the labour part. (rainfall and temperature both are covered).

Loan Recovery Sharing of produce (In Kind) & From the borrowers in case of no weather risk From the borrowers in case of no weather
input insurance From insurance claim in case of weather risk risk
taking place From insurance claim in case of weather risk
taking place

Product Input cost recovered The Brood Lac was procured partly from In the last two years we have tried to
Experience Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh. Due to variation understand the commercial lac production
in the insect life cycle between the two regions with the support of ILRI while developing the
there was time lag in insect emergence from the financial product including the Insurance.
brood lac procured from Madhya Pradesh, where
time of lac insect emergence is 30 to 45 days It is important to promote brood lac
behind the time in Jharkhand. As the insurance entrepreneurs locally as we could
product was static, we could not test its experienced that the brood lac is the most
performance at field level, though we have paid a critical in put in the entire life cycle of lac
premium of Rs. 87,500 for covering the risk, this production.
lead to a principle over due of Rs. 48,424, which
will be covered from the Risk Mitigation Fund.

Constraints faced Procurement of brood lac Procurement of Brood lac: Extreme weather No constraint faced during Kusumi lac cycle.
condition resulted in very low production of
Estimation of final produce brood lac in Jharkhand, and the hike of price in Lac and Insurance product both failed
Madhya Pradesh due to sudden high demand
from Jharkhand. And spoilage of material in the
long distance transport, brood quality
deteriorated.

Improvements Procurement of brood through Dynamic insurance product, which triggers with Rangini lac cultivation have to re think. PoP
suggested entrepreneur, as estimation the date of lac insect emergence. and insurance product has some question.
method of produce is not To think upon semiyalata.
perfect to make it a revenue IGS need not to involve in brood lac supply.
sharing model.

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

The insurance product Index Setting

The productivity in brood lac cultivation is extremely In weather insurance, the claim was settled on the basis of
susceptible to the vagaries of nature. The inoculation of a transparent index. The index was created by assigning
brood lac takes place during the month of October and weights to critical time periods of crop growth. The past
November on the host plants. There are some critical weather data was mapped on to this index to arrive at a
points during the life cycle of the lac insect. For example, normal threshold index. The actual weather data is then
the male insect emerges from its cocoon during the month mapped to the index to arrive at the actual index level. In
of February to mate with female insect. Extreme climatic case there is a material deviation between the normal
conditions like heavy rain or sudden temperature change index and the actual index, compensation is paid out to the
during this juncture can kill most of the male insects thus insured on the basis of a pre-agreed formula.(See tables)
leading to a decrease in productivity of lac.
Pricing
The first year (2003-04) of project comprised only labour Pricing is determined based on components of expected
component involved in lac. It was an assurance for the loss, volatility of historical losses and management
farmers that if the crop failed, farmers would get the labour expenses. In the case of Lac input cost varies from
cost he/she invested. The model assured at least 60% of INR.500 to 1000 for inoculating 5 to 10 ber trees.
brood lac cost for the inputs he/she invested. The first year
crop failed and there was as well theft by some farmers; so In the year 2005-06, after designing the product,
IGS incurred a loss of more than INR. 7, 00,000. In the Metrological stations were setup, which were monitored
year 2004-05, the labour cost was removed as IGS borne by IGS field unit and it was directly linked with Met station
all the cost of inputs. at Pune. Temperature and rainfall data were transferred
daily from Khunti to Pune and was compiled on monthly
Need of weather based Insurance Product basis.
Since none of the company was offering any insurance in
lac and the trial by IGS was to assure the return through IGS purchased the product from IFFCO-TOKYO for
estimation it turned out to be very unscientific methodol- excessive rainfall (weather insurance) during the
ogy. BASIX has experienced the evolution of weather inoculation period (22nd Oct, 2005-17th Nov, 2005). Rain
insurance in various sub sectors since 2003. It has helped was a spoilsport during this year, coupled by the variation
ICICI Lombard to scale up their generic weather insur- in the insect life cycle. There was a time lag in insect
ance across India. Also the there was many advantages emergence from the brood lac procured from Madhya
of weather based insurance product. Pradesh, which took 30 to 45 days behind the time in
l It is transparent and thus leads to high level of client Jharkhand. As insurance product was static, no compen-
comfort sation could be claimed; though a premium of INR.87,500
l It is easy to administer and thus leads to low manage- was paid for covering the risk (bulk purchase of insurance
ment expenses units had been done by IGS).
l It is scientifically developed and objective
The customized insurance product was designed initially
Designing of weather based Insurance Product for lac based on excessive rainfall and later on upon excessive
IGS designed weather based insurance product for three temperatures in the year2006-07. The whole product was
consecutive years 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08, and retailed by IGS to 448 lac growers. The crop failed in this
was supported by IFFCO-Tokyo insurance company and year but the condition was not the excessive temperatures
ICICI Lombard Insurance Company. or the rainfall during inoculation. Rather scientist told it
was fog during the month of February. The following year,
Peril Identification 2007-08, this insurance was to provide a cover on rainfall
Peril identification involved appreciation of agronomic at the time of inoculation and temperature during
properties of the crops or nature of the economic activity. encrustation. A deliberate attempt was made to keep both
Detailed correlation analysis was carried out to ascertain the parameters rainfall and temperature separate and
the way weather impacts on the yields of the crops/output option of premium for the cultivators. In the successive
of other economic activities. Technical support was year, the product was made more dynamic by designing in
provided by ILRI, Ranchi. Mainly three-risk periods were such a way that it coverd up to a month at the time of
identified by ILRI scientist for Rangini crop (8 month cycle inoculation. This year also the IGS team retailed 779
i.e. Oct-Nov to May-June) insurance to the farmers of Khunti and Torpa. Though this
1. Excess rainfall during the inoculation period of brood year also crop failed but none of the cultivators had
on host plant ( Ranges 50mm-60 mm) claimed insurance due to temperature and rainfall
2. Excess rainfall during the male emergence period i.e. fluctuation.
in the month of February /March ( Range (20 mm to
25 mm)
3. Excess heat during the summer season i.e. March-
April (Ranges 37*C- 40* C)

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 Half way out-of-the cocoon

Table 2 : The product 2006-07/07-08

Time Reason Description Compensation Premium

29th October to Rainfall Total 60mm for 3 consecutive days between the period of Rs.100.00 x 3 Rs.25.00
16th November 29th October to 16th November, will be treated as 3 events (maximum)
16th to 31st March Temperature Total 180OC for 5 consecutive days or 38OC on any one day Rs.112.50 x 4 Rs.45.00
between the period of 15th March to 31st March, (maximum)
will be treated as 4 events
1st to 15th April Temperature Total 190OC for 5 consecutive days or 40OC on any one day Rs.75.00 x 4 Rs.63.00
between the period of 1st April to 15th April, will be treated
as 4 events
Total Rs.1050.00 Rs.133.00

Sohani Munda hails from Udburu village in Khunti Block. Each woman had to make repayment of INR.100/pm
She belongs to Munda community. Her economic assets towards loan recovery. The women were making the
include 1 buffaloes (which are primarily for agricultural payments from sale of paddy, mahua etc, with the hope
purpose as tribal doing not consume milk), a few local that they would have good earning once the lac crop is
breed local poultry birds, and 5 sheeps. Her family owns harvested. The hopes, however, were shattered after the
3-4 acres of land on which they grow Gora Dhan (tradi- crop failure, which has shaken the confidence of the
tional paddy variety) and some vegetables like tomato, borrowers. Insurance compensation could not be availed
brinjal, raddish, beans and potato. The vegetables are since 2006, even though the borrowers had paid a
primarily for household consumption, while surplus is sold premium of INR.100 per unit. Still they have managed to
in the market. Gauri Devi also collects mahua flower repay the principal amount, though some portion of
(about 40kgs in a year) which she sells for Rs.10/Kg. The interest and insurance premium is still due.
paddy grown provides food sustenance to the family for
the whole year. The women refuse to pay this, saying there has been a
complete crop failure and they should actually be getting
Sohani Munda has 150 Ber, and 3 Kusum tree. IGS compensated from the Insurance.
formed a SHG (in 2006) with 14 women in her village and
lent them INR.14,000 for lac cultivation. These families Due to this experience IGS is now contemplating
were lac cultivators for long, collecting brood from host withdrawal of Lac specific loan. General loan would now
trees in nearby forests. But since last 2-3 years, brood has be provided to SHGs, and they would have a choice to
died in Jharkhand, and there was no brood available. IGS spend the money as they deem suitable.
intervention also included facilitation of procurement of
brood lac. Conclusions
l The weather insurance for lac should be designed
PoPs were introduced, like using nets for protection when a clear cut peril is identified. There needs a lot of
against pests (against caterpillar and insect attack). research to be done in the sector to identify the
Pesticides were sprayed to reduce the fungal attack. reasons for the crop failure.
l Having said that, interventions of IGS, PRADAN and
In 2006, however, in spite of adopting all necessary ILRI as mentioned above throw light on the issues like
measures, lac crop failed for unexplained reasons. And institutional collaboration, designing appropriate loan
the results were similar for trees on which lac had been product with insurance, package of practices (PoP), it
grown using traditional methods and where PoP had been still requires to come up with fool-proof design and
practiced. Even scientists from ILRI could not come out strategy.
with an answer to the crop failure. l The potential of lac is there since substantial industrial
demand; the question is the right PoP in changing
climatic scenario along with market linkage

About the author

Akhoury Prabhas is working as Manager with IGS based at Ranchi, Jharkhand and he may be reached at
[email protected]

121
122
MARKET BASED
INITIATIVES

123
 MARKET BASED INITIATIVES
Engaging the market and/or providing marketing linkage to producers have been employed as a
strategy by livelihood promoters to enhance income of rural and urban producers. This approach
requires sensing the market opportunity in addition to understanding the needs of the producers. A
comprehensive understanding of the market enables the livelihood promoter to figure out the
mismatches between what the market demands and what the producers supply. The promoter then
works with the producer to bridge the gap in return for better prices for produces. IGS believed in the
revenue model of livelihood promotion interventions whereby the sustainability of the intervention flows
from the revenue generated to cover costs as well as to take care of future investment requirements.
Five interventions that focus on market linkage for enhancing livelihoods are included in this
publication.

The case of contract farming is about providing assured market to the potato farmers of Jharkhand in
return for adherence to certain cultivation practices to ensure quality produces. It is a lesson in working
and negotiating with a major corporate house and getting the best bargain. The knowledge transmitted
to the farmers is a major gain for this intervention. The cases on groundnut and market linkage
experiences narrate the sub sector approach to livelihood intervention. A structured sub sector study
identifying leverage points and interventions designed around these points for better livelihood
outcomes are the highlights of these cases. Dhara Sansthan is a case of adaptation of a traditional skill
to suit the changing needs of the market. Design inputs to women artisans engaged in embroidery and
buyback arrangements enabling better prices and higher incomes are the salient features of the
intervention. The case of rag pickers adding value to their products by establishing a production unit,
engaging in the waste trade, inviting the ire of the existing players and trying to achieve scale offers
lessons in an area less ventured by many livelihood promoters. The systemic engagement with the
market is the common thread in all the five cases.

124
 Beyond Microfinance:
Potato Contract Farming in Jharkhand
- SS Tabrez Nasar and Mihir Sahana

The 'Triad' approach of BASIX – a new generation livelihood promotion conglomerate – is a

well-established approach wherein Livelihood Financial Services, is coupled with Institutional
Development Services on one hand and Agriculture Business Development Services on the
other to form the solid innovation of livelihood promotion. PepsiCo India Ltd., in collaboration
with BASIX, had undertaken contract farming for procuring chip grade potato in Jharkhand.
This case has been written after three years of pilot and expansion to illustrate the experience of
a social enterprise and a corporate coming together to improve the livelihoods of poor farmers.

PepsiCo Offers to Partner with BASIX FritoLay, PepsiCo's food and beverage division manufac-
BASIX supported by United Nations Development tured potato chips in Kolkata, West Bengal; Channo,
Programme (UNDP) conducted a study on the potential Punjab; and Pune, Maharashtra. These were made from
and constraints in the vegetable sub sector of Jharkhand high quality potato. Indian Land Ceiling Laws did not allow
in the year 2005 It revealed that the key factors for low agri-business firms to own and cultivate land for their raw
return to farmers in the vegetable sub-sector of Jharkhand material requirements. The open market did not offer
were marketing and price risk in vegetables, low produc- enough assured supply of desired quality potato. PepsiCo
tivity, non availability of high quality planting material and was exploring the possibility of sourcing potato from
other agricultural inputs, unscientific package of prac- Jharkhand for its unit in Kolkata. However, the kind of
tices, lack of timely availability of credit/microfinance potato they sought required farmers to invest more than
services, and lack of proper crop insurance. These what was the practice in Jharkhand. Dealing directly with
constraints needed to be addressed in totality in order to small producers, i.e. farmers, was a cumbersome task but
boost the said sub-sector. In this context, BASIX was contract farming with an intermediary taking responsibility
looking for a suitable opportunity to intervene so that the of the producing clusters was a more feasible and
farmers' livelihood is promoted by tapping the potential of productive option for FritoLay. PepsiCo wanted to expand
this sub-sector. its base of potato sourcing and was scouting for producers

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

who could be engaged in contract farming. PepsiCo outflow is expected. Potato being a cash crop, is mostly
proposed a partnership in which BASIX took the responsi- sold to distributors or kept in cold storages for higher
bility of providing microfinance to the farmers and then return in times of shortage. In normal times the potato is
guiding them to produce the desired quality of potato. sold at INR 4 per kg and in times of shortage at INR 7 per
PepsiCo would then buy the potato at the pre determined kg.
price.
Whereas this is the general process, farmers face difficult
BASIX was expected to promote PepsiCo's Contract times if blight infests the crop; it could completely ruin the
Farming model in Jharkhand which inevitably would have crop. This was addressed through preventive means such
meant more business to both the microfinance and as timely spraying of pesticides and regular monitoring of
agriculture and business development services divisions the crop. Yet another nightmare is adverse weather
of BASIX. Because of the climatic conditions of conditions. Scanty rainfall, for instance, is one major
Jharkhand, the potato crop there is harvested nearly two bottleneck that occurred every two or three years. Though
months before that of West Bengal. Thus the partnership farmers had learnt the art of forecasting weather condi-
would ensure availability of fresh potato for PepsiCo tions and taking suitable action to deal with these vagaries
during off-season. Farmers would gain by getting an of weather to some extent, but due to excess rainfall and
assured market for their high quality produce and would adverse climatic conditions, crops failed and farmers
also learn new techniques of farming. The pilot was incurred substantial loss. The weather insurance product,
started in the year 2005 with 35 farmers and was eventu- which IGS, a BASIX group company, tried to design in
ally scaled up to 600 farmers by 2007. collaboration with ICICI Lombard, projected a premium of
20%, which was out of bounds of the farmers .Needless to
The contract farming in Jharkhand was actually an say, the weather gods were all important to safeguard the
intervention around the entire value chain – from input interests of the farmers.
supply to output market linkages. This intervention can be
termed as a typical case of the Triad model. Financial BASIX Mission Compliance
services was given in terms of cash (for fertilizer, pesti- Farming practices recommended by PepsiCo (Exhibit 1)
cides etc) and kind (in the form of seed tubers). Along with could increase the yield from 3000 to 5000 kg per acre for
these loans, life and health insurance was also provided. the early season potatoes and also ensure assured
Agriculture Business Development Services (AgBDS) market with FritoLay as an assured customer. PepsiCo
was provided in terms of (a) 'Production enhancement' by offered an average price of INR 6–7 per kg.
Standard and scientific POP with proper guidance,
handholding and monitoring throughout the crop cycle; (b) BASIX found this as a good opportunity to both provide
risk mitigation' by taking various preventive measures microfinance support to the farmers to buy seeds and
including soil testing, lime application, timely spray of other material for contract farming and also offer training
pesticides etc., (c) 'local value addition' by ensuring modules and Agricultural and Business development
proper grading, and (d) 'alternate market linkage' by services1 (Ag/BDS) to farmers to upgrade their skills.
providing various options. Farmers were organised into BASIX, under the guidance of PepsiCo, who would
producers groups and thus Institutional Development provide the package of practices and train staffs who in
Services was also an integral part of the package.

Traditional Farming Process in Jharkhand Basix’s presence made

The process of farming starts with tilling the land and us progressive and we find
sowing the seeds. Traditionally, the seed used for potato that their presence here is
a god-sent opportunity for us to
farming was bought at a rate of INR 10 per kg in change our lives for
July/August. To cultivate an acre of land, approximately the better
800 kg of seed is needed. A farmer having one acre of land Charwa Oraon,
would normally do the job himself and complete it in three Burmu village, Ranchi
days. This is followed by watering the land that requires
two person days. Weeding is done twice during the
season and it involves one day's of labour. Another round
of tilling the land is followed by reaping the harvest. Almost
four people harvest the yield for two days and do grading,
sorting, packaging and loading before it is sent for
distribution and sales. The labour cost is, however, not
much. For most times, it would cost INR 100 plus food
costs of INR 30 a day. Often the family members are
engaged in these activities and hence not much cash
1
It includes Productivity enhancement, Risk mitigation, Valua addition and Alternate market linkage

126
 Beyond Microfinance:Potato Contract Farming in Jharkhand

turn would train the farmers for good farming practices as During harvest time, each farmer is to be informed of the
a part of its Agriculture and Business Development dates when their produce has to be harvested and graded
services delivery. For the former, BASIX could offer loan at and the dates on which they may deliver contracted
24% and for the latter, it could charge the farmers a produce to the factory. These dates are to be based on the
minimal fee of INR 300 (with Service Tax INR 350) per date of transplantation and expected size of the produce,
annum for technical support services. The farmer could calculated well in advance, based on field information
benefit from these financial and technical support collected by BASIX and PepsiCo. Farmers have to adhere
services. This combination of financial and technical to the dates. As per the grading system potato between 45
support services along with an assured market linkage and 85 cm size is considered suitable for making chips.
resonated well with BASIX’ mandate of livelihood Diseased and rotten tubers are also discarded. Green
promotion. Since this was a new area involving collabora- tubers too were sorted out separately (Exibit-3). Trucks
tion with a corporate house, IGS, the R&D wing of BASIX would come to the field with its tear weight and the tubers
group of companies, signed an MOU with PepsiCo on are locally weighed farmer-wise and are to be packed in
behalf of the farmers’ association for the first two years. 50 kg jute bags and sent to the factory. The truck is to be
The service was later passed on to BSFL by IGS in the weighed on the nearest weighbridge and a purchase slip
third year when the operation grew up and the model be given to the farmers /BASIX for that particular truck.
stabilised. The potatoes are then to be transported straight to the
factory where it is again weighed, graded and tested for its
The Contract System solid content and for any greening or disease. Based on
PepsiCo, BASIX and the farmers entered into a tripartite the quality parameters, time, and grading incentives,
agreement based on the farmers' ability to adopt new PepsiCo will pass on the payment of the farmers to
technology, suitability of land, assured irrigation, financial BASIX, who, after adjusting the farmers' loan amount,
position and past credit worthiness, commitment to the pays them within 15–20 days of delivery of the potatoes.
idea of contract farming, and most importantly determina-
tion of the area under cultivation on the basis of an The Intervention
estimate of yield per acre. Whatever is produced on the The intervention of BASIX was to enter into procurement
contracted acreage is to be supplied to PepsiCo only at a and input contract with 35 farmers and latter on scaled up
pre-determined price. to 600 farmers of Jharkhand for Chip grade potato farming
in partnership with PepsiCo. The roles of PepsiCo and
The cost of planting material of potato was INR 13 per kg BASIX in this whole intervention are detailed below.
in 2005–06 and INR 14.50 in 2006–07. Due to a severe
crisis of seed materials, in 2007–08 the cost went up to PepsiCo agreed to supply, on payment basis, high quality
INR 19 per kg of planting material. Third generation chip grade potato seedlings (Generation-3 – Atlantic
seedlings were to be supplied from Punjab and Shimla variety) as planting material and also agreed to purchase
during the first and second years. In the third year due to all chip grade quality potato from the farm at a pre-
increased damage to seeds during transportation, determined price (see Exibit-2). The company was also
majority of the seeds were supplied from cold storage in responsible for providing training on package of practices
West Bengal. As per the contract, all rotten seeds which (PoP) to BASIX staff both in class room and field. It was
do not germinate will be audited and will either be also responsible to assist BASIX in planning as well as
replaced or adjusted against the final payment. monitoring the progress of the crop from time to time.
PepsiCo staff would also help farmers in implementation
Small holder farmers who could not afford to pay for the of the scientific package of practice being developed in
planting material or agricultural inputs were given access collaboration with CPRI (Central Potato Research
to easy credit through joint liability groups. BASIX Institute), Shimla with the support of IGS – BASIX staff.
designed a suitable loan product where it supplied
seedlings in kind and paid the balance credit in cash. The BASIX acted as the key stake holder and driver of the
agreement with the farmers was that they would pay back whole intervention as this experiment of contract farming
their credit at the end of the season by way of deductions was to be done on a captive group of farmers who are
from the payment for the final produce of the farmer. already their clients. They acted as the intermediary and
However, in case of failure of crops, the loan can be helped both PepsiCo and farmers to come together. They
extended to a maximum of 11 months. organised 15–20 small holder farmers into producers
groups wherever possible. They shortlisted the farmers
A PoP was developed beginning with guiding the farmers based on the acreage of land and time when they will be
in field preparation till harvest, grading and filling the interested in sowing the crop.
potato in jute sacks, weighing them and loading them in
trucks . PoP is delivered by BASIX LSA/LSPs on a day-to- At this juncture, Bhartiya Samrudhi Finance Ltd (BSFL),
day basis and in case of a problem it is referred back to the the financial services company in BASIX group, under-
specialist, who in turn will consult an agricultural scientist took an appraisal of farmers who needed credit for potato
or the research team of PepsiCo. seedling and other inputs. Based on the assessment,

127
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

BASIX provided credit to the farmers in easy terms. All case of any disease. BASIX and PepsiCo were constantly
loans provided to farmers were linked with life and health in touch with the farmers to guide them. They also
insurance, which is arranged in collaboration with Aviva inspected and replaced defective plants at no cost.
and Royal Sundarum. BASIX and PepsiCo provided loan Demonstrations and training camps were also held
and package of practice to farmers through a cadre of self- regularly.
employed agents and service providers who were trained
either as micro finance agents or agriculturists. The whole The Downsides
range of service was provided by BASIX for a nominal fee
of INR 300 only. Procurement and Default
Default on quantity and quality has been one of the
BASIX and PepsiCo also helped the farmers in the common problems for firms in contracting everywhere. In
producers' groups to be linked with various local input case of default, the companies lose recoveries of
suppliers for making available low cost and quality seeds/seedlings cost. Defaults occur generally when the
fertiliser and pesticides. BASIX also explored possible gap between the contract price and market price is very
collaboration with ICICI Lombard to provide potato large. Companies too default in procuring, especially
insurance to the farmers. when they over-contract acreage and the yields are good.
Then they either delay the procurement, or become
PepsiCo introduced a new variety of potato with high solid stricter on quality. PepsiCo accepted even lower quality
content in Jharkhand for the first time with a detailed PoP. produce on some occasions when there was scarcity in
As per the new practice, farmers were guided in field the market. This dual policy creates a lot of confusion in
preparation, application of farm yard manure, soil the minds of people and staff and hence problems crop up.
treatment with trycoderma, boron as well as lime before Farmers become furious when at times they are paid
planting. Traditionally the farmers maintain a crop distance better price for poor quality and other times lower price for
of 4”×6” but PepsiCo suggested maintaining a distance of better quality produce.
8”×8” to enable the tubers to attain the required size and to
have more tubers in each seedling. The package of Input Supply and Crop Failures
practice also suggested provision of channels for proper The PepsiCo farmers found the quantity of potato seed
drainage as well as proper earning up to avoid any supplied by the company generally less than adequate for
greening of the potato. the acreage to be sown under the contract. Two-thirds of
the PepsiCo potato growers reported lower yields as a
New Farming Practices and Their Advantages case of crop failure. The main reasons for crop failure were
disease or pest attack, natural calamities, or seed failure.
1 The application of pesticide to the seed and drying it for 48 hours before The companies blamed the yield loss on the farmer and
planting ensured that diseases did not infect the potato and the
did not offer any compensation. Farmers found pesticides
recommended by the company costly.
moisture in the potato was maintained at the desired level.
2 Tilling the land 12” and then spreading the fertilizer, followed by a layer Some potato growers reported problems such as lack of
of soil and then sowing the seed at a depth of 6” was recommended to coordination of activities and technical assistance,
ensure the right moisture content in the potato. delayed payments, and outright cheating by the company.
3 Spraying the pesticides, fungicides and insecticides in time was critical For instance, sometimes the farmers had to wait at the
to avoid diseases. factory gate for a day or more with their produce for the
4 Timely fertilizers and watering of plants were essential for ensuring truck which led to weight loss of produce due to evapora-
good quantity production. tion. The company ended up receiving more concentrated
5 Regular inspection of the farms was essential to ensure a healthy crop. produce and paying lower price to the farmers.
Sometimes it was a genuine problem, but at other times it
Whereas the above mentioned practices sound simple on paper, they require
was a deliberate strategy by the company.
a rigid discipline that each farmer was to adhere to. This is not easy as
inculcating in the farmers a culture of giving up their traditional practices and Flaws in the Contract
paying three visits every day to follow up and seek advice every time they PepsiCo, in the first and second years adopted promo-
noticed a gap. It required consistent monitoring to make sure every farmer tional policies (disguised in the form of introductory
followed the advice. Additionally, consultancy from BASIX cost extra. discounts but never mentioned as such) such as paying
high prices, accepting low quality produce, and providing
The information booklets on farming techniques were generous inputs and high technical support to BASIX and
printed and distributed by BASIX. These provide farmers the farmers. This was done to establish a procurement
with information on selection of fields, soil testing and base for raw materials. The company, however, found it
fertiliser application, bed preparation, transplanting of difficult to sustain these policies for long, by which time
seeds, irrigation, weeding, plant growth management, growers had committed substantial resources to contract
pest management, etc. The technique was to apply crops. In the third year the company supplied poor quality
pesticide before and after insect and pest attacks or in planting materials and did not care about proper delivery

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 Beyond Microfinance:Potato Contract Farming in Jharkhand

Lessons
l Provision of inputs and non-financial services to
contracted farmers helps in production of quality
products, and also reduces transaction costs to the
farmers.
l Dynamic pricing should be adopted, preferably with
weekly review.
l Definition of price and classification of the product are
the most common elements of dispute. Quality
parameters should be discussed, jointly set and
independently audited in case of dispute.
l Production risks are assumed entirely by the producer.
l There is a need to have very good clarity on all clauses
in an agreement for all parties especially farmers. This
is all the more important when one signs an agree-
of PoP. Also at this stage, when source of supply was ment on behalf of a third party.
assured and profits accrued maximum, the company l Consequences of natural calamities or other disasters
raised the quality standards and penalised the farmers for must be taken into account in the agreement.
undersize, underweight and diseased crop, which had not l If the intervention involves commodities with low shelf-
been strictly considered in the initial stages. life and are perishable in nature, the logistics has to be
worked out very meticulously. In this particular
The contract appeared to be biased in favour of PepsiCo. intervention, the shipment was outsourced to a third
While it protected the firm against all obligations, BASIX party who were not sensitive enough to the nature of
and the farmers were required to meet the contractual urgency leading to huge losses.
obligations under all circumstances. l Farm gate grading and weighing should be acceptable
to all parties. This ensures that the rejected potatoes
Sustainability Implications can be made use of by the farmers.
Repeated cultivation of the same crop can lead to a variety l If it is a win-win situation for the parties in question,
of soil infestations. Potato need more water than wheat, they should be ready to share the losses equitably as
which affects the water table in the long run. In addition, well. This, therefore, needs to be spelt out in the
they use more pesticides and fertilizers as compared to agreements.
traditional crops, which have a negative impact on the l Sustainability of the project, even after the contract
environment. ceases to exist, needs to be taken care of.

The Outcome of the Intervention

During the last decade various corporate houses, Since the tripartite agreement has ceased to exist
including PepsiCo, HLL and Voltas, have been involved in from 2008 onwards because of some misunder-
building a system of contract farming in India. However, standing on the side of the farmers as also the
this was the first case in a tribal state like Jharkhand. perceived dishonesty on the part of the company,
Farmers have expressed overall satisfaction with the BASIX, which had no interest but to promote the
contracting system with a lot of scope for improvement. livelihood of the poor farmers, had to put up with
The views expressed by the farmers are as follows: huge unrecovered loan. Also, the trust it tradition-
l So far as their treatment was concerned, the farmers ally enjoyed in rural areas suffered a setback.
have found the contract farming method better than
the local one.
l Contract production of potato and credit availability in
time by BASIX together have enabled even the poor Conclusion
farmers to go for contract farming to increase their Contract farming with large agri-processing companies
acreages under the crop. This has brought in a lot of had significant impacts on the livelihood of the people in a
income for the farmers who could not go for this high given area. It not only increased the net income of the
capital-intensive crop for commercial purpose. contracted farmers, but also helped them acquire new
l It was observed that despite crop failure during the last skills and knowledge. It also helped build up a system of
year resulting in loss of income, majority of farmers regular monitoring of crop conditions linked with appropri-
wanted to continue the contract farming system and ate expert systems for remedies as and when required. It
many others wanted to join them even after 3 years of increased the prevailing wage rates in the area, which was
discontinuing the same. later countered with influx of outside labour. Though
l Since the new crop technology was transferred to the contract farming appears restrictive, as it invited competi-
farmers, even when they are out of the contract, they tion among firms, it also opened up many new options for
continue to apply it and obtain improved crops. the farmers.

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

However, this intervention required huge investments, in At the macro-policy level, there is a need for more creative
plant and machinery, as well as for setting up the exten- and flexible approach by the government. Involving private
sion and procurement system. Capital at such a scale may sector in technology transfer and agricultural develop-
not be available with most livelihood promotion agencies. ment projects is needed, as these companies have
It may also be noted that this intervention involved only a strengths in marketing and extension. For this to happen,
few hundred farmers. This has also led to input intensive there should be a public provision of facilities like infra-
cultivation of commercial crops, the sustainability of which structure for irrigation, transport etc. Suitable crop
is being questioned. It is of utmost importance to integrate insurance is an area where the government should be
input supply and non-financial services for the customer able to protect the livelihoods of the farmers in case of
groups. crop failure. However, it should be noted that though the
government initiated this process of inviting private
Quality of the raw materials supplied to growers needs to investments with a view to help the small and medium
be emphasised, as it determines the quality of the farmers, those who benefited were large farmers.
products, and in turn ensures better price for the produce.

Table-1: Farming Practices Advised By PIH

Interventions Description Traditional practices PepsiCo recommendation Result

followed by farmers
Seed -Variety -Random -Market-Linked Surely of good marketable crop
-Selection -Rarely Pure -Pure
-Seed Purity
Agronomy -Package of practices -Age-old technique -Quality-focused Higher returns, quality incentives
-Disease control -Modern, scientific and greater capability to fight nature
Infrastructure/post- -Harvest protocols -Harvest protocols were -Quality-focused and -Greater realizations from crop
harvest handling -Field quality not documented scientific protocols -Quality security for a
-Check stores -Traditional -Modern equipment for longer time
harvest handling
Resources -Working capital High costs (24–30%)
(credit)
Agriculture risk -Crop output prices -Volatile, glut at peak arrivals Assured buyback prices -Higher realizations
-Weather risk -No control, destiny -Security against natural disasters

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 Beyond Microfinance:Potato Contract Farming in Jharkhand

Table-2 : Cost–Benefit Analysis of Brij Bihari Prasad, Chongai, Banke Bazar, Gaya

Inputs and expenses, and Income (Amount in INR)

Expenses
Acreage 10 kattha, i.e. 37.50 decimal
Field preparation INR 125/10 kattha for ploughing and leveling with tractor (six times) 750
Seed tuber variety Atlantic variety of F3 generation
Seed tuber Source FritoLay India Pvt. Ltd
Seed tuber quantity 250 kg
Seed tuber rate INR 19.50/kg
Total cost for seed tuber 4,875
Compost 4 tons 200
Fertilizer at the time of planting DAP - 50 kg at INR 12/kg; Urea - 13 kg at INR 6/kg; MoP - 19 kg at INR 6/kg 792
After 20 to 25 days Urea - 34 kg at INR 6/kg; MoP - 19 kg at INR 6/kg 318
Chemicals and pesticides This includes for seed treatment and other preventive spray 50
Irrigation Diesel - 4 litre for 10 kattha (7 times) 980
Weeding and hoeing 8 labourers for weeding and 5 labourers for hoeing (twice) 910
(wage per labour - 2 kg rice + breakfast and lunch)
Interest paid 470
Ag/BDS Fee to BASIX 350
Harvesting 2 kg potato as wage for every 40 kg harvesting, i.e. 115 kg at INR 5/kg 575
Total Expenses 8,875
Income
Yield of chip grade potato 1700 kg at INR 6.90/kg 11,730
Yield of undersize and green spot potato 300 kg sold in open market at INR 4/kg 1,200
Yield of crack potato 300 kg sold in open market at INR 4/kg 1,200
Gross Income 14,130
Net income of the farmer 5,255
Net income per acre in 3 months 14,189
ROI 159%

About the authors

SS Tabrez Nasar is working as Deputy Dean of The Livelihood School, based at Hyderabad. He may be
reached at [email protected]
Mihir Sahana is working as Managing Director of Indian Grameen Services, based at Patna and he may be
reached at [email protected]

131
132
 Market Linkages and Livelihood
Promotion in Rural Economy
- K Vasumathi

Systematic approach to understand a sub sector and designing appropriate interventions for
enabling market linkages would lead to better returns to primary producers. Interventions in
four different sub sectors have been presented in this case with significant lessons for all the
stakeholders.

Introduction hour is to support the primary producers in not only

There have been rapid changes and higher level of increasing their productivity but also accessing alternate
uncertainty in the agricultural commodity market in the markets which would fetch them higher returns. This is
recent past due to several reasons. Prominent among more so for commodities with lower shelf life (milk), high
these are changes in world trade scenario consequent to price fluctuation (vegetables), under monopolistic control
the implementation of WTO guidelines, greater integration (oilseeds) or even witnessing declining demand in the
of the domestic market with the global market, change in traditional markets (groundnut oil).
consumers' preferences, etc.
Efforts to provide services such as market information and
Groundnut and cotton sub-sector studies conducted by intelligence by using information technology have been
IGS in Anantapur and Adilabad districts of Andhra tried out through experiments by corporates such as ITC,
Pradesh have shown that the primary producers' income Mahindra Sublabh, Rallis India and even NGOs like
has been declining and consequently their profit margins. Janarth (pulse trading) or CDF (agro-processing such as
Increasingly, the producers have found it difficult to rice mill and chilling plant). These services will help
sustain by engaging in agriculture. Hence, the need of the farmers get a return at least on par with the prevailing
market prices commensurate with the quality supplied.

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

BASIX and Livelihood Promotion districts of Jharkhand for potential intervention. In each of
BASIX has been involved in identifying opportunities in these sub-sectors, BASIX followed the above steps to
various sub-sectors, namely groundnut, cotton, dairying support primary producers. In the process, it has worked
and vegetables, which have a bearing on the income of with local institutions, research stations, processors as
the producers. This is conceived to provide by intervening well as traders and their associations for providing
in areas which may lead to direct increase in productivity customized solutions.
or output and reduction in costs. It has also been involved
in finding alternate market channels or value addition Groundnut
possibilities in these sub-sectors for raising the income of In order to design the intervention, a preliminary study of
the primary producers. In order to provide such support, the markets and various players was conducted in 2002.
the following steps have been taken as part of action The constraints faced by the groundnut producers in
research. marketing their output were:
l Develop a complete understanding of the entire value l Selling pod to the local buyer at the price fixed by the
chain of the sub-sector from production to final latter instead of market price decided by the market
consumption in the form of sub sector study. committee
l Design pilot interventions to address the identified l Malpractices in weighing
constraints and/or tapping opportunities involving l Delayed payments
various stakeholders. l Lack of regular market information
l Implement action research pilots on the ground l Insolvency petition by the middlemen leading to total
systematically for two to three years. or partial loss to the farmer
l Disseminate the experience of the pilot operations l Free supply of two to three kilograms of the produce as
through a Future Search Workshop (stakeholders' informal cess, i.e. free to the middlemen
workshop) involving various stakeholders in the entire l Ignorance of value addition practices
value chain such as research institutions, procure-
ment companies, policy makers, and suppliers, The three objectives of the intervention piloted were:
bringing public and private institutions together. 1. Direct linkage of primary producers with oil millers or
l Scale up the successful interventions through creating wholesale traders
and/or developing a replicable model with continuing 2. Value addition at the local level
support to the stakeholders. 3. Supply of good quality kernel for confectionery
l Improve the design based on impact assessment purposes to both domestic and export markets
responding to the needs of the community and
prevailing situations Direct Market Linkage and Value Addition
A cluster of three villages in the vicinity of the decorticating
Support for Alternate Market Linkage unit was selected in co-ordination with a local NGO, Rural
BASIX identified groundnut in Anantapur district, cotton in Development Trust for the pilot study in 2001. The
Adilabad district and dairying in Mahabubnagar district of proposed intervention was to decorticate the farmer's
Andhra Pradesh and vegetables in Ranchi and Deoghar produce and sell it directly to the oil mill or wholesaler. In
the process, there was elimination of middlemen and
possibility of higher returns because of value addition.
Box1: Stages in intervention
Through negotiations with the management of the unit,
the decortication rate was fixed at INR 20 per bag of 80 kg
Conceptualization of kernel. It included winnowing and cleaning of the
F Undertake sub-sector studies produce. Thirty farmers came forward and decorticated
F Select intervention

Pilot Phase
F Establish collaborations
F Undertake action research
F Share results in Future Search
F Develop revenue model of successful
interventions to replicate

Scaling up
F Scale up the intervention
F Undertake impact assessment
F Improve the design

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 Market Linkages and Livelihood Promotion in Rural Economy

their produce. The produce was directly sold to wholesaler In addition, 350 person days of employment were created
at the market price prevailing on that day on a cash basis. in the whole process. The operation shows a loss of INR
11,320, which could have been nullified through lower
With the intervention in the above cluster, the farmers input costs (1.5%) or higher sales price (0.5%). The loss
processed nearly 2,500 bags and were benefited by about mainly occurred due to wrong time of purchase when
INR 20 to 40 per bag of pod of 40 kg each. In addition, government and private seed dealers were procuring
there was employment generation at the local level. good quality seed for sowing.

Benefits to farmers through market intervention Benefits from HPS operations

lHigher returns through direct sale and value addition Higher price recovery by farmers as compared to oil route
lEliminating the problem of delayed payment due to purchase of better quality kernels through grading.
lElimination of malpractices such as under-weighing Possibility of generating large scale employment,
and informal cess especially for women, in the grading process.
lRealization of market price due to the direct linkage l Operations undertaken at local level and managed by
with millers local institutions like co-operatives helping in retention
of higher profit.
Benefits to the decorticating unit l Potential of accessing export market for table
lHigher capacity utilization of the existing unit purposes and confectionery, especially in South-east
lDirect contact with the oil millers or wholesale traders Asia, which can be more remunerative.
lPossibility of higher volume of business in the
subsequent years through installation of grading Cotton
machinery BASIX has been working with cotton growers in Adilabad
lPossibility of diversifying into seed business due to district of Andhra Pradesh facilitating introduction of
access to good quality seeds Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to reduce the cost of
cultivation. There was a fair amount of success in this
Benefits to Oil Millers intervention in terms of reduced use of pesticide leading to
lAssured supply of quality seeds savings of around INR 1,500 to 2,000 per acre. A survey
lAccess to hitherto untapped areas leading to higher on marketing of the produce revealed the following
capacity utilization constraints:
lSavings on some of the processing costs, such as de- l Sale of the produce to middlemen and accepting the
cortication and labour expenses prices offered by them
l Uniform price offered irrespective of the quality of the
Hand Picked and Selected Groundnut for Domestic produce
Market and Exports l Lack of awareness among farmers of the value
An attempt was made as a pilot project to carry out hand addition possibilities at the local level
picked and selected (HPS) operation to understand l Under-weighing due to lack of proper weighing
various steps and issues to be handled in processing and machines in the local mandis
marketing HPS groundnut and the costs involved. l Presence of a monopoly buyer in the cluster

After the initial survey in the district to purchase suitable

pods, 405 bags of pods of 40 kg each (i.e. around 16
tonnes) with 75% shelling at an average price of INR 673
per bag were purchased. The decortication and grading
was done in a local oil mill at Anantapur. Nine tonnes of
HPS seed was obtained which was sold to local dealer
and around 3.5 tonnes of splits was sold to the oil mill.

The cost benefit analysis of the intervention is given in

Table 1.

Table 1: Costs and benefits in HPS intervention

Particulars Amount in INR

Income from sales (HPS and oil purposes) 274,058
Cost of input 272,278
Processing and other miscellaneous charges 13,100
Loss 11,320

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Dairy
In 2006–07, in and around Nirmal and Bhainsa Dairy is one of the most promising sectors which can have
area of Adilabad district in Andhra Pradesh, major influence on the livelihoods of the poor, especially in
BASIX motivated five mutually aided cooperative dry land areas, provided there is value addition like
thrift societies, which were formed as cotton chilling. This is because of the higher demand for milk.
commodity cooperatives during its Integrated Pest One of the major constraints of milk is its perishability and
Management intervention, to take up cotton hence there is need for assured markets to the producers.
ginning. In the process it identified a reputed local BASIX has also worked in collaboration with Andhra
ginner for converting raw cotton into tradable Pradesh Dairy Development Co-operative Federation
bales. Over 200 farmers participated in the (APDDCF) in the diary sub-sector to provide a marketing
activity. About 670 quintals of raw cotton worth linkage to the producers.
INR 1.33 million was ginned, 65.23 candy's lint
was produced which was sold at INR 1.16 million Revival of a Milk Chilling Centre
and 422 quintals of seed is sold at INR 360,000. One of the milk chilling centres in Wanaparthy, a mandal in
The intervention with total income of INR 1.53 Mahabubnagar district, was only procuring about 1,200
million and operating cost of INR 120,000 resulted litres of milk per day in 1999 against a capacity of 10,000
in net profit of INR 1.41 million which is INR 1,090 litres per day (lpd). An analysis of the situation revealed
per tonne of cotton. that the farmers were unable to supply milk to the chilling
centre due to closure of the milk route by the chilling
centre. As a consequence, the milk societies in the
villages coming under this route had become non-
It also undertook another market survey to analyse the operational. The other major constraint was that the
value chain as well as to identify the local value addition farmers lacked access to capital to purchase animal.
possibilities in the district. There are about 20 ginning mills
in the district. Spinners across the country procured BASIX initiated a dialogue with APDDCF for revival of the
pressed cotton from these ginners. They convert the milk chilling centre. The following steps were outlined for
pressed cotton into yarn, which is supplied to the textile its revival:
sector. Except for primary ginning, further value addition l BASIX would provide much-needed loan to farmers
does not take place in the district. for purchase of animals.
l It would help revive milk co-operatives at the village
On the basis of the above facts, BASIX facilitated the level and help in the initial procurement of milk.
following activities for the cotton growers in the cluster: l APDDCF would re-open the milk route in the villages.
l Proper weighing in the local market yard: After l It would also provide necessary technical guidance
initiating a dialogue with the president of the market and inputs for improvement of productivity.
committee and commission agents, the manual l The producers would receive the payment from
system of weighing was replaced by an electronic one. APDDCF after deduction of the installment due to
This helped farmers in obtaining higher returns in BASIX on a fortnightly basis.
terms of accurate measurement of the quantity
supplied. The impact of the collaborative effort was phenomenal.
l Linkage with spinning mill in Coimbatore: The spinners Seven new milk routes were opened leading to procure-
from across the country have been purchasing bales ment of even higher than the installed capacity of the
of pressed cotton from the district. Dialogue with one chilling centre. For the first time in the history of the chilling
of the spinning mills produced the following outcomes: centre, milk was being supplied to other chilling centres for
w The concept of ‘clean cotton’ was introduced for
value addition. Technical know-how was provided
by the spinning mill to the farmers.
w An average higher price of INR 25–50 was offered
to farmers depending on the quality of the produce.
w The produce was procured through a buy-back
arrangement with an existing ginner in the district.
w The spinning mill facilitated the establishment of a
ginning mill in the nearby mandal (block) head-
quarter in order to reduce the cost of transporta-
tion of the farmers as well as the ginner.

With the spread of the news of a possible linkage between

the farmers and the spinning mill in Coimbatore, the
commission agents started paying higher prices.
Dairy linkages to milk bulk cooler at Nizamabad

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 Market Linkages and Livelihood Promotion in Rural Economy

processing. BASIX supported about 500 farmers by potato farming was initiated in 2005–06 with 216 farmers
extending credit of INR 6 million. The enhanced income to covering 80 acres. In 2006–07, seeing the significant
dairy farmers was around INR 1,500 per month each. increase in crop yield, delivery of quality planting material
at field and advantages of pre-determined price and
After this successful initiative, BASIX worked with six harvest from field with yield, ease of credit and crop
more milk chilling centres in other districts extending a insurance, more than 1100 farmers participated in this
total loan of about INR 162 million to approximately venture.
15,000 dairy farmers from 1999 to 2002. This has resulted
in the purchase of about 20,000 animals leading to milk Collaboration between BASIX and PepsiCo has opened
collection of about 100,000 litres per day and a turnover of the following livelihood finance opportunities to promote
300 million rupees. Taking the net income to farmers at an the livelihoods of farmers in Jharkhand.
average of 30%, the sum accruing to the farmers is about l Agriculture and Business Development Services
INR 100 million. This intervention led to increased finance (Ag/BDS) engages in providing farmers with complete
to the dairy sector. The number of dairy farmers who range of services by establishing input (quality seed
availed credit support from Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance tuber, fertiliser, insecticides, fungicides and micronut-
Ltd (BSFL) in 2010–11 is about 350,000 and the loan rients) and output (marketing of potato produced to
amount is INR 2,694 million. Frito Lay) linkages.
l It guides farmers on various aspects of scientific crop
Vegetables management practices including nutrient manage-
Vegetable production is another sub-sector which has the ment based on soil testing and integrated pest
potential of promotion of large number of livelihoods, management practices.
especially in areas around big cities and satellite towns. l Their scientists regularly visit and provide on-the-farm
BASIX has been working in vegetable sub-sectors in three recommendations.
states, namely Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Tamil l Farmers were also trained in grading and sorting of the
Nadu. One such intervention in Jharkhand is described produce.
below. l Financial services comprises of crop loan for potato
cultivation in kind for ensuring quality input, i.e. seed
Contract Farming for Potato: Need for Strong tubers, and in cash, by which farmers can meet their
Farmers' Organizations labour and other expenses.
A comprehensive approach for marginal producers is l Rainfall index based crop insurance was facilitated
clearly seen in aggregating them to take up contract insuring the lives and health of the farmer and the
farming of potato on a buy back arrangement with spouse.
PepsiCo. Jharkhand has good agro-climatic conditions l BASIX initiated the formation of producers' groups in
with huge potential for vegetable production. A large about 100 villages aiming to form an able cooperative
number of small and marginal farmers depend on in the long run which accesses, explores and enters
vegetable production, having meager earnings with into contracts with different partners including
proven market uncertainties. In this context the collabora- PepsiCo to cater to their needs to become self-
tion between BASIX and PepsiCo for Frito Lay chip grade sustainable.

Particulars Total
Total Area 518 acres
Number of farmers 1108
Number of farmers who took loan 873
Total loan disbursed INR 4.27 million
Total payment made to farmers INR 13.9 million
Average payment made to farmers INR 12,974
Average price paid to farmers INR 7.60 per kg

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Learning from the interventions lImportance of involvement of the producers them-

The interventions in four different sub sectors in two states selves is the key to success and scaling up of opera-
offer significant learning to the livelihood practitioners. tions in the future.
Some of them are enunciated below. lEqual importance is to be given to players in the
l The pilot projects in groundnut gave evidence that market such as wholesalers and processors with a
local value addition and catering to the alternate view to complement operations rather than engaging
market(HPS) can be beneficial in terms of higher in competition.
returns to the primary producers.
l Sometimes exploring alternate market linkages can Conclusion
be beneficial to primary producers as it happened in BASIX has been supporting rural producers with alternate
the case of cotton where local buyers increased the market linkages and value addition in varied sub-sectors.
price with mere spread of word of such a possibility. Such support has become important in view of increased
l Understanding the situation or the sub-sector is integration of agricultural commodities market across
necessary to identify the problems and opportunities national boundaries. The strategy in all the cases
in the environment and to design the intervention. described above was to design interventions around
l Instead of trying to link with a distant market, there is constraints faced by the producers and opportunities that
need to explore the possibility of either value addition existed in marketing their produce and help them access
or linkage with local market. hitherto unknown and unexploited markets. This has led to
l Role of local institutions, local presence and persons, increased returns to the primary producers. The challenge
especially for organizing growers/producers, is lies in scaling up these operations whereby the benefit
important as market intervention hinges on the volume would flow to larger number of producers in the rural
procured. areas.
l Use of low-cost technology for increasing the shelf-life
of perishable products like milk offers a lot of scope in
the rural economy.

About the author

Ms K Vasumathi is Associate Vice President, Agricultural, Livestock, and Enterprise Development (AGLED)
Services, BASIX Group. She can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].

138
 Facilitating grounded solutions
for the farmers
- K Vasumathi

With the liberalization and globalisation of Indian economy since 1990s, many sectors are
facing constraints and scope simultaneously. Groundnut is a classic example where integra-
tion with the world market has forced the various stakeholders, including the government to
adapt to changed circumstances. The case describes the initiatives to overcome the
constraints and avail the local and global opportunities for promotion of livelihoods through
intervention in groundnut sub sector in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh.

Context of the intervention availability of cheap vegetable and oil-seed based

Groundnut, with its multifarious uses such as vegetable substitutes.
oil, protein rich fodder, and raw material for confectionery
items, is an important oilseed crop. The developing This trend in the global oilseed market has affected the
countries account for about 90 percent of the total global edible oil industry in India. The most significant impact was
production, of which Asia’s share is about 70 percent. the closure of oil mills. Of the 150 oil-crushing units in
India, China and The USA account for two-thirds of the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, only 25 mills were
world production. As far as prices are concerned, the oil functioning in the year 2001-02. Import of cheap palmolien
prices have shown a marginal increase whereas the meal oil sounded death knell for these units as they were not
prices have shown a downward trend. This trend is due to prepared to face the competition. Given the retail price

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

differential of INR 15, the consumers prefer palm to other The other component of the intervention was enhancing
vegetable oils. The units were operating on a small margin employment opportunities through value addition.
due to low rise in market prices as well as high cost of
inputs and processing. This directly affected the ground- Strategies for revival of the groundnut sub-sector in
nut producers across the country; the demand and price Anantapur
both decreased. l Develop a complete understanding of the sub-sector
starting from production to final consumption,
Rationale for intervention in Anantapur especially in relation to constraints faced by the
The district falls in the rain shadow area and therefore is different stakeholders as well as the emerging
one of the driest districts in the country. The annual rainfall opportunities due to change and scope of linkage with
is around 500 mm, unevenly spread. The district has been global market.
witnessing drought almost every alternate year for the l Disseminate the experience of the pilot intervention
past one decade. The percentage of irrigated area was as through a future search workshop involving various
low as 10 percent of the total cultivable area in 2001-02. stakeholders with the objective of identifying their
Due to low rainfall and consequent low moisture levels, specific roles in the coming days so that the sector
red soil is predominant in the district, which is poor in became viable for all.
quality with little or no organic component. l Scale up the interventions through building up local
institutions as well as continued support to the
Groundnut cultivation was the major source of livelihood stakeholders, and ensuring better return to the
in the district. The district contributed nearly 70 percent of farmers.
the total state production. Given the agro-climatic situation
of the district, the farmers had only to go for rain fed crops Productivity Enhancement Programme
during the Kharif season (June-November). Groundnut The programme was developed with the help of State
was the most widely grown crop in the district occupying Department of Agriculture and two Agriculture Research
almost 85 percent of the total cultivated land in the kharif Stations in the district; IGS ensured coordination among
season accounting for 0.7 million hectares. Hence the the stakeholders. The experiments were carried out in the
return from groundnut was the major source of income for land of 30 farmers supported by the agri-extension
the farmers. centres of the State Government, known as Krishi Vikas
Kendra and in another 40 farmers’ land in villages where
Rural Development Trust, an NGO was implementing
watershed programme.

The research stations developed package of practice and

provided technical support in terms of training as well as
expert advice during exigencies. The state department
through its extension wing implemented the programme
and also supplied required inputs. For the experiment, the
same package of practice was also implemented in the
watershed programme villages of Rural Development
Trust.

Research Design
In order to find out the efficacy of the package of practice,
three groups were considered, namely control group,

This typical and adverse agro-climatic condition has had a

profound effect on the economy of the district that
primarily depends on agriculture and services including
agricultural trading, of which groundnut has the major
share. The problem is compounded by tax policy and lack
of coordination amongst stakeholders; for example,
scientists and the farmers are equally unaware of the
changes in the global market or even the consumer
preferences. A study conducted by BASIX in 2001
revealed the situation that called for a two pronged
strategy of intervention comprising productivity enhance-
ment and market linkage. In the beginning it was a pilot
intervention to ensure higher return to the farmers and
based on the learning, the intervention could be scaled up.

140
 Facilitating grounded solutions for the farmers

watershed group and non-watershed group. The package After conducting study for understanding underpinning
of practice was implemented in the latter two areas factors for productivity enhancement, another study was
whereas the data on yield and inputs were collected from conducted in 2002 to identify the scope and constraints in
all the groups, i.e. from total 100 farmers. The objective marketing. The findings in nutshell are as follows:
was to find out any difference in yield among the groups, l Farmers are selling pod to the local buyer at the price
specifically between the watershed and non-watershed fixed by the latter instead of market price decided by
groups. Statistical tools like students t-test and chi-square the market committee
test was done to test the difference in yield among the l Malpractices in weighing
groups. l Delayed payments
l Lack of regular market information
The sample for the study was; non-watershed group – 30 l Insolvency petition by the middlemen leading to total
farmers, watershed group – 40 farmers and control group or partial loss to the farmer
– 30 farmers. l Free supply of two to three kilograms of the produce as
informal cess i.e. free to the middlemen
Salient results of the study l Ignorance of value addition practices
With the onset of monsoon, the farmers had sown the crop
in the first week of August, after which there was a period Based on the findings, a pilot intervention with three
of drought for more than a month. Following the drought, pronged strategy for market linkage was designed and
between mid-September to mid-October, there was implemented.
continuous rain. This climatic situation was favourable for l Direct linkage of primary producers with oil millers or
pest attack especially spodoptera and red hairy caterpil- whole-sale traders
lar. This helped only vegetative growth of the crop and not l Value addition at the local level
in proper pod formation and its growth. Due to the peculiar l Supply of good quality kernel for confectionery
rainfall pattern, the yield in the district was below average. purposes to both the domestic and export markets
The statistics on the area and its yield collected by the
State Agriculture Department revealed that 20 percent Previously the farmers sold the groundnut before
suffered total loss, another 20 percent could recover their decortications (de-shelling), which fetch them less money.
input costs, 40 percent could manage average yield and in The proposed value addition was to de-corticate the
rest of the area, it was above average. (The statistical farmer's produce and sell it directly to the oil
result of the experiment is given in Annexure 1) mill/wholesaler. The process, besides adding value,
eliminated intermediaries and developed possibility of
Following the 1st year’s experiment in 2001, a scheme of higher returns to the producers. A cluster of three villages
bank linkage for loan was developed in 2002. After near the de-cortication unit was selected in co-ordination
identification of the farmers, linkage with ICICI bank was with Rural Development Trust for the pilot study.
developed for financial assistance of INR 6.4million for the
purchase of quality seed and other inputs. But finally INR Through negotiations with the unit, the de-cortication rate
5.4 million was disbursed. Along with this, IGS provided was fixed at INR 20 per bag of 80 kg of kernel. It included
the farmers with technical assistance for purchasing seed winnowing and cleaning of the produce. Thirty farmers
from reliable sources, organized training programmes for came forward and decorticated their produce. The
higher productivity with the help of scientists from DAATT produce was directly sold to wholesaler at the market
centre (District Agricultural Advisory and Transfer of price prevailing on that day on cash basis.
Technology centre) before sowings in the operational
villages. Unfortunately due to drought the crop failed The farmers processed nearly 2,500 bags and with the
again(2002). help from IGS in marketing the kernel, they earned an
extra of INR 20 to 40 per bag of pod of 40 kg each. In
For the successive failures of yield due to drought, IGS addition, there was employment generation at the local
encouraged the farmers in 2003-04 to take up dairy as an level.
alternative livelihood along with roping in other service
providers for developing infrastructure and extending Benefits to farmers through market intervention were
support to them. It then started to provide credit and higher returns through direct sale and value addition,
livestock insurance to the willing farmers. The resulting eliminating the problem of delayed payment, elimination
increase in income further motivated the farmers to take of malpractices such as under-weighing and informal
up dairy as an alternative livelihood. cess.

Adding value - developing market linkages Another attempt was made to introduce hand picked and
It was clear that higher returns to primary producers could selected (HPS) operation. It involved identifying various
also be ensured through linkage with alternate markets steps and issues in processing and marketing HPS
and value addition at the local level. This could also result groundnut and the costs involved and income it could
in more seasonal employment at the local level. fetch.

141
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

lEducate the various stakeholders about the

developments in the sector leading to appropriate
steps/interventions either through dissemination of
knowledge on an on-going basis (for example, market
opportunity and scope of linkage) or periodically
through workshops (for productivity enhancement).
lDevelop a collaborative mode of working with various
stakeholders in the sector with complementarity in
operations. This would benefit all of them in the
process and increase efficiency and returns.
lValue addition at the local level can enhance income of
the households. These create scope of employment
generation along with value addition.
lBe sensitive and proactive to external factors such as
drought and come out with alternate options to
After the initial survey in the district to purchase suitable mitigate the risks of farmers vulnerable to such factors.
pods, 405 bags of pods of 40 kg each (i.e. around 16 lMainstream financial institutions and research
tones) with 75% shelling at an average price of INR 673 institutions do require support; intervening agency
per bag were purchased. The decortication and grading needs to create a platform and build in confidence
was done in a local oil mill at Anantapur. Nine tonnes of through collaboration for best uses of resources
HPS seed were obtained which were sold to local HPS available to the farmers.
dealer and around 3.5 tones of splits were sold to the oil
mill. The attempt resulted in loss of INR 11,320 due to References:
wrong time of purchase when the market price was high. Dev, Mahendra S., ‘Pro-poor growth in India: What do we
However, the possibility of earning higher price for the know about the Employment Effects of Growth 1980-
producer through HPS is still there and that could be 2000?’, Overseas Development Institute- Working
further explored. Paper, 161
Freeman, H. A. and et al, ‘The world groundnut economy:
Conclusion Facts, trends and outlook’, International Crops
The intervention was to respond to the emerging needs of research Institute for Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT),
the groundnut farmers of a drought prone district, which Andhra Pradesh, India.
affected people’s livelihoods whose major income source
depends on the crop. While addressing the problems of
productivity and market linkage, the intervention created
scope for dairy based livelihoods as risk mitigation and
alternate livelihood option responding to the external
factors affecting livelihoods of the poor and acting upon
local context.

After two years of piloting the intervention for rejuvenating

groundnut cultivation, it is evident that whatever potential
the sub sector may have, the strategy and practices needs
to undergo changes, including the intervention design,
involving and adding new stakeholders to adapt in
a changing livelihoods scenario of the poor. These are
captured below:

142
 Facilitating grounded solutions for the farmers

Annexure1:

The statistical result of the experiment

To test the difference in yield among the three groups, students t- test was conducted. The results show a signifi-
cant difference between the yields of control and watershed as well as control and non-watershed at 1 % signifi-
cance level. But there was no difference in yield between the watershed and non-watershed groups even at 10 %
significance level.

It can therefore be concluded that the adoption of recommended package of practices does have an impact on the
productivity. In the next set of analysis, chi-square test was carried out to find out which of the recommended
practices had accounted for the difference in yield.

Taking two groups, namely the control group and experimental groups, it was found that the recommended fertiliser
and pesticide application accounted for the difference in yield between the groups.

For further probing into the reasons for difference in yield, the entire sample was classified into three groups,
namely, low (1-2 quintals per acre), average (2.5-4.5 quintals per acre) and high yield (> 5 quintals per acre). Chi-
square test was carried out on the same set of variables. In this case, integrated pest management was significant
at 1 per cent level whereas recommended pesticide package was significant at 5 per cent level.
It signifies that integrated pest management practices would have a greater impact on the productivity than the
other use of chemical spray alone.

These results were in confirmation with the experiments conducted by the research stations as well as state
government. These have implications on the returns to primary producers as well as the role to be played by the
various agencies in achieving the increase in yield.

About the author

Ms K. Vasumathi is Associate Vice President, Agricultural, Livestock, and Enterprise Development (AGLED)
Services, BASIX Group. She is based in Hyderabad, India and can be reached at [email protected]
/ [email protected]

143
144
 Thar Mein Rozgar
- Rajiv Ranjan and Mahesh Panpalia

The case is about women embroidery workers enhancing their earnings through adopting
new designs and producing new and better products. In the process they engage with the
market for raw materials and outputs. Substantial social mobilization and institution building
efforts by the implementing agency have led to changes in lives of women from marginalized
communities.

Background embroidery work with them. Thus Barmer became famous

Barmer is a semi arid district of Rajasthan lying towards for embroidery especially “block printing”.
the south western part of the State. Barmer shares the
international boundary with the neighboring country of Dhara Sansthan, a registered NGO is working in Barmer
Pakistan. The physiography of the area is characterized by district since 1996 on issues of health and drinking water.
vast sand covered tracts and sandy plains, shifting sand Dhara was working in 15 villages of Barmer Block of
dunes, scarce and saline water sources, deficient rainfall Barmer district as part of a drinking water project during
and extreme temperatures. The average annual rainfall for 2006-2009. The villages are Sujan Nagar, Ati, Juni Ati,
Barmer is 35-50 cm. Low rainfall contributes to the desert Balera, Indara, Juna Patrasar, Dabla, Sodhon Ki Basti,
like conditions. The groundwater depth varies between Sagasar Nadi, Laxmanpura, Bhanpura, Ramsar Agor,
400 ft to 1200 ft and the water is saline. Employment Tamiliar, Hafidan Ka Tala, Jagmal Ka Tala. Meghwal and
opportunities are low due to difficult agrarian conditions Bhil communities belonging to SC and ST categories
and lack of industrialization. During the partition of India in respectively are dominant communities in these villages.
1947, a large number of people migrated from Pakistan While implementing the drinking water project, Dhara
and settled in this district. They came with the skills of realized that livelihood status of these communities needs

145
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

to be improved. Their livelihood basket included wage Strategy

labour by both men and women and embroidery work by Dhara has decided to work with less number of house-
women. Women were engaged in embroidery sector; but holds and work intensively with them to enhance their
they were not getting wages as per the market rate. They skills and hence increase the income level. Keeping these
were getting only 15-20 rupees for completing a job say in mind, the trainings and workshops were designed to
Cushion Cover, while the market rate was 30-35 rupees. provide women with proper training and support in
They were also not getting the work on regular basis. embroidery sector. During the need assessment, the
Sometimes the embroidery vendors were not giving the activities which were common in the area were embroi-
money for the work done. Rather they gave Bajra or some dery and related works. To implement the project,
chili powder in lieu of the job work by women. It is in this organising women into SHG groups was chosen as the
context a project to enhance the livelihoods of women aggregation model so that these SHGs serve as the
engaged in embroidery was conceived. points of aggregation both for supply of raw materials on
regular basis and market linkage for finished products with
Coming of IGS and need assessment the local traders in Barmer or outside Barmer. The
Dhara CEO shared the concern of women embroidery trainings to the staffs and the SHG members were
workers of Barmer with Indian Grameen Services. CEO designed accordingly as the training process starts from
Mr Mahesh Panpalia used to interact with IGS in different the staffs itself. If the staffs of the organisation are trained
forum and knew BASIX and IGS earlier. IGS suggested a properly, then the implementation of the project becomes
need assessment before initiating any intervention. Need easier and convenient. The key stake holders in the
assessment was conducted by field staff of Dhara in project are the women members of SHGs, Dhara
November 2010. 400 households in 15 villages were Sansthan and IGS.
covered as part of the exercise. It took around 15 days to
complete, because of the geographical condition and the Plan and its implementation
distance between the houses, often 500 meters between DHARA has started the process with the recruitment of
two houses in the same village. Meghwals and Bhils are the staffs as they are the main pillars of the project. The
the major communities inhabiting these villages. They live next phase was identification and selection of the villages.
in kachha houses and the male member from the family go Dhara consciously tried to select those villages where
out to Barmer for labour work. The female members were similar intervention was not yet made by any organisation.
doing the embroidery work on part time basis or going for The idea behind selecting the above villages was to utilize
the MGNREGA work. The main source of income for the resources available in the project optimally, since no
households is wage labour as 50% of the income comes such intervention was made in these villages earlier. The
from this activity, INR 1200 per month approximately. implementation phase was started with the formation of
Agriculture accounts for 40% of the income whereas SHGs in the remotest areas. DHARA staff visited those
embroidery yields around 10% of family income. Women places by walking more than 5-6 kilometers as these
have the skills for the embroidery work. But their bargain- places were not even accessible by motorbike. It was a
ing power vis-à-vis trader middlemen was low. Vendors very tough and exciting thing to initiate in a village where
were negotiating with individual woman worker and not nobody was even aware of SHGs. Implementation
giving jobs regularly. Vendors were also giving work to process took a little more time than planned, because of
those whose households were close to the roads. the low literacy level, lack of awareness and due to the
societal problems. Three of our staffs belonged to upper
Initiating the project castes and they hailed from nearby villages. They would
DHARA team discussed these issues with the community not like to take water from the target community and thus
leaders and the key persons from the villages and hesitate to organise meetings. When the team coordinator
suggested that if women would work in a group and take came to know of these problems, then he suggested that
orders in bulk then their profit margin would be much either “you take a bottle of water with you or put your
higher. Based on the need assessment and subsequent resignation from the job”.
interactions with women and IGS, a project was designed
to enhance the livelihoods of women by providing a range SHG Formation
of services. IGS and Dhara entered into an agreement in The process started form rapport building in the village
January 2011 for this project with a grant of INR 1.36 since the women in the villages were not so open and not
million from IGS. The objectives of the project are participating in any kind of meeting. To motivate the target
l To organise 450 rural women in the form of 30 SHGs community and make them aware of the concept of SHGs,
l To enhance capacities of rural leaders, president, motivational meetings were held in all the 15 villages. Two
secretary and treasurer of SHGs motivational meetings were organised in each village with
l To initiate process of income generation activity for a gap of a fortnight which helped in formation of two SHGs
women SHGs in every village. After rapport building and the motivational
l To provide linkage support with financial institutions, meetings the task become easier and our team were
government programs and market channels successful in forming 30 SHGs in 15 villages within three
months with 400 members.

146
 Thar Mein Rozgar

Account keeping training Product Development and skill building training

Most of the group members were illiterate and they were Although most of the women were able to do the embroi-
not so much familiar about the account keeping methodol- dery work but they were getting less money as compared
ogy. The project team has started the work from the to the market rate. The trainer hired by Dhara guided them
scratch and firstly everybody was trained in writing their regarding the new products and also the current market
own names for signature. Selected active members took rate of the products and how they can get the maximum
the accounts training. Total number of training provided to value for their products. Box 2 gives the designs devel-
the groups was 30, one for each group. oped and adopted by women.

Bank Account opening

After the completion of the SHG formation and the basic
book keeping training, financial assistance was supposed
to be disbursed to the group members. For the purpose
the team has motivated the group members for opening of
bank accounts. Some of the group members were not
ready to open their bank account. Group members
thought that Dhara staff would take the money away. Team
Coordinator Mr. Radhe Shyam came to the villages with
the Bank staffs and finally group members were ready to
open the bank accounts.

P2: Learning new skills

Box 2: Products and designs developed

lCCushion Cover 15 new designs

lBed Sheet 2 new designs
lCurtains 4 new designs
lGudri(bed carpets) 3 new designs

P1: Bankers in the village

Linkage with market
Dhara team have discussed with the local players
regarding the regular supply of raw materials and
Box 1: Trainings imparted and their numbers purchase of the finished products. The process included
determining the price of the embroidery products,
management of the supply chain of raw materials and
lCapacity building training to the staffs : 5 marketing of the finished products. Mr Amit and Ms Parul
lSkill building training to the staffs : 10 hired by the project as trainers cum designers provided
by resource person their inputs in pricing of the products and also the time line
lCapacity building training to the : 30 for supply of the finished products. The current prices at
SHG members by Resource person which various products are sold in December 2011 is
lSkill building training to the SHG : 90 given in Box 3.
members by DHARA staffs
(Cutting and Pasting work) Box 3: Price List of the finished Products
lSkill building training to the SHG : 60
members by resource person Cushion Cover : 95 to 105 INR
lWorkshop on skill building to the : 2 Bed Sheet : 180 to 210 INR (Single), 250
staffs by resource person to 280 INR (Double)
lWorkshops on skill building training to : 3 Gudri : 1400 to 1500 INR
the SHG members by resource person
Curtains : 175 to 190 INR

147
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Dhara Team was successful in making the linkage with

Shispal Traders, Barmer, Ritu Creation, Barmer and Raju
Exporters, Jaipur. SHG members have already supplied
three lots of orders to the above traders. Volumes which
the SHG members have already supplied to the traders
are
Gudri : 35 (Shispal Traders)
Curtains : 75 (Ritu Creation)
Cushion Cover : 1000 (Raju Exporters)

Fig 1: Pictorial presentation of the

intervention process P3: Women producing new products

Before intervention villages. When Dhara did the survey in the village before
the intervention, monthly income per household from
individual
embroidery work was INR 250 to 300 and that too, not on
regular basis. After the intervention, in most of the SHGs,
Agriculture work Embroidery Work
the income level of women engaged in embroidery has
MNREGA work
gone up to INR 750-900. Market linkage helped the
women to look embroidery as a major livelihood option.
(Rainy Season for Skill upgradation and adoption of new designs instilled a
(Only for few days) (Occasionally)
one month) process of change and enabled the women to interact with
After intervention the market on better terms. Now the livelihood basket has
individual changed.20% of their income is coming from the embroi-
dery work, just double from the earlier condition of 10%.

Target Group Identification A feel of the challenge

(Dhara intervened here in organising the groups) When Dhara started the intervention in the villages, the
reaction and the response of the people were very
strange, and most of the people were not ready to permit
MNREGA work Agriculture work Embroidery Work-skill women to participate in the programme. They said that
you will teach them wrong things and after getting involved
in these activities, “woh mahre vaste roti banawe ko nahi”
(Rainy Season for
(Only for few days)
one month)
(Regular work) (they will not cook food for us). They were also afraid as
well. They thought that “mahri lugai ghar aur Gaon chod
jave la” (their wives will leave the village and also their
Reaping the benefits family) as said by Shri Maga Ram from Dabla village. But
The poor Meghwal and Bhil communities have started after the increase in the income levels and assets, they are
reaping the benefits of the intervention. Social and very thankful to DHARA, IGS and the project.
economic changes have been noticed in the area. With the
formation of SHGs, women participation in the meetings Dhara worked in 15 villages of Barmer district and we
and household level decision making has increased. thought that we would be able to provide the trainings and
Societal level changes can be seen by the group meeting inputs to all the SHGs. But due to the communication
of the women on a regular basis. Earlier SHG members problem and the time constraints of our designers cum
were getting together only in the marriage ceremony or in trainers, it was not possible to provide the inputs to every
other religious functions. The group members are now group. Some group members are still complaining that
also purchasing the raw materials from the local traders they have not benefitted from the trainings. SHG members
with whom Dhara facilitated the tie up. SHG members are from villages which were too far from our Sujan Nagar
also bargaining with the traders on the rate of the finished office demanded reimbursement of travel cost for
products according to the design and the job work of the attending the workshops and trainings. It was sorted out
embroidery products.The quantifiable economic benefits only after intervention from the Project Coordinator and
now bring smiles on the face of women in these 15 Chief executive.

About the author

Rajiv Ranjan,Program Manager and Mahesh Panpalia,Chief Executive with Dhara Sansthan, based at
Jaipur and they may be reached at [email protected]

148
 Making the best out of Waste
- Srigopal Jagtap, Deepak Sahu and Vandana Kumari

The case is about rag pickers of Indore slums organizing themselves, entering the rag recycling
business, moving up the value chain and earning more. They have attempted to secure
their future and that of their children by learning few new skills and educating their children.
The process is ably facilitated by Indian Grameen Services (IGS).

The cycle of waste and labour

Indore is the largest city of Madhya Pradesh state with a
total population of some 2.5 million. It is considered to be
the financial capital of the state. The city, of late, witnessed
large-scale in-migration of people, mostly laborers from
different parts of the country resulting in the rapid growth
of number of slums in the city. At present, there are 650
slums in Indore of which 450 are legally recognized by the
Municipal Corporation.

In Indore, rag picking is the first and the largest accommo-

dating sector for migrant laborers, who are unskilled,
unorganized and have to face steep competition in getting
wage labour. Some of them especially women and those
from Dalit and tribal communities find it difficult to compete
in the labour market. In the absence of other livelihood
options, they take up rag picking as a livelihood wherein
they fall victims to the exploitation by big traders in rag
cycling sector. However, the recyclable urban solid waste
collected by these rag pickers is an important component

149
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

of urban solid waste management which can be directly recycling; an emerging community who would recast its
put to recycling. This segregation is an important function role in waste recycling trade while redefining its self-
carried out by the rag pickers in the absence of mecha- image.
nized facilities for separating recyclable materials from the
waste. Initiating change – organizing women
At the time of launching the project, there were already
There are close to 2500 families engaged in rag picking, of seven active SHGs formed by the earlier team of Indian
which around 50% live in unauthorized slums with no Grameen Services, though not in the present slums. The
basic minimum amenities like water and electricity. Here present team, however, was greeted with rejection, threat
women are bread-earners as well as housewives and hate in one of the slums; mostly by the male members
responsible for entire range of household chores. The who were feeling threatened by the probable loss of
children of such households also assist the parents at an dominance, in case of women empowerment. However,
early age inside and outside home, thus contributing since this is a usual scenario wherever such intervention
towards an illegal and cheap urban unorganized labour is initiated, the team did not give up. It managed to build
force thriving in this sector. rapport with the women, and could organize five meetings
in 10 days in which they explained the women about the
The rag pickers earn Rs.120 per day on an average during purpose of the project. Because of consistent pursuance
the peak season and Rs.38 per day during the lean in this manner, they managed to form eight SHGs over a
seasons after nine hours of hard work involving collection, period of three months in six slums. Each SHG generally
segregation and selling. Without any awareness and comprised of 10–20 members. The objectives of forming
scope of formal saving, they remain vulnerable through- SHGs were as follows:
out life, apart from the danger of diseases like TB and skin l To develop saving habits – to be able to get cash in
infection due to the absence of any protective measures case of household emergencies and meet the credit
like hand gloves, masks and protective clothes. needs to start economic activities
l To build harmony amongst members of the community
While framing the livelihood intervention for these women, to support each other at times of crisis
it was clear to IGS that it was imperative to organize and l Facilitating SHGs for gradation, skill building and bank
train these women to make them ready for taking up the linkage activities
trade of recycling waste as they were not adequately l To increase the knowledge base through financial
skilled or oriented to start the same immediately. This was literacy, CRC programme for their children, basic
the understanding behind the launching of an integrated health and hygiene awareness etc.
programme for development of rag pickers of the city with l To launch women’s enterprise like opening and
the financial support from SDC-LTF fund from 2007 to running wholesale shops for buying and selling rags
2009 and thereafter from United Care Development by the SHGs which would reduce exploitation by the
Services and Micheal and Susan Dell Foundation. traders who cheated on weight.
l To start gatta unit for furthering the income
Framing the intervention
As the rag pickers’ vulnerabilities are both economic and Before starting full-scale business operation, the team
social, the objectives and strategies of the intervention nurtured these SHGs for three years. The SHG members
were devised accordingly. met once in 15 days and discussed their issues. They
l The economic objective was to enhance their income were given financial literacy training to handle the finance
substantially without relocating them to other sectors,
which was not feasible in any case. For this purpose
the strategies were:
w Developing business unit in rag recycling sector
like shops and gatta unit
w Developing business unit for producing compost
with household organic waste
l The social objectives were:
w Community development through Self Help
Groups (SHG)
w Providing basic services like education for the
children, developing health and hygiene aware-
ness among the women
w Developing linkage with mainstream institutions
like school, health centre and banks

The project attempted to ensure that the rag pickers would

be one of the key stakeholders in the value chain of waste

150
 Making best out of waste

of their SHGs. With these, the SHG members were united, popular because they offer better price and use right
developed better understanding and decided to run a fair weighing machines. A format for maintaining cash flow
price shop for the rag pickers. At present, all the members statement has been developed for the SHGs operating
of all the SHGs go to the shop for selling their collections. these wholesale shops. It helps them to easily calculate
These efforts at institution building both at the grassroots the income and expenditure.
and at federation level contributed significantly to the
sustainability of the work done. The women owned the lEstablishing a Gatta Unit and Recycling waste
enterprises and took pride in it. The next on the agenda Establishing a gatta unit was a logical proposition as 80%
was value addition by establishing a gatta unit which used of the rags collected was plastic and could be recycled into
some of the recyclable material in producing gatta and gatta, with better market and price. The site was in the
fetched better return for the rag pickers. heart of the industrial area of the city and became
operational in April’09. It is currently being run by two
Stories of some businesswomen SHGs under the supervision of IGS personnel providing
handholding support at the initial stage till they learnt all
l The wholesale shops the tricks of the trade to be able to compete with other
To run a shop all by themselves was the best way to make wholesalers in capturing considerable market share.
them understand the extent of exploitation they underwent
in the waste recycling chain before being organized in a Gatta unit is a reprocessing unit where polythene bags are
group. Therefore, the women were suggested to enter into converted into blocks called gatta. The shops established
rag buying and selling business in addition to the activity of by SHGs are major sources of waste material for a gatta
sorting and grading. So was selected the Mahalakshmi unit. IGS has developed market linkages with the other
Mahila Samiti, a SHG at Annabhau Sathe Nagar. IGS shops and the agents in Indore from where they purchase
provided the required financial support. By January 2012, the plastic (waste material) and sell the gatta made by the
three wholesale shops have been set up; each opened unit.
with a soft loan of INR 15,000 from IGS. These shops are Two machines are used in the unit. First, the Fatka
machine for cleaning the plastics and second, gatta
machine for making gatta. There is generally 10 to 15%
wastage in the entire activity. The wastage depends upon
the quality of the plastic material received.

Since this was the initiation of the operation, IGS provided

a soft loan of INR 150,000 for gatta unit without any
interest, to be paid back in monthly instalments of INR
12,000. All subsequent loans, if any, will bear an interest.

Up to 30th December 2011, the unit recycled 251.7 tons of

plastic. The production process of gatta unit is given
below.

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

l Colony linkage and kitchen waste management Social support activities

The other segment of waste recycling business was
producing vermicompost/compost for urban consumers. l Vocational trainings
This unit was launched in consultation with Lokvikas There are four types of vocational trainings selected
Samajik Sansthan (LSS), Nashik, Maharashtra which is based on interest and immediate employability scope of
working in Nasik for the socio-economic development of the vocation. Those are
rag pickers for a decade. It required linkages with the w Tailoring
households in residential colonies of the city. w Beautician
w Mobile Repairing
IGS needed to establish the credibility of the women rag w Computer Literacy training
pickers in front of the management of various colonies
who were apprehensive of the proposal for collaboration. The program is being carried out in six localities. The
As negotiations started bearing fruit, the colony authori- number of people joining the course is increasing. So far,
ties provided each rag picker with an identity card for easy six beautician trainees have been given placement with
identification and prevent nuisance by unauthorized the local parlours and 50 tailoring trainees have been
miscreants. The Municipal Corporation also agreed to placed with local tailoring shops.
extend its support by leaving the organic waste in the
garbage bins for the rag pickers to collect. 184 girls/women are now undertaking training in these
four vocational courses.
Each group of rag pickers was allotted particular colony,
and 2-3 members were chosen by the group to collect the
waste material daily at a designated time. This system was
well received by the rag pickers too.

14 NADEP pits in four colonies covering 3000 households

and six vermicompost units in the premises of six temples
have been constructed. The total capacity of pits is two
ton; three IGS staff and eight sweepers are managing
these. It takes about ten days to one month for the pits to fill
up depending on the amount of waste collected from the
colonies.

The cycle of filling the pits and its conversion into manure
is of 90 – 120 days duration. The operational cost of
managing all these pits is approx. INR 25,000, which can
be met by selling 5000 kg of compost at INR 5/kg. At
present 2500 – 3000 kg of compost are being prepared l Financial literacy training
each month. In March 2012, it is expected to reach its 239 members attend financial literacy classes on regular
break-even point. basis in eight slums. They have been taught following
things:
w Signature
w Writing name, date, account no. and reading and
writing up to 1000
w Identification of deposit and withdrawal form

l Classroom Calling (CRC)

With the collaboration of United Care Development
Services (You See) preparatory classes are being
conducted for the drop out children of the community. After
equipping them for the appropriate class, they are being
enrolled in different local schools. You See helped in
developing the tools and curriculum for the classes and
IGS field staff conduct the classes. You See also helped in
overall monitoring and reporting.

l Primary sanitation trainings

Trainings on sanitation and primary hygienic practices are
conducted for SHG members. Through demonstration,
they are taught why it is necessary to clean hands before

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 Making best out of waste

cooking. As the water quality of the city is poor, the team is Challenges
making them aware that it is better to boil water before The intervention encountered a number of challenges at
drinking. individual, community and other stakeholders’ level
sometimes affecting the output/outcome of a particular
activity and the intervention at large.
Mrs. Kamala Bai is working as a rag picker for the
last 25 years. Her husband works as helper in local Social Challenges: Women who suffered perpetual
sabji mandi (vegetable market) and earn about social exclusion in one or the other form were the least
INR 176 per day, of course it is only meant for his receptive, suspecting any initiative for development. A
daily liquor. Kamala Bai is to bear all the community with such background also has developed
responsibilities of the family, including feeding her inertia to be engaged in any development initiative. At the
husband. Indeed, her case is no exception rather same time, men of these communities were afraid of
norm of the community which has been going losing control over their women’s earning and life.
unquestioned and unaddressed. She dreamt of a
better life – life without violence and poverty – but Other Challenges: Some of the other challenges
did not know how to have such a life. She did not including the technical ones are as follows.
know how to save money for future needs. She l Threats were also perceived from the slum wholesal-
had to endure her plight silently. It’s the common ers of existing business
fate of women in the community. When she was l Usually, the women return late in the evening,
about to get her son married, she had to take a resulting in scheduling the meetings almost after
loan at 10% interest per month. dinner time (around 8 pm – 9 pm) which was a difficult
time to attend to on the part of the staff.
IGS started working in Panchsheel Nagar from 7 l Mobilizing women in day time meetings was costing
February 2011. Then Kamala Bai came in contact them part of their wage.
with the intervention and became a member of l Immediate intervention was required when women
SHG and went through trainings. Now she is were subjected to domestic violence if they did not
having a bank account and is saving regularly. She share their increased income with their men.
now has INR 14,000 in her bank account. l Barely 25% of the married men worked, and that too,
only to earn enough for the daily alcohol budget and
tobacco consumption. Majority of the men are
dependent upon their spouse for daily bread. This
spared little time for the women to invest time in the
SHG formation activities.

The project outcome and output

The intervention not only made the rag pickers capable of
running business of their own but also brought in tremen-
dous improvement in knowledge base on economic and
social aspects. Some of them are enlisted below:

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Outcome of business model CRC programme

l It protected rag pickers from the exploitation by the l 265 children across four slums have benefited from
intermediaries (weight cheating, less and delayed the CRC program.
payment etc.). l Children spend two hours per day in the class and
l Their income increased by Rs. 30-40/day. graduate to higher level in due time.
l It has generated additional self-employment opportu- l In this year, IGS has mainstreamed 155 CRC students
nities for the rag pickers in wholesale shops, in different schools of Indore.
vermicompost unit, and gatta unit

Outcome of community building services

Vocational training programme
l 250 women got the trainings.

Financial literacy programme

Women Rag pickers now have basic knowledge of bank Looking towards future
procedures and bookkeeping. The current project being implemented in partnership with
l The work was spread across eight localities and UC would take forward the work done by IGS during the
accounts were opened in seven banks. past three years at Indore. The rag pickers who are almost
l 80% of the account holders are women. entirely women were organized into self help groups. They
l Savings habit developed and by the end of 2011, total were then trained to sell their collections through their own
savings of all individual saving a/c is INR 1,500,000 shops and helped to set up their own plastic waste
processing centre. The IGS in collaboration with UC
promoted livelihood services for the rag picking commu-
nity. It now plans to scale up this effort to other cities,
providing twin benefits of livelihood services for a socio-
Close to 60% economically disadvantaged community and better waste
management practices in urban areas.
939 out of 1600
now enjoy a
The sustainability of the intervention depended on the
bank account following
l Linkage with bank and market would ensure
sustainability of the business unit.
l Designing product and establishing systems for
formalizing the scrap/rag business by involving
various stakeholders in the project
l Setting up a community based institution (SHG
federation or Cooperative/company of rag pickers) for
collective action.

Some work in this direction has been done and some are
still continuing. The rag pickers’ changed lives are the
biggest security for the future.

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 Making best out of waste

Project in news

About the authors

Mr. Shrigopal Jagtap is a Manager at IGS in Madhya Pradesh and he may be reached at
[email protected]
Mr. Deepak Kumar Sahu is an Assistant Manager at IGS in Madhya Pradesh and he may be reached at
[email protected]
Ms. Vandana Kumari is an Assistant Manager at IGS in Madhya Pradesh and she may be reached at
[email protected]

155
156
FINANCIAL
INCLUSION

157
 FINANCIAL INCLUSION
Financial inclusion is considered a key development challenge and a major enabler of improved
livelihoods. Access to financial services at affordable cost is a critical determinant of success of any
livelihood enterprise. Indian Grameen Services has been exploring appropriate model of extending
financial services to the rural and urban poor for more than a decade. Through a structured approach, it
works with grassroots institutions like SHGs and SHG federations and NGOs to come up with a model
that addresses the financial services needs of respective clients. Community Based Micro Finance
Institution (CBMFI) that has the twin features of community ownership and professional management is
one of the major approaches adopted by IGS in the early days. In the process IGS promoted a large
number of CBMFIs which have taken up the onerous task of financial inclusion of the poor. Similarly with
the advent of technology, IGS experimented with various technology platforms to test their suitability in
different geographies and social contexts. IGS also attempted to understand the complexities of
livelihood financing by supporting creation of livelihood assets.

Four interventions that takes one through the evolutionary path of IGS involvement in the arena of
financial inclusion are included in this publication. While Anik talks of provisioning financial services to a
community who have newly got back their lands, Jeevika is a case of moving up the ladder by the
women SHGs. Both had their beginning in the movement for rights. Anik met the aspirations of people
who fought for rights over land. In Jeevika, SHGs which came up as a response to women's rights
movement came together to address the legitimate livelihood needs of their members. Revival of a lift
irrigation system through a loan model with potential beneficiaries owning and managing the asset and
more importantly willing to share the risk of such an action is an effort to finance livelihoods of a large
number of people who have similar portfolio. Finally three different experiences of technology enabled
Banking Correspondent model of financial inclusion are presented in the case titled “Bank on Me”.

158
 LAND RIGHTS TO
LIVELIHOODS BY PROMOTING
A COMMUNITY BASED MFI
- Hemanth Kumar

The case is about the process of emergence of a community owned micro finance institution by
engaging groups striving for rights over grazing lands and aiming to influence livelihoods
through provisioning of financial services. It is an example of collaboration between communi-
ties, NGOs, funding agency and implementing agency in shaping the dream of a community
owned and professionally managed NBFC called Anik, OUR BANK.

A Brief Contextual Overview farmers has traditionally been denied to the dalits. The
Land rights of dalits, especially right to grazing lands, is a issue has an interesting political and legal history. The
major issue in Marathwada region of Maharashtra state. In Marathwada region was under the rule of Nizams of
this backward region of the state, villages have patches of Hyderabad in pre independence times before its
land for various purposes including grazing, burial, temple integration with the Maharashtra state in 1948. While
lands, etc. These, in generic terms, are called Common acceding to the Union of India, Nizam gifted gairan lands
Pool Resources. Ownership of grazing lands or gairans as to dalits for their loyal services. However, in the post
it is locally known that provide fodder to cattle owned by independence period, the claims of Marathwada’s dalits

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

to land titles were largely ignored. In course of time, proactive participation, IO succeeded in widening the
landlessness led to extreme poverty amongst dalits and scope of JAA’s work to include four areas – research,
trapped them in a pernicious cycle of injustice and technical aspects of land development, advocacy and
exploitation. Bereft of dignified sources of earning microfinance – in its programme ambit. With an expanded
livelihood, the dalits were forced to migrate to urban areas mandate, JAA decided to take up micro finance as an
for survival. As the awakening among them grew with the instrument to address livelihood issues of dalits.
influence of dalit leaders like Dr. B.R Ambedkar, Dada
Sahib Gaikwad and others, they began to reoccupy But it was soon felt that financial management and
common grazing lands in the villages to make a dignified functioning of existing NGOs under the JAA was not
living. However, occupation of gairan lands by dalits often conducive to build a sustainable MFI. Thus, an outside
led to opposition and repression by the upper castes that agency, BASIX, was appointed to ensure the formation of
sensed it as a threat to their position in the social hierarchy. SHG federation and MFI of the Gairan dharaks (occupiers
Though the government now has the power to legally of grazing lands).
confer these lands to the landless dalits, it has not been
operationalised due to opposition from caste landlords In Detail
having significant influence over political class and
administrative machinery. Many NGOs, Many Agendas
There were around 200 organizations fighting for Dalit
The issue of gairan lands is thus about regularising or rights in the region. Campaign for Human Rights (CHR),
giving these common lands to the dalits. But even more also known as Manav Haq Abhiyan was one of the first
important is the question of them being able to cultivate NGOs to access funding from IO. Thereafter a large
these lands in a sustainable manner. One of the major number of dalit leaders/organizations in the region
bottlenecks in using gairan lands productively by dalits approached IO for funds. The agency then realised that it
was capital. As they did not possess title deeds, formal is practically impossible to screen such a large number of
financial institutions were not willing to extend credit. As organisations and enter into funding relationships with
many of these families had migrated earlier, they lost the them. However, there were organisations working for
skills as well. This is where the space for intervention is dalits which had not approached them for funds. Two of
created. Community Based Micro Finance Institution these were Marathwada Manaviya Ekta Manch and
(CBMFI) was conceived as a solution to address the Marathwada Lok Vikas Manch (MLVM).
emerging credit needs of dalits to make newly acquired
gairan lands productive. Marathwada Manaviya Ekta Manch primarily worked on
governance issues such as Panchayati Raj. MLVM
PRE-STORY:THE JAA AND COMING OF BASIX worked on issues related to policy on natural resources
management including land rights. The target group and
A Summary agenda of CHR was Dalit rights, including securing rights
With a history of struggle for land, it was obvious that a to land, which was similar to that of MLVM. But on the
large number of civil society groups and organisations ground, the two organisations were separate having
were working in Marathwada for the same. But effective exclusive mass bases and were competing for space with
collective action demanded that all such groups to come each other. The story is similar for other organisations as
together under a platform and work with a common well.
strategy in order to make a lasting positive impact on the
livelihoods of dalits. Formation of JAA
To bring together these competing groups, CHR organ-
Since nineteen eighties, international agencies like Action ised a two-day meeting in 2003 at Telgaon in Majalgaon
Aid, Oxfam, Novib were working towards building block of Beed district and invited all NGOs working on land
alliances and networks of organisations at district and sub issues. Around 300 representatives from different talukas
district levels. In the early nineties, Intermon Oxfam (IO), and districts turned up. The agenda of the meeting was to
an international philanthropic organization with an office understand and explore the possibility of whether all of
in Mumbai began efforts to bring dalit groups as well as them could work together on the issue of “Jameen” (land).
NGOs working for them under a common umbrella to fight After detailed deliberations, different groups agreed to
for land rights. Thus was born the Jameen Adhikar come under the umbrella of JAA.
Andolan (JAA).
JAA Organization Structure, Establishment of
In order to get JAA members to expand their vision beyond Committees
the objective of achieving land rights, IO held participatory Once the organizations came together, the need for a
discussions with the stakeholders on confining their Working Committee to take operational decisions was felt.
collective struggle to mass mobilisation and demonstra- It was first decided that the committee would constitute
tions only and the limits of the same. Through the strategy one representative from each organization; but this did not
of persuasion, confrontation, capacity building and

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 Land rights to livelihoods by promoting a community based MFI

work out as planned. After two to three months, IO lWater Harvesting

impressed upon all the partners to come together again lManagement of local bio diversity
and revisit the constitution of working committee. Thus a lLand development
more compact six member management committee was lSustainable and Organic farming practices
formed. lAnimal Husbandry

But even then, progress was slow as the committee COMMUNITY BASED MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS
became more involved in addressing programme The need for micro finance intervention has already been
responsibilities and developing proposals for additional established. The contours of the same have also been
funding. The focus was getting shifted from movement for defined as a community based one as IO believed in local
rights to project management. community control over institutions of gairandharaks. The
other factors weighing heavily and influencing the
The Four Areas of Work decision of community based model were history of
As mentioned before, IO had persuaded the JAA to look suppressed living of dalits, sustainability of livelihood
beyond land rights and look forward to tackle the issue of projects post withdrawal of external financial support. In
livelihoods of dalit families instead. In simple terms, IO this context, BASIX was called in to support and facilitate
said, “Even if we manage to get land for the Dalits, what the establishment of such an institution. A project part
next? How are we going to develop the land? From where funded by Oxfam was initiated. BASIX played a critical role
are we going to get the finance for the purpose?” in the capacity of management consultant to realise the
objective of a CBMFI servicing the multiple financial
With the necessary push from IO, the JAA adopted a four- needs of dalits including gairandharaks. The process has
pronged approach to the issue and agreed to focus on been narrated below.
research, technical aspects of land development,
advocacy and microfinance. Identifying NGO Partners
BASIX was aware that once the CBMFI project starts,
Establishment of Gairandharak Resource Centre more NGOs than what would be operationally feasible
To fulfil the expanded mandate, the Gairandharak would seek to be partners in it. Therefore it was decided to
Resource Centre (GRC) was established in the year 2004 put in place a transparent selection process for NGOs that
to tackle the issues of acquiring land rights and land would be without bias towards any faction.
development. IO felt that CHR and MLVM, the two main
constituent groups of JAA, were not systematic about their In accordance with the requirements of the CBMFI
work and lacked a comprehensive research based project, BASIX developed a tool, the Operational
approach. Information Data Sheet (OIDS), to shortlist potential
partner NGOs from among the constituent members of
For example, when JAA began their work, they had the JAA. The OIDS records details such as the structure,
identified only small patches of gairan lands on which they work and resources of member NGOs. This tool was sent
focussed their struggle. But IO insisted that JAA should do to several members of JAA in April 2004 with the request
a more comprehensive research and find out the number that it be forwarded to other NGOs as well.
of dalit families who were entitled to gairan lands, the
amount of land under contestation etc. and draw up a Based on the information received from constituent NGOs
strategy and plan of action accordingly. IO wanted of JAA within a specified period, BASIX short listed eight
people’s active involvement in the process and wanted it NGOs. The process of shortlisting included review of the
to be a “Logon ka Sangathan and not Sansthaon ka NGO’s profile and nature of work, organizational size and
Sangathan” (organisation of people and not an amalgam human resources, scale of operations and experience in
of organisations). micro-finance. Based on this, a final assessment was
made on their ability to take up responsibilities under the
IO believed that while the organizations in JAA were good CBMFI project. A letter explaining the process followed to
at mobilisation of masses; but they lacked technical shortlist NGOs was sent to both selected and rejected
expertise to carry out development of land. They proposed NGOs in June 2004.
developing a cadre of Barefoot Technicians (BFT) drawn
from among locals who would take care of the land Further Shortlisting
development and provisioning of related technical The short listing of NGOs was followed by the final step of
services. The BFTs were to be given training initially after screening and selection in July 2004 after a diagnostic
which they would visit villages and guide others on land study. The study focused on three interlocking areas - the
development. Two experts from Indore were hired and organization’s mission, programme and activities, its
training was imparted to identified BFTs. The training internal organization, and its external relations.
components included:
As part of the diagnostic study, BASIX staff visited each of
the eight short listed NGOs. They held introductory

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

meetings with key persons in the operations teams of the members felt that this was the limitation in adopting the
NGO, including the CEO or NGO head, and interviews Gram model among Gairandharaks.
with a cross-section of experienced staff to assess the
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT Adarsha Welfare Society, Mahboobnagar
analysis). The governance systems and processes were In Adarsha, village organizations were very strong and
studied through meetings held with the executive were getting funds from NGOs, government and other
committee/board of respective NGOs. The appropriate- financial institutions. They were in a position to work on
ness of the NGOs to take up microfinance activities was their own. From Adarsha, they also learnt the concept of
also ascertained through Focus Group Discussions with village organization, taluka level organization and the
the staff while the client/community relationship was federation. The cluster level was separate and payment to
explored through direct interactions with the community. clusters was separate as well. In Adarsha, an employee
was individually rated but administrative expenses were
Finally three NGOs namely Rural Development Centre, shared. Administrative expenses had consumed a major
Janvikas Samajik Sansthan and Paryay were selected to part of the expenses and only after 15-20 years did the
anchor CBMFIs in their respective operational districts of financial status become manageable. The surplus fund
Parbhani, Beed, and Osmanabad. was being spent on income generation activities.

BASIX communicated the information to IO along with But both Adarsha and Gram structures were NGO driven
details of the selection process and scores of all the eight where it had taken 25 years to set up ownership. On the
NGOs that were short listed for the diagnostic study. IO other hand in SNFL model, participation in decision
then requested the inclusion of one more NGO, making was higher. JAA member NGOs wanted to set up
Kalapandhari. This NGO would work in the district of Latur. an MFI with greater community participation in decision-
making.
Designing the model for CBMFI
BASIX was toying with two approaches for the CBMFI - an Choosing the CBMFI Model
externally managed MFI which could provide the loans to Armed with the knowledge gained from exposure to three
the community or a community managed Gairandharak MFIs, the JAA members realised that their context
Bank. demand a model which contained aspects from all three. It
was felt that SHGs should be the channels for
BASIX understood that if they chose the latter option, they microfinance processes at the community level. The
would have to directly involve in it, which they were members wanted the involvement of BASIX as a manage-
reluctant to do. Initially it thought of training the NGO and ment consultant like in the SNFL model, wanted to
leaving. But after a feasibility study, they found that maintain the relation with the facilitating institution.
forming an effective CBMFI was possible only with proper
training in financial management. The major questions raised during deliberations on the
subject amongst JAA members are:
The Three Options l Who should be on the Board?
After BASIX agreed to help form the CBMFI, they wanted l Should the CBMFI be managed by the community?
the JAA and other partner NGOs to choose the model of Does the community have the capacity to manage? If
CBMFI. To get a clear picture of what these models ownership is given to Gairandharaks, would the
involved, the NGO head, project coordinator and structure collapse?
executives went for exposure visits to three CBMFIs l But if the ownership is given to others, will the focus
namely Gram, Sarvodaya Nano Finance Limited(SNFL) deviate?
and Adarsha between August and October 2005. On their l Could it be managed by a mix of professionals and
return from the exposure visit, they compared the three members?
models and noted the best practices in each organisation.
But there was a general agreement that the project
SNFL, Chennai belonged to the JAA movement and not particularly to any
SNFL provided a model of recovery system that was more NGO. It was also agreed that microfinance was only a tool
of a repayment-based system. This model had good to achieve the goals of the movement – sustainable
financial management, accounting and book-keeping livelihood of the Gairandharaks. Thus it was necessary
systems and the whole process was quite transparent. It that all stakeholders namely BASIX, NGOs, IO, CBMFI
had adopted the Mutual Benefit Trust (MBT) model. should move in unison towards the objectives.

Gram, Nizamabad Thus four basic things were kept in mind in designing the
From the Gram model, the team learnt the concept of CBMFI.
women SHGs. Gram’s method of work entailed selection l It should be of the Gairandharaks.
of the entire village as a unit of operation. Also, Gram l It should be a sustainable model or at least lead to it.
made an attempt to cover women in all the families. JAA

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 Land rights to livelihoods by promoting a community based MFI

lIt should have proper financial management. each cluster in the operational area of each CBMFI within
• There should be community ownership. the first year. Thus each district would have 100 SHGs and
together, the four CBMFIs would have 400 SHGs.
Finally a mixed model combining the best practices from
Gram and Adarsha was chosen. From Adarsha, JAA The SHGs were graded as per the SHG rating tool and the
adopted the concept of women SHGs, village organiza- filled in forms were kept in the respective CBMFI offices.
tions, women run businesses and interest rates. From Only those SHGs which received the requisite grading are
Gram, they adopted the system of election. Systems and recommended for loans. The application forms for loans
professional expertise in running MFIs are adopted from as well as the appraisal forms are available along with
BSFL. other loan documents in respective CBMFI offices.
However, the loan appraisal is no longer done by the
Membership CBMFI staff and instead, is the function of the Appraisal
Each member was to be elected for a term of three years Committee of the cluster level body.
and every year one-third of the members were to retire.
They also adopted the process of record keeping at the Capacity Building of SHG Members
SHG level from Adarsha. It was decided that the interest The training of SHGs has been an ongoing process. After
rate was to be 24 per cent within the SHG and 18 per cent the NGOs had extended their cooperation, the process of
to CBMFI. Moreover, there would be federations at the SHG formation and strengthening took pace. SHGs were
cluster and district levels. trained in bookkeeping, leadership development, internal
communication, norms and rules for internal lending and
There was debate on whether the SHGs should be of the structure and operations of CBMFI.
Gairandharaks only and it was decided that 10 to 20 per
cent of them could be from other backward caste commu- Within the first year, the cluster volunteers and field
nity, while leadership should be in the hands of executives (FXs) with support from the project coordina-
Gairandharaks. The CBMFIs in all the four districts should tors had provided training to 389 of the total 400 SHGs
have uniform structure which would be ensured by the formed. The new SHGs had also been given assistance to
apex Regional Body. The four CBMFIs thus formed open bank accounts. Special trainings from resource
started operating as Savitribai Phule Mutual Benefit persons on the concept of SHGs, importance of meetings
Trusts(SPMBTs) under the provisions of trusts law. For and records, maintenance of books and streamlining
effective micro finance operation, a defunct NBFC namely lending, credit linkage with CBMFI and framing of rules for
Anik Financial Services Private Limited was taken over internal lending were also given.
with share capital contribution from all SPMBTs. Now the
micro finance operation is under the banner of the legal Cluster bodies
entity Anik. The CBMFI structure can be diagrammatically The second tier of the CBMFI structure, the cluster level
outlined as below: organizations, could only be given attention once
sufficient progress had been made in the formation and
strengthening of SHGs. The decision to form the cluster
Board of Trustees level organization was taken in the review meeting held in
August 2005.

Each cluster consists of 10 villages with 25 SHGs and

there are four clusters per district. Nevertheless, by the
Cluster end of January 2006, the cluster organisation formation
process had been completed. President and Secretary of
each SHG were called for meetings for the next 6 months
and dates of cluster meetings were finalized. A 21
V.O. member cluster body was formed and three ad-hoc
(Not exactly present) committees, namely Appraisal, Sanction and Recovery
Committees were also formed.

Board of Trustees (BOT)

SHG The BOT is a 13-member body comprising three elected
members from each of the four districts and an additional
member elected as president.

SHG Formation The BOT members were taken for an exposure visit to
During the survey of the 10 JAA identified villages, the Gram. Some of the BOT members were unhappy that they
CBMFI staff identified 56 SHGs of Gairandharaks. The did not get travel allowances for the BOT meetings to
target was to form four SHG clusters having 25 SHGs in compensate for the travel expenses and wage loss in lieu

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

of participation. Hence they needed to be assured by the credit discipline and their ability to recover. Thus it was
BASIX staff before the exposure visit could take place. The decided that the funds would be advanced as loans to the
situation was resolved through the intervention of NGOs, SHGs.
BASIX and JAA.
But NGOs were not confident about the recovery. NGOs’
Organization Structure of SPMBT representatives interacted with customers thoroughly and
SPMBT is the district level federation of SHGs. The said that repayment occurs because of the following:
flowchart below depicts the structure from the members’ l Clarity on whom to give loan
level to the SPMBT level. The apex organisation called l No compromise in the process and system
Anik Financial Services is a registered NBFC. l Transparency
l Uniformity
Figure 1: Organization Structure of SPMBT l Feeling of ownership
l Regularity of repayment
Apex Organization – Marathwada region – l Women leadership
Anik, an NBFC
Initially there was no clarity on whom to disburse loans.
Finally, when disbursement to the SHGs began in January
2006, cheques were issued in the names of secretaries
and presidents.
SPMBT – District level Federation of
Cluster Organizations (in 5 Districts) But after the loans were disbursed, banks started created
problems, saying that the bearer cheques cannot be
issued to persons from other districts as they might have
defaulted there. Additionally, in cases where the women
had defaulted previously in the same district, the banks
Cluster Organizations – Block level - refused to pay and made adjustment of the DD amounts
Federation of SHGs (total 20 clusters) against previous loans. This was an unexpected event and
BASIX and JAA had to exert considerable pressure on the
banks by using the dual strategy of drawing attention to
the rules and regulations and by threatening to resort to
demonstrations. Communities also took a stand and told
Women SHGs – comprising Dalits/Gairandharaks the banks that if they did not clear the cheques, they would
(total 932 SHGs – 10,302 members) lock the banks.

The strategy worked and a compromise was worked out in

Mission of SPMBT which the defaulters agreed to repay outstanding loans on
The mission is to extend financial services for sustainable a staggered basis and the bank released the DD amounts.
livelihood to the Gairan dharaks and other deprived The recoveries began in February 2006. Although, for the
sections of the society. SPMBT will strive to yield return in most part, there were no problems, some difficulties were
order to manage on its own and so as to be able to access experienced in loan recovery in the initial months. This
finances from formal financial institutions. caused delay in the second round of lending. The present
recovery percentage is 100.
Designing Coordinating Structures and Systems
Setting up Office
Designing Financial Systems The requirements for CBMFI offices were primarily two.
The CBMFI has SHGs as the channel for disbursement The CBMFI office had to be located in a different physical
and recovery of loans. The CBMFI advances loans to an setting to maintain its autonomy from the partner NGO
SHG, which in turn does internal lending to its members. and develop its distinctive identity. Secondly to maintain
The first prerequisite for a SHG to avail a loan is the low establishment costs, the rent had to be low.
achievement of a minimum SHG rating. The amount an
SHG is eligible for is dependent on the grading it receives The offices of all the four CBMFIs were established by the
and the strength of the supporting loan documents. end of June 2005. The necessary furniture and computers
were purchased. The software for MIS, FAMIS PLUS and
IO had sanctioned a revolving fund for disbursement to the the SHG software were also installed. The offices have
SHGs. Some grant funds were also made available. The also been upgraded as per the growth and by early
feedback from the CBMFI staff after the exposure visit January 2006, the offices had been provided with laser
revealed confidence that they could recover loans from printers, telephone, internet connections, shelves, tables
members if credit discipline was maintained and that and chairs for the NGO chiefs. By 2007 the MIS was
including a subsidy component would negatively affect developed to such an extent that any member, by placing

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 Land rights to livelihoods by promoting a community based MFI

At times, changes were made to tools developed by

BASIX if the CBMFI staff were not satisfied. For example,
the feedback from the project coordinators and field
executives was that they had not understood the GDC, the
SHG rating tool given in the two-day training. The problem
was that the tool was in English and a bit complicated.
With the assistance from BASIX executive, the project
coordinators and field executives simplified the formats to
fit their needs and wrote them in Marathi. Learning from
experience, the SHG reporting formats to be monitored by
cluster volunteers such as passbook, record book and
register were developed as part of the training itself.

Inauguration of Anik Financial Services While there was an overarching plan for providing training
with BASIX identifying the thematic areas in which each
a simple telephonic call, could access her ‘as of now’ staff category needed training and exposure, BASIX was
account. The transparency of the MIS has instilled a new also open and accepting the needs and views of the
sense of accountability, confidence and ownership in the participants. It never lost sight of the fact that BASIX
CBMFI among the SHG members. experiences were merely one among the many possible
ways of doing and understanding. And to the extent that
Human Resource Management and Training the processes did not compromise the underlying
principles which maintained the discipline and rigor of the
Staff Training operations, variations and modifications to suit the
The first training provided to field executives and project preferences and context of the Gairan dharaks and the
coordinators was in early March 2005 soon after their CBMFI staff had to be accommodated.
hiring. Besides the orientation on microfinance in the
training, BASIX shared its understanding of the JAA and Each CBMFI has nine staff including one Project
its constituent NGOs so far as it impinged on the task of Coordinator, two Field Executives, four Cluster level
setting up of CBMFIs. This included identifying the areas Volunteers, one Transaction Assistant and one Office
within the NGOs and JAA that need strengthening to Assistant. NGO Heads have the responsibility of monitor-
equip them to anchor, guide, supervise, and monitor the ing, supporting and guiding their respective district level
formation, maintenance and sustainability of the CBMFIs. CBMFIs.
Another topic of discussion was the establishment of MFI
operations in a new setting. In this, a BASIX unit head who Roles and Responsibilities of each entity in CBMFI
had set up operations in the Marathwada region shared The composition, structure and roles performed at three
the process and gave a vivid account of his experience. levels within the CBMFI are depicted in the figure 2. The
This was followed by a five-day training of the entire staff at roles are presented in detail in annexure 1.
Parbhani and Nanded units of BASIX, covering the entire
operational process, the customer interface and back- The Intervention: Success and Problems
office. An important feature of this training was that new Seven years of efforts has resulted in a community owned
staff was attached to high-performing field executives so micro financing institution of gairan dharaks in
as to observe their operations in vivo. The new staff also Marathwada region of Maharashtra. The timeline of major
spent an entire day with the Unit Head to understand the events and landmarks is presented in Figure 3.
intricacies of planning, management and monitoring of
various aspects of microfinance operations. BASIX laid out a structure and system to provide effective
governance and assisted in capacity building of the
While some training was common, specialized trainings CBMFIs. It went about strengthening the SHGs, the
were also provided to each category of staff commensu- linkages between the SHGs and clusters and also began
rate with their roles and responsibilities. These included financial appraisals, sanctions of loans and recoveries
trainings such as MIS, data entry and other back-office from the SHGs.
training to accounts persons; SHG functioning, book-
keeping and monitoring training to cluster volunteers. Due to legal constraints, BASIX got involved in direct
Project coordinators and field executives were given lending to the SHGs while the several tiers in the CBMFI
training in accounts and finance and SHG rating. The structure played a role in the loan appraisal process. Also,
project coordinators in turn trained cluster volunteers on it was a period of observation and learning for the CBMFI
SHG rating and also gave orientation to cluster volunteers as the staff performed many of the responsibilities related
along with BASIX staff and NGO Chief on Jameen to loan appraisal, sanction and recovery.
Adhikar Abhiyan, CBMFI structure, function, governance
and roles of various participants.

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Figure 2: Structure and roles in CBMFI

BASIX has established the necessary systems and SPMBT account and rotate the same for lending to SHGs,
processes for the CBMFIs to function autonomously and it was decided to open the bank account in the name of
sustain their operations. The following efforts were made: SPMBT. Having some reservation about the capability of
l Exposure visits to well-functioning SHGs and SHG SPMBT members to operate the bank account and
federations manage the funds, the NGO heads and BASIX represen-
l SHG level training by a capable trainer of the NGO tatives become joint account holders along with SPMBT
l Establishment of a simple and user-friendly book president.
keeping system at the SHG level
l Introduction of the system of regular meetings and Secondly, the SPMBT has not been allowed to re-lend the
systematic approach. loans repaid by SHGs. Such a crucial decision kept
l Well trained, committed and experienced staff pending for more than six months might send a message
l Building a culture of financial discipline and profes- that the project holders do not have full faith in the women
sional approach managing the SPMBT.
l Establishment of independent offices for the SPMBTs
Services, Operations, Governance and MIS existing in
While conscious efforts have been made to ensure the CBMFI
autonomy and sustainability, the review team also A professionally managed and sustainable community
identified two significant issues that might hinder the based MFI enabling improvement in livelihoods of gairan
empowerment process. Professional management of dharaks was the objective. The status of CBMFIs as
CBMFI and enabling community ownership and manage- presented in the tables 2 and 3 indicates significant
ment were the two key pillars of the project supported by progress in that direction. Gairan dharaks in 495 villages
IO. The issues highlighted by the review team were taken in 41 clusters spread over five districts are now accessing
up in right earnest. a range of financial services from the CBMFIs. 2169
SHGs have been formed with 23791 members. The
The first was an attitude of not trusting the people’s outstanding principal stands at INR 50.8 million.
organization. To deposit the SHG loan repayments in

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 Land rights to livelihoods by promoting a community based MFI

Table 1: Status of CBMFI (As on Dec 31st, 2011) Gauging and judging the intervention
The intervention would have to be gauged from objectives
Sr.No. Name of CBMFI No. of No. of Dist No. of
at two levels. The medium term objective of a profession-
Clusters executive operating
ally managed and financially healthy CBMFI catering to
bodies Villages the financial services needs of gairan dharaks has been
1 Latur 8 13 104 reasonably achieved. In terms of geographical spread and
2 Beed 9 13 91 coverage, it has achieved the targets. The data for the
3 Osmanabad 9 13 98 same has been presented in the previous section. In
4 Parbhani 8 13 105 terms of financial health, capital adequacy ratio of Anik
has gone up from 83.6 in 2009 to 95.6 in 2010. Operating
5 Hingoli 7 13 97
expenses ratio stands at 10.8 per cent. Yield on portfolio is
Total 5 41 65 495 20 per cent. Operating self sufficiency has gone up from
Source: Report of Anik Financial Services 111.7 in 2009 to 134.1 in 2010. All these indicate a healthy
financial situation in the early years of a CBMFI.
Table 2: Financial status of CBMFI
(As on December 31st 2011) The highlights of the operation have been presented in
Sr.No. Name of CBMFI No. of No. of Dist No. of
table 4.
SHG members Outstanding
principal Box 1: The affirmation statement
(Rs. In Lakhs)
1 Latur 420 4369 94.51 The Operation Head of Anik Mr Yeshwant Aher has
2 Beed 417 4875 92.44 this to say about the financial culture that has been
built in Anik Financial Services. This also reflects
3 Osmanabad 490 5363 119.00
the trust reposed by the key stakeholders.
4 Parbhani 463 5049 113.00
5 Hingoli 379 4135 89.21 “After retirement from State Bank of India services
Total 5 2169 23791 508.16 as a Chief Manager, I joined Anik Financial
Source: Report of Anik Financial Services Services as Operation Head. While joining, it was
told that the recovery percentage was 100 %. As a
Products offered banker, I couldn’t believe this statement. But in
The CBMFIs now offer a range of financial services to their reality, I observed that the loans given to the rural
clients. The savings and credit products offered by the poor through their SHGs, that too @ 24 % interest
CBMFIs and the terms of such products are presented per annum, are being repaid in time. This is the
below. unique feature of Anik. This significant achieve-
ment is only because of strong organizational
Savings three tier structure i.e. VO at Village level, Cluster
l Savings at SHG level. at block level and BOT/ Unit at district level
l Rs. 300 once or in instalments as share capital to established by experts of BASIX. In addition, Anik
district federation. has developed excellent work culture and
l Rs. 25 as non refundable membership fee. adherence of systems and procedures. I can’t
l Share capital cannot be withdrawn or transferred to say about the MFIs in other states but Anik is the
nominee. only one and unique MFI in Maharashtra State.”
l Share capital benefits can be given annually after two
years.
In terms of livelihoods of gairan dharaks, there have been
Credit changes for the better. The demand for credit for produc-
l Interest rate is as per diminishing balance method tive operations in agriculture, animal husbandry and non
l 2% loan processing fees farm sectors has gone up. The total outstanding for these
l 2% charge on late repayment three has gone up from INR 13.128 million in March 2008
l Lending for both consumption and production to INR 23 million in March 2010. The amount outstanding
purposes. For consumption purpose, the limit is in agriculture has increased from INR 5.382 million in
Rs.5,000 per individual and for production purpose, it 2008 to INR 7.82 million in 2010. Reduction in migration
is Rs. 12,000. has also been noticed. Participation in SHGs and cluster
l Duration of loan: Maximum up to 24 months for and district level bodies especially in decision making
general purpose, crop loan and up to 3 years in case of committees has enabled higher confidence.
housing loan or agri investment loan. Housing and agri
investment loans are given only to repeat borrowers. Sindhu Singare of Para village of Vashi taluka of
l Moratorium is two months for all loans. Osmanabad district with new assets

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Table 3: HIGHLIGHTS OF OPERATIONS AS ON 31 MAR 2010

Particulars Mar-2007* Mar-2008* Mar-2009* Mar-10 Mar-11 Dec-11
No. of State 1 1 1 1 1 1
No. of Branches 4 5 5 5 5 7
No. of Villages Covered 200 345 390 412 426 495
No. of active SHG 259 390 593 722 1797 2169
No. of Active borrowers 1295 1950 2965 7509 16824 23791
Cumulative no. of borrowers 1295 3245 6210 9820
Total no. of employees 36 45 49 54 61 60
Total no. of Cluster Volunteer (CV) and Field Executive (FX) 24 30 33 39 41 51
Net Credit Portfolio O/S (in INR Thousands) 52,111 13,128 20,726 23,001 46292 50877
Disbursement During the Year (INR in Thousands) 4,113 21,492 21,492 26,015 51632 42,162
Cumulative Disbursement ( in INR Thousands) 4,113 25,605 47,097 73,112 124,804 166,966
Active Borrower per cluster Volunteer (CV) and Field Executive (FX) 54 65 90 92
* Details of all branches of Savitribai Phule Mutual Benefit Trusts (SPMBT) have been consolidated.

benefit of people. ‘From then on, I took it seriously and

began to understand the concepts. We were also taken on
exposure visits to understand the know-how of community
based Micro Finance structures.

LESSIONS LEARNT
The intervention offers the following key lessons for
stakeholders.
l Considerable involvement, professionalism and
commonsense is needed. The seeding of the idea by
the donor and continuous persuasion, involvement of
a professional agency, BASIX and steady interaction
amongst stakeholders helped in realising the
objectives.
Vishwanath S Todkar, CEO ANIK Aurangabad says l Need for patience, step by step education, involving
“Community micro finance is the very much needy trial and learning method with support and guidance
processes for the Poor’s economical empowerment. We can win the race and it has happened.
can successfully run microfinance institute through l Clarity of Vision among the stakeholders and balanc-
community leadership. Collective leadership is a very ing the decision whenever difference occurred has
important factor in the CBMFI. If we involve community in had positive results.
every decision making in this CBMFI processes we will l Management decision has been given to the local
get result at very positive level.” people, with simple procedure to correct mistakes.
People have also been involved in selection of HR,
Similarly Ashok, an activist from RDS says, “When loans to Groups, selection of leaders and
I attended the first meeting of BASIX in Hyderabad. programmes.
I couldn’t comprehend anything. For the first six months l Trusting local people and using their skills in develop-
even BASIX had doubt whether they could run the unit. ing the model has helped. All the cluster volunteers
I was not totally convinced about merging Microfinance were women and the entire staff was drawn from the
component with JAA. Eknath Bhau asked me, if some local community.
external person was brought to do this job, then would he l Cooperation, collaboration and commitment with
show the same commitment for the people as you? That’s sincerity can make things happen in community level
why it is important for you to learn the process for the organisations.

About the author

Hemanth Kumar is the Group Vice President with IGS,based at Hyderabad and he may be reached at
[email protected]

168
 Towards an order out of chaos
- Kumaresh Rout

Swayamsumpurna is a membership based organisation of some 512 SHGs with membership of

5889 women from 42 villages on the outskirts of Kolkata. It's saving was increasing day by day,
but this did not result in better livelihood and enhanced income; instead leading and managing
the organisation turned into a chaotic affair. It was on the verge of falling apart. Institutional
development services provided by IGS enabled it to adopt a business model, embrace new
technologies and appropriate business practices and fix the management issues. The case is
about the change process that enabled this transformation.

When growth turned into liability emerge as an independent federated organization of

Jeevika Development Society (JDS) is a community` SHGs called Swayamsumpurna. It was registered as a
based organization in West Bengal, India. It works Mutual Benefit Trust(MBT) in 2008. Their saving corpus of
towards ensuring the rights of poor women who have less Rs 47 lakh in 2008 was supported with a revolving fund of
or no access to credit and service to undertake some Rs 25 lakh from Jeevika development Society (JDS).
economic activities, enhance their income and improve Swayamsumpurna is working with the objective of women
livelihoods. The organization believes that for the empowerment through provision of savings and credit
empowerment of these women, besides addressing the facilities to its members.
social discrimination against women, it requires them to
have access to credit and opportunities for livelihoods. Over time, JDS found it increasingly difficult to continue
With this understanding they started mobilizing women in support to Swayamsumpurna due to its other engage-
SHGs in 1994. Over the years some 5889 women from 42 ments and commitments. The leadership also found that
villages have been organized in 512 SHGs. Jeevika also its everyday credit operation was getting messed up
facilitated the SHGs to organize in clusters and finally, to and even cases of fraud were found. To bring in the lost

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

credit discipline and streamline the operations of were responsible for change initiative that would result
Swayamsumpurna, Jeevika sought IGS’ collaboration. in Swayamsampurna being turned into an efficient
BASIX has significant experience of supporting nascent micro finance institution.
and small community based institutions engaged in micro lBrainstorming workshop: In this workshop
finance in some form or the other. Some of the prominent participation of all stakeholders was ensured. The
ones which BASIX supported in the past few years are stakeholders were group leaders, Jeevika senior
Sarvodaya Nano Finance Ltd, GRAM, KOTLA-B, NBJK, management and the Jeevika operation team. It was
Aparajita Mahila Sakh Sahakarita Maryadit etc. Thus, IGS to reflect on the proposed group management
engaged Swayamsumpurna to help it emerge as an processes, the reason behind the proposed
efficient micro finance institution. To start with, IGS Federation, the expected outcome, developing goal
conducted an ailment and need assessment of the clarity, identifying roles and capacity-building
organisation jointly with Jeevika in a structured manner. needs for various stakeholders. Legal entity of
Joint initial assessment tool, developed by BASIX, was Swayamsampurna was discussed, and confusions
used for assessing the capabilities of the organization were clarified.
along with identifying the gaps. The tool is a mix of lAn exposure trip for the Senior Management:
structured and semi-structured discussions, question- An exposure trip to some of the prominent community
naires and inferential techniques for critically assessing based microfinance institutions was organized for the
organization as a whole on five basic aspects and how senior management and staff of Jeevika.
they in turn affect the program performance. They are as lCluster wise meetings: Meetings of groups within
follows: different village-clusters were held to acquaint the
l Organizational Design Analysis (linking structure, groups about the proposed Federation. These
workflow etc.) meetings were held for information dissemination,
l Performance Analysis (looking at some of the collecting feedback as well as identifying the potential
elements of finance, repayment rates, accuracy of leaders.
records and so on) lTraining to Core Team: The core team received
l Organizational Climate (looking into the work culture trainings in phases over a period of 24 months.
within the organisation) Simultaneously, it started training the cluster groups.
l Stakeholder Analysis (whether different stakeholders This enabled them to have hands-on experience,
are happy with the organization or are there any periodic reviews and feedback from the members. This
conflicting interests?) helped the groups to have a better understanding of
l Customer Satisfaction Analysis (what the customers systems and to start functioning accordingly before
think of the services provided, their quality and price.) being organized in federation.
lWorkshop with potential board members: The
The outcome of the exercise revealed that the major gaps proposed board members of the federation were
were incompatible MIS & FA, lack of credit discipline selected from the existing groups. The workshop was
amongst the groups. Additionally, the financial operation meant to develop cohesive understanding of issues
was perceived as a project work by the staff of Jeevika, related to federation, its structure, management and
which lacked skill and discipline. The SHG members did future activities.
not have the required drive and skill to own and run the lDrafting Federation’s By-law: The proposed by-law
institution, which Jeevika was trying hard to instil among of the federation was drafted and finalized by the
them. groups and their leaders.
lRegistration of the Federation:
Following the assessment, the objectives of the interven- The application for registering
tion were set, again jointly with all the stakeholders. It was the federation under the chosen
envisioned that Swayamsampurna must give equal legal framework (Mutual Benefit
emphasis to both securing women’s rights and developing Tr ust) was prepared and
business/credit opportunities for the women. Keeping registration done. The Logo of
both the aspects in perspective, IGS started institutional the new legal entity is shown here.
development services for Swayamsampurna through lFormation of Board and election: The election of
handholding support for addressing the gaps, developing the Federation’s Board of Directors (BoD), along with
operational manual and helping the leadership to the office bearers was held to ensure smooth
institutionalise the manual. The manual covered all the functioning of the federation.
aspects of running a micro finance institution, e.g. HR lWorkshop with Board Members: Training was held
policy, tracking fund flow, credit discipline, and MIS. in phases for the newly elected board members on
leadership and management, various aspects of
Ensuring institutional development developing micro-finance institution, and roles and
l Identification of Core Team: Jeevika and the responsibilities of Board Members.
selected group leaders together formed the Core team
consisting of 7 members. The core team members

170
 Towards an order out of chaos

streamlining the operation through converting the manual

MIS and FA system to an automated MIS & FA. It first
installed the required software, FAMIS Plus and then
upgraded it to DELPHIX NANO. Technology has given
tremendous quality assurance regarding operations. The
board members who were initially sceptical about
managing the operation are now comfortable discussing
on the growth strategy.

Support through LAMP Fund

Satisfied with the increasing efficiency in operation and
growth as well as transparency at the institutional level
and motivation of the community, LAMP Fund disbursed a
loan of INR 3 million to Swayamsumpurna for lending to its
members.

Financials of Swayamsampurna
The changes with regard to various parameters have
been presented in Table 1. Similarly figures 1 and 2 depict
the changes in graphs.
Savings mobilization in the groups
Table 1: Changes in membership and financials
lSystems Development: The systems of accounting
as well as MIS were carefully observed and flow-of- (Figures in million INR)
information was identified. The information flow of the Particulars Mar 10 Mar 11
operations was transparent and clear for everybody to Total members 5254 6858
understand. It also ensured the accountability of each General Fund 0.76 1.03
one associated with the system along with monitoring Savings 4.89 6.92
mechanism. Microfinance Outstanding 6.83 10.91
lSupport to Troubleshooting: After institutionalizing
Income from mf operation 1.50 2.50
the change and capacity building of the staff and
leadership, IGS continued to guide for trouble- Expenditure on mf operation .93 2.21
shooting. Surplus 0.57 0.27
lParting with a grown up team: As an exit strategy, Borrowings Outstanding 1.77 4.42
IGS trained the core team on various financial,
economic and social aspects identified during the two Figure 1:Comparison of first two years of operations
years of institution building support and on the
probable future issues. Thus, the core team was
capacitated enough to lead the institution.

The Technology intervention

IGS through its Information Technology Services for
Livelihoods team has done a commendable work in

Figure 2: Income Vs Expenditure in the

first two years of operation

Training on MIS & FA

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Results
The intervention resulted in better functioning of the micro
finance operation of the organisation. The salient ones are
as follows:
l Change of approach of senior functionaries and
General Body members towards the sustainability
aspect of the institution with a revenue based
approach.
l Proper and clearly defined operational struc-
ture/hierarchy along with effective delegation of power
at each level was agreed upon and followed.
l Well-documented operational manual and monitoring
tools are in place to ensure smooth and transparent
functioning of the institution.
l Well-defined product guidelines for loan and savings,
as per the need and capacity of the members
l Detailed business projection for three years are in
place and plan to achieve it has been developed. not have regular flow of work. It was becoming increas-
l Ownership among the members developed with ingly difficult to survive on his irregular earnings. I was
members giving time for the organisational work, already a member of one of Jeevika’s SHGs and knew that
directors spending time in the office as well as field, it was possible for me to get loan without any collateral.
discussing the problems as well as future opportuni- After a discussion with my husband, I applied for a loan of
ties for growth. five hundred rupees to start a grocery shop. In the
l An online automated MIS (Famis Plus) helped the beginning it was a very small shop stocking only a few
functionaries at each level of operation for proper items of daily consumption. Today the shop sells a variety
tracking and decision-making. It also helped maintain of products and has become the main source of income
the quality of the portfolio. for our family of four’.
l Financial discipline along with financial understanding
among the members improved considerably. Amita did not merely invest in the shop; she ensured its
l Increased portfolio and technical quality ushered in growth as well. She has managed all aspects of the
opportunity for more financial collaboration. business along with her husband. To Amita, group
l The organisation is now collaborating with FWWB. meetings are critical to develop unity and share their
issues of concern.
Housewife to entrepreneur
Amita joined Swayamsumpur na microfinance With the savings of SHG, Amita’s loan requirement could
programme as a member of a SHG in Nandabhanga not be fulfilled though she started the business with
village. She first took a loan of INR 500 in 2006 with which a meagre INR 500 which was the maximum amount she
she started a small grocery shop in her village. After could get from the group. In the subsequent year she
repaying her first loan in 2007, Amita successively took took loan of INR 1000 & 2000 which still was not enough
loans of INR 1000, 2000 and 5000 in 2007, 2008 and 2009 for the business. After establishment ofSwayamsampurna
respectively to further invest in the shop. She also took a she could see the opportunity and got loan of
loan of INR 10,000 in 2010 for her daughter’s marriage. INR 5000 for investing in her shop. Being a member of
Swayamsampurna also helped her take loan of INR
In Amita’s own words: ‘My husband used to work in a mill. 10,000 for her daughter’s marriage which she could have
However the payment was very irregular, as the mill did never received from the SHG.

About the author

Kumaresh Rout is working a Manager, LAMP fund based at Kolkata and he may be reached at
[email protected]
Demo plot assessment

172
Establishing an irrigation system
through livelihood financing
Revival of a Lift Irrigation System
- Tapas Kumar Pati

The revival of a lift irrigation system damaged during a natural disaster and consequent
restoration of livelihoods of more than 350 people in a village in southern Odisha is captured in
this case. The intervention helped BASIX pilot a new product called water development
successfully.

Introduction Cyclone of 29th October, 1999 caused large scale

Lift irrigation is one of the prominent modes of irrigation in damage in the district. In addition to loss of human lives
India. The system either lifts water from a well, reservoir or and livestock, the cyclone damaged houses, agricultural
flowing river. Around 60% of the irrigated land in India farms and infrastructure. The survivors had to fight for
receives irrigation from ground water (IWMI-Tata policy survival for years after the cyclone. Over time, people
programme, Issue-4). Most of these are set up through slowly began to cope with the distress situation. However,
private investment and many of them are organized as it was not easy for many. A large number of people were
cooperatives. A number of government schemes provide forced to shift to other livelihood options. Many migrated
support for setting up such systems. out for manual unskilled labour work.

The district of Ganjam situated in the southern part of Chandanpur, one of the villages affected by the cyclone,
Odisha is spread over a geographical area of around and where the intervention was carried out, has 71
9,500 sq km with a population of 3.2 million. The Super households. The village had a population of around 350

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

and most of them belonged to Scheduled Castes. With after six years. The farmers grew tomatoes, cabbages,
rain fed agriculture as the only source of livelihood, radishes, and chilies. BASIX supported the intervention
households would often migrate out in search of alternate by supplying good quality seeds, demonstrating the
sources to nearby towns and other places. The house- nursery preparation, planting seedlings in the field, and
holds together owned some 40 acres of land. providing training on integrated nutrient management and
integrated pest management. The entire operation did not
Two progressive farmers of the village had installed a experience any crop damage by wild animals nor was a
lifting device and irrigated their own land and also sold single case of the vegetables getting stolen reported. The
water to others. The perennial river flowing nearby farmers reaped a good harvest. The water for irrigation
provided the source of water. The irrigation systems were was obtained from the rivulet and the farmers used
set up in 1981 and 1988 at an investment of INR 60,000 kerosene pump sets for irrigation. This was very expen-
and INR 70,000 respectively. The installed motors helped sive as it took nearly five litres of kerosene every second
farmers cultivate betel leaves, vegetables and paddy. The day costing around INR 100.
system provided water to around 20 farmers of the village.
The electricity charges were also shared by the users. The BASIX team then began to explore different options
Things went topsy-turvy after the cyclone hit the village. by interacting with the villagers. They discussed establish-
ing new lift points along the river, digging wells, establish-
The first priority of the inhabitants was to rebuild their ing tube well systems, and also reviving the damaged lift
houses for which they utilized most of their savings and irrigation system. The tentative expenses for each option
government aid. Unfortunately, the government's efforts were calculated. Since BASIX laid down the condition that
did not focus on livelihood restoration or rebuilding the it would make the investment as a loan, the villagers
damaged infrastructure. The electricity department, too, concluded that reviving the damaged irrigation system
took no interest in re-electrification. The two farmers who would be the best option. It would cost less compared to
owned the irrigation system too failed to convince the other options. The idea was sealed and thereafter
department. Seven farmers, who had replanted betel vine, processes were initiated to make it happen. The different
took recourse to kerosene pump sets. It was a costly phases that went in towards reviving the lift irrigation
proposition as kerosene was very costly in the open system are narrated below.
market. The remaining farmers who had no cash reserves
were compelled to give up farming in the absence of Phase 1: Community mobilization
irrigation. Since then, most of the lands have remained Community mobilization, taken up in this phase, was a
fallow and the families migrated to work as daily wage difficult process. The field survey revealed that the system
labourers. Family incomes went down drastically resulting can carry water to 15 acres of land belonging to 25
in lower living standards. Some were in the process of farmers. Making these farmers come together and getting
negotiating for selling their land to outsiders. Some had to try out a new system was difficult. The farmers had their
also given the land on rent to brick kilns. The situation own apprehensions. They had doubts if the system would
needed urgent rectification. work. Many of them also had little faith on each other.
Many felt that if a few did not pay up on time, the burden of
Intervention payment would fall on the rest. Sorting out these issues
BASIX staff visited the village in 2005 during the routine was the foremost task. After continued meetings, 15
task of credit appraisal. The village was selected for credit farmers organized themselves into a group, which took
disbursement. The team also came to know that a patch of nearly six months. They started saving money. The
10 acres of land was lying fallow. The villagers were very members kept enhancing their small savings and
reluctant to disclose this fact to the appraisal team. A visit discussed the modalities of reviving the project.
to the land revealed the reality. The villagers had almost
decided to sell off the land to the brick industry. It was also
realized that till the irrigation infrastructure was damaged,
the land was under cultivation. The irrigation infrastruc-
ture, though damaged, could still be renovated. It had a
pump house (without the door), a few electrical poles, a
sump well and a hundred metres of lined channels. What it
did not have was the pump machine and electricity
connection.

A village meeting discussed the possibility of restarting

vegetable cultivation. BASIX identified five progressive
farmers from the group and promised support if they
started vegetable cultivation. An action plan was drawn up
and a fund provision of INR 2,000 was made for this trial.
The land was cultivated by five farmers for the first time

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 Establishing an irrigation system through Livelihood Financing

Phase 2: Funding with the WUG, the amount was reduced to INR 7500. This
BASIX's Livelihood Triad Fund (LTF), supported by Swiss was paid by the WUG in lieu of an MOU they entered into
Agency for Development Cooperation was used for with one of their own members for handing over the
carrying out action research on issues of livelihood existing irrigation infrastructure to the WUG. This transfer
promotion. Under this fund, INR 470,000 was approved for of the irrigation infrastructure, however, was not without
revival of the lift irrigation infrastructure. problems because of certain apprehensions of the
previous owners. This was, however, resolved through
As the funding had materialized, the team continued its negotiations.
work of strengthening the group. The group had named
itself as Sri Sri Shiva Shakti Pani Panchayat Sangha. They Phase 3: Implementation of the Plan
continued with internal savings and also developed some Exposure visit of WUG Members: As part of confidence
simple norms for lending. The group elected its office building, an exposure visit was organized to Hinjlicut, a
bearers and opened a bank account. The monthly savings block in the district, where similar systems have been
were deposited in the account. successfully implemented. This visit helped them
understand the concept and practical implementation of
The Livelihood School, an entity within BASIX group, also the community managed irrigation system.
came along. An accompanier from the School got
engaged on a regular basis and helped capture the events Delegation of Role and Responsibility: BASIX wanted the
as they happened and provided critical feedback to the members to take the responsibility of not just managing
team on issues of concern. Many of them revolved round the infrastructure once it was installed, but also to carry
the issue of group dynamics and the management of the out the installation and even engage in decisions to
irrigation system. One of the initial tasks suggested was to purchase the needed materials for the infrastructure to be
calculate the water discharge capacity of the stream. This in place. Distribution of roles and responsibilities ensured
was done during the months of April and May when the that members knew the details of the revival and were in a
stream did not have much water. The water table in the position to do similar exercise at a later date if the need
pumping wells was found to be 20 ft. Two pump machines arose in future.
were installed to calculate how long they would pump the
water. This operation was carried out for four weeks at Preparing Repayment Schedule: INR 1500 per month,
regular intervals. The operation helped the team estimate i.e. INR 100 per member per month, was kept for transfer-
the irrigation potential during these two months. The ring the ownership of the system to each member. In
operation revealed that a three horse power motor would addition, a bulk payment of INR 6,250 was also scheduled
have to be used for irrigation from the rivulet even during twice during the year in September and March. As on
the lean period without exhausting the water. The team September, 2009, an amount of INR 41,250 was repaid by
also gathered information on the number of pump WUG, confirming that the intervention has given good
machines on the upstream of the system to estimate if returns to the members.
these machines would reduce the potential of the system
in future. Loan Disbursement and Re-electrification: The re-
electrification required a survey by a private contractor. It
As the work on institution building progressed, the helped in estimating the cost to provide two phase
technical expertise helped in carrying out the survey and electricity connection to the LI point. Ten per cent of this
designing the layout of the irrigation pipes and water amount was deposited and the connection was restored
outlets. The survey helped identify the required materials within a fortnight.
with low maintenance and would serve for a longer period.
Support from PRADAN, a national level non-
governmental organization, was sought to measure the
topography (percentage of sloppiness) of the area,
identify the command area (the maximum area which can
be cultivated depending on a particular water source) and
to draft the layout. The survey was completed and the
tentative estimate for the revival of irrigation infrastructure
was prepared. The estimated cost came to around INR
200,000.

Once the Water Users' Group(WUG) approved the

amount, they were told to contact the electricity depart-
ment for re-electrification. WUG learnt that an amount of
INR 12,000 was due for payment. This amount had to be
cleared before the system could be electrified. However,
after some negotiation and intervention by BASIX along Management and running of LI system by WUG members

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

gradually improved, some members delayed payment

and efforts to collect their dues became difficult. One of
them did not pay for almost a month after having har-
vested good crops. The situation required stern action.
The WUG resorted to a pre-paid system. The irrigation
fees were collected in advance. The advance amount was
fixed at INR 100 per member. Once the advance amount
was used up, the member was required to make another
payment again. A token system was introduced which
mentioned the advance amount paid and the pumping
hours. The token had two copies. One was kept with the
responsible person and the other with the member. This
system operates even today.

Some change was introduced in making payments to the

Land preparation for vegetable cultivation after revival of LI point pump operator. He was initially given a fixed amount of
INR 800 per month. This created a problem as often the
The first installment of INR 50,000 was disbursed operator defaulted in doing his job. To rectify the system,
towards electrification. Later, as the work progressed, the remuneration was modified. He was given a rate of
a total disbursement of INR 165,000 was made in four INR 5 for every hour of pumping and this fetched him a
installments. higher return. The pump machines would operate during
the peak months for almost 8–10 hours every day and
WUG got the pipelines and the motor fixed through a hence, the rate of INR 5 would be remunerative to him.
plumber. The revived lift irrigation system was inaugurated This was also done to check him from seeking extra
in March, 2008. benefits.

The time was ripe now for the operation to start. WUG The electricity department also did not provide bills in
members were waiting for this day for almost three years. time. This was rectified by the WUG members who went to
They wanted to get back to their lands and toil hard. the department and got the bills made every two months.
They could make the payments from the reserves they
Phase 4: Operation of the System accumulated from sale of water. The consumption would
Fixing water price and water distribution norms: WUG be on an average of INR 10 per hour (2.25 Kw at INR 4.25
worked on developing some simple norms. One of them per KwH) and, therefore, the running of the machine gave
was the fixation of the rate for the irrigation water. The the group a net earning of INR 15 per hour. This amount
others were for collection of dues and scheduling of was kept separately for maintenance and meeting the
irrigation. They fixed a rate of INR 30 per hour for the group cost of wear and tear of the infrastructure.
members and INR 40 in case of non-members. It was
agreed that all the farms coming under a common outlet Outcome
would be irrigated at one time.
Good returns from fallow land
Managing conflicts: Problems encountered by the The patch of land which was fallow for the past eight years
members as they worked together had to be sorted out. and was about to be sold to the brick manufacturers is now
The first of them was the failure of some of the members to giving assured income. It has once again become
pay water charges. Some of them went on taking water, productive. The members have started taking almost two
telling that they would pay later. The amount gradually to three crops from this land.
accumulated. Similarly, there were issues of the accounts
not being kept systematically. Mismanagement of funds Increased income to the member households
happened initially. Three members had piled up a good The annual net income of the six member farmers from
amount of dues and they did not pay. These were the the said land is more than INR 10,000. One of the
farmers who possessed resources. They were also members has got a net income of INR 35,000 from his
powerful and incited others to follow suit. One of them was land. This farmer has made a name for himself. He has
the previous owner of the irrigation infrastructure. These devoted half of his land to brinjal cultivation and another
issues had to be dealt with. The WUG met to discuss the half to radish, coriander and amaranthus (leafy vegetable)
issues and BASIX team facilitated the process. cultivation. This is what the farmer does round the year.
The other farmers, who have been less entrepreneurial,
The WUG made a system where one member would have still been able to get an additional income of around
operate the motor and another member would keep track INR 5,000 to INR 10,000.
of the pumping hours and collection of the water dues. It
worked well for the next few months. Though things

176
 Establishing an irrigation system through Livelihood Financing

Believe the Villagers, but with a Pinch of Salt

This intervention would not have come through if the
livelihood promoter had believed what the villagers said. It
went to the root of the matter and unearthed the real
reasons.

Think Out of the Box during Credit Appraisal

As an institution engaged in micro-financing livelihoods,
the task of origination and appraisal is often a challenge.
This process has its own limits. It is important that the
structured data are sought and analysed. However, it is
the innovativeness of the promoter as well as its interest in
promoting livelihoods that should make information
collection beyond the given structure. The water product
came through as the livelihood promoter went beyond the
box.

Increase in cropping intensity Knock at the Closed Door: It Will Open Some Day
With assured supply of water, the farmers have been The electricity department was initially reluctant to
taking two to four crops every year. The cropping intensity subsidise the accumulated dues. However, after contin-
has increased to three times a year in this area. ued visits, they did cooperate and did what they could
within their limited power.
No-no to migration
Bira and Jhadia had been migrating to Hyderabad over Importance of Taking People into Confidence
the last few years. But after starting farming on their land, It was difficult to arrive at a consensus on the positions of
they have stopped migration. Bira earned INR 12,000 and the outlets. After survey work, the consultant explained to
Jhadia earned INR 5,000 from growing vegetables. They the members the relevant aspects like the slope of the
also engaged in paddy cultivation during the kharif area as well as the merits and demerits of keeping outlets
months and have been growing vegetables in the post at different locations. Once they were convinced they did
kharif months. They now know that the days of hardship what was told to them.
they faced during migration are over. Both of them are fully
involved in farming activities and sometimes seek wage Institution building: Slow but Steady
labour work locally when they are relatively less occupied. Community mobilization process is critical when a
common asset is installed. Accommodating divergent
Gaining recognition interests of the members is often difficult and hence, time
One of the members, Sri Debaraj Das, was nominated by is required. It took around six months to get the group to
BASIX for his contribution to forming WUG and adopting start discussion in an open and fair manner. It is important
SRI practices. He was awarded NVA fellowship in 2007 that the implementing agency has the patience and helps
and also by the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation provide constructive ideas to take things ahead.
for his work. This recognition has brought fame for the
village as well.

Non-members also reap benefits

WUG has extended irrigation support to as many as 10
other households. These villagers, who are not members
of WUG, purchase water and cultivate their land, measur-
ing 5 acres, and reap benefits from this intervention.

Learning
Any action offers some learning to those who are involved
in it. The experience often helps them to carry out the
process differently when they do it again. These learnings
are to help others who would like to engage in similar work
elsewhere. They need to build upon the learning of others
and not make the mistakes committed by their predeces-
sors. Some of the lessons of this intervention are
described below:
Cultivated okra crop - An interaction with farmers during field visit

177
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Holistic Approach of TRIAD Conclusion

Establishment of a WUG in the village and strengthening it The investment made in reviving the irrigation system is
to manage the system was the first step. Providing INR 165,000. It has brought in smiles to as many as 25
financial services to revive the system followed by households. The system was previously privately owned
technical support for establishing the lift irrigation and the intervention made it a user group owned system.
structure and also for irrigated agriculture is an important The intervention was taken up by BASIX as a livelihood
method of enabling the villagers to manage the system. financing project to bring about 15 acres of fallow land
under irrigation. The pilot testing of a financial product
Evolve As You Go Along called “Water Development” has given good results and
Development of norms is often an evolutionary process. insights. Today BASIX offers this product to prospective
As you engage, you learn, you cope with a given set of clients. The product is for revival as well as establishment
factors and set up a system that works. It will work well till of new irrigation infrastructure. On the other hand, the
someone finds a loophole and cashes in the benefits. story of the cyclone that uprooted the lives and livelihoods
Then that loophole has to be plugged. This is what the of many is now forgotten. The water that now flows carries
management will have to do continuously and perfect with it a new dream. This has been possible as the
the art. promoter saw that possibilities exist even when the doors
looked apparently closed.

About the author

Tapas Kumar Pati is working as Head-AGLEDS, BSFL, based at Bhubaneswar. He may be reached at
[email protected]

178
 Bank on Me
Lessons from Financial Inclusion Initiatives
- H P Singh

The case captures the graduation of the Business Correspondent model of extending financial
services to the poor through three different action research projects implemented in different
parts of the country. A sustainable model is still being evolved.

Background Though the Indian financial market is developing and

“Financial Inclusion is the process of ensuring access to globalizing at a rapid pace, a large segment of our
appropriate financial products and services needed by all population remains excluded from formal financial
sections of the society in general and vulnerable groups services. For this reason, bringing banking services to the
such as weaker sections and low income groups in unbanked has been a priority of the Reserve Bank of
particular at an affordable cost in a fair and transparent India(RBI) for the past decade. In late 2006, the RBI
manner by mainstream institutional players.” – Dr. K. C. promoted the 'business correspondent' (BC) concept – a
Chakrabarty, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, way to extend the footprint of a bank without having to
2011. open a bank branch1 .

1
For more on the business correspondent policy see RBI website: http://www.rbi.org.in/home.aspx.

179
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

As part of its mandate to promote access to financial The objective of the first phase was to promote remit-
services for the poor, IGS went through several iterations tances from migrants in Delhi to their families in
of working with the BC model. This case illustrates Muzaffarpur, Bihar. The project began in 2007 and IGS
lessons from three. collaborated as the business correspondent of Axis Bank,
with A Little World (ALW) as a technology partner. This
The first intervention (model 1) began in 2006, immedi- was one of the first experiments with the business
ately after the RBI regulation allowing business corre- correspondent model in the country.
spondents. It was focused on enabling cheap, secure and
instant remittances from Bihari migrant labour in Delhi to As a business correspondent, IGS performed services
their families back in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. for Axis Bank for a fee. As a technology partner, ALW
provided biometric authentication, and connectivity
The second intervention (model 2) drew on the lessons between SPOTS, its own server and Axis Bank’s servers.
learned by IGS in Phase 1 and provided wholesale
banking services to the poor living in the catchment area
of KBS Bank, a local area bank2 in Andhra Pradesh and
Karnataka.

The third intervention (model 3) began in 2010 in Andhra

Pradesh and pushes the envelope further in terms of
consolidating lessons from the previous two models and
trying a new technology. It promotes a cheaper and more
robust model for business correspondence.

Intervention: Model 1

Migrants in Delhi had very little access to banking services

and thus found it difficult to have small savings or remit-
tances. Meanwhile, their families in Bihar found banks to
be far away (10 -15 km) from their villages and they did not
have adequate documents to open a bank account. The
only way for migrants to remit money to their families was
through inefficient, insecure and/or expensive means,
such as illegal private couriers or the post office. Cultivated okra crop - An interaction with farmers during field visit

Finger Scanner Biometric Smart Card

Mobile with
internet facility
Printer

2
Local area banks are those banks mandated by the RBI to serve only 3 contiguous districts.

180
 Bank on Me:Lessions from Financial Inclusion Initiatives

Process flow

IGS was mandated to open deposit accounts and mobilize Table 2: Status of BC transactions
savings, enable easy and quick remittances, and facilitate
credit and insurance services to the poor in Delhi and in No. of geographies 2 Muzaffarpur districts
Muzaffarpur. The project activities thus included: and Delhi
l receipt and delivery of small value remittances/ other No. of blocks in Muzaffarpur 2 (Kanti & Bochhaha)
payment instruments No. of villages in Muzaffarpur 65
l opening of deposit accounts, including no- frill account Total no. of accounts opened 9150 (2150 in Muzaffarpur and
with zero savings balance and term deposits 7000 in Delhi)
l taking up confidence building measures among
Total Savings mobilization(Rs.) 1,098,908
villagers in Muzaffar pur through providing
Agricultural, Business and Institutional Development No. of accounts using 51
Services; conducting village meetings in which remittances services
government officials and bankers would participate Total no. of remittance transactions 84
l facilitating loans from Axis Bank Amount of remittance Rs. 2,39,420
l disbursing small value credit
l sale of micro insurance/mutual fund products/pension Constraints
products There were several constraints in implementing the
project including many related to the technology:
Though the primary focus was remittance, the other l Power supply was very poor and this resulted in poor
products were necessary if IGS was to generate enough enrollment as the technology often would not work.
income to be sustainable l For security and to help facilitate transactions by the
illiterate, fingerprint biometric identification technolo-
Table 1: Income & Expenditure of IGS gies were used. But often fingers were dirty or had
cuts and fingerprints were often obscure. These
2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 fingerprints were not recognized by the biometric
Income 2,500,000 483,225 16,400 recognition software and this meant that sometimes
Expenditure 2,459,846 1,232,664 263,390 customers could not access their accounts.
l As the ALW server was separate from the Axis Bank
core banking system, account balances were not
Results updated online, real-time and there were delays in this
The results by the end of the project in 2009 are presented process. This meant that customers would often not
in Table 2. know the total amount of money actually available in
their bank accounts.

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

lThe project was financially unsustainable. It was wVillage-wise campaign to attract beneficiaries to
expensive and difficult to run without the support of the enrollment camps
some external funding. w Camp-wise beneficiary enrollment
w Capturing beneficiary information/photo as per
KYC/RBI/RSBY guidelines
Financial Data for two SPOTS in Muzaffarpur lPhase II- Commence transactions and make
As per the data of September 2008, the total income payments
from enrollment and transactions was Rs. 19,637 and w Opening of Bank accounts
total expenditure was Rs.26,500. - i.e. the loss of w Data validation and card personalization
Rs.6,865/- per month excluding overhead for two w Card printing and issue to beneficiaries
SPOTs in Muzaffarpur. w Credit of initial deposit of Rs.1, 500 by Government
of Rajasthan.
w Disburse Rs 200 out of Rs 1,500 to the beneficiary
lPhase III- Consolidate and enlarge scope
Lessons w Establishing 15,000 Points of Services
l Technology needed to be modified w Disbursal of entitlements
l Operating costs needed to be significantly reduced w Campaign to activate accounts and encourage
savings culture
An Opportunity: Bhamashah w Add other financial and non-financial services
In 2008, the Government of Rajasthan (GoR) designed
and decided to implement a special scheme for financial BFES Phase I
inclusion and empowerment of about five million poor Under Phase I of the Bhamashah scheme, about 4.1
women. The scheme was named Bhamashah Financial million beneficiaries were enrolled by BASIX. BASIX
Empowerment of Women Scheme (BFES). BASIX was organized 1400 camps in villages where the identified
invited to participate. beneficiaries came and provided information to fill up the
bank account opening form. The enrolment process
Objective included taking photographs of the identified beneficiaries
The objective of the scheme was to create a state-wide and in case of the beneficiary belonging to BPL category,
technologically advanced electronic infrastructure her family members’ photographs were taken. The
backbone for providing banking services, government account opening forms of the beneficiaries were authenti-
services and non-financial services to rural families, cated by designated village officials. The captured data
especially poor and the disadvantaged, at their door- was digitized and uploaded to the Bank’s Financial
steps, using biometrically secured multiple benefit smart Inclusion Server enabling the Bank to open bank
cards, also reforming governance and delivery systems in accounts in the name of beneficiaries.
the process.
This was a massive task that required strategic and
Key Stakeholders operationally experienced persons to be deployed on an
l Government of Rajasthan (GoR) – Designing BFES immediate basis. BASIX’s senior leadership was involved
and funding the same, mobilizing beneficiaries right from the beginning of the project. BASIX first set up a
through panchayat, block and district level officials, task force of senior team members assigning them
providing venue support functions related to Finance, HR, Liaison, Administration,
l IL&FS, the Technology Service Provider (TSP) in 29 Operations, IT and Training. This Task Force selected the
districts for the implementation of BFWES. It also team for implementation and set up its Bhamashah
manages State Data Resource centre. Central Office in a hotel in Jaipur. An urgent message was
l Punjab National Bank offers the banking services sent to every BASIX office, asking for volunteers to assist
through its BC. in the project. Around 224 team members responded,
l IGS was appointed as the Business Correspondent including several senior managers, and they traveled to
(BC) for implementing BFES on the ground by Punjab Rajasthan at short notice.
National Bank, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur and
State Bank of India. Thirteen thousand short-term field staff were recruited in
ten days with the help of about 350 organisations. As
Implementation many as 18,000 applications were received in 5 days;
The implementation of the scheme was scheduled to interview committees were constituted to interview the
commence from July 08 and was to be completed in three applicants. These recruits were then trained and reori-
phases. ented for the work for which several field meetings had to
l Phase I –Mobilisation be organised and conducted throughout the State. BASIX
w Develop enrollment system including camps simultaneously began work on scheduling the camps for
schedule planning and monitoring organizing 15,000 camps, something no District Collector
had by then undertaken, and which they were so happy to

182
 Bank on Me:Lessions from Financial Inclusion Initiatives

get on a platter. Within a week, a schedule was in place for and unmanageable. Sophisticated devices were being
all the camps to be undertaken in 29 districts. It was this used for the first time and users were not comfortable in
work that immediately established BASIX’ capability and handling the camera and/or the biometric capture
credibility with the district authorities. machines. As a result quite a few of the biometric captures
of finger prints were spoilt because women’s hands were
Overall a well structured team was set up with state level not clean. Also there were occasions when the machines
project coordinator supported by Operations, MIS, did not work and no one was around to repair them. In a
Finance & Accounts, HR, Logistics and Communications number of cases the village lists were out-of-date, and
staff. At field level, 29 districts were divided into six some village leaders were not cooperative, either
divisions namely Jaipur, Ajmer, Bikaner, Kota, Jodhpur because they were hesitant to publicize yet another
and Udaipur. Under each division, there was a district government scheme which might fail, or because they
coordinator and a district controller (for MIS and back were not from the same political party ruling the state.
office) for each district. At block level, the camp supervisor Some of the team members of BASIX had to work under
was supported by one Team Leader and 3-5 Customer pressure during nights to complete the enrollment and
Enrollment Agents per camp. BASIX opened bank stay in the villages overnight. There were also law and
accounts at all the required centres, to enable the staff order problems that had to be faced due to the large
including the newly recruited ones for the project to settle number of turn outs in some cases or when triggered by
by cheque/ cash the expenses incurred on taxis, hotels, vested interests.
daily allowances, etc. A team of about 30 staff were
eventually positioned to handle the accounts across the At the end, 4,200,000 applications were completed; about
State. half a million (10%) were incorrect and therefore ineligible.
But given the scale of the operation and the short time that
Phase II was available, this was a commendable achievement.
Punjab National Bank agreed to open two and a half One of the key lessons is that collaboration with govt.
million accounts. BASIX started the second phase with a enables scale of this magnitude.
small number of the BC operators identity cards which
were ready by then. The State Government transferred the Intervention: Model 2
funds to the Bank, and BASIX organized a number of KBS LAB is a local area bank headquartered in
follow-up meetings to distribute the cards. Apart from Mahbubnagar, Andhra Pradesh(AP), with a mandate to
handing over the biometric cards (after the fingerprints bring banking services to the rural unbanked. The BC
and necessary documentation work was completed in model was a perfect way for KBS to expand its footprint
Phase II camps), the Phase II also involved handing over and reach out to those it had been unable to reach as yet.
Rs 200 (out of the entitled Rs 1500) to the beneficiary. An
IT based MIS was also required, and hence, in consulta- The objective in this model was to bring a full suite of
tion with the technology partners – Indepay and IL&FS, banking services to the urban poor, rural remote and
BASIX set up the mobile SMS system-based monitoring poor in three districts of AP and Karnataka where KBS
of all financial payments being done, and the same report had presence. A second objective was to significantly
was updated on the server of Indepay. As this was a new increase the customer base of the KBS LAB, thereby
technology being used in remote areas, there were increasing its business. This was the first BC model to
several problems and BASIX team responsible for MIS operate in these geographies. The project began in 2008
used to spend sleepless nights during Phase II. There and IGS collaborated as the business correspondent
were also issues with Biometric cards being incorrect and of KBS LAB, using KBS’s own hand held device technol-
supply of the same not happening on time. Around 8,800 ogy which directly connected to the bank’s core banking
biometric cards had been distributed along with Rs 200 system.
under Phase II when GoR stopped the program.
IGS was mandated to open deposit accounts and mobilize
Results savings, facilitate credit services and disburse sanctioned
l About 4.1 million beneficiaries were enrolled. loans in the three districts. The project activities thus
l Around 8,800 biometric cards had been distributed included:
along with Rs 200 under Phase II when the news came l opening of deposit accounts, including no- frill savings
for stopping the camps. account with zero savings balance and term deposits
l facilitating loans from KBS LAB
Constraints and Lessons l disbursing credit
It was not surprising that everything did not go as planned. l servicing customer deposits and withdrawals
To begin with the Teams were ready but the enrollment
material had not reached all the camp sites. Also there
were instances when the Teams and the material were in
place but the District authorities had not mobilized the
beneficiaries. At some centres, the crowd was huge

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Process flow

The difficulties with technology in Model 1 convinced IGS Intervention: Model 3

to use the same technology as KBS Bank. This would
ensure seamless integration with the bank's systems as it
was connected with the Bank's server. This technology
was more expensive than the other options in the market,
but because of the operational advantages it offered, KBS
was willing to bear the cost. KBS staff also provided
support in the field, which was useful with initial customer
connect and marketing.
Table 3: Income & Expenditure
2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012(Dec)
Income 6,616,310 16,124,861 19,180,421 11,638,883
Expenditure 10,542,808 13,745,098 17,907,177 13,144,481
Armed with the experiences of Model 1 and Model 2, IGS
Table 4: Project Status as on 31st Dec, 2011
was ready to scale up the BC model. A new online, real-
Parameter Target Actual % Achieved time technology was developed. In 2010, a sister
IDeposits outstanding (Rs in 000’s) 253,955 118,294 47% company called Sub-K was incorporated in order to
Advances outstanding (Rs in 000’s) 377,880 322,660 85% promote, manage and further develop the BC model for
Disbursements 32,655 30,085 92% large scale roll out.
(Dec’ 11) (Rs in 000’s)
In 2010, IGS signed on as the business correspondent of
Disbursements (Rs in 000’s) 275,664 245,400 89%
Syndicate Bank, with Sub-K as technology partner. The
(Cumulative from Apr’11- Dec’ 11) objective was to open no-frill savings accounts for people
in under banked villages of Andhra Pradesh assigned to
Given the low achievement in mobilizing deposits, more Syndicate Bank by the state’s State Level Bankers’
village meetings and door to door promotional campaigns Committee.
are being held. The model proved to be successful in
increasing the business of KBS LAB. IGS’ mandate was to open no-frill savings accounts on
behalf of Syndicate Bank, mobilize deposits and service
Constraints and Lessons these customers. The project activities included:
In this model the cost of HR was high and was a
l l mobilizing interest through village meetings and
roadblock in achieving sustainability. marketing initiatives such as melas
Whereas in Model 1 the Axis Bank was very hands-off,
l l opening of deposit accounts, including no- frill account
in this Model KBS Bank was much more involved both with zero savings balance
on the field and in engaging with senior management l mobilize deposits in these accounts
which was a significant factor in the success of the l service customers in performing deposits, withdraw-
project. als and balance enquiries
With KBS bearing responsibility for technology, the
l
model proved to be much more streamlined. Instead of mobile points of service as used in previous
Facilitating credit services had a significant impact on
l phases, in this phase IGS sought to reduce cost of HR by
the income of IGS. appointing village shop owners to act as points of service.

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 Bank on Me:Lessions from Financial Inclusion Initiatives

Process flow

The Sub-K technology platform connects online and real-

Equipment at Outlet time to Syndicate Bank’s core banking system, which
meant that transactions were seamless; deposits and
withdrawals were updated in bank as soon as they
happened at the BC outlet.

Consequently Sub-K became the first and only entity in

India to develop and patent a technology platform for
connecting over mobile / internet communication
channels and interfacing Application Programming
Interfaces (APIs) that link Core Banking Systems (CBS) of
banks and servers of other Service Providers.

Table 5: Income & Expenditure of IGS in model 3

2010-2011 2011-2012(Dec)
Income 16,04,338 59,50,417
Expenditure 18,94,360 45,88,119

Syndicate Bank, which pioneered the Sub-K platform

usage with IGS, had in a short period of six months and
with 158 BCOs managed to generate INR 5,123,789 of
deposits and INR 2,319,970 of withdrawals resulting in a
net saving of INR 2,803,819. In terms of withdrawals,
transactions and deposits, the trends observed are
presented below:

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Conclusion the bank staff in making the model work in the field was a
The three models of enabling financial services to the key determinant of success. In the third one which draws
poor in remote areas are tested in three different geogra- from the experiences of the other two, the appropriate-
phies using three different technology platforms and ness of the technology and reduced HR cost are the key
partners. In the first model, the technology choice was not success factors. By reducing cost of HR and using
appropriate and the cost of operations was high. In the seamless technology, the Syndicate Bank- Sub- K project
second one, though the cost of technology was high, but is well on its way to establishing an efficient and profitable
the seamless integration with the host bank's systems model by adding more products and fee based services.
was the advantage. Moreover, the proactive approach of

About the author

H P Singh is working as Field Manager at BASIX in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. He may be reached at

[email protected]

186
CONSERVATION AND
LIVELIHOODS

187
 CONSERVATION AND LIVELIHOODS
Preservation of critical ecosystems facing multiple threats is a matter of concern both for policy makers
and development practitioners. Bio diverse ecosystems are reservoirs of natural resources and serves
as a guarantee against future disruptions in livelihoods. However human interventions and pressures of
development continuously threaten their very existence. Similarly the local communities who used to be
the foremost guardians of these ecosystems have little incentive to continue with the task. The
increased dependency of an ever increasing population to meet the livelihood needs on resources of
these ecosystems has resulted in unsustainable level of extraction. The route of legal enforcement has
proved to be inadequate to meet the challenge.

IGS is actively providing support to the vulnerable and underprivileged communities in India and
supporting projects that enhance existing or create new livelihood opportunities for those communities.
Since 2006, IGS have been working with communities dependent on critical ecosystems who typically
reside in or around fragile forest/grassland/mangrove/wetland ecosystems or are dependent on scarce
water and degraded land resources. The interventions desire to create models that are entrepreneurial
and hence sustainable. Striking a balance between conservation and livelihoods and thereby creating a
win-win scenario for both the local communities and wildlife is the theme of the projects.

Through four projects, IGS is trying to develop sustainable approaches for promoting livelihoods in
such challenging contexts. The case of Melghat is about working with tribals who faced the trauma of
involuntary displacement from the core area of the tiger reserve and now resettled in a nearby area
where the livelihood pattern has undergone significant change. The case talks about the approach
followed by the project team in addressing the aspirations and livelihood needs of the displaced people.
The learning from Melghat was an eye-opener for IGS and gave confidence to work with forest dwellers
who are dependent upon the forests for lives and livelihoods. The case of Similipal Biosphere Reserve
in Odisha and Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh talks about the importance of restoration
of existing livelihoods along with providing alternate livelihoods to protect critical wildlife habitats. In the
process, the symbiotic relationship between humans and nature is reestablished while guarding
against undue pressure on resources of these ecosystems. The case of Mangalajodi Ecotourism talks
about the gradual transformation of the bird poachers into conservators who are now protecting the
wetland ecosystem in Chilika lagoon along eastern coast of the country. Being an important bird area
hosting a large number of migratory birds during every winter, visitors from different parts of the country
and abroad came calling at Mangalajodi to spend few days in the lap of nature and watch a variety of
birds. The case also talks of the community based institution owning and managing the eco tourism
intervention for better conservation outcome. The four cases highlight the need to take local
communities on board in promoting conservation and enabling them to benefit from such efforts.

188
 The 'Resettled' Livelihoods
Rehabilitation and Resettlement of Melghat Tribals
- Shriram Waghmare

Livelihood interventions were undertaken in four villages rehabilitated from the forests. The
inhabitants were assisted financially and in institution building, to create alternative livelihood
alternatives with a focus on agriculture and dairy.

Context farmers’ fields and damaging crops is also a regular

Melghat Tiger Reserve (MTR) lies in the south-western phenomenon. In this context, the need to rehabilitate the
fringes of Satpura mountain ranges towards the northern villagers in a nearby area where they can access ade-
extreme of Amravati and Akola districts in Maharashtra quate agriculture and grazing land was felt. In 1999
state. MTR covers an area of 1,676.93 sq. km. government officers documented the expectations and
Government declared it as a tiger conservation unit demands of villagers and designed resettlement pack-
(TCU), a priority area for action with respect to conserva- ages in consultation with them.
tion of tiger, in 1973. Inhabitants of the 58 villages in
Melghat periphery are mainly Korkus tribes. Some other In 2001, village Bori was relocated at Rajura Girwarpur in
tribal groups like Gond, Balai and Gawali also inhabit Akot block of Akola district. Similarly, resettlement and
these lands. The Gawalis are dependent on cattle and rehabilitation of Koha and Kund villages was done in 2002.
agriculture for their livelihoods. Rising human and cattle Three more villages namely Churni, Bairat and Pastalai
population put pressure on forest land for cultivation and have also been shifted to Ghatladaki in Chandur Bazar
grazing. Often forestlands are encroached for the block of Amravati district since 2009. Forty one families
purposes. This triggers conflicts between forest officials from Churni and Bairat were shifted during 2009–11.
and villagers. On the other hand wild animals raiding

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Resettlement of tribal households was due to the started with forging coordination with the rehabilitation
willingness of the inhabitants who were already feeling the authority to get civic amenities in the resettled areas as
stress, but at the same time they needed viable alternative promised. To support the households for their livelihood,
livelihoods to feel completely at home at the resettlement soil and water conservation works were taken up both for
locations. Conservation of bio-diversity is ensured as the creating assets and generating wage employment. To
villages were shifted away from a critical wildlife habitat. construct shelters, tin sheets and timber were supplied to
the 55 households.
Indian Grameen Services (IGS)
took up a project to resurrect RBS foundation Communities’ Perceptions towards IGS
livelihoods of these resettled is interested in Initially the villagers were apprehensive of the project and
populations which was sup- conserving Bio- skeptical about the IGS presence and work. It took the IGS
ported by RBS Foundation, India sphere in Tiger staff almost one year to convince the people about the
(The Royal Bank of Scotland Reserve Areas. benefits of the project. This was because between 2001
Group) with a grant of INR 8.9 when the resettlement happened and 2007 when IGS
million. IGS formulated the project to enable communities started the project, n0 govt. line department or develop-
to earn a sustainable livelihood by providing them with the ment organization official visited the villages to offer any
skills, materials, tools and/or financial capital needed. assistance for stabilizing their livelihoods in the new
location.
Project Objectives
The prime objective of the project is to develop a livelihood Outreach
enhancement approach for three villages of Bori, Koha, Number of households supported: 204 in 4 villages
and Kund in Akot tehsil of Akola District and Ghatladaki Number of livestock supported / Dairy services: 700 dairy animals
village of Chandur Bazar block in Amravati district by
Financial services provided: 16 groups
providing skills, material and financial assistance for the
development of agriculture and micro enterprise activities.
The Implementing Team
The project is implemented by a team consisting of a
The broad range of activities included
Project Manager, a Field Executive, Crop Livelihood
Institutional development
l
Service Provider, Dairy Livelihood Service Provider, and
Agricultural development
l
Village Resource Persons in each village from among the
Dairy Development
l
community.
Enterprise and alternative livelihoods promotion
l
Enhancement of access to micro financial services
l
Services Offered to Resettled Households
Support to ecosystem conservation by reducing biotic
l
pressure caused by encroachment by villagers and by
motivating the households to resettle outside the Institution Development
forest area The tribal people in these villages were hardly aware of
Establishment of a replicable model that provides a
l
SHG and its benefits. SHG initiatives were taken up to
solution to harmonizing conservation and rights for imbibe thrift habits in the villagers and also to reduce
thousands of resettled tribals. dependency on the money lenders. Sixteen SHGs in the
four villages were supported by orienting on group
The stakeholders of this project are the community, IGS, concept, regularizing savings, book keeping, establishing
RBS Foundation, MTR, and the government. internal lending system, and bank linkages.

Implementation Strategy
The first phase of the implementation was started in 2007
in Koha, Kund and Bori, shifted from the original location
to the rehabilitation site during 2000–02, by building
rapport with the local community. In the first year of
intervention, along with agriculture intervention which
included support for package of practices (PoP) and land
and water work; institution development activities were
also undertaken in the form of empowering Panchayati
Raj institutions, formation of SHGs in the three villages
and putting processes and systems in place. Financial
services and technical assistance to the villagers were to
be provided through these institutions.

In the second phase, the newly resettled Ghatladaki

village was added to the project. The implementation

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 The ‘Resettled Livelihoods’ : Rehabilitation and Resettlement of Melghat Tribals

The project team supported Gramsabha by nurturing Farmers had practiced traditional rainfed cultivation
them for enhancing the decision making abilities, practices in the resettled villages. Fertilizer doses were
leadership, financial linkages for meeting the consump- not as per the recommended norms. The land was
tion and production needs of the families. All the decisions undulating and the soil was stony. Though 89 wells were
with respect to taking up of activities, extending benefits to constructed during relocation in Koha, Kund and Bori,
members and so on were routed through gramsabha. 90% of these were non-functional because of low ground
water, wrong site selection and unfinished work by the
Two apex bodies with a broader vision of taking up the contractor. The project team helped them with standard
services were planned in the four villages, that is, one in package of practices (PoP) for cotton, soyabean, tur and
Ghatladaki and another in Koha, Kund, and Bori villages. extended technical inputs at various stages of cultivation
Although the apex bodies had been formed, it needed to such as land preparation, soil testing, seed treatment,
work further to build the capacity of members. The sowing techniques, Integrated Pest Management, and
heterogeneous factors of tribes, villages of origin and Integrated Nutrient Management, and facilitated prepara-
disparity in the benefits due to late arrival in the resettled tion of bio-inputs like vermi compost, dashparni ark, etc.
villages prevented the apex bodies from strengthening
themselves to the desired level. However, some members After two or three seasons, the farmers adopted the new
realized the importance of the apex body and supported it PoPs which resulted in more yield with reduced cost of
with their contributions. One of the successful interven- about INR 800–1000 per acre. The team also undertook
tions taken up by the Ghatladaki apex body has been the land-based activities such as stone picking, bunding, and
purchase of common asset, i.e. thresher machine restoration of non-functional wells. The land and water
contributing INR 7,000 each by the three groups. Similarly, development initiatives benefited the farmers significantly
the services of the Murrah bull are used by households in terms of increase in production and use of residual
with its ownership lying with the apex body. moisture in dry spell in areas coming under irrigation
along with getting wage employment. Also, several
Agriculture farmers of the project villages, mostly from Bori, invested
The tribals were growing kutki and jugani in the old village in digging bore wells for protective irrigation and installed
and did not have technical knowhow of agricultural sprinkler through bank financing or own investment. Now
practices such as crops like cotton, pulses and soyabean. almost 70% of agricultural land in Bori and about 5–20% in
But since their shifting, they had started growing these Koha and Kund villages is irrigated. The project team also
crops without any knowhow. Therefore, they were helped introduced groundnut as a second crop in Rabi season
with support of agricultural practices including preparation and scaled up the production of wheat due to improved
of land, selection and treatment of seed, cultivation, weed irrigation facilities.
and pest control and harvesting. They were also encour-
aged and motivated to take up new crops like jowar, Soil and Water conservation
vegetables, maize (for fodder) and groundnut by supply- To improve the quality of the stony soil, stone picking and
ing seeds to increase the cropping intensity. stone bunding were carried out in 150 acres of land both
under the project and with support from NREGS in
Ghatladaki. The objective was both to improve land and
give wage employment to the resettled during lean
season. In addition, 375 plants of various species were
planted in the field and in the village commons. Two
Contour Nala Bunding works (CNB) and 83 WATs were
constructed.

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Dairy Alternative Livelihood Options

Dairy has been a key activity of the Gawalis. However, in Apart from agriculture and dairy, the villagers have tried
the resettled area the farmers found it difficult to manage other livelihood options. Several Korku households have
fodder in the absence of grazing land. The farmers were small livestocks like local breed of poultry which they have
given support for veterinary care including vaccination reared since many years. The project team thought that
and general check up, fodder cultivation, and feed backyard poultry could be an activity to be adopted.
management for increasing the yield. Keeping in view growth and egg laying capacity, Giriraja
and Vanaraja varieties were introduced in the village.
Earlier, the cases of foot and mouth diseases (FMD), HS, Similarly, bee keeping was also introduced due to the
BQ (Ghatasarp), skin diseases, etc. in cattle were high. presence of mixed flora in the area and low agricultural
production. Bee keeping would complement crop
The project team worked with about 150 dairy farmers in production and will act as an alternate livelihood option.
Koha, Bori and Kund and 700 pieces of livestock (cows, Basic training and cage and boxes were provided free for
buffaloes, bullocks, and goats). The cumulative impact both poultry and bee keeping. About 20 farmers adopted
was quite visible. Now the cases of FMD, HS and BQ do backyard poultry and 10 farmers took to bee keeping.
not occur in the project villages. Because of regular health These, however, failed to sustain because of casualness
care services and treatment, de-worming and Azolla on the part of farmers and more involvement of the staff in
application, milk production has increased up to one litre the activity lead to non-ownership of the assets.
per cattle. Most importantly, the cattle are healthy and the
longevity of the livestock has increased. The cases of The project team selected some enterprises such as
miscarriage have drastically reduced. The farmers are paneer and candle making, tailoring, bamboo works, etc.
able to save around INR 400–600 as doctor’s fee which as per the SHG members’ choice with the intention of
they earlier used to spend on doctors visiting from other upgrading the skills of the villagers to take these as
villages. sources of income. Training and demonstration sessions
were organized. Some activities like tailoring were
adopted by an entrepreneur getting additional income of
INR 50 per day. Four or five people were ready to start
bamboo works, and one of them started the work, but it
failed because of less number of skilled and eligible
entrepreneurs in spite of support from Sampoorna
Bamboo Kendra, an NGO working on Bamboo sub-sector.
The failure was because of many factors. Some Gawali
women chose paneer making and candle making
activities. But after the training they felt that it took a lot of
time. They thought that selling milk was easier. So, they
were not ready to engage in paneer or candle making
though they knew it was remunerative.

Access to financial markets

The villagers were dependent on the money lender who
charged a high interest rate of 5–10% per month. The

192
 The ‘Resettled Livelihoods’ : Rehabilitation and Resettlement of Melghat Tribals

project team tried for financial inclusion of the villagers. Community Empowerment
They helped the SHGs to have credit linkages with banks. An informal Gram Panchayat was formed by officials of
Six SHGs were linked within two years. Households were Panchayat Samiti catering to Bori, Koha and Kund villages
linked through JLGs to Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance (Gat Gram Panchayat) with headquarters at Koha for
Limited (BSFL), a BASIX group company, for credit carrying out development works in the villages. When IGS
linkages. A total of 40 farmers gained access to credit to entered the villages with the proposal, villagers were
the tune of INR 609,000, which included crop and ignorant of the functioning of Gramsabhas and the role of
agricultural investment loans. the selected members.

To avoid risks, the project team enrolled the villagers Since no work was undertaken with the concurrence of
under the Janata Permanent Accidental Insurance Gramsabha, the villagers were not aware of its impor-
scheme, a cattle insurance scheme sponsored by Royal tance prior to project inception. IGS, through its project
Sundaram Alliance Insurance Company. A total of 25 team, tried to strengthen the formal PRI systems by
cattle and 38 individuals are covered under insurance. orienting the elected Gram Panchayat representatives
Eight SHGs availed of the revolving fund to the tune of INR as well as Gramsabha members and conducted training
240,000 to purchase agricultural inputs and started goat and exposure visits. At the same time the project team
rearing. also facilitated conducting regular meetings of the
Gramsabhas for implementation of the project activities.
Twenty two households in Ghatladaki were sanctioned Due to this, attendance in Gramsabhas increased
interest-free housing loans of INR 90,000 each under regularly as also women’s participation. Gramsabha also
Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojna to be repaid over a period of 20 helped them take decisions and encouraged them to talk
years from Bank of India. Now people do not approach in meetings. The impact was also quite interesting. All this
local money lenders. Villagers have gained enough resulted in positive social changes such as increasing the
confidence to go to banks and MFIs for their credit needs. confidence level of the villagers who earlier were hesitant
to interact with outsiders including government officials.

Access to Development Initiatives and Government

Schemes
Except Jawahar Bihir Yojana for construction of wells, no
other schemes existed during those days. The project
team established linkage with the irrigation department for
deepening the incomplete wells by which 10 farmers were
benefited. Similarly, cattle camps were also conducted in
collaboration with the veterinary department. About 10
camps were organized with the help of veterinary doctors
and pharmacists. Along with Panchayat Samiti, a crate
was installed for the treatment of cattle in the village.
Collaboration with agriculure department ensured supply
of bio-inputs like culture and pheromone traps. Through
MGNREGS, the project team supported 55 farmers in
stone picking and land bunding activities in Ghatladaki
village.

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Impacts of Rehabilitation and Resettlement

There were about 22 villages inside the Melghat Tiger
Reserve (MTR). Out of these, three were resettled during
2001–02 and another three in 2009. The resettlement still
continues. More than 5000 families and about 100,000
cattle stayed in the forest. The demand for and control over
the limited available resources adversely affected the
biodiversity.

As a result of the resettlements out of the forest, the areas

are slowly becoming part of the forest. The changes can
be observed in the meadows. The pressure created by
free grazing by cattle, land encroached for agriculture,
Name: Vitthal Khadke Family size: 4 firewood used for cooking, and disturbance due to human
movement in the areas have drastically been reduced.
Age: 36 years Land: 3 acre-irrigated
Village: Bori Livestock: Buffalo-1, Cow-1,
Caste: NT (Gawali) Bullock-2

In April 2010, Vitthal did stone picking and land

bunding work in his non-productive land with support
from the Project. He used to cultivate only cotton in
Kharif season and production was not significant.
Total expenditure on the bunding was INR 16,000,
25% of which was borne by Vitthal and the rest by the
project. In the meanwhile, Vitthal also constructed a
bore well using his own resources since his well was
not functioning because of low water level.

Constraints
Before bunding he used to get less yield and more
labour was required for weeding, harrowing, hoeing,
etc. The plant growth was affected due to stone
barriers. Vitthal also faced hardships while using
manual implements in every stage of cultivation. Due
to these difficulties, he cultivated only cotton and jawar
in his land.
Access to Basic Services
Outcome The resettlement colonies have access to drinking water,
After the stone picking and bunding, soil quality was health, education, electricity, and medical services.
improved and water level increased and he was able People in the relocated villages have access to clinics.
to irrigate his field from his bore well and started Public transport is available to them. Lack of education
cultivating groundnut in half acre as the second crop. facilities was a major constraint in the forest due to
Also the bunding resulted in additional water absence of teachers. Also, the schools had to depend on
conservation and residual moisture for standing crops students from remote areas within the vicinity. In relocated
during dry spells. The advice given by the project staff villages, however, they are able to send their children to
also helped Vitthal in changing his cultivation schools including English medium ones.
practices. This season, the cotton production has
gone up to 24 quintals from 15 quintals from two acres, Learnings
i.e. 62.5% increase over last year’s yield. Similarly, the The relocated villagers need not only civic amenities but
jawar production is 12 quintals in his one acre land also psychological support after they have left their
which was 9 quintals last year, i.e. 33% increase. villages inside the forest.
Apart from this, he has introduced groundnut in the
last Rabi season in half acre of land which resulted in
The process of providing civic amenities by the govern-
additional production of three quintals. Vitthal is now
happy and says “Mera jameen sudhar gaya” (my land ment has been very slow and an NGO can hardly
has improved). influence the process, but can only facilitate it. It has also
been observed that government and civil society are not
sensitive to the problems in the resettled villages. The

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 The ‘Resettled Livelihoods’ : Rehabilitation and Resettlement of Melghat Tribals

tribals still continue to practise traditional activities and are the apex body. The gradual shifting of the families also
not ready to accept new practices like use of artificial creates disparity of benefits and services resulting in
insemination or undertake poultry as an alternate activity. misunderstandings among them. This too disrupts the
The acceptance of change is slow. The conception and work of the apex body. Counseling of individual families at
formation of an apex body should be the first thing that the time of shifting can help them understand the new
should be done and full support should be given to the environment as well as the challenges there. The resettled
resettled households through the apex body. households need a set of services for improving the
livelihood commensurate with demands. Wage creation in
Direct support to some and support through the apex the local area or in the village itself is required in immedi-
body to others may not help establish the importance of ate context.

About the author

Mr Shriram Waghmare is Manager with IGS, based at Akola and he may be reached at
[email protected]

195
196
 Restoring livelihoods,
Reviving a relation
- Sanjib Sarangi and Sareen Kumar Panda

The case is about an experiment and a continuing effort at restoring livelihoods of tribals while
keeping their relationship with nature intact. Augmenting and utilising natural resources in a
sustainable manner so as to aid conservation in a critical wildlife habitat and create a
livelihoods guarantee for the local forest dependent population are sought to be addressed
through this intervention.

When the habitat becomes vulnerable utilisation of forests and forest products unsustainable.
Protected Areas like tiger reserves and national parks are The policy makers and other stakeholders are acutely
facing increasing biotic pressure. Human and cattle aware of the situation; however due to various factors
interference have emerged as a serious issue impeding including remoteness and inaccessibility, most develop-
proper management of national parks. Similipal National ment programmes do not reach the tribal villages in and
Park and Tiger Reserve located in Mayurbhanj district of around the forests. The situation calls for urgent attention
Odisha state is no exception to this phenomenon. and restoration of livelihoods of these poor and marginal-
Increasing population, low and declining productivity of ised tribal people, which would ultimately result in better
land and lack of alternative livelihood options, pushes the conservation of forests. Keeping this in perspective, IGS
people living in and around these designated wildlife conducted a study with the help of CTRAN, a BASIX
habitats to increasingly depend on forests and forestland group company in 33 buffer and fringe villages of Similipal
for fodder, fuel wood, Non Timber Forest Produces Biosphere Reserve to understand the scenario and come
(NTFP), land for cultivation, etc. The increasing depend- up with an appropriate intervention strategy for the 1000
ency is one of the reasons for faster depletion of forest families in the area.
resources thereby rendering livelihoods based on

197
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

From the study, it became evident that communities living edge of forest resources are forced to indulge in non-
in and around the Biosphere and Tiger reserve have sustainable practices to earn a living. Thus the relation-
following general characteristics; ship between humans and nature and the balance got
l Almost 90% of the villagers are Scheduled Tribes, destroyed. Against this socio-economic and environmen-
major being the Santhals accounting for around 40%. tal backdrop, IGS started its livelihood intervention for
Others are Kolha, Ganda, Bhumija and some these tribal families in August 2010. The project is
Mankadia families, a primitive tribal group(PTG). financially supported by RBS Foundation India
l Farming is the basic activity for majority of house-
holds, but the productivity is low. Since there was Restoration of liveihoods, substantial and sustainable
hardly any surplus, market linkage was never a Two NGOs were working in the project villages. PRADAN
requirement. was engaged in building people’s institutions through
l The agricultural landholding ranges between 1 to 2 formation of SHGs and promoting farm based livelihoods
acres. All of them were marginal farmers. and agri-allied activities. SAMBANDH, another NGO, was
l The agricultural land is undulating making irrigation a working on watershed development and organic farming.
difficult proposition. Crops grown are paddy, maize, Considering the magnitude of the problem in terms of its
pulses etc. multiple dimensions and the large geographical area, the
l The landless households engage in agricultural wage interventions were inadequate and left scope for further
labour, in MGNREGS work, and in collecting and intervention.
processing NTFPs.
l The income is not enough to invest in agriculture and Restoration of livelihoods of tribal people is one of the
irrigation which resulted in the vicious cycle of low major prerequisites for the revival of forests. With this
productivity and poverty. Food insecurity is a major background, Indian Grameen Services in association with
concern. RBS Foundation, India devised a conservation focused
l People are dependent on wells, streams, and rivers for livelihood approach through a project in 21 buffer and
drinking water as water from the hand pumps has iron fringe villages of Similipal. The task was to work towards
contents. This has meant vulnerability on the health improving the lives and livelihoods of some 1000 marginal
front as well. and small landholders and landless families with a focus
l Animals are open grazed in nearby forests. It affects on women. Also it is envisaged that the project would
the regeneration capability of the forests. The contribute to reduction in biotic pressure over Similipal
productivity of animals is also very low and suffices Biosphere Reserve as one of its impacts.
only for household consumption.
l In the absence of steady alternatives, firewood is used Intervention Strategy
extensively. Cluster based approach was adopted for the implementa-
l Only 6 % of the villages have medical facilities tion of this livelihood development project in order to have
available inside the village. sustainable change. Based on this approach, the specific
l 23 % of the hand pumps were defunct and 8.1 % were processes followed are:
non functional during summer season. Small streams l Health and drinking water initiatives in the project
or creeks were available in about 48 % of villages of cluster as entry point activities
which 21 % were dry and 54 % were dysfunctional l Promotion and capacity building of SHGs and VDCs
during summer months. l Theme based trainings and exposure for the selected
beneficiaries to implement the livelihood activities,
MGNREGS was not as effective as it should be in creating which include crop based intervention, kitchen
wage employment due to ineffectiveness of the gardening and vegetable production, land and water
Panchayati Raj Institutions. Delayed payment was the development, poultry rearing, bee keeping, plantation,
single biggest dampener. People with abundant knowl- and NTFP aggregation and sale

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 Restoring Livelihoods, Reviving a relation

Identification
l of potential village level resource
Once beyond our dream - now within our reach
persons and their capacity building, following timely
withdrawal process in the last year
Capturing process, progress of system building,
l Ghaniaposhi, is one of the project villages with 38 families.
Safe drinking water was a perennial problem, and a
learning and challenges through proper documen-
burden shouldered by the women. Fetching water used to
tation. take significant amount of time every morning and
evening. The villagers usually got the drinking water (silt
Following diagram depicts the operation and implementa- mixed) from the nearby earthen irrigation dam, since the
tion of the project. water from the only tube well in the village was not potable
due to heavy iron content.
Market/Financial Institutions/ Staff of Indian Grameen Services started community
Technical Institutions/ Line depart organisation program in Ghaniaposhi and sensitized the
ments/NGO CONVERGENCE villagers to boil the water before drinking.
The plight that was life

PROJECT INPUT
VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT
COMMITTEE(VDC)

SHG SHG SHG

HOUSEHOLD HOUSEHOLD HOUSEHOLD HOUSEHOLD

Progress at a glance
The life now
The initiatives are in different stages of implementation as
the project is operational for the last one and a half years. As there was no awareness, non-availability of safe
However, some of the components are yet to be started. drinking water was accepted as something in their fate
Still, the results show an encouraging trend. The progress before the intervention. Following the discussion and
on different fronts are elaborated below. consultation with the villagers, it was decided to dig a new
well nearby the surplus channel of the dam where the
Health initiatives: To address the health and drinking ground water level used to be moderate. IGS gave fund
water issues in the project area, these initiatives were support of INR 10,000 to purchase the well rings,
cements, chips, sands, bricks, pulley and covers. The
taken as entry point activities.
women members of two SHGs functioning in the village
l Safe drinking water: 12 hand pumps were made contributed the labour.
functional through convergence with Panchayat
Samiti; 13 open wells were renovated and four were Now the entire village is thankful for having easy access
newly constructed for providing safe drinking water to to safe drinking water. It was also a demonstration to
people in the project villages. them for initiating and executing solutions jointly.
l Health camps: Six health camps for the villagers have
been organised in collaboration with the nearest govt. “The SHG can function beyond mere saving and lending
money. Now we learnt that through the SHG we could do
health center. 1324 villagers availed the service of many things for development of the village as a whole” –
doctor’s consultation, medicines, blood test and says Mamta Hembram, Secretary Sri Krushna SHG.
treatments.

Institution Building initiatives:

Promotion of SHGs and VDCs: 75 SHGs have been
l
promoted and capacitated, 21 VDCs formed to learn
and lead the execution of the project. Entry point
activities serving their immediate needs made the
collaboration possible.
Capacity Building: 152 trainings were conducted for
l
the capacity building of the community bodies; these
included trainings on concept development and norm
setting, bookkeeping, and group dynamics.

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Improved Agricultural & Allied Practices Since agriculture is the main livelihood activity, the project
Introduced the package of practices (PoP) for SRI
l made substantial investment in this sector, especially in
paddy, poultry, bee keeping, cultivation of tomato, SRI. A comparative analysis of costs and yields in SRI vis-
brinjal, creepers à-vis conventional method from the project area is
42 trainings conducted for various livelihood initiatives
l presented below.
and six exposure visits organised for SRI, bee
keeping, land and water development works Analysis of SRI Paddy on production and cost of
403 SRI farmers, 114 improved maize farmers, 164
l cultivation
farmers for backyard vegetable production were
assisted.
39.83 acres of land treated under land and water
l
development works with 101 households
Backyard poultry and bee keeping initiated with 512
l
and 33 farmers respectively.
66 households organised for NTFP aggregation and
l
bulk sale
80 acres of land demarcated for plantation of horticul-
l
ture, firewood and medicinal plants.

Kandiri Hemram taking care of her chicks

200
 Restoring Livelihoods, Reviving a relation

Last year’s results with 24 SRI farmers shows a reduction

in cost of production by 15% in comparison to conven-
tional paddy, whereas increase in yield recorded was
214% per ha on an average per HH. The financial
profitability comes to around 466% in SRI vs. 53% in
conventional method. Buoyed by the success, 403
farmers adopted SRI in their land of 114 acres in Kharif
2011. The pie chart shows the yield performance of 326
farmers out of 403 farmers practising SRI.

Yield Analysis (Income per Acre of Land) of Vegetable

Intervention:

Collaborations: The project has collaborated with TERI

and NURU energy and established four enterprises with
the selected entrepreneurs for Solar Charging Station in
four villages. NURU Lights units are established in two
villages with a sale volume of 21 lights to the villagers. The
entrepreneurs are trained on the desired skills.

Livelihoods away from forests

Intervention Results
Till now the project team is able to work with 75 SHGs
l
of 927 HHs and 21 VDCs. That includes revival of 61
During this season, total of 164 HHs are practicing SHGs. It ensured timely savings, participation of all
vegetables covering 18.65 acre. 30 HHs completed the members in regular meetings, updated books of
cycle and harvested the vegetables. The yield of the accounts.
production has been analysed based on the current local The intra cluster exposure visits of farmers to the
l
market price. demo fields of 24 farmers encouraged other farmers to
start SRI. The current Kharif recorded 403 HHs
practicing SRI and benefiting from enhanced yield.
With the introduction of new package of practices,
l
people have adopted alternate livelihoods. That
included backyard poultry by 512 HHs, vegetable
cultivation by 164 HHs, improved Maize cultivation by
113 HHs, bee keeping by 33 HHs.
Land and water works like 23 seepage ponds, six dug
l
wells, land levelling of 10 acres benefitted 101 HHs.
Convergence with state agriculture department
l
yielded significant results in terms of providing agri-
inputs and farm implements including 100 weeders,
60 markers,43 sprayers, 4 dug wells, 5 diesel pumps,
24 winders, 23 threshers, 3.6 quintal Sesbania, 2.5
quintal hybrid maize seeds. Under Rastriya Krushi
Vikas Yojana (RKSY) state SRI plan, 350 farmers got
an incentive of INR 600/acre.
Creating Employability: To make the local youth Villagers have accessed these at subsidised prices
l
employable in new and emerging skills, selected youth are and made right use of the schemes.
being provided vocational trainings. 16 youths are now lA sum total of INR 295,000 was mobilised as subsidy
taking training in driving and automobile repairing, and at the village level and INR 120,000 under RKSY. This
mobile repairing trades in two batches. convergence furthered the confidence of the project
team and villagers as well to avail the extension
service of other govt. departments too.

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Learning and Challenges Poultry

l emerged as a remunerative alternate
The project is under implementation and will show livelihood option in the project villages. However,
impacts only after some years. Some of the lessons and marketing of the produce at better prices is still a major
challenges during implementation are presented below. challenge for the project team.
l Entry point activities must address immediate needs Since the villagers' dependency on forest is primarily
l
and show immediate results. It helps build lasting and for the firewoods and also the quantum of extraction is
effetive collaboration between the project team and very significant, plantation for firewood species in the
the villagers. barren lands has been taken up. Horticulture and
l Continuous facilitation and handholding support by medicinal plants plantations are also expected to
the project team changed the people's perception and reduce dependency on forests.
they adopted new practices. It is reflected in 403
farmers opting for SRI.

About the authors

Sanjib Sarangi is working as Manager – Special Projects with IGS based at Bhubaneswar, Odisha and he may
be reached at [email protected]
Sareen Kumar Panda is working as Assistant Manager-Special Projects with IGS based at Jashipur and he
may be reached at [email protected]

202
 Promoting Livelihoods,
Preserving Forests
- Navneet Naik

To reduce the conflicts in the protected forest areas and lessen pressure on natural resources,
it is important to intervene with multi-dimensional strategy. In such context, a mix of institu-
tional development, technical assistance to strengthen the alternative sources of livelihoods
and financial assistance is very important.

The Bandhavgarh National Park is located in the state of seasonal and perennial streams exist, irrigation infra-
Madhya Pradesh and covers a part of Vindhya Mountains structure is not yet developed. Subsistence agriculture
of central India. The Park consists of a core area of 105 sq. does not generate enough income to invest in infrastruc-
km. and a buffer area of approximately 448 sq. km. Its ture. Village communities also face constraints like lack of
topography is characterized by steep ridges, undulating access to multiple markets for better price realization,
forest and swampy meadows. Bandhavgarh National Park absence of financial institutions, and also dysfunctional
is known for the White Bengal Tigers. It has the distinction village level institutions.
of harbouring the highest concentration of tigers per unit
area of forests. There are 14 villages within the park area Bottlenecks like poor quality breed, non-availability of feed
and 70 more in the fringes. Village communities depend & fodder and absence of vet-care services constrain the
on subsistence agriculture, cattle rearing and non-timber development and realisation of potential of cattle rearing
forest produce (NTFP) collection. The average as a major livelihood option. The milk produced is largely
landholding is one to two acres. The agricultural land is for household consumption. The NTFP collections do not
undulating and crops like paddy, maize, jowar, wheat, generate enough surpluses due to restrictions imposed
kodo, kutki, etc. are grown in rain fed conditions. Although by the Park authorities.

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

The landless households accounting for 20% of total

households earn their livelihoods from wage labour,
Mahua(Madhuca latifolia) flower and Tendu patta(beedi
leaves) collection. National Rural Employment Guarantee
Act (NREGA) has failed to provide the envisaged 100
days of work to these families due to weak local gover-
nance in panchayats.

The cumulative result of all these factors is increased

pressure on the National Park resources. Villagers also
face the problem of herbivorous animals (e.g. spotted
deer, wild boar etc.) entering the agricultural field and
damaging crops. Occasionally, they retaliate and kill
animals, at times even tigers, by poisoning them. These
factors have resulted in an atmosphere of tension
between the park authorities and village communities.

Intervention levels. They were trained on accounting at SHG level.

To reduce the dependence of the local community on Further, SHG representatives of four villages came
forest resources and consequent pressure on the together to form a cluster, leading to formation of two
National Park, Royal Bank of Scotland Foundation India clusters encompassing eight project villages. These two
(RBSFI) and Indian Grameen Services (IGS) initiated an clusters were subsequently federated to form a SHG
action research project in forest fringe villages of federation. Its members were imparted training on
Bandhavgarh National Park and Tiger Reserve in 2010. financial documentation, loan process guidelines, loan
The goal of the project was to directly strengthen alterna- appraisal and sanction, etc. Detailed roles and responsi-
tive sources of livelihoods for more than 450 families. bilities of various tiers are given in table 1.
Eight fringe villages of the Park coming under the district
Umaria were chosen as the pilot area. The intervention SHGs were given the responsibility to identify livelihood
adopted a three pronged strategy of institutional develop- opportunities for investment. Once identified, it was
ment, livelihood financing and providing technical forwarded to the respective clusters. Clusters were made
services to promote and strengthen livelihoods. responsible to facilitate the process of livelihood finance.
In addition, they were also entrusted the task of coordinat-
Institutions Development Process ing between SHGs and the federation. Federation would
To extend livelihood finance in project villages, a three tier invite applications, appraise and sanction loans. The
community based institution was formed. Women were federation was provided grant to meet the loan require-
mobilized to form Self-Help Groups (SHGs) at village ments emerging from SHG members.

Table 1: Roles and Responsibilities of Various Tiers

SHGs’ roles Federation’s roles IGS’ major roles

lSHGs’ roles lPolicy making & quality control lProvide need based support strengthening
lEstablishment/ amendment of norms/ bylaws lMonitoring and assuring the of Cluster and Cooperative
lImplementation of norms quality of performance of lEstablish Convergence with district level
lCollection of savings Cluster/Village/SHGs. line departments.
lDisbursement, monitoring and recovery of loans lLiaison with various Govt. lSupport federation to address various social
departments and other issues
lAccess financial assistance from their own
development agencies lImplementation of Livelihood Triad
Federation and on-lend to its members
lTaking up various livelihood Services.
lParticipates in social development and Livelihood
promotional issues lDesign and implementing the CB activities
Finance activities
lMaintain books of account lLiaison between projects implementing
lSupport Federation in implementing various
activities viz., insurance, land and water lTo create and utilize revolving agency.
development, agri, horti and agri-allied activities, fund at optimum level. lReduce dependency on forest and man-wild
marketing, social issues, etc. life conflict through livelihood finance and
promotion

204
 Promoting Livelihoods, Preserving Forest

Livelihood Finance Process

By the time the case was being written, SHGs were doing ised under an institution, they required resource persons
collective savings in regular monthly meetings. As on Dec to facilitate the process and make them part of the
2011, 25 SHGs had saved an amount of INR 126, 350 and development in their village. Provision of credit and
disbursed credit in excess of INR 244,034 by using the emphasis on institutions development spurred the
savings to their members. These SHG level loans have villagers to actively participate in the project activities.
been taken mostly for purchasing food, meeting emer-
gency health care needs, purchasing gas cylinder and Productivity Enhancement Guidance
marriages. A total of 133 households were provided technical
assistance on agriculture and allied activities in the form of
In addition, the Federation had disbursed loans worth INR productivity enhancement guidance. It included vegeta-
0.85 million to 76 households. These loans have been bles, paddy, maize, dairy, fodder cultivation, Nadep1,
extended mostly for productive purposes such as papaya and poultry farming. Vegetables included chillies,
purchasing buffalo, water pumps and accessories, tomato, onion, garlic, coriander, potato, cabbage, etc.
bullocks, provisions for Kirana shops and establishing
flour mills. General purpose loans have been provided to Food grains: For the first time in the region, training on
repay high cost debts. A brief summary of loan disburse- System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method of paddy
ments is presented in table 2. cultivation, a widely accepted method to enhance
productivity while reducing input costs, were given to 75
Initially, women were not very forthcoming to assemble at farmers. About 45 farmers were able to follow the entire
a common place. Though they were willing to get organ- process and they have experienced 100% increase in

Table 2: Summary of loan disbursed to households

Sl. No. Product Primary Purpose of loan No of proposals Amount (in INR)
1 General Purpose To repay past loan to money lenders 8 61,000
2 Agri. Allied Buffalo Purchasing, Poultry 18 167,000
3 Agri. Investment Water Pump and accessories & Bullock 31 256,000
4 Micro Enterprise Development Construction , Kirana and flour mill etc 20 362,000
Total 77 846,000

1
It is a structure to produce organic compost fertilizers. When it is created inside the land, it is called Bhoo Nadep

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

yield in comparison to the traditional method. Nadep and 5 Bhoo Nadep units established in the project
Convergence with state agriculture department meant villages. Apart from being environment friendly, this has
that the farmers were provided cono-weeder, markers and reduced dependence on inorganic fertilisers.
Tricoderma (fungicide), important inputs required for SRI,
at a subsidised rate. Poultry Farming: In the project areas, landless families
generally belong to Gond and Baiga tribes. Backyard
Under maize cultivation, 64 households have been poultry is being promoted as a livelihood option for these
imparted training in row and line method of sowing, a sections of people.
practice now widely recognised for productivity enhance-
ment. All households have used early variety certified Results
seeds from research agencies. Small but encouraging developments in a short period of
time since the beginning of the project indicate that the
Fruit Plantation and Vegetable Cultivation: Taiwan- intervention has the potential to bring in long term
Papaya, a high yielding variety, along with its scientific changes in the livelihoods pattern of forest dependent
method of cultivation was introduced in the region with 13 population of Bandhavgarh. Some of them are:
households. A total of 281 trees were planted. l Members of four households got freed from bonded
labour after repaying the old high cost debt.
Improved varieties of vegetables like chillies, tomato, l Households have now access to cheaper finance
onion, garlic, coriander, potato, cabbage etc. were against an interest rate of 5% per month with collateral
introduced. During last Rabi season, 16 households in pre-intervention period. Loans through SHG
harvested 3,252 kgs of vegetables in 37.25 decimal2 of savings bear an interest rate of 2% per month, and
land. It was largely used for self consumption. The through SHG federation is available at 8%-12% per
produce from 0.25 decimal of land fetched a net profit of annum
INR 1,698 when sold in the market. l Repayment rate of federation loan has been 100% till
date.
Fodder Cultivation: Fodder cultivation was promoted l During the last kharif season, 45 households har-
with introduction of barseem and Rachka variety with 15 vested approx. 575 quintal of paddy in 20 acres of land.
households, so that milk production level of their cattle
could be maintained even in summer season. Although, it is early to draw any conclusion, importance of
strengthening alternative livelihoods cannot be under-
Nadep/ Bhoo Nadep: The households have harvested stated to achieve conservation of forests.
more than 52.5 tons of compost (organic fertilizer) from 25

2
100 decimal of land is equal to 1 acre

About the author

Navneet Naik is working as Manager with IGS, based at Jabalpur, MP and he may be reached at
[email protected]

206
 Birds and People:
The Mangal(a)jodi
- Sanjib Sarangi

Now-a-days, the erstwhile poachers of Mangalajodi 1 village actively patrol and protect birds in
its marshes. Born in the lap of nature, they monitor the bird population, co-ordinate with the
forest department, assist in research and take tourists around on birding trips. Protection has
saved not only birds, but also benefited its rich biodiversity, including among others, fishes,
snakes, monitor lizards and the rare fishing cats. Mangalajodi now hosts more than 300,000
birds in the peak season of November- December. It has been designated as an ‘Important Bird
Area’ by Birdlife International for its importance as a significant global waterfowl habitat.

Mangalajodi is a small picturesque village on north- Dwindling bird population stimulated various agencies to
western fringe of Chilika Lake in Odisha, known for its initiate a concerted effort to reverse the situation. It
marshes and water fowl congregations. Normally, the lake focussed on making people involved and sensitive
hosts over 200 species of birds during the peak season, of towards the importance of Mangalajodi wetland2 and
which around 115 are migratory. Till ten years back, converting them to conservators.
Mangalajodi was often associated with poaching of birds.
A census in year 2000 counted a mere 5,000 birds in the Around a decade ago, Wild Odisha3 organised the
region. ‘converted conservators’ to form an informal committee
named Sri Sri Mahavir Pakhi Surakhya Samiti to protect
1
Mangalajodi falls under Khurda district in the state of Odisha. Nearest railway stations to reach this village are Khurda Road, and Balugaon which are 50 and 35 km
away respectively.
2
Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas.
3
Wild Odisha, a local NGO engaged in conservation initiatives

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

the wetland and birds. Later on, it also focussed on The Process
promoting and managing responsible tourism. However, The conflicts within the community due to formation of
due to formation of various interest groups and weak various sub-interest groups and weak leadership had
leadership, conflicts emerged. Ultimately, it led to its created an atmosphere of pessimism in the village. The
division and the larger break-away group created a new newly developed committee, although starting from a
committee along with other like-minded people of the point of hope, was finding itself in chaos. Under the
village. The developments affected the institutional intervention, IGS supported the new committee towards
functioning and growth potential of tourism at larger institutional restructuring. The community
Mangalajodi, and the sustainability of conservation efforts members, who were sensitive towards environment and
looked doubtful. engaged in conservation and also had interest in earning
livelihoods out of tourism activities, were organized and a
The Intervention trust named “Mangalajodi Ecotourism Trust” was
Primary occupations of the local community, who are registered.
mainly fishermen, are catching fishes from Chilika and
small-scale agriculture (when water recedes in the
wetland). Some villagers are also engaged in non-farm
The strategy was to develop Eco-tourism so that
activities like boat making, fish-net making etc. Fish nets
an alternative source of livelihood may emerge for
were also used for bird poaching in 1990s. As livelihoods
the inhabitants, which would also be dependent
of the villagers depend on nature, their earnings have
exclusively on birds' conservation.
strong seasonality and they struggle during lean periods.
Natural events like rain, cyclone etc. affects their fish catch
from the Chilika lagoon. The gheris made by prawn mafias
have also affected the production based on traditional Intervention Strategy
methods of fishing. Trustees were involved from inception to ensure their
ownership and capacity enhancement. To start with, the
implementation team took a lot of pain in resolving the
internal conflicts. The team enabled the members to have
a common vision to move ahead. A series of 25 board
meetings were held to achieve this.

On the basis of feedback collected from visitors, it was

realised that a few areas requiring immediate attention
were capacity of service providers, bundle of services and
extent of marketing. Service providers were not trained,
either on hospitality services or conservation. In terms of
infrastructure, the trust had a small cabin as an office for
trust members and two boats only.

Because of its extensive experience in working with Accordingly, a three-fold intervention strategy was
the community to develop a commercially sustainable adopted for the project. These were capacity building,
model, Royal Bank of Scotland Foundation, India (RBSFI) input support and marketing support to Mangalajodi
invited Indian Grameen Services (IGS) to strengthen the Ecotourism Trust. Also, intervention was required to be
new committee to facilitate ecotourism initiatives at structured in a manner where future scaling up is possible
Managalajodi in order to develop it as a sustainable without compromising the local ecosystem. To ensure this,
earning source for the community. Also, conservation IGS decided to start working with a small number of
efforts were considered an integral part of the households which were either being in conservation team
intervention. or service teams of the Trust. To start with, 50 households
were involved.

Ecotourism is defined as, “an enterprise with Capacity Building

potential positive contributions to the conservation The operational design of the intervention was developed
of endangered biological resources. Contributions so that the entire basket of services could be offered to
of ecotourism include raising local awareness visitors in a smooth manner and a systematic effort at
about the value of biological resources, increasing conservation is undertaken. To ensure this, the trust was
local participation in the benefits of biodiversity engaged in two tasks, conservation and tourism
conservation (through new sources of jobs and management. Various teams were created based on the
incomes), and generating revenues toward skills and interests of the members. These were
conservation of biologically rich areas”. Conservation team, Eco-guides, Boatmen, Catering team
and Hospitality team.

208
 Birds and People: The Mangal(a)jodi

Anand Behera-a member of the conservation team-rescuing

an injured Black-tailed Godwit during patrolling or Barkul for lodging and boarding. Hence the location
used to fetch a very limited piece of tourists’ itinerary. The
To strengthen the conservation efforts, around 2,900 services of ex-informal committee were limited to
acres of wetlands in the protected area was divided into providing boating and guiding only. To start with,
six zones and a team of 13 protectors were divided into Mangalajodi Ecotourism Trust also provided same
equal number of teams. They patrol their respective areas services.
regularly in close coordination with ground-level state
forest department staffs and report to the trust daily on To enable the trust to provide the complete range of
conservation status which includes updates on poaching, services viz. accommodation, information dissemination,
spotting of birds etc. boating, guiding, food and hospitality, IGS provided
financial support to the trust to acquire a private plot on
Before IGS intervention, the new committee was also
striving to provide clean energy options to villagers with
the support of ‘The Energy and Resources Institute’
(TERI). It aimed to promote the use of solar lanterns. TERI
had installed a Solar Charging Station (SCS) in
Mangalajodi under the ‘Lighting a Billion Lives’ (LaBL)
campaign. Its main purpose is to provide clean energy
options to households who use kerosene and other non-
renewable energy sources. However, the effort required
strengthening to make it widely acceptable and effective.
After IGS intervention, this activity was also included
within the larger conservation efforts. The trust employed
an entrepreneur to manage the SCS. Solar lanterns were
available to villagers on pay-for-use basis. IGS facilitated
capacity building of the entrepreneur, process streamlin- lease and develop infrastructure. It includes two bamboo
ing, data management, marketing of the option to cottages, three tents, one dormitory, one kitchen, one
increase its usage. dining hall and additional four boats for birding.
Accessories like binoculars (to facilitate bird watching),
Towards capacity enhancement, IGS extended support uniforms (to create a dress code for various services
through meetings, trainings, orientation and handholding teams for better recognition) were also provided.
support on regular basis to trust members as well as
various service teams viz. boatman, eco-guides, catering Also, the Trust set up an office with computers and internet
team, hospitality team and conservation team. It included connection to facilitate on-line bookings for visitors, record
team-specific trainings on institution development and keeping and maintenance and to act as a point of access
governance, accounting and fund management, vision for general information.
creation and reinforcement, guiding, catering and
hospitality management, spotting of birds, interpersonal Marketing support
relationship with visitors, etc. The purpose of these To promote ecotourism at Mangalajodi on a wider scale
trainings was to enhance the capacity of the trust in and to increase the inflow of visitors, the project team put a
managing tourism effectively. lot of efforts on marketing. It participated in various events,
established linkages with tour operators, met corporate
Input support clients and presented the destination to them. The
Visitors to Mangalajodi used to go back to Bhubaneswar marketing efforts comprised of:

209
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Developing a website
l
(visit us at www.mangalajodiecotourism.com)
Developing brochures
l The creation of separate service departments and
Promotional merchandise like T-Shirts and Caps
l delegation of responsibilities among trustees led to their
Advertisements in popular travel magazines like
l active involvement and ownership in managing tourism.
Bhraman, Chalo Jai and Paryatan Bharat Also, the division of conservation area into zones along
Publishing articles in various newspapers and
l with assigned teams has resulted in effective protection of
magazines under special tourism segments the wetland while minimising incidences of poaching.
Engaging and assisting a widely telecasted local TV
l
channel in preparation of a documentary film Most importantly, participation of general villagers has
Participating in major events with stalls (e.g. in
l increased progressively witnessing the steady growth in
Karmayoga Seva Mela, Hyderabad; Kalinga Book activities of the trust. Consequently, it has created a
Fair, Bhubaneswar; CII Trade Fair on “Business for healthy atmosphere in the village wherein a general belief
Livelihoods”, Bhubaneswar; International Sand Art has taken hold that everyone may have their fair share in
Festival at Chandrabhaga, Konark) increasing economic development. The progress has also
Collaborating with multiple tour operators in important
l led to an increase in the confidence level of the trust
cities like Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, and Puri. A few tour members.
operators with whom we are associated are
Wonderbogel, Continental, Milestone, Heritage Tours, The infrastructure was created out of grant funds and it
etc. was aimed that the trust should meet operating costs from
Sustained campaigning through social networking
l the first season itself and should break-even in next
sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc. season. Three months are still left in the season; the
Creating a special team entrusted with the task of
l operations had a surplus of INR 56,266 (as on Jan 31,
networking through e-mails and phone calls 2012), more than a two-fold increase over the last year's
figures. Given the nascent stage of intervention, the
Initial Signs operational profitability indicates the vast potential of the
The marketing strategy and capacity building efforts has intervention in developing ecotourism as a sustainable
led to increased inflow of domestic and foreign visitors to livelihood source.
Mangalajodi. Total inflow of visitors in the first year of
intervention itself (till 31st Jan 2012) was 608 with three Various stakeholders have contributed to the success of
months still left in the season. eco tourism initiatives in Mangalajodi. The stakeholders
and their roles have been presented in table 1. The
collaboration framework and conscious efforts at
“It was a fruitful visit, and it was great to meet the ensuring participation of all stakeholders were necessary
community members who (are) doing conservation to ensure rapid development and long term success of
and ecotourism in the true sense of the term”. ecotourism interventions in small places like Mangalajodi.
Conservation has been aided and livelihoods flourished in
- Debi Goenka, Conservation Action Trust, Mumbai a village of limited opportunities.
(During his visit to Mangalajodi on 4th July 2011)

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 Birds and People: The Mangal(a)jodi

Table 1: Stakeholders and their roles

Stakeholders Agency in Present Intervention Roles
The community Institutions Mangalajodi Ecotourism Trust Managing tourism at the destination and preserving nature
The Funding Partners RBS Foundation Extending necessary financial support to the project implementation
Forest Department Tangi range office To ensure community conservation efforts are in close association with
local forest officials engaged in patrolling and protection of the wetland
Local representative body Chilika Development Authority Giving support for the overall development of the wetlands and
advocacy support
State Tourism Department Odisha Tourism Department Promotion of the destination
Nature Tour Operators Sending tourists to the location and promotions
Media Print and electronic media, advertising Publicity of the destination and concept
Individual and Institutional clients agencies, travel magazines Supporting eco-tourisms and conservation efforts by revenue support
and word-of-mouth publicity

To ensure sustainable conservation efforts of the wetlands, livelihoods intervention through eco-tourism acts as a
perfect mix. Now, Mangalajodi has been able to present itself as a high potential tourism destination. It gives
travellers an opportunity to feel close to nature and to experience a harmonious coexistence with it.
“A wonderful and very exciting experience! It has become the first choice of travelers like me.”
- Ronney Griens, Holland, 29th Nov, 2011

Recently conducted
bird census during
7-8th Jan-2012
registered 8,83,060
birds in Chilika lake
which are 10% more
than the previous year.
A total of 167 species,
including 114 migratory
birds came this year.

Further readings
l CProject Website: http://www.mangalajodiecotourism.com
l Facebook Group on Mangalajodi Ecotourism:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=214382651538&ref=ts
l Birdlife International: http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sites/index.html?action=SitHTMDetails.asp&sid=18336&m=0
l Mangalajodi Ecotourism Project received runner-up award at TOFT Wildlife Tourism Award 2010:
http://www.toftigers.org/TOFT-AWARDS2010-Winners.aspx

About the author

Sanjib Sarangi is working as Manager – Special Projects with IGS based at Bhubaneswar, Odisha and he
may be reached at [email protected]

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Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting
Sustainable Livelihoods: Learning from the Field

Concept Development
Vijay Mahajan and Mihir Sahana

Advisory Committee
Mihir Sahana
SS Tabrez Nasar
Sachin Mardikar
Kaushiki Rao

Writeshop Coordinator
Dr. SS Tabrez Nasar

213
Participants
Anupam Sharma Hiren Kalita
Consultant, Ajagar Social Circle Secretary, Ajagar Social Circle
Post Agia -783120, Assam. Post Agia -783120, Assam.
+91-99579-41576 +91- 94357-25238
[email protected] [email protected]

Banamali Dash Hyma B

Programme Co-ordinator HRD, NIPDIT Chief Operating Officer, Bhartiya Samruddhi
College Road, Phulbani Investments & Consulting Services (BASICS Ltd.)
Dist Kandhamal, Orissa. 365, 5th Main, 14th Cross, Upper Palace Orchards
+91- 9437192379 Sadashivanagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka.
[email protected] +91-80-2361 0700
+91-80-4132 0720
Dharmendra Sriwastwa*
State Head, IGS Jitendra Kumar Jaiswal
+91- 98353-25211 Manager, IGS, Munger
[email protected] +91- 9431580693
[email protected]
Gitanjali Satapathy
Secretary, Kalighat Society For K.Vasumathi
Development Facilitation Associate Vice President, BKSL
57/A, Gurupada Aldar Road 3rd Floor, Surabhi Arcade,Troop Bazar,
Kali Ghat, Kolkata -26. West Bengal. Bank Street Koti,Hyderabad,Andhra Pradesh.
+91- 93312 56225 +91- 93472 72609
[email protected] [email protected]

Golden Shashi Captain Kumaresh Rout

Project Co-ordinator, Support Manager- LAMP Fund, IGS
Support, DVC Colony, Near Hanuman Decr, Plot – CE/103, Sector-1, Saltlake, Kolkata
Hazaribag, Jharkhand. +91- 98310 88007
+91-6546-266742 [email protected]
+91-943118 5632
[email protected] Mahesh Panpalia
Chief Executive, Dhara Sansthan
Hareshwar Prasad Singh +91-94142 71028
State Head, BASIX Sub-K iTransactions Limited [email protected]
(SUB-K)
Muzaffarpur Mihir Sahana*
+91- 93087-42699 Managing Director,IGS
[email protected] +91-97714 93321
[email protected]
Hemanth Kumar Valveker
Group Vice President, IGS Navneet Naik
Ratnakar Bank Ltd., Mahavir Manager, IGS
Shri Sahu Market Yard BASIX,Sharma Bhavan
Kolhapur, Maharashtra House No. 134, Mahadeo Totla Nagar
+91-944123898 Near Bengali Square, Indore.
+91-231-265 0981 +91- 98269 03174
[email protected] [email protected]

* Indian Grameen Services (IGS); CH-5, Rd.No.25, Sri Krishna Nagar, Patna, Bihar.

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Participants
Prabhas Akhoury Rajiv Ranjan
Manager, IGS Programme Manager, Dhara Sansthan
Ranchi, Jharkhand. H.No.245 Dharasan Sthan, Rai Colony
+91-93341 58718 Sri Krishna Nagar, Barmer -344001. Rajsthan
[email protected] +91-75680 81210
[email protected]
Sangeeta Naik*
Assistant Manager,IGS Ranjit Kumar Datta
+91-73523-24086 Executive Director, Barasat Unnayan Prostuti
+91-612-252 1028 Basundhara, PO-Noapara, Barasat
[email protected] Kolkata, West Bengal
+91- 33-2542 1334
Sanjib Sarangi +91-94338-09012
Manager, IGS [email protected]
Plot no.102, Bapuji Nagar
Bhubaneswar. SS Tabrez Nasar
+91-88952-95288 Vice Dean, The Livelihood School (TLS)
[email protected] 2nd Floor (Aurora's Business School)
6-3-456/18 & 19, Dwarakapuri Colony (Beside NIMS)
Sanjay Kumar Panjagutta; Hyderabad-500082.
Manager, IGS + 91 40 2335 0531 (O); +91-96407 68777 (M)
Sharma Bhavan, House No.134 [email protected]
Mahadeo Totla Nagar,
Near Bengali Square, Indore. Tapas Kumar Pati
+91-96856 26137 Associate Vice President
[email protected] Bhartiya Krishi Samruddhi Ltd. (BKSL)
Flat No.102, Bapuji Nagar
Shriram Waghmare Bhubaneshwar, Odisha.
Manager, IGS +91-94373 94999
19, Ramjidas Nagar, Gorakshan Road [email protected]
Opp. Puja complex, Akola, Maharashtra.
+91-88888-82781 Vandana Kumari
[email protected] Assistant Manager, IGS
Sharma Bhavan, House No.134
Susanta Kumar Sahu Mahadeo Totla Nagar, Near Bengali Square
Assistant Manager-LAMP Fund Indore, Madhya Pradesh
Sambalpur +91- 73890-35117
+91- 94381 85754 [email protected]
[email protected]

Sushanta Padhy
Project Co-ordinator, Harsha Trust
Koraput,Odisha
+91-94374 00114
[email protected]

* Indian Grameen Services (IGS); CH-5, Rd.No.25, Sri Krishna Nagar, Patna, Bihar.

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Editors Artist
Barna Baibhaba Panda Neerad
Senior Faculty Associate, The Livelihood School Saket Vihar, Anishabad,Patna, Bihar.
2nd Floor (Aurora's Business School) +91- 92348-77975
6-3-456/18&19, Dwarakapuri Colony (Beside NIMS) [email protected]
Panjagutta, Hyderabad-500082.
+ 91 40 2335 0531 Dekstop Publishing
[email protected]
Nageswara Rao K
Kaushiki Rao 7-71/45, Maheswari Nagar
No-4,LF6-28 Rd.,Bandra-West Street No.8, Habsiguda
Mumbai, Maharashtra. Hyderabad - 500 007.
+91- 91676-62375 +91 98666 66606
[email protected] [email protected]

Neeraj Lal
New A.G.Colony, House No. B-18,
Sagudna Mode, Khagaul Road (W)
Danapur, District - Patna, Bihar.
+91-96407 68777
[email protected]
Administrative Support
P.K. Jayanthan
B-703, Sagar Apartments Garima Anand
C-58/15, Sector 62, NOIDA 201307. Hempriya Kumari
Uttar Pradesh. Kunal Ranjan
+91- 98104-53289 Sangeeta Naik
[email protected]

Sachin Mardikar
Flat No.701-02, Building-A4 Velentine Apartments,
Near Wagheshwari Temple Logistics Support
Water Tank Road, Malad (East)
Mumbai, Maharashtra.
+91- 88793-31123
Hempriya Kumari
[email protected]
Pankaj Kumar
Sunil Kumar Sinha
Somnath Ghosh
Tapan Kumbhkar
548, Netaji Colony, Baranagare, Kolkata.
West Bengal
+91- 98747 75825
[email protected]

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Post-production Coordinators
Mihir Sahana and SS Tabrez Nasar

Reviewers
Vijay Mahajan
NV Ramana
Dr. Sankar Datta
Arijit Dutta
Sachin Mardikar
Mihir Sahana
Tabrez Nasar
Hemanth Kumar Valveker

Cover Design
Nageswara Rao K

217
Correct citation
Indian Grameen Services @ 25 – Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods:
Learning from the Field – Indian Grameen Services and The Livelihood School: 2012 (325 p.).

218