The Civil Society Fund Development Interventions
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THE CIVIL SOCIETY FUND DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS Mission East Application for project: New Ways to Grow: Improving Food Security in Southern Chin, Myanmar 1. Relevance of the intervention Objective of the intervention The project has the following development objective: Remote rural communities in Chin State have improved food security and nutrition. The development objective will be measured against the following success criteria: i) Increased household food production (quantity and diversity) ii) Improved local knowledge on sustainable agricultural techniques and diet / food preparation for good nutrition Relevant aspects of the context in which the intervention is to take place (e.g. social, economic, political, climate-related and environmental conditions) The intervention will take place in the southern part of Chin State, Myanmar. The country is listed by CISU as a fragile context and by INFORM as a very high risk country. The level of poverty in Chin State, the lack of State presence (linked to lack of access to basic services) and protection of human rights for the Mara community as a religious minority (Christian) and their high level of exposure and vulnerability to natural hazards are clear factors to meet the criteria for such categorisation. Chin State is located in the western part of Myanmar bordering Mizoram, Nagaland and Manipur states of India. The primary focus will be on the areas inhabited by the Mara indigenous people group - including 53 villages within the 3 townships of Thantlang, Matupi and Paletwa - often referred to informally as ‘Maraland”. This covers an area of 1,200 square miles, and is the target area covered by partner Together for Sustainable Development (TSD). However, the areas of operation of partner Health and Hope Myanmar (HHM) cover a wider area in southern Chin State beyond the Mara region, including 4 additional southern townships: Samee, Rezua, Mindat, Kanpetlet, and Tandlan. Main training and workshop activities will take place in Lailenpi, one of the largest towns in Maraland, where the TSD and HHM head offices are located. However, given that the required travel permits are granted (or travel restrictions are lifted), other activities will take place in 4 villages in Maraland: Lailenpi, Sabawngpi, Peite and Tisi (see Map in Annex). Social, economic, environmental and political background conditions Social: 30% of Myanmar’s population is made up of ethnic minorities. Ethnic nationality-populated, rural areas of Myanmar have long been affected by conflicts between the militarized state and dozens of non-state armed groups. Chin State is sparsely populated with a total population of approximately 500,000 people, composed of many different ethnic groups. The majority of Chin people are Christian, with a minority Buddhist and Animist. The church plays a significant social role in Chin society, influencing many aspects of daily life. The majority of the population (98% in Maraland) are subsistence farmers, living in rural villages. Economic: Chin State is one of the poorest and least developed states in Myanmar, with deficiencies in most sectors. The UNDP estimates that 73.3% of the population live below the CIVIL SOCIETY FUND, Development Intervention, revised February 2017 1 poverty line, and the WFP estimates that 81% of households have inadequate food consumption. Chin people continue to flee to neighbouring countries/states like Mizoram (in India) and also to Malaysia. Until 2011, this was largely to escape forced labour and religious persecution, and today continues because of the harsh living conditions and poverty. Subsistence agriculture is the main economic activity, but now much of the labour force is migrating leaving the most vulnerable. Environmental: Chin State is a beautiful and mountainous region but a challenging topography for agriculture. There are several natural resources, including forest products, waterways and minerals. However, there is very little infrastructure, with poor transport links and a lack of communication infrastructure. Most of the region is forest/jungle, but with serious environmental issues related to uncontrolled ‘slash-and-burn’ agricultural methods and hunting of wildlife. Local residents report changes in weather patterns in the region, making the agricultural cycles which they depend on less reliable than in the past. The food security situation in the area has been hugely affected by what the local people call “bamboo dying crisis”. Bamboo has natural cycle of dying once in every fifty years which lasts for 5 to 7 years, resulting in food crisis for all bamboo- dependant wild animals, rat multiplication, decrease of vegetable productivity, severe food scarcity and infectious diseases. The bamboo dying happened recently between 2007 and 2012 and the consequences are still felt today. Political: There is a general consensus that the political reforms started in 2011 presented a great opportunity for conflict resolution and peace in Myanmar since the 1962 military coup brought an end to the democratic, federal and civilian aspirations of post-colonial leaders. Since their inauguration on March 30, 2011, Thein Sein and his administration acted like a government, not a high command or ‘junta’. In the previous “government,” there was no such distinction. The first openly contested elections since 1990 held in 2015 gave the National League for Democracy (Aung San Suu Kyi’s party) an absolute majority in both chambers of the national parliament, who in 2016 elected the first non-military president since 1962, Htin Kyaw. There are great hopes from the population for this new government. For civil society organisations, until very recently, there has been little to no ‘space’ for them to function in effective cooperation with the state. Both TSD and HHM have spoken about periods where they were directly threatened by the military regime and told to stop their programming. Today, the government opened the ways for rural community development in Myanmar through central national and international funds, channelled through local government and registered local NGOs. But Chin State still requires extra permission to visit for outsiders and is not considered to be under the government’s priority states for development. Problem analysis: The main problem that this project is expected to address is the food insecurity and poor nutrition of selected remote rural communities in Chin State, Myanmar. This means that population are disadvantaged in terms of health and livelihoods, which contributes to perpetuating the poverty and low living standards they experience. Poor nutrition is largely caused by lack of variety of local crops available, meaning that nutritional intake is not balanced. There is a low understanding of the connection between balanced diet and nutritional health, and women (as household members responsible for the family diet) do not have skills in food preparation / processing adapted to a wide range of crops. Different seed varieties and new crops seeds / seedlings are difficult to obtain. There are also cultural factors that affect the dietary habits, e.g. rice is the staple food, even though it cannot really be produced in the area given the geographical conditions and it is not always easy to access. The lack of variety in crops currently produced also contributes to food insecurity, as produce is available in traditional harvesting seasons, but not year round. Agricultural productivity is low, and agriculture is based on traditional slash and burn techniques. As well as low land productivity, this has the additional negative consequence of forest depletion. Food insecurity is intensified by the CIVIL SOCIETY FUND, Development Intervention, revised February 2017 2 remote nature of the location, including lack of road access, meaning it is difficult to get agricultural inputs or reach markets for trade/ purchase of additional foodstuffs. There has been little impetus for change from authority structures including Village Administrative Committee and Church Local Standing Committee – however in the project preparation, these bodies have expressed interest in supporting improvements in food security and nutrition issues identified. These problems mean that new generations are not interested in agriculture, which is not perceived to present reliable livelihood prospects. An additional effect therefore is migration as people relocate to seek alternative livelihoods / work due to the inability to raise a living from agricultural production. As a priority, this project will address: - Lack of crop variety and year round food availability via support (inputs, training) to crop diversification. It is necessary to tackle this problem, as the target population continuously find themselves in a situation of food insecurity and poor nutrition. The target group identified their main problem as the lack of food. - Lack of knowledge on sustainable agricultural techniques, and on food preparation / processing for good nutrition. This will be addressed by learning, promoting and piloting of a new sustainable agricultural methodology, doing away with the slash and burn culture. The depletion of the soil caused by the slash and burn methodology, renders crops weaker and smaller, increasing the issue of food insecurity. In general women (being regularly responsible for the food preparation/ processing) are bound by tradition in their ways of cooking but are not aware of the nutritional value of the foods that could be available and have high nutritional