Project Completion Report

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT

MAHILA KISAN SASHAKTIKARAN PARIYOJANA (MKSP)-POTTANGI & SEMILIGUDA

Submitted to Mission Director State Rural Livelihoods Mission, (SRLM) Govt. of Odisha

Submitted by Project Implementing Agency (PIA) Life Academy of Vocational Studies 17AV Complex, Gadakana, P.O: Mancheswar Railway Colony Bhubaneswar-751017, Odisha

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

Contents

Sl. Subject Page No No Abbreviations 4

Acknowledgement 5

Executive Summary 6-10 11-13 1 Introduction

2 Project Description

2.1 Project Context & Perspective

2.2 Project Goal, Objectives & Components 14-20

2.3 Implementation Strategies

2.4 Target Group

3 Project Rationale & Design

3.1 Project Responsiveness 21-22

3.2 Approach & Thrust

4 Project Effectiveness

4.1 Appraisal Target

4.2 Project Outcomes & Impacts 23-30

4.3 Targeting & Outreach

4.4 Innovation, Replication & Scaling up

5 Project Efficacy & Economy

5.1 Project Cost 31-33

5.2 Project Management

6 Project Sustainability 34-35 6.1 Institutional Sustainability

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

6.2 Social Sustainability

6.3 Technical & Economic Sustainability

6.4 Environmental Sustainability

6.5 Exit Strategy

7 Lessons Learnt, Conclusion & Recommendations

7.1 Lessons Learnt 36-37 7.2 Conclusions

7.3 Recommendations

8 Annexure

8.1 Case Studies 38-51

8.2 Best Practices

9 Utilization Certificate 52-53

10 Audit Report 54-57

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

Abbreviations

CBO Community Based Organization CRP Community Resource Person DAY-NRLM Deendayal Antodaya Yojana-NRLM FPC Farmers’ Producer Company FPO Farmer Producer Organization GoI Government of India GoO Government of Odisha PG Producers’ Group HH Household HDI Human Development Index INR Indian National Rupees INM Integrated Nutrient Management IPM Integrated Pest Management LAVS Life Academy of Vocational Studies LWE Left Wing Extremism MK Mahila Kisan MKSP Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana MIS Management Information System MPR Monthly Progress Report M & E Monitoring & Evaluation MKSHG Mahila Kisan Self Help Group MoA Ministry of Agriculture MTR Mid Term Review MGNREGA Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act MoRD Ministry of Rural Development, GoI NTFP Non-Timber Forest Produce NRLM National Rural Livelihoods Mission NGO Non Government Organization OLM Odisha Livelihoods Mission ORMAS Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society PCR Project Completion Report PDS Public Distribution System PRI Panchayat Raj Institution PRP Para Resource Person PIA Project Implementing Agency PoP Package of Practices QPR Quarterly Progress Report SC Scheduled Castes SAP Sustainable Agriculture Practice ST Scheduled Tribes SHG Self Help Group SRI System of Rice Intensification VDA Village Development Association VLC Village Level Committee Kharif Cropping season starting from July to November-Rainy Season

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Engagement with the Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP) as the PIA has been one of-the most rewarding experiences for Life Academy of Vocational Studies (LAVS). On behalf of LAVS, I take this opportunity to express my gratitude and hearty thanks to the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India; Odisha Livelihoods Mission, Govt. of Odisha to have given us the opportunity to be a part of the development scenario involving rural women farmers; especially in difficult terrains and hilly regions of the state.

For MKSP, we received financial assistance from the Ministry of Rural Development, GoI and the OLM, Govt. of Odisha. Officials from OLM and MoRD/ NIRD provided critical inputs at various points of time in strengthening programmatic aspects. We could have never achieved the results but for the valuable reviews based feedback received from the monitoring agencies at state and national level. I thank and remain ever grateful to them for their dedicated support and constant facilitation. We also thank District Administration Koraput and especially the officials from concerned line departments, DRDA and ITDA for their field level coordination and convergence initiatives from time to time.

The women farmers who are at the center stage of MKSP, exhibited remarkable enthusiasm in the program. It is the keen interest and convictions of women farmers that made MKSP a meaningful programme. We thank all the CRPs and PRPs for their untiring effort and support to make the programme a success.

I thank my colleagues Sri Rameswar Sahoo, Sri Karunakar Parida who coordinated the field level implementation of MKSP across 88 villages. I am also grateful to all other colleagues at head office and field offices as well as the consultants who worked tirelessly for achievement of the milestones.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BASIC INFORMATION

1 Project Title Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP) 2 Implementing Organization(PIA) Life Academy of Vocational Studies (LAVS) 3 Approval Date 28.02.2013 4 Sanction Date & No. 08.03.2013 5 MoU Date 19.03.2013 Project Location Pottangi & Semiliguda Blocks of Koraput 6 District, Odisha. Block 02 GPs 10

Project Outreach Villages 88 7 WSHGs 300 Target HHs/ Beneficiaries 3015

8 Project Duration 3 Years Reporting Period 9 From Month/Year April 2013 To Month/Year March 2019 Project Monitoring & Evaluation 1st Evaluation Interim Mid Term Mid Term Evaluation-II 10 Evaluation Evaluation-I 25.03.2016 30.09.2016 25.09.2017 10.05.2018 Number of Target Beneficiaries : Households 11 Total Direct Indirect Women ST SC 12063 3015 9048 3015 8685 3378 12 Project Summary Details : Planned Start Date 19.03.2013 Total Project Budget 1,73,40,750.00 Actual Start Date April 2013 Total Grant Amount 1,30,03,330.00 Released Planned End Date March 2016 Total Expenditure incurred 1,38,44,483.00 Actual End Date March 2019 Balance- in - hand Nil

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

13 Project Goal & Objectives : The primary goal and objectives of the project was to empower women by making systematic investments to enhance their participation and productivity, as also to create and sustain agriculture based livelihoods of rural women. 14 Project Partners : Ministry of Rural Development Government of India Executing Agency National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) State Executing Agency Odisha Livelihoods Mission, Govt. of Odisha

Partner NGO Implementing Agencies Village Level Committee (VLCs) promoted by LAVS 15 Name & Contact address of PIA Name of Contact Person Rameswar Sahu Postal Address 17 AV Complex, Gadakana, Bhubaneswar 751017, Odisha

Mob : 9437915481 Contact Details Fax : 0674 2117475 E-mail : [email protected] Odisha is the 11th most populous state in India and home to 42 million people. Poverty reduced sharply in the state after 2005, but is still very high. Districts in the south and west are among the poorest in the country and the state is home to 14 million poor. The State witnessed the highest reduction of poverty ratio from 57.61 percent in 2004-05 to 32.91 percent in 2011-12 among Indian States, meaning that living standards of the poor people of the State has improved. The annual rate of reduction stands at 3.5 percentage points per year as against the all-India rate of 2.2 percentage points.

The poverty analysis is based on household consumption and defines the poor as those whose expenditure falls below the poverty line, set at ` 407.78 for rural and `497.21 for urban areas in 2004-05; the corresponding figures were ` 695 for rural and ` 861 for urban areas in 2011- 12. Figure 2.13 and 2.14 analyze the poverty in Odisha by decomposing across rural and urban areas using three different poverty measures: headcount ratio (HCR in percentage), poverty gap ratio (PGR percentage), and squared gap ratio (SPGR percentage). These three poverty measures belong to the FGT (Foster-GreerThorbecke) family of poverty measures. Growth is higher than in some Low Income States, but has slipped below the national average in the recent period. Consumption inequality has increased marginally after 2005, mostly in urban areas.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

Koraput district of Odisha is mostly backward. The livelihoods of the rural people are mainly agriculture, collection of NTFP forests and animal husbandry. Agriculture in the district is under developed due to bio-physical constraints. The crop productivity is comparatively low and the farmers have less access to irrigation. Shifting cultivation practiced at quick successions has caused serious biological and environmental implications. The women population of the district is underprivileged. Keeping this in view, the MKSP was implemented in Pottangi and Semiliguda Blocks of Koraput district. The project aimed to cover 3000 women households in 88 villages under 10 Gram Pachayats of two Blocks in the district. 1. Goal & Objectives: Odisha, despite being endowed with rich natural resources, is also one of the poorest states in the country. The Schedule Tribes (ST) and Schedule Castes (SC) constitute nearly 38 % of the population of the state. In spite of several interventions by both the State and Central Governments, the Tribal communities are far behind in terms of socio- economic development indicators. The Goal of Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP) was to empower women in agriculture to increase their farm income sustainability through adoption of sustainable agricultural practices, conservation of biodiversity, natural resource management and ensure household food and nutrition security through on-farm and non-farm enterprises. With a view to achieving this goal, the programme focused on the following interventions: (i) building the capacity of women in agriculture to support farm and non-farm based activities, (ii) enhancing the productive participation of women in agriculture, (iii) improving the capacities of women in agriculture to have better access to inputs and services of government and other agencies, (iv) enhancing the capacities of women in agriculture for better management bio-diversity, (v) strengthening the institutional of SHGs, Producers Groups(PG) and Village Level Committees(VLC) and (vi) enhancing food and nutritional security at the household and community level. 2. Rationale & Components: In line with MKSP’s overall poverty alleviation and empowerment goal of rural women in agriculture, the rationale for MKSP was to empower the women in agriculture to support and sustain farm and non-farm based livelihoods. The MKSP with an overall budget sanction of Rs.1,73,40, 750 comprised seven components, namely (i) Project Inception, (ii) Institution building, (iii) Capacity building, (iv) Community investment support, (v) Knowledge management (vi) Monitoring & evaluation and (vii) Program Management. 3. Project Duration & Funding: MKSP had to be co-funded by NRLM, MoRD, GOI and Odisha Livelihoods Mission (OLM), Government of Odisha on 60:40 central and State share ratio respectively. With subsequent revision of funding share to 75: 25 ratio and delay in release of share, the duration of the MKSP which was originally 3 years was extended to 31st March 2019 on no cost extension basis. The entire project cost had to be released in three installments; but for some reasons neither the central nor the state government could release the third installment. Hence, the project activities were curtailed as per fund availability.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

4. Project area and implementation structure : The project area was selected taking into account the socio-economic indicators, concentration of tribal population and marginal & small land holding HHs with focus on women in agriculture having poor access to inputs and development services. MKSP, implemented in two blocks under Koraput district, Odisha covered 3015 households focusing women in agriculture in 10 GPs of 88 villages. These households included predominantly 2189 ST households, 194 SC households and 632 households from other communities. MKSP had a three tier implementation structure, comprising various CBOs promoted and capacitated by partner PIA-NGO at grassroots level and supported by ORMAS at district level and a program management unit (PMU) in OLM at the state level. 5. Relevance: All interventions carried out under MKSP are immensely relevant to the rural small and marginal farming communities with focus of women in agriculture and the objectives of GoI & GoO. The approach and strategy employed by the MKSP for achieving productive participation of women in sustainable agriculture and improved livelihoods was in compliance to the mandate of NRLM and OLM. MKSP’s achievements underline the importance of productive participation of women in agriculture in planning, and adaptation of sustainable practices involving grassroots institutions to bring changes in the lives and livelihoods of communities. Interventions carried out under the component community investment support were highly relevant from the beneficiaries’ point of views and the potential of the project area. The development interventions undertaken under community investment support provided significant opportunities to the target group as these (i) improved production potential of their land due to soil fertility management, (ii) provided opportunities for diversified livelihood options, (iii) reduced drudgery of women engaged in agricultural operations, (iv) increased their productive participation. Community infrastructure like vermin compost units was highly relevant as all households reported that they have adopted the practice of producing and applying vermin composts as one of the no cost input in agriculture. All common facilities with pool of agri-implements and drudgery reduction tools are managed by the VLCs. 6. Project Effectiveness: At completion, the overall implementation performance has been satisfactory taking into account the target in the project’s Logical Framework and the overall achievement. Notwithstanding various setbacks, the project has over the years implemented all the activities under the approved components in all project villages. Organization of women into SHGs and PGs and a strong emphasis on participatory planning and implementation through VLCs has enhanced the confidence and social identity of women as farmers. Through improvements in farming system and sustainable natural resources management practices including agriculture, vegetable cultivation and livestock based enterprises have improved food and nutritional security and enhanced incomes as observed during review, monitoring and evaluation visits.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

7. Financial Release: 56.22 % of central share in the form of grant assistance of Rs.97,50,000/- and the 18.76% of the project cost Rs.32,53,330/-as matching share from GoO has been received covering first two installments. 8. Cost-benefit analysis: Cost-benefit analysis yields an overall IRR of 23%. On an average, a household’s production benefits increase from 530 kg/household to over 1160 kg of cereals, pulses and oilseeds. Incomes, excluding the value of family labor, increase from INR 1850 to INR 36650 at project completion. The key drivers of the economy of the project have been (i) vegetable production for sale, (ii) sale of surplus production and (iii) Low cost production. 9. Challenges: Key challenges were (i) Delay in fund releases (ii) Non receipt of third installment without any prior notice to that effect (iii) Prolonged period of CRP and PRP engagement and payment liabilities due to time lag in implementation cycle (iv) inadequate facilitation and supplementation by concerned line departments (v) poor land holding of women farmers (vi) official non recognition of their identity as farmers and poor credit and market access were some the challenges which could be addressed to some extent. 10. Success factors: Significant success factors of MKSP have been (i) mobilization, awareness and building the capacity of women, (ii) building capacity of women SHGs, PGs and VLCs, (iii) use of participatory approach in grass roots- planning, implementation, monitoring and social auditing, and (iv) engaging community level CRPs and PRPs. 11. Lessons Learnt: There are several significant lessons learnt from MKSP and key among them are (i) tribal rural communities can plan and implement development interventions for their own development provided there is adequate investment in facilitation and capacity development, (ii) adopting an inclusive approach as demonstrated in MKSP is crucial for gaining community ownership for gender equality and inclusion. 12. Post – project Sustainability: For sustainability, key interventions include (i) Grading and linking all SHGs with OLM, (ii) effectively using the convergence support to provide missing gaps in infrastructure and other productive facilities, (ii) creating more access to inputs like seeds, credit and markets and market information. 13. Conclusions: Overall performance of the project is rated as satisfactory. Its objectives were consistent with NRLM and OLM mandate and modalities adopted for implementation have been appropriate as per the approved protocols. SHGs and CBOs are practical and viable routes of empowering women in particular. Markets and market linkages are next level of interventions which needs continuous focus for ensuring that the participating rural households get fair prices for their farm commodities. Following delay in disbursement of both central and state share, the achievements during the first two years was moderately poor compared to the subsequent financial year. The annual audit of accounts for the year ended 31st March 2019 has been carried out by a firm of Chartered Accountants. The program has complied with all financial deliverables. Though end line assessment study was carried out due to budget constraints, the project has reasonable quality of output data for the project interventions, impact and outcome.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION

Project Backdrop

The Ministry of Rural Development [MoRD] GOI vide its letter no. K- 11034/81/2011/MKSP/PAC dated 08/03/2013, approved the role of Life Academy of Vocational Studies (LAVS) as PIA for implementing MKSP with geographical coverage of 2 CD blocks namely Potangi and Semiliguda in Koraput District of Odisha. The project was for 3 years from 2013 to 2016 but extended further to utilize unspent budget on various pending activities as per the approved DPR. The total cost of the project is Rs.1,73 Crore. The MoRD was to provide Rs. 1.3 Crore (75 percent of total project cost) and State government to rest (25 percent of total project cost) in three installments. Agriculture, the single largest production endeavor in the country contributing around 15 percent of G.D.P. is increasingly being recognized as a female activity. Agriculture sector employees 75 percent of all economically active women, they comprise 45 percent of agriculture labour force and 48 percent of self employed farmers. Despite such extensive involvement of women in agriculture, their access to extension services and production assets like seed, water, credit, subsidy etc is very much constrained. Most of them are not recognized as farmers for want of ownership of land, they are not considered as beneficiaries of various government schemes. Therefore, to improve the present status of women in agriculture, the GOI in MoRD announced MKSP as sub-component of National Rural Livelihood Mission [NRLM] with the primary objective to empower women in agriculture by making systematic investment to enhance their participation and productivity, as also create and sustain agriculture based livelihoods of rural women. Once the production capacities of women in agriculture improve, food security will follow for their families and communities. The greatest advantage of the project lies in its attempt to develop and tap social capital in deepening development outreach and effectiveness for women. The attempt is bound to succeed since women are being targeted as catalysts. The projected success has far reaching consequences in terms of transcending gender relations. Enhanced social solidarity, unity of purpose, trusted leadership, widespread linkage, varied exposure and external facilitation will go a long way in revitalizing women led community institutions and initiatives. Increased access to income through remunerative female work participation shall kick start a chain of results by way of improved self esteem, well being and human development investments. As an important offshoot of the project, one may witness a sharp fall in distress migration and vulnerability to alien influences including naxalism.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

The project is highly productive in terms of economic benefit generated for the targeted beneficiaries. Some of these benefits are: Certain increase in the per capita income of the targeted women; Women enabled to earn independent income through vocational training and income generation activities; Access to better health services reduce the burdensome expenditure on health and needs of handicapped, destitute and aged are better addressed when improvement in the standard of life makes it possible to afford care for such dependants. Environment is a major theme to be addressed by this project. The outcomes envisaged are: Improved and Sustainable Management of natural resources including land, rainwater, ground water, waste and barren areas; Increased community involvement in plantation, social forestry, horticultural activities, cultivation of medicinal, aromatic and nutritional plants; Wider dissemination of information on adverse impact of climate change and other emerging ecological disasters and drudgery reduction measures for women farmers. The project is implemented in compliance with the non negotiable principles of NRLM-: These include;  Focus on the poor, Focus on women, Transparent and participatory identification of poor  Adherence to protocols on sustainable agriculture. Food security and social security of communities is given highest priority in allocating resources  Universal social inclusion and universal social mobilization in a time bound manner  Federations of institutions of the poor as ‘force multipliers’ and as ‘sensitive support structures  Promote and nurture S.H.Gs. Institutions of the poor transform into institutions for the poor  Managerial and financial self reliance of the institutions of the poor  Participation of the poor, particularly the poorest, in all decisions that affect them and their institutions  Development and continuous capacity building of large pool of social capital at village/block level- community leaders, community professionals and community resource persons  Primary sector livelihoods of the poor are made viable and sustainable – eco friendly, based on local resources ( to the maximum extent), and climate change resilient  Building capacities of the institutions of the poor to manage livelihoods value chains for better realizations on their produce

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

This report is an assessment of the project “Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP) implemented by Life Academy of Vocational Studies (LAVS) in Koraput district, Odisha. MKSP is a sub component of the Deendayal Antodaya Yojana-NRLM (DAY-NRLM), a Government of India initiative and the project was co-funded by Odisha Livelihoods Mission, Govt. of Odisha. The primary objective of the MKSP was to empower women in agriculture by making systematic investments to enhance their participation and productivity, as also create and sustain agriculture based livelihoods of rural women. The project experienced initial delays due to delay in release of funds. There were one baseline study and four interim evaluation studies conducted during project implementation period. The completion and closing of the project was extended to March 2019. The purpose of the Project Completion Review was to assess and document MKSP’s overall project implementation performance and results achieved. The PCR report has captured results and impacts achieved by its completion. LAVS as the PIA has started preliminary activities for the preparation of PCR in April 2019. A team was set up which visited field areas and select project villages; gathered required data and information and also collected case studies relating to various interventions under the project. The team also held interactions with a number of and used several relevant documents; in particular the MPRs, QPRs, Annual Progress Reports, Mid-term evaluation reports, baseline reports and end line report. The PCR is a joint effort of LAVS’s project team, its field functionaries, the evaluators and the community leaders. The LAVS’ team would like to place on record the support and assistance it received from the staffs, district officials of ORMAS, the Chief Executive of LAVS without whose help and assistance, the team would not have accomplished its tasks. MKSP Objectives The broad objectives of MKSP are as under:-  To enhance the participation and Productivity of women in agriculture  To create sustainable agriculture related livelihood opportunities for women.  To improve skills and capabilities of women in agriculture to support farm and nonfarm based activities.  To ensure food and nutrition security at the household and community level.  To enable women to have better access to inputs and services of the government and other agencies.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

SECTION 2: PROJECT DESCRIPTION

2.1 Project Context & Perspective “We have been doing farming for ages. My mother in law did it, I am doing it, my daughter and daughter- in-law will do it. But what we need and will cherish is an identity of our own. An identity of being a woman farmer" – these words of Bholi Devi, Harpur Village, Bihar represents the pain and aspirations of women in agriculture in India. This is also the voice of millions of India's women farmers. The empowerment of Indian women will not be complete without empowering those who are living at India's last periphery. These are the women farmers of India, whose voices often go unheard owing to their gender, and who struggle to establish their identity at a grassroots level due to patriarchal traditions and gender socialization. Not only in India but across the world, women's contributions to agriculture are significant. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that if women had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20-30%. This could raise total the agricultural output in developing countries by up to 4%, which could in turn reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 12–17% - that's 100-150 million people. Thus an inclusive approach, all the way from policy to implementation, is essential to bring women working in agriculture into the mainstream and to empower them with direct access to knowledge of improved agricultural practices. It is high time we made a concerted effort to create a conducive environment - not only for bringing women farmers into the mainstream, but equally for empowering women farmers at a grassroots level by providing them with both an established identity and knowledge on the technical and financial aspects of agriculture. They need direct access to information on improved agricultural practices and links to markets. In today’s digital world, it is also important to think critically about the information and communication tools which can help women farmers who may not enjoy much physical mobility to reach out to markets - which are generally considered to be a male-centric arena.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

In rural India, a large number of women are engaged in the agricultural sector. However, there remains a wide gender gap in access to resources, participation in decision making and income and wages for agricultural labour work. Within this context, it is the tribal women who are particularly deprived and marginalized even though they play a critical role in agricultural and allied activities. This leaves tribal women and men with differential marginalities and vulnerabilities within the context of existing rural poverty and deprivation. Agriculture is a major part of the livelihood basket of the rural poor in India. Sustainable Agriculture has therefore been chosen as the core theme of MKSP. It has been expected that the focus on agro-ecologically responsive sustainable agriculture practices will continue to serve towards securing the primary livelihood of the poorest of poor households. It has also been expected to give recognition to women as farmers and key bread earners of their families. Other activities are added to expand the overall livelihood basket. Despite the critical role played by women in agriculture and allied activities, the agricultural support mechanism in India has not been able to ensure their inclusion in the system. This extends to a lack of rightful entitlement over factors of production as agricultural workers and cultivators. Many households, with woman farmers as heads of family units, are not able to access extension services, farmer support in institutions and production assets such as seeds, water, credit, subsidy etc. In state context, Odisha is among the poorest of India’s major states, despite its rich endowment of natural resources, and coastline. Odisha has the highest proportion of poor persons in its population relative to all other states/UTs in India. However, there have been positive developments in recent years, and poverty rates in Odisha have declined from 57.2% to 37% between 2004 and 2009-10 (Odisha Economic Survey, 2012-13). Despite this improvement, poverty rates in Odisha are about 7% more than the National average. Non-monetary indicators of poverty too confirm the low welfare status of Odisha households. Eighty four percent of Odisha’s 41.9 million population is rural, and a vast majority of the poor live in rural areas. Koraput district of Odisha is mostly backward. The livelihoods of the rural people are mainly agriculture, NTFP collection and animal husbandry. The agriculture is under developed due to bio-physical constraints. The crop productivity is comparatively low and the farmers have less access to irrigation. Shifting cultivation practiced at quick successions has caused serious biological and environmental implications. The women population of the district is underprivileged. Keeping this in view, the MKSP has been considered for implementation in Pottangi and Semiliguda Blocks of Koraput district. The project covered 3015 women farmers in 88 villages and 10 Gram Panchayats of two Blocks in the district.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

2.2 Project Goal, Objectives & components Goal: The primary goal of the MKSP is to empower women in agriculture by making systematic investments to enhance their participation and productivity, as also create and sustain agriculture based livelihoods of rural women. By establishing efficient local resource based agriculture, wherein women in agriculture gain more control over the production resources and manage the support systems, the project seeks to enable them to gain better access to the inputs and services provided by the government and other agencies. Once the production capacities of women in agriculture improve, food security ensues for their families and communities. Specific objectives:  To develop a sustainable model for livelihood promotion of the women farmers/ agriculture workers  To ensure a better control of the institutions of the poor women farmers/ agriculture workers over value chain  To promote regeneration of engendered species to improve the bio diversity and enhance productivity  To build the capacity of the community in modern harvesting and post harvesting techniques to increase their income  To develop market linkages for produce  To develop a pool of community resource persons to enable the community institutions to manage their activities  To enable women to have better access to their entitlements and services of the government and other agencies  Promote food and livelihood security for the women and poor households  Expand income and employment opportunities for women through vocational training and support services  Ensure transparent and efficient implementation of Government and Donor Supported Poverty Alleviation Schemes through substantive PRI and community participation.  Create eco-friendly alternative livelihood options reducing over dependence on exploitation of available natural resources.  Facilitate community access to health, educational and other promotional activities Components: The MKSP implemented with an overall approved budget of Rs. 1, 73, 40,750/- comprised of six programmatic components and one project management component. The programmatic components were (i) Project inception (ii) Institution building (iii) Capacity building for empowerment (iv) Community investment support, (v) Monitoring & evaluation, (vi) Knowledge management. The components were further divided into sub-components. These are briefly described below and major outputs and outcomes are described under Section 4.2.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

Component 1: Project Inception: With a total budget allocation of Rs. 10, 25,750/- the component had Six sub-components (i) Mahila Kisan Profiling (ii) DPR preparation (iii) Value chain Analysis (iv) livelihoods study (v) Technical protocol Documentation and (vi) Inception Workshop. Under this component, DPR, profiling of 3015, Mahila Kisans including data base, 2 livelihoods studies, Value chain analysis, technical protocol, district and Block level inception workshops were organized. Component 2: Institution Building: With a total budget allocation of Rs. 18, 10,000/- the component comprised the following sub-components (i) promotion and strengthening of WSHGs (ii) Promotion of Producers Group (iii) Promotion of PG federation (iv) promotion of Marketing Society/FPO (v) management support to PG federation and (vi) management support to FPO. Under the sub-components 300 NRLM compliant WSHGs were formed and strengthened, 68 PGs were promoted and one FPO in the name of M/s. Panchabatmali Producers’ Company Pvt. Ltd. Was promoted and registered under Company Act. Component 3: Capacity Building of women in agriculture: With a total budget allocation of Rs. 81,60,000, the component comprised the following sub- components namely (i) Training module development including audio- visual (ii) Training material development (iii) capacity building of CRPs and PRPs (iv) capacity building of MKs (v) capacity building of PRI members (vi) Exposure visits (vii) capacity building of PG leaders and (viii) capacity building of FPO members (ix) incentives to CRPs & PRPs. Under this capacity building for empowerment component, 60 no. of CRPs and PRPs trained on various aspects of sustainable agriculture, 120 exposure visits conducted, 48 PRI members oriented on MKSP components and concepts. 3015 no. of women in agriculture were trained on sustainable agriculture and improved package of practices. Component 4: Community investment support: With a total budget allocation of Rs.43,00000, this component comprised the following sub-components namely (i) Demonstration (ii) Construction of Vermi compost units (iii) Input support (iv) Operational fund support to FPO/Marketing society. As part of interventions under this component, 20 no. of vermin compost units have been constructed, demonstrations in 10 ha of land have been conducted on sustainable agriculture protocols and practices. Component 5: Knowledge Management: With a total budget allocation of Rs. 2,80,000, this components comprised sub-components like (i) Identification of best practices (ii) Documentation of best practices and (iii) Dissemination of Best practices and experience sharing workshop.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

Component 6: Monitoring & Evaluation : With a total budget allocation of Rs.9,50,000, this component comprised the following sub-components namely (i) Baseline and end line study (ii) Independent evaluation studies (iii) Public information disclosure and (iv) Social audit. The interventions under this component included baseline study, end line study, wall writing in 75 project villages as public disclosure norm and interim evaluation studies. Key Sub Components: There were 10 (ten) sub-components of the programme which were taken into consideration while implementing the project to reach at the desired objectives:

Sl. Sub-components No. 1 Project induction and awareness generation Organization and mobilization of women in agriculture into SHGs, Federations and 2 Producer Groups 3 Capacity building of SHGs/ Federations/ CRPs/ PRPs/ VLCs 4 Implementation of sustainable agriculture protocols Natural resource management and bio-diversity agriculture and adoption of sustainable 5 agricultural practices Income generation through allied agriculture, agro-processing, value addition and value 6 chain development Drudgery reduction of women through appropriate technology and use of women-friendly 7 implements 8 Household food and nutrition security 9 Access to production assets, inputs, market and technology 10 Convergence with other development schemes 11 Management of risk associated with climate change 12 Sustainability of the project 2.3 Implementation strategies: Overall strategy focused on empowering the tribal communities and enabling them to enhance their food security, increase their incomes and improve their overall quality of life through more efficient natural resource management, more productive and environmentally sound agricultural practices and through off-farm and non-farm development. Strong emphasis was placed on promoting participatory processes, building community institutions such as VLCs, fostering self- reliance and respecting the indigenous knowledge. The key strategies adopted during implementation are presented below:  Familiarization meetings and workshops for programme dissemination  Community institution building, strengthening and institutional development

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

 Building systems and processes to facilitate community centric management of project activities and processes  Participatory Livelihood opportunity analysis and micro planning exercises  Finalization of product package and identification of clusters  Promotion of sustainable agricultural practices  Demonstration on Bio-fertilizer and bio-pesticides  Soil Health management  People centric technology for drudgery reduction  Operation fund for Producers federations  Water conservation techniques for agriculture  Engagement of female community resource persons  Training, Exposure and Extension Education  Vocational training and Micro enterprise promotion with special emphasis on women- led enterprises.  Technology Dissemination  Business Development Support/ Bank-FI Linkage  Marketing Support  Facilitation for institutional credit, insurance and support services.  Multi-stakeholder partnerships and interface for sharing/ up-scaling best practices and convergence and coordination.  Public information disclosure  Social Audit The program has been built upon the extensive work that LAVS had done since its inception and work in the area and hen ce the strategies for MKSP focused on a holistic community based approach with women as the key stakeholders in the entire process. In an effort towards addressing marginalities and deprivations, Life Academy of Vocational Studies (LAVS) has been working towards holistic and sustainable development of the poor and marginalized communities of Koraput district in Odisha. LAVS is the PIA in Potangi and Semiliguda Blocks and implemented the program directly with technical facilitation by NRLM and SRLM.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

2.4 Target Group Project area: The project area was selected taking into account the basic socio-economic development indicators with focus on poverty situation and access to development resources. The project was implemented in two blocks of Koraput district namely Pottangi and Semiliguda. These blocks have been selected based on the tribal population and backwardness in terms of socio-economic indicators such as food insecurity, gender disparity, malnutrition and low productivity, risks of natural disaster and climate change impacts. Target Group: While identifying the target group, priority was given to women-headed households (single women), resource poor households, and women groups engaged in Agriculture and allied activities (promotion, production, processing and marketing). Table: Coverage of MKSP, Koraput Year Coverage of MKSP Number of Villages No. of Women Farmer’s Number of Women Farmers Group Pottangi Semiliguda Total Pottangi Semiliguda Total Pottangi Semiliguda Total Block Block Block Block Block Block 1st 20 10 30 14 10 24 652 405 1057 Year 20 10 30 14 10 24 652 405 1057 2nd 20 14 34 12 11 23 485 488 973 Year 40 24 64 26 21 46 1137 893 2030 20 10 30 14 10 24 652 405 1057 3rd 20 14 34 12 11 23 485 488 973 Year 16 8 24 13 8 21 665 320 985 56 32 88 39 29 68 1802 1213 3015

Table: Caste Composition of MKSP members Social Caste No. of Women Farmers Percentage

Scheduled Castes (SC) 194 7

Scheduled Tribes (ST) 2189 72

Other Backward Castes (OBC) 632 21

Total 3015 100

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

SECTION 3: PROJECT RATIONALE & DESIGN

3.1 Project Responsiveness All interventions carried out under MKSP are relevant to the rural communities particularly women engaged in agriculture and to the program objectives and mandate. The approach and strategy employed by MKSP for achieving sustainable and improved livelihoods of rural households are in accordance with the mandate of NRLM, GoI and OLM, Government of Odisha. MKSP’s achievements underline the importance of participatory planning and implementation involving grassroots institutions to bring about the expected changes in the lives and livelihoods of target communities. Institution building: Activities under this component are relevant to the project area and its beneficiaries as this mobilized and strengthened the collective strength and voice of the rural women to participate in the mainstream of their community development. The empowered Village Level Committees (VLCs) were able to prepare micro-plans and implement for their development based on their available resources. Among the functioning SHGs and PGs, there is evidence that the members engage themselves in expanding their livelihood options and adopting sustainable and improved agricultural practices and gain increased productivity. These SHGs and PGs are also linked to Odisha Livelihoods Mission (OLM) with Community Resource Persons (CRPs) from MKSP engaged under OLM umbrella. However all CBOs formed under MKSP require further facilitation to operate on their own. Training and Education: Training and Education on sustainable agriculture practices is a focused area of intervention. Land and Water Management, Integrated Nutrient Management, Integrated Pest Management, General Problem Management related to agriculture continues to be the key aspects of these interventions. Community investment support: Various interventions under the component were highly relevant both from the view points of primary stakeholders and potential of the project area. The development interventions undertaken under the component provided significant opportunities to the target groups as these (i) improved the production potential of their land due to soil health improvement works (ii) provided diversified options through crop diversification, poultry and goat- rearing, construction and use of vermin-compost, horticultural plantations etc.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

Gender Mainstreaming: The project has ensured gender mainstreaming in all its activities as reflected mainly in three indicators: (a) mobilization in CBOs; (b) women’s access to credit, inputs; and (c) drudgery reduction for women. The project has developed a gender strategy to address gender equality and women empowerment, Knowledge management This component was rated as highly relevant with all households reporting that they were satisfied with the project outputs. The emphasis has been on (i) improving linkage to markets, (ii) reducing drudgery, (iii) improving access to food and livelihoods security, ensuring community management processes in common facilities through VLCs.

3.2 Approach and Thrust Odisha is one of the poorest states in India and the position of tribal population, in both extent and intensity, is probably the worst in the entire country. Ecological degradation, erratic rainfall and a high risk of drought are the principle causes of food insecurity, low agricultural productivity and low incomes etc. Ecological imbalance had been seriously undermining the livelihood patterns and increasing vulnerability especially tribal women engaged in agriculture. The design of the MKSP was based on the problem analysis of the tribal households of the project area and thus the interventions proposed in the project design were appropriate to the conditions of the tribal people and the economic potential of the project area. A number of livelihood opportunities were designed to bring out changes in particular improving food security, enhancing household incomes, improving nutrition etc. Key assumptions contained in the log frame were appropriate to the theory of change as evidenced from a number of earlier impact assessment studies. The project was initially for a period 3 years but has taken 5 years until its completion in March 2019.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

SECTION 4: Project Effectiveness

4.1 Appraisal Targets Under the project inception component, (i) profiling of 3000 Mahila Kisans, (ii) value chain studies, (iii) livelihood opportunity study, (iv) District and Block level inception workshop Under the institution building component, (i) setting up 90 VLCs, (ii) establishment of 300 SHGs, (iii) 60 PGs, (iv) 10 PG Federations and (v) 1 apex Marketing society, Under capacity building for empowerment component, (i) training and exposure visits, (ii) imparting skills to 30 CRPs, (iii) 30 PRPs, (iv) 3000 MKSHG members, (v) 60 PRI members, (vi) Marketing society leaders on group planning, (vii) SHG development and management, (viii) micro-planning, (ix) different aspects of sustainable agriculture including soil health, INM,IPM, market and (x) credit linkage, (xi) development of training module , Under community investment support (i) crop demonstration on sustainable agriculture, (ii) vermin compost, (iii) bio-fertilizer and bio-pesticides, (iv) drudgery reduction through tools & technology. Overall performance: At completion the overall implementation performance has been rated satisfactory taking into account the targets in the project’s Logical Framework20 and the overall achievement. Notwithstanding various setbacks the project has over the years implemented all the components in all project villages. Organization of women into SHGs and a strong emphasis on participatory planning and implementation through VLCs has enhanced the self-confidence and reduced the sense of isolation of the tribal households.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

Various soil health development activities, though modest in coverage, have demonstrated pathways towards more sustainable natural resource management practices. Similarly, though limited in scale and depth, improvements in farming systems, including agriculture, vegetable cultivation, horticulture and livestock-based enterprises have improved food security, reduced distress out-migration and enhanced incomes as observed during field visits. Progress under each component is presented in Appendix-8 and implementation phasing of key interventions is shown in Chart below. Component 1: Community Mobilization & Institution Building Output 1: 3015 Mahila Kisans are mobilized into 300 MKSHGs, 2 MKSHG federations and 1 Farmer Producer Organization. Institution Building: According to the geographic situation 88 village level organizations (VLCs) and 10 cluster level federations were formed and further linked with the apex Marketing Society named Panchabatmali Producers Company. At the same time LAVS developed and established systems and procedures related to administration, accounts, human resource, development of business plans and its implementation, statutory compliance and overall institution building. The project has under its institutional building interventions formed 300 women SHG, 68 women farmer producer Group (PGs) and one Farmer Producer Company (FPC). Under the project 24 women SHG members have been elected in local bodies of gram Panchayats under PRI system of governance, 218 HHs have access to improved cooking stoves, drinking water all of which are considered by the communities as drudgery reducing interventions. Component 2: Capacity building for empowerment and productive participation Output 2: 30 CRPs and 30 PRPs from local community trained, developed and engaged for extending support to MKSHGs. Output 3: 3015 Mahila Kisans, trained on various aspects of sustainable agriculture practices, PRI members from 10 GPs oriented and sensitized for support to MKSHGs for their socio-economic development Cadre Development: In form of CRPs and building their capacities: Progressive women farmers were identified by intensive community exercises. These CRPs were capacitated through intensive trainings along with exposure visits with a vision to strengthen their agriculture practices and enhance their capabilities as a community trainer for enhancement of sustainable agriculture practices. 60 CRPs were trained and equipped with skills to scale up the impact of the program. Component 3: Community Investment support Output 4: Access to and productivity of natural resources enhanced Output 5: Food & nutritional security to target households ensured

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

Output 6: Skill level of target farm women and their access to production inputs, credits and technologies to adopt sustainable agricultural practices enhanced Output 7: Drudgery of target farm women reduced Output 8: Area under cultivation and crop intensity increased Promotion of Sustainable Agriculture Practices (SAP): 12 Farm Schools were established and equipped with training and education material, soil sample collection facilities for soil-testing, demonstrations were held for use of drudgery reduction tools, Vermi-Compost, FYM and bio pesticides. The women farmers got knowledge and exposure at village level.  Training and Education on sustainable agriculture practices is a focused area of intervention. Land and Water Management, Integrated Nutrient Management, Integrated Pest Management, General Problem Management related to agriculture continues to be the key aspects of these interventions.  SMS based extension services for women farmers to access information on weather, cropping practices and market rates etc.  Soil testing, analysis and recommendations to women farmers to improve their agricultural practices.  A Seed Security program to promote local seed preservation practices and their propagation in agriculture  Vermi-compost and Farm Yard Manure – Promotion of balance between organic and inorganic agricultural inputs  Agriculture based livelihood interventions such as – trial and demonstration of good agriculture practices, replacement of varieties, use of bio-fertilizer, crop spacing, kitchen vegetable garden etc. Demonstration on Bio-pesticides and other technical inputs Demonstrations were done to prepare and use bio pesticide and growth material by using local material like animal dung to popularize it and reduce use of chemical materials. Various demonstrations continue to be conducted to promote Integrated Crop Management (ICM), inter cropping, and bio pesticides, ultimately to promote the low cost and sustainable agriculture practices. Soil Health management Soil testing has been conducted for about 70% of targeted women farmers for scientific guidance to improve soil health. Vermi-compost and Farm Yard Manure units provided to all targeted women farmers as demonstration units. Appropriate Tools and Technology for drudgery reduction A set of small machines like mini paddy thresher and small hand tools were made available for demonstration and livelihood at cluster level to create awareness among the women farmers. Operational Fund of Producer Federations The support covers operation cost for three years and other costs related to business development planning etc.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

Component 4: Knowledge Management Output 9: Local specific indigenous knowledge system and best practices of sustainable agriculture developed, documented and shared for replication Component 5: Monitoring & Evaluation Output 10: Visibility of community participation in planning, monitoring and review of development interventions enhanced. Public information disclosure Public display of program information is made through wall writings, transparency boards, leaflets etc. Sharing of information related to program at government offices and Gram Sabha is also done on a regular basis. The contents in public disclosure system included MKSP objectives, program components, key interventions and budgets. Social Audit A joint team of community people, program authorities and experts conduct social audit to measure the success and impact of the program. Component 6: Programme Management Output 11: Effective programme management system established

4.2 Project Outcomes & Impacts PROJECT OUTCOMES Outcome 1: Productive participation of farm women as interest group visibly enhanced With the effective mobilization of women into institutional framework, Women in project villages effectively participate in group activities as members of MKSHGs, have access to institutional credit and saving mechanism, are able to borrow funds for livelihood investments, have influence in community affairs and development activities through participation in VLCs and local governments especially in palli Sabha. Women have reported to have improved access to credit. Outcome 2: Capacity of target farm women sustainably enhanced Farm women have learnt a wide range of technical skills such as new farming techniques (e.g. line sowing and SRI), cultivation of new crops, vegetable cultivation, managing horticultural plantations, rearing of poultry, using of cook stoves, operating farm machinery, record keeping and maintenance of accounts. The 60 CRPs and PRPs trained in various technologies and package of practices are able to provide support to project beneficiaries in agriculture and other livelihood activities. Outcome 3: Access of farm women to productive land & farming inputs improved, productivity of their resources enhanced and livelihood options expanded. With soil health development interventions under MKSP, the land available to sustainable farming increased from 1220 ha. at baseline to 2276 ha at completion.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

Crop productivity increased with the introduction of quality seeds, seed treatment, seed replacement, use of composts, improved farming techniques such as line sowing, mixed cropping, SRI and replacement of drought prone upland paddy to millets and drought resilient paddy varieties. The overall livelihood basket of tribal farm women has expanded with the introduction of horticulture livestock rearing and poultry. Outcome 4: Food and nutrition security of women in agriculture enhanced. Development of kitchen gardens has enhanced availability of vegetables for consumption. Replacement of drought prone upland paddy with millets also contributed to availability of millets for consumption ensuring both food and nutrition to the tribal households in the project villages Outcome 5: Farm income of women in agriculture sustainably enhanced Adoption of vegetables as cash crops by about 62% of households has led to enhanced farm incomes. More over farm productivity, increased by 36 % due to use of quality seeds, improved farming techniques, including dry land practices, crop diversification, use of small farm machinery and tools provided under the project also supported in increase of farm incomes of the target households. Outcome 6: Cultivation area under sustainable agriculture increased and crop intensity enhanced With enhanced skill and awareness level of women in agriculture and increase in the total land under sustainable agriculture from 1220 ha. at baseline to 2276 ha. at completion production and productivity increased due to increase in the rate of adoption of sustainable agriculture practices by trained farm women with technical support extended by CRPs and PRPs. Outcome 7: Drudgery of farm women reduced Farm women’s drudgery has been reduced with access to safe drinking water within the village ensured under convergence with RWSS, Govt. of Odisha during the project intervention. Use and adoption of women friendly small machinery and tools by over 60% of target farm women supplied under the project contributed effectively to reducing their drudgery. Outcome 8: Access to market information and market led extension enhanced Promotion of Marketing society under MKSP intervention at project level brought all MKSHG members together for availing the access to market information and market led extension services for their development as common interest group.

Project impacts Core impact indicators: The project purpose was to sustainably improve livelihoods and food security of 3015 poor farming households. The indicators set out to measure the achievement of the purpose were: i. Equitable increase of at least 30 % increase in farm incomes of poor target households ii. 70% households have food and nutritional security

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

iii. 60% women in agriculture demonstrate skill development iv. 45% women have access to land, inputs, credit and technology v. Increase in cultivated area, crop production and crop intensity. vi. 90% farm women have access to market and market information. [Source: An impact assessment study at completion and interim evaluation studies carried out earlier] Household income & assets: Overall the performance is rated as satisfactory. According to evaluation study carried out in 25.09.2017, the average household income in nominal terms was increased by 40 % from INR 28000 to 39200. All houses reported at least two sources of income. Agriculture continues to be the main source of income. The project has added physical assets at individual and community level. Key assets include increase in cultivable land by 212 ha., horticulture plantations by 34 ha., 20 no. of Vermi compost units, 10 Common Facility Centre with small farm machinery and tools. The project has led to significant increases in financial assets in project villages including INR 72, 28,685 as savings of SHGs, INR 200000 operational fund to PGs and INR 600000 as revolving funds with SHGs received from OLM through convergence. Human & Social capital: Overall the performance is rated as satisfactory. The project has promoted 300 women SHGs, 2 SHG federations, 68 Producers Group (PGs) and one Farmer Producer Company (FPC). This has enhanced women’s participation in village development activities and local self governance. Over 600 women including SHG leaders, CRPs, PRPs have been capacitated to provide community leadership and technical support for village development. In course of the project tribal people including women have had exposure to government extension agencies and are able to leverage resources from them. Food security: According to 2016-17 evaluation study, 98% household reported no food shortage to 88 % in control villages. However this needs to be seen in the context of the fact that Odisha is among the states with an effectively functioning PDS system. Diversification of crops with inclusion of pulses and vegetables and introduction of kitchen gardens have let to food security. Agricultural Productivity: Agricultural productivity has reportedly increased by 38%. from a very low base Production of cash crops has increased with 64% households adopting cash crops, mainly vegetables. Uptake of new practices and technologies in agriculture has been significant, with 77% farmers reporting use of technologies introduced by the project. The project area is most suitable for cultivation of off-season vegetables and horticulture and these have been promoted in the project area. Though the physical coverage is modest in area, 14% households now have horticulture plantation. Livestock rearing practices, especially rearing of goats have improved greatly. Overall, the performance is rated as moderately satisfactory. Access to markets: The project has been promoting contract sales between traders and farmers for key commodities and this has led to improved access to far markets, with 59% according to 2015-16 reporting enhanced access to markets41. Performance is rated as moderately satisfactory. Gender equity and women’s empowerment: The project has contributed significantly to women’s empowerment via promotion of SHGs where women from over 90% project households participate.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

Over one-third VLC members are women. About one-fifth of youth trained in vocational skills are women. Specific attention was paid to provisioning of drinking water and smokeless cook stoves to reduce women’s drudgery42. Overall performance is rated as satisfactory Climate change adaptation: The project has introduced horticulture as a new land use which would aid climate change adaptation as trees are more climate resilient than crops. Upland farming systems to replace paddy with millets and legumes have been introduced and this is a positive step towards climate change adaptation as millets are more drought tolerant. The overall attempt at diversifying the crop portfolio, introduction of composts and organic farming systems would also aid climate change adaptability. Land and water resource development with a focus on reducing rainwater run- off, in-situ rainwater harvesting and reducing soil erosion and run-off is the most significant contributor to climate change adaptability. Overall performance is rated as satisfactory.

4.3 Targeting and Outreach Targeting: The MKSP followed an inclusive approach to targeting. While it was implemented in 10 GPs of Pottangi & Semiliguda blocks of Koraput district where the population of tribal people was not less than 60%, all the resource poor households and villages in the selected GPs were included. Selection of beneficiaries was done through an open process in the VLC following PRA exercises conducted to create wealth ranking of households. Overall performance is rated as highly satisfactory. Outreach to beneficiaries: The programme covered 3015 households directly and another 2,120 households indirectly. These included predominantly ST households (2189), followed by SC (194) and households of other communities (632).

4.4 Innovation, Replication and Scaling up Participatory planning, implementation, monitoring and social auditing: Participatory planning, implementation and social audit are key MKSP innovations contributing significantly to project effectiveness. A village development association (VDA) of all adults as members was promoted in each of the 88 project village, with a village level development committee (VLC) of 15 to 17 members elected by it as the Executive Body to plan and implement project activities. The VLC had almost equal representation of women and men. The VLC prepared seasonal Village Livelihood and Crop Plan with the facilitation and technical support of the PIA. VDAs conducted periodic social and financial audit of the activities, ensuring quality, timeliness and transparency in implementation. Besides transparent implementation, this approach has contributed to women’s empowerment and given communities valuable experience in planning and implementation of programmes, Overall performance is rated as satisfactory. SRI and line-sowing: Paddy is the main cereal crop in the project area. Seed broadcasting and/or random transplanting of multiple seedlings to a hill is the common sowing technique with average yields of 400 to 500 kg/ha. The project has demonstrated SRI and line sowing techniques of paddy cultivation, using improved seed varieties and mechanical weeding with a simple hand operated rotary weeder. Yields have reportedly risen to 1 500 to 1 800 kg/ha. During 2015-16, the project supported SRI over 68 ha. owned by 1860 households. Reported by farmers as a key intervention, the techniques are now being practiced.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

Replacement of upland paddy with millets and tuber crops: Broadcast paddy is cultivated widely in the project area. The crop often fails due to long breaks in the monsoon rains and yields even in good rainfall years are very low. The project has promoted rain-fed millet and tuber crops as a substitute to upland paddy as these are drought and climate change resilient, besides being nutrient rich. pearl millet and finger millet, foxtail millets, yellow-fleshed sweet potato and elephant foot yam have been promoted with seeds sourced from government extension sources and research centers. Youth as community resource persons: Towards a sustainable extension strategy, the project has trained local educated youth in various aspects of agriculture, livestock and social mobilization. Known as Community Resource Persons (CRPs), they are from the project villages and provide technical support to the communities in the identified areas of livelihoods such as agriculture and livestock, besides social mobilization and supporting the communities in linking with banks and various offices of the government departments at the Block and District levels. The MKSP has promoted 30 CRPs mostly women and 30 PRPs both men and women under the VLCs and their works are monitored by the VLCs and are also paid by them. Field assessment showed that the CRPs are a vital link between tribal communities and government agencies, besides being sources of technical know-how and many have gained the confidence of the communities they serve. Continued refresher training of the CRPs and sustainable mechanism for their remuneration remain as challenges. Vermin-Compost: Vermin-composting is basically a managed process of worms digesting organic matter to transform the material into a beneficial soil amendment. Vermin-compost are defined as organic matter of plant and/or animal origin consisting mainly of finely-divided earthworm castings, produced non-thermophilicaly with bio-oxidation and stabilization of the organic material, due to interactions between aerobic microorganism and earthworms, as the materials pass through the earthworm gut. There are several benefits of Vermin-Compost since it’s produced by using earthworms and it is hundred percent organic. There are no harmful chemical needed to make Vermi- Compost.3 Vermin-Compost improves soil aeration and enriches soil with micro-organism. It also attracts earthworms already present in the soil. Earthworms restore and improve soil fertility and increase crop productivity by the use of the excretory products Vermin-Compost. It also enhances germination, plant growth and crop yield. Vermin-Compost has the biggest advantage of great social economic significance is that the food produced is complete organic, safe and chemical free. It enhances size, color, smell, taste, flavor and keeping quality of the flowers, fruit, and vegetable and food grains. Vermi-Compost gives 30% to 40% additional yields of crops over chemical fertilizers. Mixed Cropping: Mixed cropping is also known as intercropping or relay cropping. It is growing of two or more crops at the same time on the same field. Planting more than one crop will allow the crops to grow and work together on the same piece of land. Multiple cropping helps to improve soil fertility and it also increases crop yield. In this type of farming the products and the wastes that are from one crop plant helps in the growth of the other crop. As general practice small duration crop (Pulses) and long duration crops (Cotton) are grown together, the pulses crop fixes nitrogen in the root, which benefits the other crop, Also the harvesting of short duration crop completes before long crop reaches at flowering stage; it avoids competition and supplements each other. Mixed cropping is the cultivation of two or more crops simultaneously on the same field.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

SECTION 5: PROJECT EFFICACY & ECONOMY

5.1 Project Cost Project efficiency includes project funding, quality of project management, PIA’s quality of supervision and implementation support and project internal rate of return. These aspects are described below. Overall the performance is rated as moderately satisfactory. Total Budget Financial Outlay Components Amount at Sanction/ Appraisal Project Inception 10,15,750.00

Institution Building 18,10,000.00

Capacity Building 81,60,000.00

Community Investment Support 43,00,000.00

Knowledge Management 2,80,000.00

Monitoring & Evaluation 9,50,000.00

Project Management/ Admin. 8,25,000.00 Total 1,73,40,750.00 Fund Receipt Total Disbursement/Release Sl. Installments Mont/ Year Central State Share Total No. Share 1 1st Tranche October- 32,50,000.00 10,83,330.00 43,33,330.00 2013 2 2nd Tranche June-July- 65,00,000.00 21,70,000.00 86,70,000.00 2015 3 Accrued Bank - - - 541036.00 Interest Total 97,50,000.00 32,53,330.00 1,35,44,366.00 Fund Utilization Component Wise Financial Progress /Utilization

Components Utilization % of utilization Project Inception 1015750.00 100.00% Institution Building 1355210.00 74.87%

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

Capacity Building 7667485.00 93.96% Community Investment Support 2026655.00 47.13% Knowledge Management 280000.00 100.00% Monitoring & Evaluation 703040.00 74.00% Project Management/Admin. 796343 96%

Total 13844483.00 79.83%

Budget outlay Vs financial achievement

MKSP- Financial Achievements Sl. No. Components/ Sub-components Approved Actual Expenditure Budget under the project 1 Project Inception 1.1 Mahila Kisan profiling 3,00,000 3,00,000 1.2 DPR Preparation 35,750 35,750 1.3 Technical protocols documentation 1,20,000 1,20,000 1.4 Value-chain Studies 3,00,000 3,00,000 1.5 Livelihoods Opportunity Studies 2,00,000 2,00,000 1.6 District Level Workshop 30,000 30,000 1.7 Block Level workshop 30,000 30,000 Sub-Total 10,15,750 10,15,750 2 Institution Building 2.1 Mobilization & Promotion of producer groups 4,50,000 441190 2.2 Promotion of producer group federation 40,000 44900 2.3 Management support to producer federation 2,50,000 0 2.4 Formation/Strengthening of WSHGs 900,000 869120 2.5 Promotion of Project Level Marketing Society 20,000 0 2.6 Management support to Marketing Society 1,50,000 0 Sub-Total 18,10,000 13,55,210 3 Capacity Building 3.1 Training module development : Print 6,00,000 6,00,000 3.2 Training module development : audio-visual 5,00,000 5,00,000 3.3 Training equipment & material 4,00,000 1,9,7800 3.4 Training to CRP 2,50,000 2,34,240 3.5 Trainings to Para-professionals 2,50,000 2,42,500 3.6 Training to Community 18,00,000 17,88,622 3.7 Training to leaders & PRI 3,60,000 2,90,490 3.8 Exposure visits of CRPs to immersion sites 3,00,000 2,69,995 3.9 Exposure visit of Para-professional 3,00,000 2,70,390 3.10 Exposure visit of Community to immersion sites 6,00,000 5,90,170 3.11 Service charge to CRPs 14,40,000 14,40,000 3.12 Service charge to Para-Professionals) 9,60,000 9,60,000 3.13 Training to PG leaders 2,40,000 2,45,318

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

3.14 Training to producer federation and marketing 1,60,000 society leaders 37,960 Sub-Total 81,60,000 76,67,485 4 Community Investment Support 4.1 Inputs to the Mahila Kisan 9,00,000 8,91,850 4.2 Inputs to producer groups/ federation 12,00,000 60,000 4.3 Operational Fund of Producer federation 1,50,000 0 4.4 Demo plots for sustainable agriculture protocols 2,00,000 1,66,000 and practices 4.5 Construction of Vermi-compost Pits 12,00,000 4,00,000 4.6 Distribution of Small Implements for drudgery 5,00,000 5,08,805 reduction of Mahila Kisans 4.7 Operational fund for Marketing society 1,50,000 0 Sub-Total 43,00,000 20,26,655 5 Knowledge Management 5.1 Identification of best practices 60,000 60,000 5.2 Documentation of best practices 1,00,000 1,00,000 5.3 Dissemination of best practices 1,20,000 1,20,000 Sub-Total 2,80,000 2,80,000 6 Monitoring & Evaluation 6.1 Baseline survey 60,000 60,000 6.2 End line survey 60,000 0 6.3 Independent evaluation studies 5,00,000 4,00,000 6.4 Public information disclosure 1,80,000 1,53,000 6.5 Social Audit 1,50,000 9,00,40 Sub-Total 9,50,000 7,03,040 7 Project Management/ Administrative Expenditure 8,25,000 796343 Sub-Total 8,25,000 4.96,226 Grand Total 1,73,40,750 1,38,44,483

5.2 Project Management The Project Management Team (PMT) of LAVS efficiently carried out their respective responsibilities outlined in the project MKSP-Financial Architect work plan. Planning meetings were held with staff and field functionaries and key community members to continuously clarify roles and responsibilities for project implementation. Bi-monthly assessment meetings and a bi-annual general project evaluation were also held to ensure that project participants could evaluate progress and take corrective action as required. Apart from PMT at project level, the formal Project Implementing Team was composed of local community organizers, village SHG leaders, trainers namely CRPs, progressive women farmers and government extension personnel. The PIT led by CRP facilitated project organizing and implementation, providing a link between the community and PMT. They were responsible for coordinating and conducting technical and on-the- job trainings. They also provided feedback and

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

reports during the project assessment and planning. The process of building up the capacity of local institutions was paramount to project success.

SECTION 6: PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY

6.1 Institutional sustainability

Experience shows that VDAs, VLCs tend to function as long as there are substantial implementation responsibilities and resources. SHGs of women are most likely to sustain, even under conditions where little outside support is available. The degree of dysfunction varies by location. About 50% of all SHGs that had been previously graded as A can be reasonably expected to remain functional. The SHG federations are still less than 3 years old in most locations, and also deal with lending to member SHGs. Adequate systems for monitoring member SHGs and ensuring governance within financial federations are not in place yet. The sustainability of SHGs and their federations and VDAs are therefore contingent upon the continued support. Those CBOs that manage large livelihood activities like poultry units would similarly need the support of service providers to link to the supply chain as well business promotion 6.2 Social Sustainability

The project has high level of social sustainability as its interventions have been largely demand- driven and community-centric. For example, MKSP interventions have been basically designed by involving the communities and are need-based and a number of small-scale infrastructure facilities both economic and community-based have been completed with significant contributions from the communities and the beneficiary households. The MKSP experienced a high participation of the tribal households in programme implementation throughout the project cycle, Even the ultra-poor households took active part and generated positive results. 6.3 Technical and Economic Sustainability

Tribal producers’ capacity is although limited and this has been reasonably enhanced under MKSP and the tribal farmers particularly farm women are now aware of new technologies of crop cultivation and production. But they may not have continuing access to emerging technologies where there are a number of costs cutting provisions and means of enhancing profit margins. Secondly, they have limited access to inputs such as fertilizers, improved seeds and above all timely access to formal credit. These constraints will continue to put pressure on tribal households although the percentage of farmers adopting commercial agriculture has been increasing

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

from 40% in 2014 to 64% at Completion. Amount of credit available from SHG is also highly limited and no more than INR 10,000/household. 6.4 Environmental Sustainability

Over all, the results of MKSP interventions have contributed significantly to environmental sustainability. For example, a wide variety of soil and water conservation activities, low external input methods given preference in agriculture extension, drip irrigation demonstrating efficient use of water for agriculture, training farmers in the use of bio-fertilizers, composting and mixed cropping with legumes along with efficient use of water resources for agriculture through drip irrigation etc putting sloping lands that are marginal for crop cultivation under fruit trees. There is strong emphasis on keeping habitations clean and in many villages the VLCs have ensured periodic cleanliness drives including health and sanitation with low cost toilets with bath. Selected villages have also promoted plantations including horticultural plantations for livelihoods but also contributing to environmental focus 6.5 Exit Strategy

The following steps as part of exit strategy which would ensure sustainability of all interventions under MKSP.

 Grading and linking all SHG federations with OLM systematically;

 Effectively using the convergence support to provide missing gaps in infrastructure and other support facilities;

 Handholding support in the form of training, inputs, O&M of all processing units, IGA units, fish- ponds, etc

 Creating more access to inputs including seeds, credit and more access to markets and market information

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

SECTION 7: LESSON LEARNT, CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS

7.1 Lessons Learnt Decentralization, empowerment and accountability Tribal communities, traditionally isolated from the mainstream can effectively plan and implement programmes for their own development provided (i) there is adequate investment in facilitation and capacity development; (ii) the planning, implementation and reporting systems are transparent; (iii) mechanisms are set up for social audit and (iv) decision making is decentralized. Such project methodologies can capacitate tribal communities, enhance their self- confidence and be most empowering. Working in conflict environment A development and empowerment project implemented in Koraput district with strategies having elements of participation, equity and empowerment, group-based approaches and transparency in planning and implementation can succeed even in areas acutely affected by LWE. 7.2 CONCLUSION The experiences of women farmers of the Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana clearly indicate that in general they feel empowered and much more self confident than before the beginning of the programme. Increased participation of women farmers in gram sabhas is an important outcome of MKSP and this is clearly indicative of their enhanced political awareness. Further, the ability to manage the women farmers groups and federations quite effectively and address larger social issues concerning women, such as, domestic violence and illicit liquor brewing suggest that MKSP has contributed towards empowering its members. The importance of various capacity building initiatives in promoting integrated agricultural practices that combine conventional farming methods with organic methods have been received and accepted well by women farmers. There is a high degree of conviction on the merits of recommended agricultural practices among them. However, not everyone who is convinced is able to adopt the practices promoted in MKSP. There are numerous constraints for adoption with regard to the laborious processes involved in the preparation, the meticulous planning that is required, availability of bio-inputs, non-

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

availability of time, lack of support from family members etc. Nevertheless, the practitioners of sustainable agricultural practices highlight the advantages with respect to reduction in cost of cultivation, improvement in quality of produce, improvement in soil health, enhancement in availability of food grains at the household level through mixed cropping practice. The experiences of women farmers also clearly indicate that the adoption level of practices such as ‘opening of furrows and ridges’, seed treatment, yellow sticky trap, bird stand etc. that are not very demanding in terms of input requirement are being adopted much more compared to, say, Neemastra (biopesticide) or Jeevamruth (liquid fertiliser) -bio-inputs- that are recommended in MKSP. Cattle urine is a basic ingredient required in the preparation of Neemastra- and cattle dung and urine are required for the preparation of Jeevamruth. The conviction with which women farmers adopt the promoted practices and the sustainability built into the system through strong farmer to farmer linkages indicate that there is enormous scope for the scaling up and spread of appropriate agricultural practices across the state and country. Notwithstanding the positive results of MKSP, the project assessment review at completion also brings out specific concerns that need to be addressed so that the programme becomes replicative and remains a sustainable model. 7.3 RECOMMENDATIONS Facilitate access to bio-inputs to enhance adoption of recommended practices Farmers often point out the difficulties they face in accessing inputs for following certain techniques recommended in the programme. Unless provisions are made for easy access to bio inputs it would be difficult for farmers to adopt the recommended practices. One effort towards this is to encourage women farmers to set up enterprises for bio-inputs as well as trading in bio- inputs. Role of the State in Agricultural Extension MKSP is an attempt to enhance the skills and capacities of women farmers to practice agriculture in a manner that is economically and environmentally viable. In a sense, MKSP addresses the vacuum created by the weakened state agricultural extension system. Technical guidance on crop cultivation is provided to MKSP women farmers with an ultimate goal of strengthening their livelihood. However, lack of access to bio-inputs has been a constraint for farmers to implement the techniques and practices on which they received trainings. It is important for the state agricultural extension system to revive its role and make available all necessary inputs, including bio-inputs, at the required time to farmers. Further, careful planning and preparation is required to implement the various sustainable cultivation measures and most inputs cannot be bought off the shelf for a price. Only such households where members are capable of diligent planning, have the mental and physical preparedness towards carrying out the work, are able to adopt the recommended practices.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

In sum, the Mahila Kisans (women farmers) aim to mainstream the nutritional factors in the design of farming systems. The problem of malnutrition arising from hidden hunger caused by the deficiency of micronutrients in the diet is well known. The Mahila Kisans and suitable women representatives from the community who have received training as community hunger fighters shall spread their knowledge of nutrition among villagers and will help to establish genetic gardens of bio-fortified crops. Through these steps it is hoped the Mahila Kisans will not only help in sustaining food security but also promote nutrition security

CASE STUDIES CASE STUDY No.: 1: MAJULA PANGI

Name Manjula Pangi

Age 36 Caste ST Village Panasguda G.P Sambai Block Pottangi District Koraput Name of SHG/PG Maa Saraswati PG Occupation Agriculture

Present Income Rs.30,000 Food Security 9 months in a year

Land owned 2 acres Leased land 0 Type of land Midium-1acr,Low -1 acre Land under cultivation Veg-1 acre, Paddy-1 acre Source of Irrigation Rain-fed Access to other sources 0

Area of land intervened: Half acre for Ginger, 0.25 acre for vegetable (cabbage) and one acre for line transplanting paddy

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

Pre-intervention scenario: Prior to intervention, land was used for traditional paddy cultivation in the low land and millet in medium land. Cultivation was primarily meant for sustenance only. The yield was poor as there was no attention to application of proven technologies and sustainable practices. She was not aware about adopting suitable new crops for better earnings.

Description of intervention and process undertaken: She was identified and profiled as Mahila Kisan under MKSP. Soon she learnt producers group as well as the sustainable agriculture practices. As a Mahila Kisan member of a Producers Group, she participated and received training on crop planning, soil health management, sustainable agricultural practices, seed treatment and organic ways of vegetable cultivation and low cost package of practices. The CRPs and PRPs also extended handholding support in building her confidence in doing agriculture in a more planned and scientific way.

Trainings attended(type, no & days): 1. Crop Planning- 1 day, 2. Sustainable agriculture-1 day, 3. Soil & land development- 1 day

Adoption of technical protocol (what practices under technical protocol were planned and adopted) Land preparation right from summer ploughing, raised nursery bed preparation, seed treatment, line transplanting, spacing, periodical weeding and manuring were followed as improved practices.

Post intervention scenario/Outcomes (change in production, productivity & income) : Due to adoption of the improved package of practices, low cost inputs and diversion of crops, the cost of production and risk of crop damage reduced in comparison to the earlier experience. This resulted in more yield and more profit. The details are presented below-:

Cost Benefit Analysis: Sl Crop Name Ginger Cabbage Total No 1 2 3 4 5 A Cultivated area 0.5 acre 0.25 acre 0.75 B Seed Varieties Suprava Pride of India - C Cost of Land preparation Rs.2000 Rs.1000 Rs.3000 D Cost of seed Rs.24000(@Rs.8000* Rs.200 Rs.24200 3 Qntl E Cost towards irrigation 0 0 0 F Cost of fertilizer Rs.1500 Rs.1000 Rs.2500

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

G Cost of pesticides Rs.500 Rs.300 Rs.800 H Total labour cost Rs.3000 Rs.1500 Rs.4500 I Cost of implements used 0 0 0 J Transportation cost Rs.250 0 Rs.250 K Other cost 0 0 0 L Cost of Production (sum of A to K) Rs.31250 Rs.4000 Rs.35250 M Cost of marketing including transport Rs.1000 Rs.500 Rs.1500 Total Cost of production (Add. N Rs.32250 Rs.4500 Rs.36750 L+M) O Total yield (in KG) 1800 Kg 750 Kg - P Household consumption (in Kg) 10 Kg 20 Kg - Q Surplus for sale (O-P) 1790 Kg 730 Kg - R Sale price per Kg Rs.60 Rs.10 - S Total Income (Q*R) Rs.107400 Rs.7300 Rs.114700 T Net Income (S-N) Rs.75150 Rs.2800 Rs.77950

Plan Ahead: Encouraged with the positive change in terms of yield and profitability, she has planned to scale up cultivation area to another 1 acre on lease basis for vegetable cultivation.

CASE STUDY No.: 2: LAXMI KHILA

Name Laxmi Khilla Age 33 Caste SC Village Deopattangi G.P Deopottangi Block Pottangi District Koraput Name of SHG Kiaphulla SHG Name of PG Deomali PG Occupation Agriculture Present Income Rs.75,000 PA

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

Food Security Level Round the Year

Land owned 1 acre Leased land 3.5 acre Type of land Midium-3 acre ,Low -0.5 acre Land under cultivation Veg-3.5 acre, Paddy-1 acre Source of Irrigation Rain-fed Access to other sources 0

Area of land intervened: 1 acre of own land and 3.5 acre of leased land were intervened for paddy and vegetable cultivation during last Kharif.

Pre-intervention scenario: Existing 1 acre of own land was used for paddy only in Kharif. After receiving training and guidance under MKSP she realized the value of crop diversification and mixed cropping for better yield and earning prospects. She ventured into cash crop and preferred Ginger and Potato cultivation as she used to work earlier as wage worker in the Ginger field. In the first phase she started ginger crops in a half acre leased land and then extended to 3 acres.

Description of intervention and process undertaken: With the identification of village and SHG members engaged in agriculture for MKSP intervention support, Laxmi Khilla was selected by the community members not only as a Mahila Kisan but also as Community Resource Person to lead other SHG members towards farm based livelihood initiative with the support of MKSP. She was determined to improve her earning by adopting new knowledge and skills and more remunerative agriculture operations. To overcome constraint of not having sufficient land, she preferred to take additional land on lease. She was concerned about the increased economic burden of investment and hence decided to choose crops that could give her assured returns. She was facilitated to procure quality seeds and reduce dependence on chemical fertilizer and pesticides. She was also made aware about the processing and storage skills so that she could get best bargain for the produce.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

Trainings attended (type, no & days): 1. Crop Planning- 1 day 2. Sustainable agriculture practices-1 day 3. Exposure visit- 1 day

Adoption of technical protocol (what practices under technical protocol were planned and adopted) : Land preparation from soil testing, summer ploughing ,raised nursery bed preparation, seed treatment, line transplanting, spacing, periodical weeding and manuring were followed by her as improved practices.

Post intervention scenario/Outcomes (change in production, productivity & income) Knowledge about technical protocol with regard to various agricultural operations in vegetable and crop cultivation enhanced her skill and interest to undertake agriculture as a sustainable livelihood option. Application of acquired skills and adoption of good practices with the hand holding support of MKSP field functionaries as well as the trained Para Professionals led to increased yield and profit. As a result of increased income, she feels proud to be Mahila Kisan.

Cost Benefit Analysis: Sl . No Crop Name Potato Ginger Total 1 2 3 4 5 A Cultivated area 0.5 acre 1 acre 3.5 B Seed Varieties Kharif Jyoti Suprava - C Cost of Land preparation Rs. 1,200 Rs. 1,200 Rs. 2,400 D Cost of seed /Seed rate Rs. 4,500 Rs. 48,000 Rs. 52,500 E Cost towards irrigation 0 0 0 F Cost of fertilizer & compost Rs. 1,500 Rs. 3,000 Rs. 4,500 G Cost of bio-pesticides 0 Rs.400 Rs. 400 H Total labour cost Rs. 2,000 Rs. 3,000 Rs. 5000 I Cost of implements used 0 Rs. 670 Rs. 670 J Transportation cost Rs.250 Rs.400 Rs. 650 K Other cost 0 0 0 L Cost of Production (sum of A to K) Rs. 9,450 Rs. 56,670 Rs. 66,120 M Cost of marketing including transport Rs. 1,000 Rs.1,000 Rs. 2,000 N Total Cost of production (Add. L+M) Rs. 10450 Rs. 57670 Rs. 68120 O Total yield (in KG) 1800 Kg 2700 Kg - P Household consumption (in Kg) 200 Kg 20 Kg - Q Surplus for sale (O-P) 1600 Kg 2680 Kg - R Sale price per Kg Rs.15 Rs.60 - S Total Income (Q*R) Rs.24,000 Rs,160,800 Rs.1,84,800

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

T Net Income (S-N) Rs.13,550 Rs.1,03,130 Rs.1,16,680

Plan Ahead: She plans to continue the cultivation of Ginger crop, preferably upscale it by covering 3 to 4 acres of land in a year or two. Her success has a big promise for others. As CRP member, she is hopeful to extend similar benefits to more number of Mahila Kisans. The stable high market price of Ginger in the local and outside regions is another major boosting factor for farmers with limited land holding. She has also reaped benefits from use of organic manure and improved agricultural practices shunning the use of chemicals and looks for inter cropping next year in order to add further economic values to her effort.

CASE STUDY No.: 3: PRAMILA PANGI

Name Pramila Pangi

Age 33

Caste OBC Village Deopattangi G.P Deopottangi Block Pottangi District Koraput Name of SHG Nabajyoti SHG Name of PG Deomali PG Occupation Agriculture

Present Income Rs .65,000 PA Food Security Level Round the Year

Area of Land Intervened (Details) : Sl. No. Name of Crop Grown Kharif Rabi Summer 1 Paddy 2.05 ac. - 0.10 acr 2 Raagi 0.15 acr - - 3 Vegetable 0.30 acr 0.15 acr 0.15 acr 4 Ginger 0.50 acr - -

1. Description of Intervention and Process Undertaken: High and medium lands are put into use under right selection of crops. Both paddy and Raagi are covered in the high lands where vegetables are put in medium lands with irrigation facility. The low land (Jholla) is covered by summer rice. Here she has adopted certain new practices like varietal replacement of local variety paddy with high yielder short duration

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

paddy like Khandagiri. So also She has replaced the Raagi variety (Local) with high yielder( Bhairabi). Here the most appropriate technology in highland she has adopted is line sowing. 2. Trainings Attended: a) SHG Training b) Vermin-composting c) Mushroom Cultivation d) Soil testing and soil sample collection method) e) Different types of compost making(NADEP&ICAR) 3. Adoption of Technical Protocol (What Practices were planned and Adopted) :

Sl. No. Component Practices Adopted 1 Natural Resources . Summer and Ploughing immediate after the Management (Soil and previous crop is harvested water Conservation) . Ploughing across the slope . Farm Bund Preparation . Preparation of water channel right at final field preparation 2 Seed Management . Seed variety replacement with short duration HYVP . Use of quality treated seeds 3 Integrated Nutrient . Soil testing Management (INM) . Different types of compost making (NADEP and ICAR) . Intercropping . Adoption of crop rotation 4 Integrated of Pest . Trap crops Management . Use of bird stand . Use of pesticides prepared from different plant leaves like neem, karanja with cow dung and cow urine etc.

4. Post Intervention Scenario/ Outcomes (Change in Production, Productivity and Income) : Productivity has been increased but it is not tangible. Accordingly the income growth is not substantial.

Plan Ahead :

Crop substitution . Non paddy against paddy in high lands

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

. Mixed cropping in highlands(Paddy+ Arhar, Paddy+ Maize) . Intercropping . Concentration on INM Concept . More emphasis on organic manure ,less /least use of chemical fertilizer . Regular soil testing , once in three years . Use of green manuring . Use of bio fertilizer . Keep one leguminous crop in crop rotation . Seed Management . Seed Replacement with high yielding varieties as well as certified seeds . Treatment of seeds against seed borne diseases before use of seeds Cost Benefit Analysis of Crops:

Sl. No Components Paddy Raagi Potato Beans Chili Ginger Total 1 Cultivated Area in Cent 215 15 20 15 5 50 275 2 Seed Variety Khandagiri, Bhairabi Kufri JyotiLocal Guntur Suprava Jodu 3 Cost of Land Preparation7000 800 900 600 200 1700 11200 in Rs. 4 Cost of Seeds 700 40 1000 200 50 15000 16990 5 Cost of Irrigation 300 - 600 300 200 1000 2400 6 Cost of Manure & 3500 400 2000 600 400 4000 10900 Fertilizer 7 Transportation and Appl.600 - 300 200 200 1000 2300 Cost of manure & Fertilizer 8 Cost of PP measures 300 - 400 200 100 1000 2000 9 Cost of Intercultural 500 - 500 300 200 2000 3500 operations 10 Cost of Harvesting 2400 300 1000 500 200 2500 6900 11 Cost of Processing & 300 200 400 - - 1000 1900 Marketing 12 Cost of production (Sum15600 1740 7100 2900 1550 29200 58090 of 1-11) 13 Total Yield in Kg. 1600 250 1000 500 200 1300 4850 14 HH consumption in kg. 1000 250 50 25 10 20 1355 15 Balance for sale in kg 600 - 950 475 190 1280 3495 (13-14) 16 Sell Price/kg. 12 - 10 30 20 30 102 17 Total Income (15x16) 7200 - 9500 14250 3800 38400 73150 18 Net Profit(17-12) 3600 - 2400 11350 2250 9200 28800

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

Impact:

She has shown interest to learn new ideas and practice the same in her crop field and to some extent she has succeeded in her endeavor and adopted certain new practices like line sowing, seed treatment, replacement of high yielding varieties and use of fertilizer at proper time ,particularly she has applied urea after proper incubation. She has already made up her mind for crop substitution(non paddy crop against paddy in high land),cultivation of leguminous crop like cowpea/green gram/black gram etc in crop rotation. She has learnt about the crops which are more nitrogen consumer and the crops which are nitrogen fixer. BEST PRACTICES IDENTIFICATION OF BEST PRACTICES The process of identification of best practices was initiated from the very beginning of the project by process observation, monitoring, interaction with the beneficiaries and community level meetings associating the direct beneficiaries and other stakeholders where the details of best practices evolved were discussed, contextualized, validated and established. The documentation team conducted the process and visited the activities on regular intervals to observe the details of the activities including its techno-feasibility to the local context. Total 06 meetings were organized in three years, 02 meetings in a year and finally 10 nos. of best practices were identified and documented out of which 02 case studies were documented in the 1st year, 05 in the 2nd year and 03 in the 3rd year of the project. This was followed by dissemination workshops where the best practices were shared with the stakeholders. Year 1:

 Indigenous agricultural practices: a successful model from Chorimaliput village  Cooperative farming: an exemplary form of group based farming culture by producer’s group, Malipungar Year 2:

 Organic agriculture: successful crop production with adoption of non-pesticide management (NPM)  Crop diversification: varied range of crop production with appropriate seasonality management, a practice evolved out of the process  System of Crop Intensification (SCI): an example of application of SCI beyond rice cultivation  Improvised household nutritional security: nutritional kitchen garden in convergence with watershed  Adoption to technology by tribal women farmers Year 3:

 Fair price for agricultural produces: increased market accessibility and price bargaining

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

 Increased programme accessibility: an example of convergence with OTELP and watershed programme  Agricultural bio-diversity management: a process of change with adoption to organic agriculture and seeds production.

Model-I Thematic Area Indigenous agricultural practices: a successful model from Chorimaliput village Specific agricultural systems and landscapes have been created, shaped and maintained by generations of farmers based on diverse natural resources using local adopted management practices. Building on local knowledge & experiences, these indigenous agricultural systems reflect the evolution of humankind, the diversity of its knowledge and its profound relationship with nature. These systems have been resulted not only in outstanding landscapes and adaptation of significant agricultural biodiversity, indigenous knowledge system and resilient eco-system, but above all in the sustained provision of food production, livelihood security and maintenance of quality life. The said village covered under LAVS-MKSP programme is one of such villages in Koraput District which has a rich culture of agro-biodiversity management practices and also developed its own practice of agriculture based on its traditional knowledge and wisdom which has evolved and developed over a period practicing agricultural activities including land development, looking into the agro-climatic conditions. The people have shaped the landscape, developed irrigation practices , selected seasonality of crops, soil fertility management practices, pest management practices, weed management practices, genetic resource management, micro climate management practices , classification of soil and land use and many other practices which has ensured both quality & quantity of production/harvesting. Name of the Village Chorimaliput Chorimaliput village is situated around 10 K.Ms. from the Block Head Quarter and connected by a pucca road. There is a natural & perennial water source, further connected with earthen water channels, which is the major source of irrigation for the farmers. The economy of the village is dominated by agriculture, while other source of income like wage earning, livestock rearing, small vending are negligible. Predominantly this village is known for its traditional pattern of agriculture which has slowly and progressively developed its own culture of agriculture. Based on its experience it has developed its own expertise in dealing with climate change impacts, biodiversity management, crop management, water management, diversification of crops, change in cropping pattern and seasonality. Name of the Block/District: Semiliguda/Koraput

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

Name of the person or Group (no. of members): Radhakrushna SHG: 10 women farmers/group members The traditional pattern of farming/agriculture of the village though recognized, but the process of documentation was made by observing the process followed for agriculture by a specific group to understand the micro situation and the insights of the success stories. Looking into the regularity of agricultural activities and association with MKSP, Radhakrushna SHG was taken as a case. This group has 10 members on its board and formed and strengthened under the MKSP programme by LAVS. They were also guided to continue the indigenous pattern of agriculture looking into their interest, involvement and history of earning from agricultural activities. Process of change Agriculture is the most primitive occupation of the tribal and other traditional dwellers of the said area. Though people have changed their pattern of cultivation to settled cultivation, but many practices have remained unchanged and many indigenous practices became fruitful for them in securing their livelihoods and food security. These age old practices are sustainable in nature and even in some instances proved more effective. The traditional knowledge and wisdom available with them are very rich and typical in fighting against nature for survival of the crops and good harvesting at the end. Though in some instances, some blind beliefs are exists, but these are very negligible and now slowly losing its importance with project based intervention and sensitization programmes under MKSP. There is a huge stretch of agricultural land, very close to the village and the land is found very well developed for agriculture which has been very well developed by the villagers. Looking into the local agro-climatic condition and rainfall statistics, the lands were made upside down and the rainwater is allowed to discharge to the next crop field and accordingly the crop planning is also made .For example, the lowest side is used for paddy cultivation, while the top end is used for different vegetables and cash crop cultivations which include ginger, turmeric, etc.

In some instances it is found that the traditional agriculture pattern is linked with their religious and spiritual beliefs and they do worship different Gods and Goddesses for good harvest and cropping. Hence, it helps them in building confidence and recalling the seasonality, timing and calendar based activities of different crops. It is observed from the group that they do have a very good practice of balance utilization of agri inputs and outputs, meaning the traditional system of tribal agriculture in this region does not believe in either under utilization or over utilization of both inputs and outputs. They do have a proper planning and mechanism of utilization of seeds, manure etc. and they do follow a traditional measurement system.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

Mixed cropping is practiced in this village with appropriate measurement of time/duration, height of the crop, compatibility etc. They do allow the first crop to grow very fast and the second crop after harvesting the first crop. In between, they do allow their cattle and poultry birds to enter into the fields as it helps in manuring the field with the animal excreta and de- weeding and pest management by the poultry birds.

The practice of crop rotation is evolved in the village from times immemorial. For example, turmeric is cultivated as annual crop and in the succeeding one-two years they do pulses like Arhar (Kandula) and black gram in the same land and again after 2-3 years; they do cultivate turmeric in the same land. The same happens in case of small duration crops like cabbage, cauliflower etc. This strategy is taken up for fertility and disease & pest management strategies. In the upland areas, they do select to grow minor millets like Raagi followed by niger with the available moisture.

The crop production practice by the group is managed very carefully starting from the storage of the seeds and treatment of the seeds with traditional methods. Broadcasting is the common method of sowing seed while some of the new methods have been integrated into their practices as this restricts the growth of weeds in the upland areas. In case of middle and lower land, they do also follow line sowing but in this context, though the weeding is easier, it needs two more weeding. They do follow their own and traditional method for weeding, mulching and for crop protection, they do use cow dung and spray it by making a solution out of this. The post harvesting management practices are found very effective, as they do use the method of sun drying and hand cleaning of the produces and store the same in a very clean traditional containers like bamboo baskets coated with cow dung and earthen solutions and in some context, they do use earthen pots. A comparative status of crop production in the village shows a good statistics in case of traditional agriculture. People do practice cultivation of paddy, Raagi, maize, ginger, turmeric, beans, pulses, Niger and some variety of vegetables which has good potential factors with good harvesting at the end. Looking into the crop production ratio of last three years, it has come out that they have never failed a single crop. While observing, it is revealed that the soil fertility management practices, integrated pest management practices (biological and organic pest management), weed management practices, genetic resource management and micro-climatic management practices are the major reasons of success. Inputs & support Services provided LAVS under its MKSP programme has guided a group of women farmers for assured drop production by following indigenous practice of agriculture. The indigenous knowledge and wisdom are available in the community, but they were unable to identify these as knowledge base rather it has become a practice at community level which is followed since generations. In organizing the indigenous

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

knowledge base, LAVS has conducted a series of community based meetings and technical facilitation by experts and experimented these indigenous practices by the farmers in small patches and then expanded its coverage looking into its relevance. Technical validation process was undertaken by experts and periodic guidance was provided for soil fertility management, integrated pest management (biological and organic pest management), weed management and genetic resource management. Also the farmers were provided training and exposure on the above said subjects. The seeds preservation and use was constantly monitored and in time guidance was provided to the farmers. Limitations It was difficult for revival of indigenous practice of agriculture as the modern practice is easier and less labour requirements. However, it has taken time to make them understood the impact of chemical fertilizers and both high yielding and hybrid variety of seeds vis-à-vis the benefits of organic and indigenous agriculture which has greater climate adaptive and sustainable factors. In this context, it was a challenge for coverage of beneficiaries and land. The process was adopted slowly and progressively.

Time taken to adopt the practice It has taken two cropping seasons to establish the climate adaptive indigenous farming practices. In the first season, it was demonstrated in small fields and with limited crops like vegetables and after gaining success; it was extended to larger areas with coverage of other crops such as paddy, Raagi, maize, ginger etc. Benefit to the community There is existence of traditional pattern of farming since generations and maximum of the farmers do have practiced the indigenous practices in case of some specific crops like Raagi, maize, Kandula, but systematization of indigenous knowledge in farming is done by limited farmers in the village. Starting from land development to post-harvest management, a group of farmers are practicing indigenous farming. Around 20 hectors of land is covered by 10 families belonging to one group which is also preparing organic manure and organic pest control mechanism.3 This has reduced the cost of cultivation and ensured the production catering climate change effects. The quality of production with proper plant nutrient management has reduced the vulnerability for storage and preservation of seeds. It is often seen, using traditional mechanism, the crop requires less water and reduced pest attack. The organic products are sold with better price and fetched high priority in the market. Scope for replication The traditional pattern of agriculture following indigenous knowledge exists everywhere in the District, however, systematizing the same is lacking for which many farmers do face problem in maintaining the same. There is need of a series of actions at community level to prove its relevance and make it effective in terms of ensuring both quality and quantity of productions.

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT MKSP-Potangi & Semiliguda Blocks in Odisha

Also, a systematic documentation of all such traditional knowledge and practices existing in the villages before its application should be done and village/crop specific plans should be developed before replicating it with a wide range of coverage. Way forward Implementation of new information and knowledge by women farmers Diffusion of the innovative solution is an extremely important indicator for sustainability. It is therefore very important for the women from the communities engaged in the groups and institutions to participate fully and actively in the learning and application processes. The women need to be regular in the producer group/ federation meetings etc., and implement the knowledge gained in their farms. If proper implementation of the knowledge gained is not done, the sustainable practices learnt by the women farmers may not be continued. This would mean loss of the rich work that LAVS has done through MKSP in the area. Strengthening Strategies for Livelihood Diversification While MKSP by LAVS has shown the way for sustainable agricultural practices by women farmers, the income generated through the same need a three pronged process including: better market linkages for all products, building of collective community social entrepreneurship with the women through training of business plan development, leadership and vocational literacy programs and value based addition, diversification of products that have market demands. The government extension network needs a proactive outreach strategy to equip women farmers with technical knowhow and skills for crop diversification and increased productivity. Small farm large field framework Land is a major constraint for women farmers. This denies them the opportunity to take up farming at a scale for use of benefits like mechanization, volume of production and value chain explorations. The FPO initiative of LAVS has shown positive results by pooling small pieces of land under large field under the women collective. Introduction of regulated contract farming and transparent land leasing legislation may pave the path for large scale women agriculture entrepreneurship on a sustainable basis. Empowering Women farmers An Ecosystem of change has been set in motion at the household level for women empowerment by LAVS. However, to transform the overall environment, it is important to sensitize and encourage equal participation of men and women in the household as well as agricultural and allied work to ensure reduction of double and triple burden for women. In doing so, the ownership and control over livelihood innovations and resources should remain with the women. Continuation of Best practice of Convergence of programs LAVS has been working in partnership and collaboration with various stakeholders including Government, NGOs and corporate entities. Such multi stakeholder partnership is an important innovative strategy which needs to be continued to enable women farmers to access funding and technical inputs from various sources.