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1. RRA GP LEVEL COMPREHENSIVE PILOT Kunigal Taluk, Karnataka idf Initiatives for Development FoundationBengaluru

2. Background, Context and Design • Project Area: Kunigal Taluk, Tumkur district Karnataka. Falls under Southern Dry Zone, major area under rain fed conditions • Normal annual rainfall is 680 mm • Roughly 22% of the area is under irrigation • CP Location: Two GPs-Madakehalli (Latitude 13.05, Longitude 76.99) and Chowdanakuppe (Latitude 12.85, Longitude 77.03). The total population together-14880 with 3096 families. 33 habitations under 19 revenue villages

3. Systemic gaps • Promotion of sustainable practices (biomass and manure application) absent • Lack of focus on drought proofing and climate change adaptations • Seed supply systems concentrate on major crops, not on diversity • Dairy federation promoting cross breeds and lack of bank lending credit to indigenous animals • Breeding program focusing on cross breeds • Lack of promotional activities on recharging ground water • Low outreach by banks, legal hurdles like titles for accessing credit Background, Context and Design Situation Degradation of productivity due to indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers for the last two decades; Low organic matter content, low moisture holding capacity of soils Unpredictable rainfall and intermittent drought Eroding diversity and inclination towards mono-cropping Dwindling livestock due to capital constraint Low productivity of indigenous cattle Water bodies are seasonal, drying up of bore wells and open wells – recent phenomenon Large proportion of the farming community financially excluded (up to 87%)

4. Strategies and Approach Capacity building and awareness creation Partnership building with mainstream agencies Sensitization of stakeholders CBO platform as voice of change Experience as base for up scaling at taluk level

6. Institutions • CBOs • Line departments-DoAH, DoA, GPs, MNREGA, KSSC, DoH, KVK • Public sector banks-mainly SBI Nodes • Soil • Seeds • Cropping systems • Livestock • Fisheries • Institutions Progress Programme Capacity building trainings FFS, awareness through campaigns Animal health camps Adoptions of sustainable practices Financial inclusion

7. Undertaken • FFS, node specific trainings, campaigns involving line departments like GP, MNREGA and DoA • Taken up with KSSC on finger millet on 11 acres • Established at GP level • Minor millets identified and seeds gathered for 386 acres • 88 acres under these practices • Over 67,000 animals covered in partnership with DoAH (80% small ruminants) • 2.65 Cr linked to 54 groups with SBI Key Activities Planned Intensive capacity building on soil and land productivity such as composting, application of manures Seed production program on finger millet, minor millets and pulses Seed bank establishment Multi-cropping with minor millets Promotion of SRI and Guli in finger millet Health care services to small ruminants Credit linkage through JLGs and SHGs

10. SBI Kiosk Banking

11. Key Activities Reason • Farmers having water resources are not prepared to share it Planned and Not taken-up Protective irrigation through collectivization and sharing

12. Delivered • Data base collected, to be consolidated • Challenges identified, analyzed based FGDs, experiences and interactions • To be fine-tuned, one internal review meet completed • Could achieve with DoAH, KSSC. Partnership building with DoA to some extent, GP and MNREGA. Credit was accessed from SBI • Proposal yet to be developed • Interface with RRA nodes in progress Deliverables and Outputs Planned Data base on NRM and rain fed systems Analysis of challenges in rain fed farming, interface with mainstream agencies and alternatives to address them Interventions and strategies at taluk level Accessing mainstream programs Detailed RRA-CP proposal for Kunigaltaluk Fine-tuned interface with RRA nodes

13. Assumptions for mitigation • Normal monsoon prevails • Political stability after the state elections • More responsive/sensitive administrative machinery • Robust support system • Stable business models Key Risks and Assumptions Risks Climate risks-continued drought or semi-drought situation Policies of the state government as new dispensation is likely to take over Administrative reshuffle once the new government takes over Institutional risks Bankers’ risk of non-alignment

14. Institutional Arrangement and Support Systems 1. From the Project Expenditure for activities and human resources 2. From the Organization Human resources for facilitation, community mobilization, partnership building, capacity building 3. From RRAN/Secretariat Vision building, guidance for proposal development, strategies for intervention 4. From Thematic Nodes Field assessment, planning and fine-tuning of activities 5. Contribution from CP to RRA Networking Introduced to KFRC-an SLBC initiative at Bagalkot, Dr. Prakash Bhat-an eminent thinker in rural development, Line departments of state as part of CP, represented RRAN in forums like KFRC governance board, Chief Secretariat of GoK, NABARD and Banking sector

15. Analysis and Reflections Addressing issues in RF agriculture Focus was on FI and SA in IDF program in Kunigal while CP could help reorient itself to focus on rain fed conditions. Small ruminants, poultry and fisheries were untouched but we could take steps in this direction. Credit access to rain fed farmers is a new beginning due to focus on rain fed conditions 2. Layer, Scale and Convergence Concept of layering has crept in but concrete layering has to happen. Scale of outreach was significant but adoption scale is yet to reach critical mass. Convergence was encouraging in service sector like credit, animal health care in cattle and inputs like seed.

16. Analysis and Reflections 3. Extent of establishment and confidence over programmatic FW of RRA It is evolving but dichotomy still exists. Convinced about concepts and framework but struggling to understand the ways out to operationalize 4. Extent of establishment and confidence over institutional FW Clarity of concepts and ideas 5. Institutional arrangements by RRAN Good support through nodes and secretariat, technically. Contextual approaches would be of value from nodes

17. Analysis and Reflections 6. Key takeaways Community voice more effective to engage the mainstream agencies at grass roots and local level More vocal voices of development leaders critical to engage policy makers at higher level of governance Programmatic changes in mainstream agencies is very slow process due to significant gaps in developmental thinking Programmatic FW of mainstream agencies is top-down. Disconnect between ground realities and program planning Outreach by mainstream agencies is low, more of demonstration approach

18. Way Forward Proposal Development and Next Phase First draft prepared but needs extensive fine-tuning based on the experience of first phase Decision on continuing based on thorough discussion between RRAN and IDF team Critical feedback on CP to decide on way forward Exposure to other CPs would be useful to revise strategies and programs

19. What keeps us focussed? Remember that dark brown starved man, bending under the scorching sun, scratching a little plot of land to eke out a living, any thing you do, do for his benefit - Mahatma Gandhi