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Rural Development Activities in India

Rural development activities in IndiaToday, over 400,000 beneficiaries across 900 villages in four states (Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan) have organised themselves into more than 1400 village-level institutions. AKDN's rural development efforts started in the early 1980s when the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme(AKRSP) was established in Gujarat. Rural development programmes seek to contribute to rural poverty reduction through community involvement and empowerment that leads to the efficient management and improved productivity of natural resources. Today, over 400,000 beneficiaries across 900 villages in four states (Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan) have organised themselves into more than 1400 village-level institutions.

What's New

Information about the Innovation Fund for The Aga Khan Foundation and European Commission Co-financed Sustainable Community Based Approaches to Livelihood Enhancement Project’s Innovation Fund for Rural Development, including Model Proposal Format

 

Introduction
Firmly committed to reducing rural poverty in the semi-arid region of India, the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) and its partners are working to improve rural livelihoods in select and environmentally degraded areas in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

These are states characterised by erratic rainfall, depleting or contaminated groundwater, poor soil conditions and prone to natural calamities, primarily affecting agricultural incomes, still the mainstay of India’s predominantly rural economy.

The profile of livelihoods in India, especially in these states shows that agriculture and animal husbandry still remain the main sources of livelihood for rural communities, though there is a significant shift to non-farm sectors such as mining and quarrying, construction and manufacturing during periods of drought.

The ultimate goal is for communities to have the confidence to make informed choices from a range of appropriate options that leads to sustainable and equitable development.

AKDN's rural development programmes in India include community federations that have been promoted by the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (India). Increasingly, these federations are taking over the roles and responsibilities of AKRSP (I) in promoting and strengthening community institutions at the village level. Support for watershed development activities by rural beneficiaries has given rise to savings amongst beneficiaries of 28.2 million rupees (US$ 622,222), increased amounts of water for drinking and irrigation, higher agricultural productivity, greater capability to cope with drought and lower payments to moneylenders. Community-based irrigation management, efficient water resource management and joint forest management approaches have been successfully piloted. A 1995-2000 impact study undertaken in certain areas showed beneficiaries’ incomes increased between 40 and 80 percent, while expenditure on food increased by 85 percent. Female literacy levels rose by 10 percent while distress migration declined from 80 percent to 35 percent and distress migration declined from 150 to 90 days per year.

Socio-Economic Factors Affecting Rural Livelihoods
The poor have meagre holdings or access to land, little or no capital and off-farm employment is seasonal. It is almost impossible for farmers to secure credit and loans needed to purchase agricultural inputs except at prohibitive rates from private moneylenders leading to risk-prone farming. Markets are under-developed or difficult to access. Extension services are few and far between, and development initiatives aimed specifically at their needs is sparse.

Few employment opportunities and low levels of education and skill result in low cash incomes. This in turn affects the ability to purchase basic needs (such as medicines, education for children, etc). Women and children in particular are the hardest hit especially when access to safe and adequate sources of water are low, resulting in high vulnerability in terms of health. Women are also more affected by underemployment.
The relevance of this is all too clear when one realises that 29 percent of India’s population still lives below the poverty line, earning less than US$ 1 per day. A comparision with other countries in South Asia reveals that 33 percent of Pakistan’s population is below the poverty line while it 34 percent for Bangladesh, 42 percent for Nepal and 25 percent for Sri Lanka.

Major components of AKDN’s rural development programme include: institution building, social organisation, natural resource management (especially in the area of water management and water-use efficiency including in coastal areas), productive infrastructure development and human resource development (especially of women), enterprise promotion, increased agricultural productivity and credit and savings services.

Promoting Self-Reliance
A central strategy of the rural livelihoods approach is to put people at the centre of development, thereby increasing the effectiveness of development assistance and therefore improving performance in poverty reduction. Involving the poor results in local empowerment, which in turn leads to opportunities for local leadership, including that of women, to emerge. These leaders play a critical role in bringing about and sustaining development and consequent social change such as pluralism, public participation and democratic principles. Village institutions form the basis of community organisation and function through ‘Village Development Committees,’ comprising of representatives of all communities in the village (including at least 30 percent women’s representation). These Committees develop village development plans and work closely with the Panchayat (the lowest unit of the government that functions at the village level).

Other community organisations such as farmers’ federations and women’s self-help groups also facilitate the process of community driven development. These institutions work best if they have some independent means of sustaining themselves which is usually enabled by introducing them to micro-credit schemes. For example, a women’s federation in Bharuch district in Gujarat state recently accessed a loan-based scheme for animal husbandry. Likewise, federations of farmers groups have considerably reduced agriculture input costs (seeds, fertilisers and pesticides) through bulk purchases based on demand from member institutions, simultaneously ensuring the quality of inputs supplied. These organisations have also contributed to improved cropping techniques, rational use of fertilisers and the adoption of appropriate low-cost technologies.

Communities eventually go on to form "apex institutions" (federations of various community institutions) at the block (a unit of a district) and "taluka" (a unit of a block) level. These institutions also act as forums where regional issues are discussed and solutions formulated. These institutions also dialogue with the government and other agencies (including banks) to get access to and benefit from various schemes.

The federations also serve as agriculture extension agents, and transfer information from agriculture institutes related to cropping practices, thereby ensuring that information reaches farmers in remote areas. Collective marketing of agricultural produce, and enabling member institutions to sell their produce at the best price possible is another important activity.

Farmers’ federations and the women’s federations have also led social campaigns in the regions such as reducing unnecessary expenditure on social customs, promoting the education of girls, anti-liquor campaigns, and the promotion of organic farming. Mass awareness campaigns by women’s groups in Surendranagar in Gujarat for example, have led to a reduction in wasteful and extravagant expenditure on weddings and on social customs such as ‘funeral feasts.’

Skills Development
In addition to institution building, programme activities also include human resource development including skills development to build up the skills base of villagers, especially women. For example, in the Netrang programme area of Bharuch district, women have been trained to repair and maintain hand-pumps. In another area women have been trained as masons. Communities receive organisation and financial management training to support the effectiveness and sustainability of village-level institutions, and key resource people are provided with technical skills to plan, implement and maintain the development activities. The ultimate goal is for people in the participating communities to have the access, confidence and competence to make informed choices from a range of appropriate development options.

In 2001 alone, over 300 training programmes benefited almost 6000 villagers, 64 % of which were women. These were essentially to increase awareness about savings and credit programmes, provide exposure to ‘model’ villages and orient rural communities to the principles of natural resources management. In addition, over 50 NGOs and 400 government staff have also been trained in various participatory processes.

Creating Rural Assets
Institutional structures are created at the village level through which the rural poor can prioritise their needs and decide how best to manage common resources. Communities build personal and community capital through efficient management of their natural resource base such as water storage and enhanced water use efficiency , irrigation systems, soil conservation or forestry. These efforts include the construction of small scale infrastructure, such as check-dams, irrigation canals and water harvesting structures or agricultural storage facilities.

Over 400 structures have been created for harvesting and storage of rainwater that is directly lifted for irrigation, or recharging the groundwater aquifers for more rational extraction through wells. These have led to an additional 4000 hectares of irrigated croplands in the programme areas, which is being further expanded through the adoption of water saving devices such as drip irrigation and sprinklers.

Income growth is promoted by increasing agricultural productivity through improved farming methods such as using drip-irrigation, provision of better seeds, creation and improvement of markets, land development, micro-credit, increasing off-farm incomes and supporting enterprise development. Local capital is mobilised by promoting savings and developing financial services to enable broad access to credit. Programmes are designed to have a combined effect so as to create a critical mass of economic activities that raise living standards.
In Surendranagar area in Gujarat for example, it was found that a severely degraded natural environment would not allow rural communities to rear cattle and therefore the only viable option was to rear goats. The rural development programme stepped in to help create a viable market for goat milk in the area and helped the community to get the government to set up a cheese making plant. In another water scare area, a women’s federation lobbied with the government to buy them a water tanker which they now use to sell safe drinking water to local communities practically at their doorsteps and at fixed and mutually agree to prices. This has considerably reduced water scarcity in the area by providing households assured water supply and also saves women the time they earlier spent on collecting water.

Benefits and Impact on Quality of Life
Assets thus created often result in more than just increased income generation. AKDN’s rural development programmes have benefited over 300,000 households in over 1,000 villages in western and central India since 1983. Development activities have ensured more water for drinking and irrigation, higher agricultural productivity and rural incomes (including household savings), greater resilience to droughts and the ability to manage the natural resource base better.

With over 10,000 households now accessing assured sources of safe drinking water, women have benefited significantly. Since they no longer have to walk long distances to collect water, the time saved can now be spent with family or education of their children. Alternatively they have more time for income generation activities. Health improvements due to improved diets and access to safe drinking water also lead to a reduction in the costs of medicines and trips to the doctor. Similarly, the number of days of illness has been reduced by 50 percent (down to 15 days per year, as compared to about 30 days per year earlier).

Simultaneously, literacy levels have risen by 10 percent (8 percent in the case of women). Growing gender sensitivity and changing gender equations is also evident from a phenomenal 350 percent increase in the expenditure incurred on medicines for women. School attendance levels show an improvement, especially in the case of girls who now no longer have to accompany their mothers at dawn to collect water.

Impact studies conducted in some areas reveal an average increase of beneficiary incomes by about 60 percent, going up to 80 percent in some cases. More savings and increased access to credit reduces the dependence of the poor on local moneylenders. Even the landless benefit from increased demand for farm labour when improved agricultural practices results in two or three crops instead of just one every year, leading to, among other things, a reduction in migration. In 147 villages in four states, savings amongst beneficiaries was estimated to be approximately US$ 0.6 million (28 million rupees approximately).

As rural employment has improved, stress-migration levels have shown a marked reduction (down to 35 percent from 80 percent earlier). Even the duration of migration has reduced to 90 days per year (down from 150 days a year earlier).

Women’s empowerment has also led to them participating in the local political process. In recent local village level elections in a programme area, 52 elected members (including 15 women) out of a total of 179 (approximately 30 percent) who were elected belonged to village institutions established by AKDN’s rural development programmes.

Sustainability and Partnerships
Long-term commitment is the key to creating sustainable impact. Consequently rural development programmes in India have now run 20 years and helped create replicable models that can be quickly adapted to a variety of contexts; as well as long-term relationships with donor agencies and peer organisations for the mobilisation of funds, human resources and expertise.

In terms of organisational elements, programmes are usually area-based programmes that serve a defined population, are implemented over a long time frame and at a significant scale and are characterised by comparatively thorough coverage of all of the population within their target area.

Ensuring sustainable impact requires consistent efforts over considerable time periods. In the case of rural development programmes, this has meant at least ten years of concerted efforts at the grassroots level before results and subsequent impact on the quality of life of the poor is visible for all to see.

Rural Development Partners

Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (India)
The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (India), the rural development partner of the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), is an internationally recognised, community-based, non-denominational, non-government development organisation, based in Gujarat. Since the early 1980s, it has focused on enhancing rural livelihoods through sustainable management and use of natural resources in degraded and resource poor regions of western and central India, often characterised by limited economic opportunities as well. 

AKRSP (I) goes beyond merely addressing problems of food self-sufficiency and looks at the wider issue of poverty alleviation and improvements in the quality of life. Its programmes aim for broader, long-term economic and social development. The underlying philosophy is that rural economic development is best catalysed and sustained through village-level institutions that are autonomous and transparent, contributing to democratic norms of behaviour and to the growth of civil society.

The "rural support programme" works in close partnership with local communities and the government to implement strategies that lead to:

The ultimate goal is for communities to have the confidence and competence to make informed choices from a range of appropriate options for sustainable and equitable development. Particular success has been achieved in improving the management of micro watersheds and creating a variety of water harvesting structures in different agro-climatic regions.

Association For Rural Advancement Through Voluntary Action and Local Involvement (ARAVALI)
ARAVALI was initiated as a result of the joint effort of the Government of Rajasthan and a few leading voluntary agencies in 1994 to promote innovations in development and act as a interface between the government and the voluntary organizations. Aravali began formal operations in 1997.

ARAVALI’s mandate is to ensure that benefits of development reach resource or means poor communities in Rajasthan and to enable this to happen in a structured manner, it is necessary that the government and non-profit organisations working in the area of rural livelihoods, pool their strengths and become partners.

Within this context ARAVALI intends to ensure that there are an increased number of effective voluntary organisations working closely with the rural poor in every district of Rajasthan and that an enabling environment is developed within which the government and these organisations can form effective partnerships. ARAVALI's work area includes almost all of Rajasthan. It is currently working intensively with around 20 organisations all over the state and has constant contact with another 70 organisations through its information exchange programmes.

ARAVALI broadly sees the following roles for itself:

Development Support Centre

Development Support Centre (DSC) is a resource organisation that provides knowledge based support to non-government organizations (NGOs), government agencies and other stakeholders in the area of natural resource management.

Established in 1994 in the state of Gujarat, DSC provides a variety of services that aim to improve rural livelihoods through participatory management of natural resources such as land and water on which rural population directly depend upon.

DSC’s present focus is on four thematic areas:

In the above thematic areas DSC offers the following portfolio of services:

Mahila Abhivruddhi Society, Andhra Pradesh

Mahila Abhivruddhi Society, Andhra Pradesh, (APMAS) was set up to meet the increasing need voiced in various forums to bring a quality mode to the growing self help group movement in Andhra Pradesh. APMAS, a state level institution, supports the women's self help movement and promotes sustainable livelihoods. APMAS’ core activities are:

Registered as a public society, APMAS started functioning from July 2001 and represents a partnership between public-private institutions like the Government of Andhra Pradesh, banks, representatives of civil society organizations and SHGs.

Livelihood Promotion
To meet the demand from SHG members seeking various livelihood options, APMAS is positioning itself as a livelihood promotion organisation to strengthen existing and promote new and sustainable livelihoods. APMAS is building networks with like-minded organisations to provide technical support to the SHGs to help them make optimum use of existing resources. As one of the four rural development partners of Aga Khan Foundation, APMAS is implementing the Sustainable Community based Approaches for Livelihoods Enhancement (SCALE) programme in Anadhra Pradesh. Through this partnership APMAS will over a three-year period  carry out livelihood promotion activities on a large scale in the state. Also a need-based strategy of linking SMFIs to industries is part of the plan which will incorporate a sub-sectoral approach with focus on the entire local economy, including the markets, communities, local skills, resources, etc.

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