Sustainable Rural livelihood security in backward districts of Maharashtra

1. Sustainable Rural livelihood security in backward districts of Maharashtra Bharat Kakade, CPI & Sr. Vice President, BAIF

2. Subproject details • Target Districts: Gadchiroli, Chandrapur, Yeotmal, Ahmednagar and Nandurbar • Budget: Rs. 2275.12 Lakh • Date of start: July 1, 2007 • Date of Completion: June 30, 2014 • Major Objective: To develop a replicable and holistic approach for promoting sustainable livelihood in tribal and remote regions of Maharashtra through integration and blend of tested technologies and strategies of household-focused and area-based programmes.

3. Baseline values (sample size 2500 families) Literacy level: Male 66% Females 55% 57% household - annual income below Rs. 20,000/-

5. Subproject coverage

6. Approach and major interventions • Agriculture and Horticulture based livelihood • Introduction of improved seed varieties and improved package of practices • Wadi or tree based farming as a farming system approach demonstrated where farmer plant fruit trees along with seasonal crops. • Water resource development was linked with these interventions. Integrated cluster development approach: encompassing improved agriculture, Wadi (Tree based farming), livestock development and water resource development.

7. Outputs: Agriculture based livelihood

8. Livestock development – cattle and goats Cattle development: provision of breed improvement and preventive health services through TTCs along with fodder demonstrations and capacity building of farmers for improved livestock rearing Bulk-Milk Cooler, a part of milk-value chain

9. Livestock development – cattle and goats Goat Development • Provision of quality breeding buck and goats • Preventive health services and monitoring • Goat Bank Approach

10. Forest based livelihood – tasar sericulture • Utilization of forest potential and conservation of trees • Tasar intervention includes activties from rearing of worms to reeling of thread at local level • Fabric marketed through BAIF

11. Innovative intervention – Value chain on linseed • Introduction of improved seed Varieties of Linseed • Seed Production • Productivity Enhancement • Omega 3 Oil Extraction • Development of Omega 3 Products • Marketing of Products – Cross cutting with component 2 subproject

12. COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENTAND SUSTAINABILITY • Planning with participants • Technical capacity building and formation and strengthening of people’s institutions • Strategy of tapering support • Community resource centers work for training, demonstrations and technology transfer managed through local committees • The facilities such as Urea DAP briquetting machines, feed mix units, bulk milk coolers and shed nets are managed through these centers.

13. COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENTAND SUSTAINABILITY • Technical capacity building and drudgery reduction was the strategy adopted for effective integration of women in the process;. • Women’s participation ensured in all the people’s institutions. • Sustainability fund of about Rs One Crore established through people’s contribution • Fund Management Committee for post project management

14. impact Findings of Impact assessment of 10% participants

15. Sustainability Approach – Scope beyond Project • TTC • 10-20villages • 5000 farmers • Activities • Quality input supply for agriculture • breed improvement and livestock management services • Custom Hiring facility • Seed and Seedling production • Collective marketing of produce • Convergence of different schemes

16. Important dimensions of project management • Central team of BAIF led by CPI closely worked with partner institutes and field functionaries • CIC meetings helpful in planning and discussing operational modalities • A focused group including CPI created for to plan, review and follow up the project on monthly basis; helped project to expedite the matters very efficiently and timely. • CMU: developed overall M & E framework of the project and periodic monitoring

17. Important dimensions of project management • Field level functionaries in addition to RAs and SRFs; project operations facilitated by the scientists, implemented by the field functionaries • Field functionaries stationed at project locations; system of quarterly workshops for review and planning • Effective communication material in local language • Sustainability strategy • Management Information System: matrix of participants for recording inputs; helpful in tracking the extent of inputs, helpful in limiting support as decided

18. learnings • In-built flexibility in the project design – space for timely revisions of project activities and need-based packaging of technologies. • The project design was made more intensive and inclusive rather than in the form of scattered demonstrations. • The integrated approach of development: instrumental in addressing livelihood needs with agriculture, livestock, water and hence achieving higher results for the participant families. • Value chain based approach provided end to end solution to the issues • Consortium mode brought in synergy of expertise of SAUs, ICAR institutes and NGOs. However the performance was person specific rather than involvement of the institutions, especially in case of SAUs.

19. learnings • Multi – disciplinary Team: technical teams were backed up by the social scientists which achieved people’s involvement in project activities. • Annual review workshops organized by NAIP helped all the consortia learn from each other. • Accounting and Finance: The World Bank guidelines not only build the capacity of project team but also helped improve the organizational capacity. Instrumental in keeping project control. The external audits improved the project accounting over the years. The success of this integrated approach of development has shown that the approach can be replicated in the other distressed areas with similar setting.

20. Recommendations • Field Functionaries: important link for project implementation, necessary for effective delivery of the project activities • Practical finance and accounting systems required for livelihood projects especially for the remote areas. • Guidelines and systems required for the project activities executed by the farmers themselves. • Intensive M&E through central PIU level across all the sub-projects would help improve the results. The CPIs to be involved in cross-monitoring - would help through cross-learning.

21. Recommendations • Timely fund releases by NAIP and better coordination and communication of NAIP-finance • Such projects give scope to SAUs for better interface with farmers and hence a learning opportunity • NGOs like BAIF certainly have capacity to contribute for national programmes on livelihood, develop innovative approaches - should be involved by ICAR for implementation and applied research in the national projects.

22. Awards and appreciation • Times of India – Social Impact Award to BAIF, New Delhi, October 2011 • Appreciation Certificate to BAIF led consortium for contribution to rural livelihood - November 2012 • Dr. Narayan Lambat; progressive linseed farmer honored by ‘Krishibhushan’ award of Maharashtra government BVU received Gold medal of DST-Lockheed Martin at India Innovation Growth Programme for the innovation ‘Omega-3 EGG’ - May 2013