Sustainable Rural Livelihoods through - CRIDA · Sustainable Rural Livelihoods through Enhanced Farming Systems Productivity and Efficient Support Systems in Rainfed Areas Annual

March 2009

CRIDA (Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture), 2009 Sustainable Rural Livelihoods through Enhanced Farming Systems Productivity and Efficient Support Systems in Rainfed AreasAnnual Report 2008Hyderabad, A.P., India: CRIDA p.60

Compiled and Edited by:

B.VenkateswarluSreenath Dixit

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Director and Consortium LeaderCentral Research Institute for Dryland AgricultureSantoshnagar, Hyderabad 500059Telefax: 040-24535336Web: http://www.crida.ernet.in/naip/naip.htmlEmail: [email protected], [email protected]

Annual Report(2008)

Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture Santoshnagar, Hyderabad 500 059, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Indian Council of Agricultural Research

National Agricultural Innovation Project

Sustainable Rural Livelihoods through Enhanced Farming Systems Productivity and Efficient Support Systems in Rainfed Areas

The ConsortiumCentral Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), HyderabadAcharaya N.G.Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU), Hyderabad.International Crops Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, A.P.Watershed Support Services Network (WASSAN), Hyderabad, A.P.Modern Architects for Rural India (MARI), Warangal, A.P.BAIF Institute of Rural Development (BIRD), Mahabubnagar, A.P.Sri Aurobindo Institute for Rural Development (SAIRD), Gaddipalli, Nalgonda, A.P.Center for World Solidarity (CWS), SecunderabadAakruthi Agricultural Associates (AAKRUTHI), HyderabadIkisan Limited (IKISAN), Hyderabad

Consortium Advisory CommitteeDr. I. V. Subbarao Chairman 1-10-315, Manovikasnagar, Hasmathpet Road, Secunderabad 500 009

Dr. N.K. Sanghi A-16, Ist Avenue, Sainikpuri, Secunderabad 500094

Dr. M.V.R. Prasad 8-2-309/12, D1, Trendset Ville, Road No. 3, Banjara Hills, Hydeabad 500 034

Mr. D. Ramakrishna Reddy Progressive Farmer and Member of RAC (CRIDA) H.No.1-3-151/E/3/1, Rajendranagar, Mahabubnagar 509001

Ms. V. Rukmini Rao Gramya Resource Centre, 12-3-440, Street No.1, Tarnaka, Secunderabad 500 017

Mr. S. Siva Kumar ITC Limited. International Business Division 31, Sarojini Devi Road, Secunderabad 500 003

Dr. K. Tirupathaiah, IFS Special Commissioner, CORD, HUDA–Hermitage Offices Complex, 5th Floor, Hill Fort Road, Hyderabad 500004

Mr. I.Shariff AGM, NABARD Regional Office, RTC X Roads, Hyderabad

Dr. A.P. Srivastava National Coordinator, Component 3 NAIP-Project Implementation Unit, KAB-II, Pusa Campus, New Delhi 110012

B.Venkateswarlu Director & Consortium Leader, CRIDA, Hyderabad

Sreenath Dixit Member Consortium Principal Investigator, Secretary NAIP Component 3, CRIDA, Hyderabad

Consortium Implementation CommitteeB.Venkateswarlu Chairman Director & Consortium Leader, CRIDA, Hyderabad

G.Samuel Programme Coordinator, Krishi Vignan Kendra, ANGRAU, Opp. Ramnagar, Adilabad-504001

G.Surendra Nath Programme Coordinator, WASSAN 12-13-450, Street No.1, Tarnaka, Secunderabad - 500017

Sri R.Murali Secretary, MARI, 1-8-499, Behind Ekashila Park, Balasamudram, Hanamkonda – 506001, Warangal District

B.Shivarudrappa Chief Programme Coordinator, BIRD C/o.B.Damodar Reddy Door No.9-6-173, Road No.2 Durga Bhavani Nagar Colony, Santoshnagar, Hyderabad – 500 079

N.Venkat Reddy Director, SAIRD, P.O.Gaddipalli, Garidepalli Mandal, Nalgonda District, A.P.

R.V.Rama Mohan Director (NRM), CWS 12-13-438, Street No.1, Tarnaka, Secunderabad–500017

R.Kishore Director, AAKRUTHI 6-3-903/A/3, II Floor, Suryanagar colony, Rajbhavan Road, Somajiguda, Hyderabad – 500 082

G.Lakshmi Kantha Reddy Director of Research, ANGRAU, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad – 500 030

SP Wani Principal Scientist (Watersheds) ICRISAT, Patancheru – 502342

Vijay Jesudassan National Manager (Operations and Development), I Kisan Limited No.1 Nagarjuna Hills, Panjagutta Hyderabad - 500 082

Sreenath Dixit Member Consortium Principal Investigator, Secretary NAIP Component 3, CRIDA, Hyderabad

Dr. Mruthyunjaya, National Director National Agricultural Innovation Project

The National Agricultural Innovation Project Component 3 sub project “Sustainable Rural

Livelihoods through Enhanced Farming Systems Productivity and Efficient Support Systems in

Rainfed Areas” being implemented through the Consortium led by CRIDA is one of the earliest to

get grounded in the field. It is a unique consortium, as it consists of CG Institutes, NARS Institutes,

NGOs and private sector partners in the team. The team was quick to develop a common vision for

the project and implement key interventions during the first two seasons since project inception.

Important interventions such as village based seed production, zero tillage maize cultivation, ram

lamb rearing, large scale vermicomposting and capacity building of rural youth and women,

with a balanced approach to both on and off farm enterprises, have been shown to be successful. The

project has also made modest progress in leveraging ICTs for knowledge empowerment of the rural

community. The initial outcomes have been encouraging and the Lead Center has made sincere

efforts to document the learnings. There is however, still a long way to go. This project has a great

potential to come out with models that can contribute to designing appropriate and effective rural

livelihood improvement initiatives. I congratulate the team for commendable job and wish them all

success.

New Delhi Mruthyunjaya 16 March 2009

Message

AcronymsAD(A.H) . . . . . . . . .Assistant Director of Animal Husbandry APMIP. . . . . . . . . .Andhra Pradesh Micro Irrigation ProjectAPRLP . . . . . . . . .Andhra Pradesh Rural Livelihood ProjectATMA . . . . . . . . . .Agricultural Technology Management Agency CA. . . . . . . . . . . .Cluster AnchorCAC. . . . . . . . . . .Consortium Advisory Committee CCMT . . . . . . . . . .Cluster Coordination and Monitoring TeamCG Center/ CGIAR . . .Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research CenterCHC. . . . . . . . . . .Custom Hiring CenterCIC . . . . . . . . . . .Consortium Implementation CommitteeCL. . . . . . . . . . . .Consortium Leader CLDP . . . . . . . . . .Comprehensive Land Development ProgrammeCMEY . . . . . . . . . .Chief Minister’s Empowerment of YouthCPI . . . . . . . . . . .Consortium Principal Investigator CPR . . . . . . . . . . .Common Pool ResourceDFID . . . . . . . . . .Department for International Development DWMA . . . . . . . . .District Water Management AgencyGP . . . . . . . . . . .Gram PanchayatGRF . . . . . . . . . . .Gunegal Research Farm, CRIDAHRF . . . . . . . . . . .Hayathnagar Research Farm, CRIDAHYV . . . . . . . . . . .High Yielding Variety ICT . . . . . . . . . . . Information and Communication Technology IGWDP . . . . . . . . . Indo German Watershed Development ProgrammeINM . . . . . . . . . . . Integrated Nutrient Management IPM . . . . . . . . . . . Integrated Pest Management ISOPOM . . . . . . . . Integrated Scheme of Oilseeds, Pulses and MaizeISRO . . . . . . . . . . Indian Space Research Organization IVRS. . . . . . . . . . . Interactive Voice Response SystemKVK . . . . . . . . . . .Krishi Vignyan KendraM&E. . . . . . . . . . .Monitoring and EvaluationNABARD . . . . . . . .National Bank for Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentNFSM . . . . . . . . . .National Food Security MissionNGO . . . . . . . . . .Non Governmental Organization NPM. . . . . . . . . . .Non Pesticide ManagementNREGS . . . . . . . . .National Rural Employment Guarantee SchemeNRM . . . . . . . . . .Natural Resource ManagementNWDPRA . . . . . . . .National Watershed Development Programme for Rainfed AreasPAR . . . . . . . . . . .Participatory Action ResearchPHP . . . . . . . . . . .Post Harvest ProcessingPPR . . . . . . . . . . .Private Property ResourcePRA . . . . . . . . . . .Participatory Rural Appraisal RARS . . . . . . . . . .Regional Agricultural Research Station SGSY . . . . . . . . . .Swarnajayanthi Gram Swaraj YojanaSHG. . . . . . . . . . .Self-Help GroupSRI . . . . . . . . . . .System of Rice IntensificationSRL . . . . . . . . . . .Sustainable Rural LivelihoodSRTRI . . . . . . . . . .Swamy Ramananda Teertha Rural InstituteTSG . . . . . . . . . . . Thematic Support GroupVAS . . . . . . . . . . .Veterinary Assistant Surgeon VRC . . . . . . . . . . .Village Resource Center ZTM . . . . . . . . . . .Zero Tillage Maize

Dr. B. Venkateswarlu Director Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture

The Consortium Project on “Sustainable Rural Livelihood Security through Enhanced Farming Systems Productivity and Efficient support Systems in Rainfed Areas” has been developed in a participatory approach involving all the consortium partners from the concept stage to the full project development and its actual implementation. This is a large and challenging project under NAIP sanctioned for CRIDA as the Consortium Leader. The Institute has been mainly focusing on basic and applied research in rainfed agriculture, but this is the first major project for CRIDA completely designed on action research platform. We have considered the main strategy of the project as `research on putting technologies to work’. In other words, our main focus has been to try innovations in technology application through active participation of the stakeholders.

The project provided a new experience for scientists at CRIDA for working in a consortium mode and also focusing on livelihood security as the goal than production enhancement. The project also is unique in its mandate by covering multiple interventions with area and household based approach. In the first year, the consortium made sincere efforts to diagnose the livelihood issues, design appropriate interventions through participatory approach and made a modest beginning in actual implementation. The early lessons are encouraging and the community response has been positive. We are particularly happy on our approach and success in bringing convergence with several ongoing schemes at the Panchayat level. We sincerely hope that this approach of convergence alone will help in upscaling whatever new models that emerge from this project.

I would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Dr.Mruthyunjaya, National Director, NAIP, Dr.A.K.Singh, Deputy Director General (NRM) for their support and guidance. We also wish to acknowledge the excellent and timely support received from Dr.A.P.Srivastava, National Coordinator, Component-III and all his staff at the PIU.

We are fortunate to have the guidance of the Consortium Advisory Committee (CAC) led by Padmashree Dr.I.V.Subba Rao whose counsel kept the consortium on track from time to time. I wish to appreciate all the consortium partners, particularly the CPI Dr.Sreenath Dixit, all the Co-PIs, cluster monitoring teams from CRIDA, staff of the CMU for making a good beginning in this project and hope that this tempo will be maintained in future. We would also like to place on record the support received from Dr.Y.S.Ramakrishna former Director, CRIDA and Consortium Leader.

Hyderabad 16 March 2009 B. Venkateswarlu

Preface

Contents

Message iii

Preface v

Executive Summary 1

1. Introduction 4

2. Methodology 7

3. Need Assessment through PRA 11

4. Project Interventions 13

4.1 Crop-based Interventions 13

4.2 Horticulture Interventions 23

4.3 Integrating NRM with Livelihoods 24

4.4 Livestock-based Livelihoods 29

4.5 Ensuring Timely Operations and Drudgery Reduction: Small Farm Mechanization

32

4.6 Post Harvest Processing and Value Addition 34

4.7 Market Linkages 35

4.8 Income Generating Activities/Entrepreneurship Development 37

4.9 Application of ICT 39

5. Training and Capacity Building 42

6. Convergence and Linkages 46

7. Institutional Innovations 46

8. Environmental and Social Safeguards 47

9. Innovations in Project Management 48

10. Publications 51

Annexure-1 52

Annexure-2 54

11. Project Staff 56

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1

National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP) Component-3, sub project on

“Sustainable Rural Livelihoods through Enhanced Farming Systems Productivity and Efficient Support Systems in Rainfed Areas” was launched in September, 2007 at CRIDA, Hyderabad. This project is being implemented in 8 backward districts (Adilabad, Anantapur, Kadapa, Khammam, Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda, Rangareddy and Warangal) of Andhra Pradesh by a consortium of 9 partners with CRIDA as the lead center. It followed a participatory action research (PAR) framework to evolve replicable and up scalable models of livelihood enhancement in selected clusters of 3-4 villages in the target districts. In accordance with the PAR philosophy, the project began with a series of consultations with the stakeholders by employing PRA, RRA, focused group discussions and brainstorming sessions etc. The output of these exercises helped in understanding the livelihood issues across the clusters and design appropriate interventions.

The project implementation began in September, 2007 by which time the kharif season came to an end. Between September 2007 to May 2008, initial project activities like detailed PRA, bench mark survey, clusterwise needs assessment, resource mapping, household livelihood analysis and entry point activities were carried out. Limited interventions during rabi 2007 on seed production were taken up. Formation of village level committees/user groups and strengthening of existing groups was another activity which received attention. Based on the need analysis a clusterwise livelihoods-intervention matrix was prepared. A detailed

exercise was made to ensure that the interventions covered all the households during the project period, particularly, SC and ST and women headed households. In each cluster one or two major interventions which will have maximum impact on livelihoods are taken as flagship interventions and the rest as supporting.

During kharif 2008, project activities picked up momentum in all the 8 clusters. The interventions covered all the major areas having bearing on livelihoods like NRM, crops & livestock production, farm mechanization, post harvest processing & value addition, market linkages and capacity building. Based on the analysis of the benchmark data, the target households in each cluster were identified intervention-wise and a detailed participatory process was followed for implementing them and early lessons from the process are documented. In order to bring a common understanding among the members, visioning and thematic workshops were organized besides regular CIC meetings. The major challenge was to remain focused on livelihood enhancement as a final goal and considering the project interventions as a means to achieve that goal. The interventions in agriculture were related to varietal replacement, introduction of improved cropping systems, balanced nutrition and village level seed production. While no major constraints were faced in the first three interventions, several questions remain to be addressed on the last intervention i.e. village level seed production. We have been able to successfully organize breeder seed production and train the farmers to achieve satisfactory seed yields during

Executive Summary

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kharif 2008 in Anantapur (groundnut), Kadapa (groundnut) and Mahabubnagar (jowar, castor, groundnut) clusters. But storage and reuse during next season and related institutional arrangements are yet to be evolved which will be focus areas during subsequent years.

Extensive work has been done in the project villages on NRM under several projects in the past. We have therefore tried to build on this and focus on the most relevant interventions, which have potential to generate additional income in short term. Water harvesting through farm ponds and its recycling for increasing cropping intensity was taken as a flagship intervention across the clusters. The project adopted a scientific approach in locating and designing farm ponds based on a careful analysis of rainfall and runoff potential, simultaneously undertaking capacity building of the project staff and village watershed committees. The other innovation was involving other stakeholders like District Water Management Agency (DWMA) that is in-charge of NREGA programme in the state from the beginning and ensuring that the proposed NRM activities in the clusters got included in the shelf of works of that panchayat. This model, we believe, will help in institutionalizing the upscaling process of NRM interventions through NREGA. This approach met with fair bit of success during the first year itself, where farm ponds could be dug in Mahabubnagar, Adilabad and Anantapur clusters and the harvested water was recycled for growing fodder/vegetable crops or providing supple-mentary irrigation to groundnut crop to generate additional income. This had an immediate impact on income & livelihoods of participating households (See box on page #28).

Small farm mechanization through Custom Hiring Centers (CHC) was another intervention tried in a big way in all the clusters during

the first year. This scored highest in the need assessment chart in most clusters. The need based equipments were made available, the farmers groups formed, and training provided on institutional mechanism of CHCs. Challenges during next year would be to determine the optimum size of CHC with a sustainable economic model and a proper mix of implements. Experiences from market linkage interventions like village milk centers and group marketing of graded mangoes were mixed. Initial enthusiasm was good, but an economic model to sustain groups is still to evolve. These are on a small scale and new constraints will surface as we scale up. In the areas of livestock production, a series of well organized animal health camps as entry point activity could generate awareness among the farmers on health and nutrition. Innovative approaches in fodder production like homestead azolla cultivation, fodder growing on CPRs were introduced which showed promise. The most successful intervention was however, the raising ram lambs as an income generation activity for landless women (see box at page #40). This intervention has tremendous scope of upscaling and would have a significant livelihood impact. In the poultry sector, the project began evaluating different improved breeds for comparative performance and innovative efforts to produce chicks in the village itself through decentralized hatching system involving women groups. New constraints such as parasitic worm infestation are surfacing due to unprotected and unhygienic rearing.

Knowledge management through ICTs was introduced as yet another intervention. It has enthused stakeholders across the clusters. The VRCs installed in the clusters became functional by the end of 2008. Each VRC consists of a computer, touch screen kiosk and IVRS. These centers are to be used for knowledge sharing, market and weather information. Content

Annual Report 2008

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generation and providing dynamic market information however remain as challenges. Capacity building of farmers and rural youth was also taken up in the first year, extensive field visits and trainings were organized for the farmers. The training of youth in on-farm and off-farm skills proved to be fairly successful. But lot of ground is to be covered to identify right skill in demand and handholding of the trainees till they find a livelihood.

Between September 2007 and December 2008, a total of 4967 households were covered across all the clusters with one or other intervention (see table below). Some of the significant accomplishments during this period are: replacement of local and non descript varieties with 16 high yielding varieties covering eight crops spread over 300 ha. This generated an additional Rs.16 lakhs at an average of Rs.5,400/ha. It was shown that more number of plants could be accommodated resulting in about 500 kg/ha additional yield in cotton by altering the spacing from the conventional

90 x 90 cm to 90 x 60 cm. Households were assisted to generate an average additional income of Rs.5,500/ha by switching over to vegetables like onions, tomatoes and brinjal. The success of zero tilled maize was up scaled from one farmer in rabi 2007 to 18 farmers in rabi 2008. Multiple use of harvested rainwater was demonstrated by digging a large size community farm pond in the Vertisols of Adilabad. Through various interventions of NRM, an additional rainwater storage capacity of over 10000 cu m was created across the clusters. This also generated an additional 17500 man days besides benefitting 473 farmers for tiding over midterm droughts. Under the livestock interventions, over 18000 animals were attended to for diagnosis and treatment through animal health camps and prophylaxis campaigns. Many interventions were implemented in training and capacity building of youth and women. All the interventions were taken up by following certain process and the resulting learnings were recorded during the year. These are presented in detail in this report.

Households covered by project interventions – (September 2007 - December 2008)

Cluster / DistrictHouseholds covered

NRM Crops Horticulture Livestock**Agril. Implements/

Machinery Capacity building

Value addition

Seethagondhi, Adilabad 4 254 0 32 0 11 0

Pampanur, Anantapur 28 141 94 118 400 12 0

B.Y. Gudi, Kadapa 16 59 0 7 23 5 0

T. Cheruvu, Khammam 12 288 0 50 80 7 0

Jamistapur, Mahabubnagar 54 65 80 68 629 7 4

Dupahad, Nalgonda 0 162 621 100 222 0 0

Ibrahimpur, Rangareddy 258 156 10 328 54 7 12

Jaffergudem, Warangal * 158 53 110 160 8 0

Total 372 1283 858 813 1568 57 16

* NRM activities carried out by other projects operating in the cluster;** Through animal health camps all the livestock owning households were covered.

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Poverty eradication has been the overriding objective since the beginning of economic

planning in India. Despite spectacular growth in the industry and the services sector in the past decade, rural poverty continues to bother the government and development professionals. The issue of rural poverty is complex and intimately linked with the performance of agriculture and allied sectors. The near-stagnant agricultural growth during the last decade and declining work opportunities in rural areas are forcing the poor to migrate to towns and cities in distress. Poor capital formation in agriculture; inadequate credit and institutional arrangements and poor market, storage and processing infrastructure besides the risks associated with weather are pushing farmers into chronic indebtedness. The poor performance of agriculture has seriously affected the landless laborers and rural artisans. Therefore, there is an urgent need to reverse this process and give a new lease of life to agriculture and rural livelihoods through appropriate research based development strategies and suitable policy interventions.

Rainfed areas are prone to greater risks, as the farmers in these eco systems are resource poor and unable to invest on new technologies and inputs. The National Watershed Development Programme for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA) has been one of the main strategies aimed at improving the natural resource base and incomes of small/marginal farmers and landless. The programme has evolved over the last two decades from a purely government driven top-down initiative to a more participatory bottom-up approach; and more recently as an integrated livelihood

enhancement programme with watershed-based activities as the entry point. Several studies on watershed approach have shown positive impacts in terms of elevated groundwater table; higher cropping intensity and crop yields and employment generation. But the extremely site-specific nature of this approach has limitations in terms of upscaling the impacts across a wider area. Worldwide research during the nineties highlighted the complexity of tackling rural poverty in rapidly changing liberalized economies leading to emergence of alternative strategies. It is now recognized that the anti poverty programmes have to be focused on livelihoods of the poor people at household level. In other words, mere improvement of natural resource base in a watershed, higher crop yields or providing an income generating asset or a short-term employment to the poor household would not lead to a sustainable income and nutritional security of the people, unless the issues of access to resources, capacity building, maintenance of assets and creations of an enabling environment supported by institutional change are adequately addressed.

Against this background, the goal of improving rural livelihoods has now become a major research agenda in the country. This assumes greater importance in disadvantaged regions like the rainfed, arid, hilly and tribal areas where the vulnerability of the population to external shocks is high. This vulnerability needs to be addressed through giving new skills to the poor and building of durable income-generating assets and capacity to adapt to rapidly changing markets.

1. Introduction

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In addition to the watershed-based projects implemented by central and state governments, projects specifically targeted to improving rural livelihoods were also initiated recently in states like Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa with support from DFID. In these projects, watershed development programme is used as the main platform for building on the livelihood opportunities in identified districts; the overall strategy described as watershed plus approach. Capacity building and skill enhancement of rural communities, strengthening the local institutions and piloting local on-farm and off-farm enterprises are the key components of this approach besides improving the status of natural resources and productivity enhancement of crops and livestock.

Many of these projects did make significant impact on rural incomes at household level, but wider replication of these successes remained a limitation. The most important gaps in the current approach include: i) lack of strong linkage between the newly created livelihood enterprises and agriculture/livestock production, ii) lack of research back up and problem solving arrangements for most of the interventions making them unsustainable in long run, iii) absence of institutional arrangement for internalization of the successful interventions by the community, iv) inadequate representation for women and the landless in most programmes, v) neglect of livestock and vi) inadequate market linkages.

Livelihood improvement strategy in rainfed areas has necessarily to be linked to watershed approach, as natural resource management is the key to sustainable rainfed farming. The ‘watershed plus’ strategy adopted under APRLP demonstrated how poverty reduction could be achieved when the landless and women were provided with new and innovative livelihood opportunities in addition

to regular watershed-based interventions of land and water resources development. The watershed approach generally covers about 500 ha area with one or two villages. While this is an optimum unit for land and water conservation works, it is relatively small for sustaining other livelihood activities. Therefore, the project has adopted cluster approach under NAIP where 3-4 villages in a mandal/block considering the entire population (farmers, the land-less labor, non-farm workers and artisans) as stakeholders. Both the farmlands and the common pool resources (CPR) including forests, hills and wastelands are considered as the target area. This is advantageous in terms of scale of operation and it facilitates marketing of the products/services created to support livelihoods within the cluster. The main focus is on developing processes and support institutions so that the experiences gained in the project can be sustained and upscaled to other areas.

This project is being implemented across 8 districts of Andhra Pradesh (A.P.) with a view to improving the livelihoods of the rural poor by adopting strategies of sustainable natural resource management, productivity and profitability enhancement, building support systems and institutions, and converging on development agenda of different development agencies. In other words, it is aimed at testing a new model of sustainable rural livelihood (SRL) strategy, which is focused on innovations in technology transfer, support systems and collective action with the overall goal of improving the income and livelihoods of people. The SRL strategy is considered most relevant to the target area as it is only through the improvement of farming systems productivity and enabling institutions in most disadvantaged areas the goal of poverty reduction can be achieved.

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Location and Project Sites

Budget at a Glance

Sl.No CenterSanctioned budget

for 2008-09Release during the

year 2008-09Expenditure upto December, 2008

% of Expenditure

1. CRIDA 87.20 86.47 43.56 50

2. ANGRAU 39.64 36.40 27.30 75

3. ICRISAT 23.31 13.72 12.50 91

4. WASSAN 37.00 24.16 19.05 79

5. MARI 20.30 8.84 8.08 91

6. BIRD 42.47 21.84 21.71 99

7. SAIRD 18.49 14.79 12.95 88

8. CWS 21.49 19.53 17.51 90

9. AAKRUTI 19.12 14.34 12.83 89

10. I KISAN 35.07 49.35 14.51 30

Overall 344.08 289.44 190.02 65

(Rs. in lakhs)

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A detailed account of the methodology followed for the project including

selection of the target area, implementation approach and stakeholder participation etc. is described in this chapter.

2.1. Target Area Selection The target area for the project includes eight predominantly rainfed clusters of villages in 8 districts of Andhra Pradesh identified as backward by the Planning Commission of

India. Each cluster covers 3-4 villages/hamlets falling under one Gram Panchayat (GP) and is contiguous with a homogenous production system. It was ensured that adequate population of scheduled caste and scheduled tribes, the landless and poor households are represented in the selected villages so that the interventions and their outcomes will be useful for replication in other parts of the district/state. Area and number of households covered in each cluster are given in Table 1.

2. Methodology

Table 1: Area and number of households covered across the clusters

District Mandal Cluster Villages/Hamlets Area (ha.)

House-holds (no.)

Adilabad Gudihath- noor

Seetha- gondhi

Old Somwarpet, New Somwarpet, Garkampet, Arkapalli, Chinna Malkapur, Peda Malkapur, Kotwalguda

1913 575

Pampanur, Anantapur

Atmakur Pampanur Pampanur, Pampanur Thanda, Y.Kothapalli 2111 576

Kadapa Lakki Reddy Palli

B.Yerragudi Brahmana Yerragudi Kaspa, V.N. Palli, Mudindla Palli, Kapu Palli, Konampeta, P.V. Palli, Puttakarlavary colony, Madhigapalli

1354 516

Khammam Ashwa- puram

Tummala- cheruvu

Tummala Cheruvu, Bandla Pullaiah Gumpu, Kurvapalli Kotturu, Koremvari Gumpu, Ramavaram, Mamillavai, Venkatapuram, Bheemavaram

6934 629

Mahabub-nagar

Mahabub- nagar

Jamistapur Jamistapur, Telugugudem, Kodur Thanda 1217 739

Nalgonda Penpahad Dupahad Jalamalkunta, Seetamma Thanda, Yellappa Kunta Thanda, China Gorekunta, Peda Gorekunta, China Seetaram Thanda, Peda Seetaram Thanda, Lalsing Thanda

800 621

Ranga Reddy

Parigi Ibrahimpur Ibrahimpur, Ibrahimpur Thanda, Roopsing Thanda, Dhadi Thanda, Malkaipet Thanda

898 409

Warangal Raghu-nathapally

Jaffargudem Jaffergudem, Satyanarayanapuram, Ramannagudem, Kusumabai Thanda, Chakal Zal Thanda, Lokya Thanda, Vepula Gadda Thanda, Cherla Thanda

2070 689

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2.2. Project Approach A participatory approach was followed in the project implementation. A detailed assessment of the existing situation with respect to farm and non-farm activities; constraints and opportunities for enhancing household income and livelihood security was carried out before designing the project interventions. A critical analysis of livelihood related problems was made, specific constraints identified and a problem-intervention matrix was prepared (Annexure-1). A flagship intervention approach was followed where the major focus in a given cluster was laid on one or two interventions, which address the key livelihood issue of the cluster having maximum impact at the household level.

2.3. Benchmark Survey Assessment of impact of any development project requires, a clear benchmark to be established at the beginning of the project. In a complex project addressing rural livelihoods, it is important to assess at the end whether the project has made any measurable impact on the livelihoods of the poor at household level. These indicators need to capture improvement in livelihoods, environmental and social parameters including gender and equity. Further, it is very important to put in place a continuous process of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) utilizing the benchmark data since the project has adopted an action research framework that requires mid-term review and correction. The bench mark survey was outsourced to M/s.Varsha Society, a professional agency, with expertise in rural development. Benchmark indicators were arrived at after a thorough discussion with the project partners and the community. These included biophysical, socio-economic as well as infrastructure related indicators. A format was designed by

the consultant and circulated to the social scientists for suggestions and modifications. After including necessary suggestions, a pre-test of the questionnaire schedule was taken up by the consultant, before undertaking the main survey.

For the purpose of benchmark survey, an average 50% of the households were selected at random from each cluster. The resulting cluster-wise number of households selected and their distribution based on land holding are given in Table 2. Several studies showed that poverty is acute in households managed by aged, female headed, especially widowed female, physically challenged and those belonging to the scheduled castes and tribes. Therefore, special attention was given through appropriate columns in the questionnaire to capture such factors. The pre-designed questionnaire that consisted of data requirement both from primary and secondary sources was administered simultaneously across the 8 clusters. Cross verification was carried out with available secondary data wherever required. Data were statistically analyzed and a report generated in excel format. The benchmark survey was carried out during 2007-08, just before the project interventions began. The summary findings of the benchmark survey on key indicators are presented in Tables 2-3. For detailed bench mark survey report visit: www.crida.ernet.in/NAIP.

Besides the baseline survey, information obtained from the initial PRAs, key informants and gathered during visits by the project personnel is also collated to understand the livelihood issues in a holistic manner. Household economic analysis revealed divergent patterns in the contribution of different components like agriculture, livestock and non-farm employment to household income across the clusters.

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Table 2: Cluster-wise sample of households selected and their distribution based on land holding

Cluster LandlessMarginal Farmers

Small Farmers

Medium Farmers

Large Farmers

Total

Seethagondhi, Adilabad 41 10 110 84 45 290

B.Y.Gudi, Kadapa 25 32 71 59 22 209

Thummalacheruvu, Khammam

40 114 152 35 11 352

Jamistapur, Mahabubnagar 54 182 125 10 2 373

Jaffergudem, Warangal 76 167 76 26 5 350

Ibrahimpur, Rangareddy 57 96 50 5 3 211

Dupahad, Nalgonda 75 76 80 78 0 309

Pampanur, Anantapur 3 46 97 89 56 291

Total 371 723 761 386 144 2385

Table 3: Annual income (in Rs.) of farm households across the clusters (2007-08)

Cluster LandlessMarginal Farmers

Small Farmers

Medium Farmers

Large Farmers

Overall

Seethagondhi, Adilabad 29176 33004 44489 68296 128224 61817

B.Y.Gudi, Kadapa 31651 26758 29088 34400 75718 35446


50547 28497 32671 44996 73893 35864

Jamistapur, Mahabubnagar 57628 59572 83480 133210 122708 69615

Jaffergudem, Warangal 46239 71016 104704 132909 172718 79002

Ibrahimpur, Rangareddy 46778 41677 57701 34570 91740 47396

Dupahad, Nalgonda 22345 18425 21567 44984 - 26894

Pampanur, Anantapur 26333 35429 33505 50241 77508 47322

Overall 40584 47258 50168 57726 97038 51848

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Household livelihood analysis in eight project clusters

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The actual project interventions were finalized following a need assessment

exercise carried out by the project staff in all the clusters. A formal PRA was adopted for this purpose. PRA was carried out during the

months of August-September, 2007. Focused group interactions, village level meetings and other tools supplemented the PRA. The cluster-wise salient findings of the PRA are given in Table 4.

3. Need Assessment through PRA

Table 4: Cluster-wise salient findings of the PRA

Cluster Salient findings

Seethagondhi, (Adilabad)

Major source of livelihood is derived from agriculture. However, the base yields of most crops are very low. The other sources of livelihood are wages and livestock. There is high scope for rainwater harvesting and recycling to boost the crop yields and improve livestock productivity through development of feed and fodder resources in view of high annual rainfall in the region.

Pampanur, (Anantapur)

Wages and agriculture constitute major sources of livelihood. There is great scope for value addition to groundnut and create skill based wage employment. There is also scope for increasing the diversity of cropping. Scope for off-farm employment and small ruminants is also very high.

B.Y.Gudi, (Kadapa)

Crops and wages form the major sources of livelihood. There are vast stretches of barren lands where there is scope for integrating livestock, especially small ruminants in agroforestry through fodder development. There are opportunities for improving productivity of existing mango orchards and connecting the producers with organized retail chains.

Thummala-cheruvu, (Khammam)

Majority of the households derive significant portion of their livelihoods through wage labour followed by crops. Cotton is the major crop with poor base yields. There is scope for improving cotton productivity with opportunities for converting crop residue into valuable organic matter. Milch animals are few with very poor productivity due to high incidence of diseases. There is scope for reducing high morbidity in large ruminants by streamlining prophylactic vaccination. The water table is high but not used to its full potential due to lack of power and mechanization. Opportunities exist to mobilize community for conjunctive use of ground and surface water.

Jamistapur, (Mahabubnagar)

Households derive nearly two thirds of their income by wage earnings. They depend much less on crops for livelihoods owing to frequent droughts. Castor is cultivated widely with some area under groundnut and other pulses. There is scope for introducing hybrid castor by encouraging select farmers to take up seed production. Crop productivity can be improved by harvesting and recycling runoff and addressing wide spread nutrient deficiency. There is plenty of scope for integrating livestock with cropping, especially small ruminants.

Dupahad, (Nalgonda)

Over three fourth of livelihoods are derived through crop husbandry with very little share of wage earnings. Though paddy is a major crop in kharif, it also occupies large areas under bore well irrigation during rabi. The cluster also has a large area under vegetable cultivation. Lack of good quality planting material is a major hindrance to higher productivity. There is a great opportunity for increasing vegetable productivity by encouraging nurseries. There is also scope for recharging open wells, many of which have gone dry over the years.

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A PRA sessions in progress in Pampanur (above) and Jamistapur (below) clusters

On a transect walk across farm fields in Jaffergudam (above) and B.Y. Gudi (below) clusters

Cluster Salient findings

Ibrahimpur, (Rangareddy)

Income from wages, migration and crops is major source of livelihood for the households due to its peri-urban character. Households are engaged mostly in wage earning in the unskilled job market. There is scope for enhancing the capacity of the youth and women to take up skilled jobs. There is also scope for encouraging farmers to produce fruits, vegetables and dairy products.

Jaffergudem, (Warangal)

Nearly half of the livelihoods are derived from the crop based activities with the next source being wages. The lands are fertile and farmers posses better skills in crop production. There is however, plenty of scope to enhance productivity through diversification in crops and integrating livestock with cropping.

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The project interventions varied in each cluster depending on the needs and

opportunities. They covered crops, horticulture, NRM, livestock, post harvest value addition, market linkages, off-farm livelihoods, capacity building and use of ICTs. Institutional innova-tions were also part of the interventions. The existing network of self-help group (SHGs) in the villages was made use, and where required new groups were formed. A detailed account of the key interventions made during rabi 2007 and kharif 2008 (between September, 2007 to December, 2008) processes followed and lessons learnt are described in the subsequent sections.

4.1. Crop-based Interventions Since cultivation of field crops is the major source of livelihood for farmers and agricultural

labour, maximum emphasis was given for interventions that enhance the income from cropping activity both through productivity enhancement and increasing cropping intensity. These included introduction of new varieties of major crops, crop diversification, strengthening village level seed production, balanced nutrition and cost reduction measures.

4.1.1. Varietal replacement

During rabi 2007 and kharif 2008, improved varieties in the following crops were introduced across the clusters and the average yield and income gained from the varietal replacement is given in Table 5.

Process: A participatory process was adopted to choose varieties preferred by farmers

4. Project Interventions

Table 5: Number of farmers, area covered and gains due to varietal replacement in major crops across clusters.

Cluster Season and year

Intervention

Area (ha)Yield of

conventional practice (kg/ha)

Yield of new intervention/

practice/ replaced variety

(kg/ha)

Additional income

realized due to varietal

replacement (Rs./ha)

Crop Variety

Seetha- gondhi, Adilabad

Kharif 2008 Redgram PRG-100 16 437.5 625 6000

Kharif 2008 Redgram MRG-66 144 625 875 8000

Kharif 2008 Soybean PS-1029 7.2 1250 1600 5600

Kharif 2008 Green-gram

WGG-37 4 275 400 4350

Kharif 2008 Groundnut JCG-88 0.8 1500 1875 7500

Pampanur, Anantapur

Rabi 2007-08

Groundnut Narayani 8.14 1375 1750 7500

Kharif 2008-09

Groundnut ICGV-91114 24.29 1500 1800 6000

Groundnut K-6 14.17 1600 1900 6000

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Cluster Season and year

Intervention

Area (ha)Yield of

conventional practice (kg/ha)

Yield of new intervention/

practice/ replaced variety (kg/ha)

Additional income

realized due to varietal

replacement (Rs./ha)

Crop Variety

B.Y.Gudi, Kadapa

Rabi Groundnut 2007-08

Introduc-tion of new groundnut variety

ICCGV- 91114

08 1750 2125 7500

Groundnut 2008

Groundnut ICCGV- 91114

10.40 1750 2000 5000

Kharif 2008 Redgram PRG-100 25.28 442 643 6030


Kharif 2008 Cotton ADB-38 0.24 421 600 3875

Mahabub-nagar

Rabi 2007-08

Groundnut K-6 8 1600 1967.5 7350

Kharif 2008 Castor DCH-519 4.05 258 323 1950

Kharif 2008 Castor DCH-577 2.83 258 414 4680

Kharif 2008 Jowar FP-1616 4.4. 820 1098 1600


Dupahad, Nalgonda

Rabi 2007-08

Horsegram 18-R 0.20 870 1520 5200

Kharif -2008

Groundnut Narayani 0.20 750 875 6250

Kharif -2008

Greengram LGG- 460 0.20 440 600 4800

Ibrahimpur, Ranga- reddy

Kharif 2008 Greengram WGG-37 2.4 440 600 4800

Kharif 2008 Greengram LGG-410 2.4 440 620 5400

Kharif 2008 Pigeonpea PRG 158 5.0 425 550 3750

K-6, A high yielding groundnut variety introduced to replace local groundnut in B.Y.Gudi cluster, Kadapa during Kharif-2008

A healthy crop of PRG-158, a high yielding pigeonpea variety introduced in Jaffergadam cluster during Kharif-2008

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keeping in view their preference for various attributes. Initially, a few were supplied with the seeds of improved variety. Other farmers were encouraged to visit the fields while the crop was under cultivation and at the time of harvest. Once the farmers were impressed with the quality of the produce, availability of seeds of improved variety was facilitated so that the variety could spread across a larger area.

Lessons: In some cases, varieties with high yield potential failed on farmers fields mainly due to aberrant weather. The lesson was to introduce only such varieties, which are not only evaluated

on research stations but also on farmer’s fields for a minimum of three years. The acceptability was more if the farmers are exposed to the new variety one season before at another place preferably on another farmer’s field.

4.1.2. Crop management and diversification

To address the water shortage, on-farm trials on SRI method of paddy cultivation were introduced in Tummalacheruvu and Jaffer-gudem clusters. The yields and additional income obtained due to SRI method are given in Table 6.

Table 6: Performance of paddy under SRI method in Jaffergudam and Thummalacheruvu clusters.

Cluster Season No. of

farmers Yield of conventional

practice (kg/ha)Yield of SRI

(kg/ha)Additional

income (Rs./ha)

Jaffergudam Rabi, 2007-08 2 5025 5750 6887.5

Thummalacheruvu Kharif, 2008 2 5000 5200 1900

SRI paddy promoted in Jaffergudem cluster; Grids for planting drawn using marker (top left); Initial stage of cultivation (top right); Profused tillering (down left) and a happy farmer with his crop

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Modified spacing (90x60 cm) being promoted in Bt cotton growing in Jaffergudem cluster to accommodate more

plants per unit area

Process: Farmers were first given orientation on the new method of crop management, which saves water and an exposure visits were organized to other clusters where SRI is being practiced. A resource person also visited both the clusters and conducted practical demonstration of the transplantation of small seedlings and use of cono weeder.

Lessons: Close monitoring is required when an intervention is made for the first time. The trial failed in Thummalacheruvu, Khammam in some of the farmer’s fields due to heavy rainfall.

In another trial, close spaced Bt cotton (90 x 60 cm) was tried involving 9 farmers in Jaffergudam cluster to increase the population and per hectare yield. The yield in control plots was 1150 kg/ha while under close spacing it was 1500 kg/ha. The farmers gained an additional gross income of Rs.10,500/ha due to this simple intervention. The local extension department selected this intervention for upscaling in relevant areas of the district through ATMA. In the same cluster, cotton + redgram intercropping was introduced involving 7 farmers which generated an additional gross income of Rs.10,600/ha.

As a high value crop, onion was introduced involving 12 farmers during rabi 2008, after cotton during kharif. This intervention was

highly successful even with the farmers having minimal irrigation facility. On an average, onion cultivation fetched a gross income of Rs.39,300/ha. at an average price of Rs.3,000/t. The average yield attained by 12 farmers who adopted this intervention was 13.1 t/ha. This intervention gave a new confidence to the farmers in producing good quality onions.

Zero till maize

In order to enhance water productivity and overcome the shortage of water for second crop of paddy in Jaffergudam cluster, zero till maize was introduced after paddy involving 5 farmers. This technology has been standardized by RARS, Warangal and considerable savings in water and labour are demonstrated. `Zero

Introduction of onion among tribal households for increasing profitability in Jaffergudem cluster

Zero tillage maize gaining more area (Jaffergudam, Warangal)

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tillage maize’ (sowing maize without field preparation immediately after harvesting paddy), helped farmers save cost of cultivation (Rs.3250/ha). Preparing land and then taking up sowing operations was time consuming. With zero tillage, farmers could sow maize at least two or three weeks in advance. Net returns as compared to conventional method was Rs.7390/ha more in case of ZTM. The net saving of irrigation water was 40% in this new practice when compared to conventional practice. The yield and economic returns on farmers’ fields are given in Table 7.

Table 7: Resource conservation/cost reduction : zero till maize in Jaffergudam (Warangal) cluster

Conventional tillage

Zero Till Maize

Seed rate (kg/ha) 17.5 12.5

Cost of cultivation including shelling (Rs/ha)

13,750 10,500

Yield (kg/ha) 4,250 4,800

Economic returns (Rs/ha)

28,500 32,640

Profit (Rs/ha) 14,750 22140

4.1.3. Village level seed production

While the importance of improved varieties in enhancing the farmer’s income is proven, timely availability of seeds of HYVs continues to be a problem due to constraints in organizing the seed chain on a sustainable basis. This is more so in the case of groundnut where the seed cost is high due to high seed rate. To address this issue, interventions were made both from technology and institutional angles to organize village-level seed production for meeting the seed self-sufficiency. To start with, the local seed requirement was assessed through participatory methods and farmers with protective irrigation facility were short-listed for taking up seed production. Linkages were established with the local Agricultural Research Stations of ANGRAU and ICRISAT for accessing breeder seed. The seed demand for the cluster and the neighbouring villages was worked out and a seed production calendar was prepared considering the steps involved in the seed chain and the number of seasons required to produce sufficient quantity of seed to meet the requirement of the entire village. The following table (Table 8) gives an account of village-level seed production taken

Table 8: Details of village level seed production activities across the clusters

Cluster / Name of village

Season and year

Crop Variety No. of

farmers involved

Area covered

(ha)

Quantity of seed

produced (quintals)

Remarks*

Pampanur, Anantapur

Kharif-2008 Groundnut (Irrigated)

K-6 13 14.17 169.61 Buyback by ARS

Kharif-2008 Groundnut (Rainfed)

ICGV-91114 60 24.29 143.30 Affected by un seasonal rains

B.Y.Gudi, Kadapa

Kharif 2008 Groundnut K-6 4 3.2 80 Used to meet the local requirement

Jamistapur, Mahabubnagar

Rabi- 2007-08

Groundnut K-6 20 8 ha 28 Used to meet the local requirement

Dupahad, Nalgonda

Rabi-2007 Paddy MTU-1010 F/S

60 24 1420.8 Marketed by farmers group

Kharif-2008 Paddy BPT-5204 F/S

100 40 2200 Marketed by farmers group

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up during rabi 2007, kharif-2008 and rabi-2008. The Agricultural Research Stations of ANGRAU located at Utukuru, Anantapur and Warangal organized several training programmes on seed production for the participating farmers.

Process: Farmers have their own criteria for choosing a particular variety of the crops they grow. They have preferences for cooking quality,

taste, time taken to maturity, grain appearance, fodder value of the byproduct, if any, etc. In order to give due weightage to farmer choice, the farmer households were consulted right from the beginning while introducing new varieties. Discussions and focused group interactions were held to determine their choices. Despite this, new varieties were introduced initially only in

Cluster / Name of village

Season and year

Crop Variety No. of

farmers involved

Area covered

(ha)

Quantity of seed

produced (quintals)

Remarks*

Kharif-2008 Redgram LRG-41 B/S 5 2 15 Will be used for next season

Kharif-2008 Redgram PRG-158 B/S

5 2 20 Will be used for next season

Ibrahimpur, Rangareddy

Rabi 2007 Sesame Swetha 2 0.8 1.92 For meeting the requirement of the cluster/ mandal2007 Rabi Paddy JGL 3855 8 3.2 64.8

2008 Kharif Greengram WGG 37 6 2.4 52.8

2008 Kharif Greengram LGG410 6 2.4 6.16

2008 Kharif Pigeonpea PRG 158 12 5 48

2008 Rabi Groundnut K6 1 0.4 10

Jaffergudem, Warangal

Rabi 2007-08 Greengram WGG- 37 19 7.2 21.50 RARS Warangal has procured 1250 kg of seed by paying 25% extra over the market price

WGG- 02 15 6.8 18.30 To meet the local requirement

Kharif 2008 Redgram (mixed crop-ping with cotton at 1:8)

ASHA 13 7.6 32.40 For next season

Kharif 2008 Redgram (mixed crop-ping with cotton at 1:8)

WRG-53 30 20 85.0 To meet the local requirement

Kharif 2008 Groundnut TAG-24 2 0.8 20.0 To meet the local requirement

Rabi 2008-09 Groundnut K-6 2 0.8 25.0 To meet the local requirement

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Improved groundnut variety (TAG-24) being produced under village seed production programme in Jaffergudem cluster

Farmers from across the clusters participate in a training course on vermi composting at ICRISAT

select farmers’ fields so that others would get an opportunity to evaluate the variety over a season. Only after ensuring the satisfaction of farmers about the performance of a variety, its large scale replication was encouraged.

Lessons:

• Breeder seed supply needs to be ensured before the starting of the season.

• Training of the participating farmers essential.

• Timely sowing is crucial for higher yields.• Harvesting of seed to be monitored closely

by a facilitating agency or trained farmers• Adequate place for storage needs to be

ensured before-hand.• Buy back agreements, if any, need to be

honored by both parties.• Field day during season helps to convince

farmers to use the variety produced in their village.

• A portion of the profit earned by the group needs to be set apart for organizational expenses.

4.1.4. Participatory soil fertility management

Next to water, deficiency of major and minor nutrients is a key constraint limiting crop yields in rainfed areas. In order to assess

the opportunities of enhancing yields through bridging nutrient deficiency, a comprehensive participatory soil fertility management approach was piloted across the clusters by ICRISAT, the consortium partner. In this process, over 800 samples were collected from the clusters on a toposequence basis by involving lead farmers. Project staff from ICRISAT trained the lead farmers on soil sampling methods. Awareness camps were organized on the importance of balanced nutrition. This was followed by training of selected farmers from all the clusters at ICRISAT during May, 2008 where they were exposed to the different methods of vermi compost production and raising of gliricidia for incorporation as green leaf manure.

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The analysis of the soil samples revealed extensive deficiency of both major and micronutrients across the clusters. Summary of the cluster-wise soil analysis data is given

in Table 9. Zinc and boron deficiencies were wide spread in farmers fields due to long term neglect of micro nutrient application and decline in use of organic manures.

Table 9. Initial nutrient status of soil samples collected from NAIP clusters

Name of the cluster/ District

PH EC OC Av. P Av. K Av S Av. B Av.Zn

dS/m % ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm

Seetagondi (Adilabad) (63)*

Range 6.4-8.9

0.06-2.86

0.27-1.33

0.2-48.8 46-549 2.0-142.2

0.10-0.74

0.22-2.90

Mean 8.2 0.27 0.62 6.9 205 12.2 0.34 0.62

% deficient farmers' field

27 60 2 76 92 74

Tummalacheruvu (Khammam) (102)

Range 3.8-8.8

0.03-0.86

0.32-1.50

0.2-57.8 31-856 3.6-71.9 0.12-1.22

0.28-6.80

Mean 6.8 0.15 0.70 8.5 180 10.6 0.39 1.09


25 60 2 67 87 45

Jaffergudem (Warangal) (100)

Range 6.1-9.4

0.04-1.68

0.08-0.84

0.2-53.4 21-280 1.8-48.9 0.10-1.42

0.26-3.88

Mean 7.8 0.27 0.41 16.0 118 9.4 0.38 0.96


81 14 5 77 84 50

Dupahad (Nalgonda) (143)

Range 5.5-9.0

0.03-1.60

0.14-1.13

0.2-50.4 21-346 2.1-140.3

0.04-1.20

0.22-6.58

Mean 7.6 0.29 0.46 9.0 89 17.0 0.34 1.02


68 29 14 61 86 51

Jamistapur (Maha-bubnagar) (133)

Range 6.0-10.2

0.01-2.37

0.13-1.13

0.2-44.4 25-1263 3.4-287.3

0.04-1.24

0.30-4.68

Mean 7.80 0.22 0.44 8.7 105 11.6 0.36 0.96


62 43 18 73 83 48

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Based on soil analysis, on-farm trials were taken up in each cluster where farmers’ practice was compared with balanced nutrition treatment (correction of major and micro nutrient deficiencies). A total of 120 trials were organized to demonstrate the effect of micronutrients covering as many farmers at

the rate of approximately 15 farmers in each cluster. A summary of the crop yields with farmers practice and balanced nutrition and the additional income gained is given in Table 10. It was obvious that vegetable farmers gained maximum additional returns followed by cotton farmers.

Name of the cluster/ District

PH EC OC Av. P Av. K Av S Av. B Av.Zn

dS/m % ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm

Ibrahimpur (Rangareddy) (121)

Range 4.7-8.2

0.02-1.16

0.15-1.56

0.2-60.0 24-405 1.1-81.6 0.06-1.24

0.30-8.00

Mean 6.7 0.12 0.50 8.9 92 3.7 0.26 1.22


55 39 17 98 98 35

Pampanur (Anantapur) (82)

Range 5.5-8.8

0.02-3.20

0.12-1.45

0.6-42.4 38-1488 3.5-117.3

0.06-1.40

0.26-5.00

Mean 7.4 0.18 0.45 8.4 116 10.0 0.32 0.88


66 32 9 85 88 61

B. Y.Gudi (Kadapa) (83) Range 6.0-8.8

0.02-1.30

0.12-1.31

0.2-13.4 17-482 1.8-222.6

0.04-1.46

0.24-5.20

Mean 7.3 0.12 0.26 2.5 61 6.6 0.16 0.61


96 84 54 98 95 85

* No of samples taken

Participatory soil sampling across the clusters for promoting balanced nutrition

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Process: The key innovation was involving farmers from the beginning i.e. encouraging farmers to collect sample from their own fields. Organizing soil test-result sharing workshops at the cluster level; supply of micro nutrient in time and following up periodically to assess crop performance.

Lessons

• Farmer participation in soil sampling and trial are a must for convincing them on value of micro nutrients

• Sharing of the soil analysis results within a reasonable time is necessary to buy in farmer support for the intervention

Table 10. Results of participatory balanced nutrition trials during kharif 2008 across clusters.

Cluster Crop No. of

farmers

Area covered

(ha)

Yield (kg/ha) Additional yield

(kg/ha)

Additional income (Rs/ha)

Farmer practice

Balanced nutrition

Seethagondhi, Adilabad

Cotton, Kharif 2008

15 7.5 1330 1800 4700 10340

Pampanur, Anantapur

G.nut – K6 9 4.5 600 750 150 4200

B.Y.Gudi, Kadapa

Groundnut 13 5.2 400 600 200 4000


Castor 2 0.4 85 94 22.50 675

Jowar 4 0.8 582 621 48.75 439

Cotton 3 0.6 450 505 91.61 2567

Dupahad, Nalgonda

Groundnut 4 0.20 1188 1477 289 7225


Maize (JK HY 2492)

11 4.4 1530 1590 60 600

Cost of groundnut pod Rs.20/kg

Director of Extension, ANGRAU and Director, CRIDA visiting balanced nutrient trials in Seethagondi cluster

Farmers of neighboring villages visit on-farm nutrient trials

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• Availability of micronutrients well in time is important to promote adoption of practice

• Weed management is crucial to demonstrate the benefit of micronutrients.

• Water logging to be avoided in the field trials.

• Despite deficiencies in soil, all crops did not show visible difference. Yield data recording is critical

• Well laid out plot with micronutrient application serves as a good action learning tool

• A field day at such plots will have an immense multiplying effect and upscaling value through line departments.

• A high value crop is always a better choice to start such trials.

4.2. Horticulture Interventions In view of the income generation potential of horticulture, interventions were focused mostly on improved vegetable cultivation, organic vegetable production with a group approach and quality improvement of fruits from existing orchards through better management and harvesting practices. In Dupahad cluster, tribal farmers of the Banjara Society are already cultivating vegetables on large area. The project interventions included making available seeds of improved varieties with better shelf life, balanced nutrition and micro irrigation. The improvement in yield in different vegetables and additional income generated during the first year are given in Table 11.

Tomato harvest being recorded ; Group of farmers with their harvest (Dupahad cluster, Nalgonda)

Table 11: Yield and economics of farmers’ practice and improved management for vegetable cultivation in Dupahad cluster, Nalgonda

Crop No. of farmersYield (kg/ha) Additional income/

ha due to improved practice (Rs/ha)Farmers’ practice Improved package

Okra 2 2600 3750 6900

Tomato 2 10225 11275 10500

Onion 12 10000 13125 9375

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In B.Y.Gudi cluster, improved management of mango orchards through INM, hormone application along with optimum harvesting time helped in realizing significant income enhancement for the orchard farmers.

tions was tried across the clusters. These were taken up both on CPRs and PPRs. To start with, a detailed cadastral map was prepared for each cluster identifying the streams, elevation, existing water bodies, current land use etc. A one-day training programme on map reading at CRIDA (15th April 2008) was organised for all the project staff. Followed by the project staff was given hands-on training at Jaffergudem on how the plan NRM interventions based on the maps prepared (16th April 2008). It was ensured that NRM interventions under the project took stock of work already carried out by other agencies in the clusters and add further value to generate additional income.

A summary of the NRM interventions, area covered and the outcome are listed in Table 12.

Process: Unlike others, NRM interventions require group approach, systematic planning and high investment. Formation of user groups is very important to sustain these interventions beyond the project period. National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) is investing large capital for creating NRM assets while providing employment. In this project we have evolved a system through which the

Using inter space for field crops in mango orchards; A training session on good agricultural practices (inset)

in orchards in B.Y.Gudi, Kadapa

Hands on training for project personnel on cadastral map reading

Project staff receiving on-site training for designing NRM structures

4.3. Integrating NRM with Livelihoods Recognizing that natural resource management is the key for sustainable agriculture and livelihood security in rainfed areas, a comprehensive list of NRM interven-

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Table 12. Summary of NRM interventions in different clusters

Name of the cluster

Activity Number*

Additional storage

created (cu. m.)

Man days employment generateda

Crops grown under structures,

if any

No. of farmers

benefited

Activity outcome

during the I season

Remarks

Seetha-gondhi, Adilabad

Community farm pond

1 1000 - Tomato, bengalgram, maize, mustard, fish culture

3 Obtained Rs.30,000/- through tomato cultivation under farm pond

This was a successful innovation which motivated other farmers in the cluster. Helped in crop diversification with assured income on a regular interval

Individual farm pond

1 550 - Castor 1 Nil Water drained out due to seepage. Requires lining

Pampanur, Ananthapur

Individual farm ponds

5 780 392 Mango, Sweet orange, Groundnut & Redgram

17 All the structures filled to 75% capacity in the first season

For supplemental irrigation during kharif. Seepage problem to be addressed

Mini Percolation Tank (MPT)

4 1365 540 Groundnut 17 Helped in recharge of nearby bore wells

Indirect benefit on groundwater recharge

Continuous Contour Trench (CCT)

350 m -- 26 Groundnut 4 In-situ moisture conservation

Indirect benefit on groundwater recharge

B.Y.Gudi, Kadapa

Introduced sprinkler irrigation system to improve water use efficiency

3 set of sprinkler systems

-- -- Groundnut 16 Farmers irrigated their fields by these sprinkler systems and protect their crop during critical stages

40% saving in irrigation water. Sprinklers were hired through custom hiring mechanism

Thummala- cheruvu, Khammam

Renovation of existing tank in Kurvapalli village

One sluice structure,

strengthening bund and about 200 m of water

channel

Work under progress

100 Assured irrigation to 120 acres

60 Renovation helped farmers to cultivate paddy in 50 acres during kharif, 2008

Renovation done in convergence with NREGS and possibility of upscaling through similar process elsewhere. Irrigation security and cropping intensity in rabi season

Introduction of pedal pumps for water lifting

6 pedal operated pumps

NA Family labour Vegetables 6 Grown vegetables for their consumption

Likely to help in nutritional security in tribal community

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Name of the cluster

Activity Number*

Additional storage

created (cu. m.)

Man days employment generateda

Crops grown under structures,

if any

No. of farmers

benefited

Activity outcome

during the I season

Remarks

Mahabub-nagar

Trench cum Bund (Field bunding)

5255 m 790 674 Groundnut 19 Soil erosion control, rainwater har-vesting, fodder production & Pisciculture

If sustainable by the community can expected through contribute to livelihood enhancement

CCT 550 550 172 Groundnut 6

Farm Pond 3 725 42 Groundnut 3

MPT 2 1842 495 Paddy, 8

Ranga reddy On Farm Biomass composting pits

258 -- 1290 Groundnut, Redgram

258 Compost produced @ 1 tons per pit after 4 to 6 months depending on management

Use of biomass for composting is a new innovation which can be upscaled in areas with a shortage of dung

Farm Pond 2 463 45 Groundnut 3 Two life saving irrigations were given to groundnut and got 30% additional yield


Farm Ponds 3 725 42 Cotton 3 Two life saving irrigations were given to cotton

Carried out through convergence with NABARD watershed project. Essential require- ments of scientific treatment of the area

Mini Percolation Tank (MPT)

2 1842 495 Paddy 8 Helped in recharge of nearby bore wells

Gully control 17 -- 127 -- 11 To arrest further widening of gullies. Con- serve soil and water loss

Continuous Contour Trench (CCT)

120 60 70 Cotton, Pulses, Maize

20

Stone Gully Plug (SGP)

77 -- 8285 -- 200

Gabion Struc-tures (GBS)

22 -- 4628 -- 110

Sunken Pits 5 5 85 -- 20

* Represent number of structures, running meters depending on the nature of the work a Through earth work

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technical specifications and estimates are made by the project staff in consultation with the farmer groups. Villagers were encouraged to get the list of works included in the “shelf of works” by following the procedure laid out by NREGP. In two clusters, this could not be done because, by the time the project was launched the shelf of works was already finalized for 2007-08 by the Panchayats. The exact location of the structures was determined by using toposheets followed by discussion with community to make the entire process transparent. A summary of the convergence achieved in different clusters is given in Annexure-1.

Most successful intervention during first year was the harvesting of rainwater through farm ponds in Seethagondi cluster (Adilabad) and realizing substantial additional income by growing a second crop after harvesting cotton. In Tummalacheruvu cluster (Khammam) available water in open wells was utilized through foot operated pumps to produce vegetables after paddy. These two interventions helped increase cropping intensity significantly and also provide nutritional security for tribals. The farmers here were unable to use such water in the past (see box for the success story of farm pond technology in Adilabad).

Process: Since there were several programmes implemented in the past on NRM and in most occasions the physical structures were not maintained properly and the benefit to the community did not last long, the community was skeptical about capital intensive interventions. It took lot of persuasion and explaining the importance of NRM interventions for any sustainable livelihood improvement opportunities. The key point was focusing on individual farm ponds on PPRs, which directly benefit the farmers. This created interest among farmers to contribute the labour component.

4.3.1. Livelihoods through Farmer led Nurseries and Plantation Activities

To rehabilitate the degraded lands in the clusters and improve the green cover, augment

Series of trench-cum-bunds in-situ moisture conservation (Jamisthapur, Mahabubnagar)

A well designed farm pond filled to the brim (Jamistapur, Mahabubnagar)

Member of SHG in nursery raising activity for inome genera-tion (Ibrahimpur, Rangareddy)

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Box-1

Water Harvesting Technology Helps Namdev Come Out of Debt Trap

NAIP Component 3 sub project on Sustainable Rural Livelihoods is being implemented in the Seethagondhi cluster villages of in Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh since 2007. This area receives an average of 1050 mm rainfall annually and has good potential for run-off harvesting. Keeping this in mind, an appropriate location was identified for a dug out pond (17m x 17 m x 4.5 m) involving a group of farmers as stakeholders. Initially there was very strong opposition from Mr. Namdev and his brothers for loosing a part of their land for locating the pond who were assured that this intervention would help in their farming.

Soon after the farm pond was dug (July, 2008), there were good rains leading to complete filling. The rainwater filled to the brim of the pond enthused the brothers. They hired diesel engine to irrigate half acre area where they grew tomatoes. Looking at the water level the staff of KVK, Adilabad facilitated the release of 2000 fingerlings in the ponds. By the time tomatoes came to harvest, the prices in the market had touched close to Rs.25/kg. Mr.Namdev hired local vehicle and went to the market himself to sell tomatoes. Namdev could clear all his debts. He made a good profit of over Rs.20,000/- through four good harvests. By mid November, there was water still to a depth of two meters. This encouraged the brothers to sow chickpea on one acre land. The fishlings have now grown well and with half of it sold for Rs.30,000/-. With this the amount spent in digging the pond has been recovered within the first year with chickpea crop still to be harvested. This raised enthusiasm of the farmers of this area and the generally reluctant tribal farmers have come forward to get farm ponds dug on their lands in convergence with the ongoing NREGS. Overwhelmed by this response, the project has facilitated inclusion of digging work in the NREGS shelf of works. The district administration has accorded its approval to this proposal and sanctioned an amount of Rs.20.00 lakhs for up scaling this intervention.

Farm pond with harvested rainwater Marketing of Tomatoes by Namdev

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fodder resources, simultaneously creating livelihood opportunities for landless women, area for plantation with multipurpose trees was identified in each cluster and seedlings were raised by landless women as an income generation activity. Details are given in Table 13.

Process: Opportunities for biomass plantation, agroforestry, tree plantation for fodder cultivation were identified considering the availability of wastelands/degraded lands in the cluster including the privately owned lands. Landless women without any source of livelihood were identified and formed into groups. Training programmes were organized at nearby KVKs. Convergence was ensured with ongoing programmes in the Mandal for lifting of the planting stock. Training on financial management and bookkeeping was provided

along with technical aspects for the SHGs.

Lessons: Choosing of the right species which has continuous demand in the area is the key to success in such community nurseries. Adequate training to the group both on technology and bookkeeping is of utmost importance.

4.4. Livestock-based Livelihoods Integration of livestock into crop husbandry is not a new concept in this country. Livestock has always provided the much needed resilience to rainfed farming in most drought-prone regions of the country. However, over time, the livestock component in rainfed farming has been neglected and as a result the livelihoods of smallholder families started to wither away. In order to re-emphasize the value of livestock and understand the key constraints in production,

Table 13. Seedling nursery activities for livelihoods for landless women in different clusters

Cluster Species No. of seedlings

produced No. of SHGs

involvedIncome

generated (Rs.) Mode of sale


Glyricidia Subabul & Jatropha

8000 5 10440 Bought back by KVK Adilabad

Pampanur, Anantapur

Glyricidia, Subabul, Casia siamia, Sesbania, Drumstick, Custard apple

17500 5 46300 Bought by DWMA for its watershed projects

B.Y.Gudi, Kadapa Subabul 6000 8 12000 Bought back by the project for planting in wastelands


Glyricidia, Subabul, Casia siamia, Sesbania, Drumstick, Custard apple

50000 10 50000 16000 saplings planted in 4 acre block; remaining bought by DWMA


Sesbania, Glyricidia, Custard apple, Amla, Subabul, Jamoon, Moringa, Pongamia, Tamarind, Babul, Neem, Casurina, Sisso Rain tree, Pomegranate, Guava

36000 One Ilayat Mahila sangam (12 members)

34075 Over 10000 saplings sold to various agencies and the remaining bought by the project for its agri-horti interventions.

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appropriate livestock interventions were made. As an entry point, a series of animal health camps were organized with the help of the para vets trained under the capacity building component. This gave an understanding of the issues associated with livestock production and management in the project villages. Followed by this, the initial findings were shared with key district officers of the Department of Animal Husbandry in a brainstorming organised at CRIDA on 19th August, 2008. This gave insights into the convergence possibilities with the on-going schemes of the State Government and the scope for process innovations for improving the technology delivery. The details of the animal health camps organized and the key problems identified are given in Table 14.

Strategy: Prophylaxis against endemic diseases and periodic deworming of small and large ru-minants formed the core livestock intervention strategy for short term, while the medium term strategy included augmentation of feed and fodder availability (encouraging fodder cultiva-tion on CRPs and PPRs), promotion of alterna-tive and innovative feed sources like homestead azolla cultivation, encouraging livestock based micro enterprises (backyard poultry, ram lamb and calf rearing; see section on income genera-tion activities). Optimizing intervention thresh-

old and trouble shooting was based on systemat-ic laboratory research (determining deworming threshold, maximizing azolla yield,) as required in a typical action research project.

The three key innovations made were:

Enhancing the cost effectiveness of 1. deworming by dose/drug optimization by lab analysis of foecal samples (During the action research we found considerable scope in reducing the cost of deworming routinely done by the animal husbandry department by rationalizing the use of drugs).

Promotion of non-conventional feed 2. production like azolla at household level; optimization of production technology and economizing water use etc.

Table 14. Animal health camps organized across the clusters and the problems diagnosed

Cluster/DistrictNo of animals

attended Major problem prevailing

Jamistapur, Mahabubnagar 2446 Worm burden in small ruminants and calves

Pampanur, Anantapur 1879 Worm burden in small ruminants and calves

B.Y.Gudi, Kadapa 1804 FMD, Contagious ecthyma in small ruminants

Jaffergudem, Warangal 2655 Worm burden in small ruminants and high calf mortality

Ibrahimpur, Rangareddy 2655 Poor nutrition and health management

Seethagondi, Adilabad 2992 Nutritional deficiency, health management, FMD, Mange

Thummalacheruvu, Khammam 1675 FMD, high calf mortality

Dupahad, Nalgonda 1899 Worm burden in small ruminants and nutritional deficiencies

Total 18005

A Deworming campaign in progress in Yerragudi Cluster

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Mainstreaming cadre of paravet into rural 3. veterinary care system.

4.4.1. Feed and fodder management

Most of the problems associated with productivity of livestock in general and large ruminants in particular were found to be due to poor feed and fodder management as emerged during the series of animal health camps conducted across the clusters. To begin with, farmers were sensitized about the value of balanced nutrition for economic milk production. Homestead azolla cultivation was introduced with about 10-15 farmers in each cluster and different methods of cultivation like

rectangular shallow ponds, round pits, cement rings and tubs etc. were tried along with nutrient supplementation and replenishment schedule of water and soil. This helped in optimizing the azolla yield in most of the clusters in the very first year. Farmers recorded increased milk yield of 500 ml/animal/day with an increase of 0.5% of fat. However, long term cultivation of azolla is leading to yield decline which is being addressed through action research involving selected farmers from each cluster.

Women groups were formed in Rangareddy and Mahabubnagar clusters and cultivation of annual and perennial fodders was introduced

Azolla cultivation in cement rings (left) and horizontal tank (right)

District collector inspecting a low cost home-stead azolla pit (Jaffergudem, Warangal)

Buffaloes responded to azolla feeding by yielding more milk with higher fat content

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on leased lands. Trials were also conducted with small ruminants by deworming and feeding with concentrates. Deworming and feed supplementation had a synergistic effect.

to regular farm equipment. One of the major successful intervention was the introduction of foot pumps in Thummalacheruvu Cluster where there is abundant groundwater but no dependable source of power. All the foot pumps introduced during kharif 2008 were made use by the farmers for irrigating small plots of vegetables and there is tremendous scope for upscaling this strategy in such remote and tribal areas which receive high rainfall with good groundwater recharge potential. The foot pumps made available by the project were used by four farm families to cultivate vegetables like tomato, okra, brinjal, beans, chillies etc. Most of the vegetable was used for home consumption while very little was sold in the local market. This intervention has a potential to be upscaled. (see Table 15). However, foot pumps are useful for farmers who cultivate small patches of 0.1 to 0.5 acres of vegetables.

Table 15: Mode of irrigation adopted for vegetable cultivation by project farmers in Thummalacheru-

vu cluster, Khammam and area covered.

Mode of irrigation No. of farmers Area (ha)

Oil engine 3 0.8

Electrical motor pumps 2 0.6

Pedal pumps 4 0.6

Manual 19 2.8

Total 28 4.8

Economics of deworming and nutrient supplementation of ram lamb flocks

4.5. Ensuring Timely Operations and Drudgery Reduction: Small Farm Mechanization One of the major components of production cost being labour, mechanization has been highlighted as a critical need for timely farm operations in all the clusters during the PRA. However, most of the farmers being small holders, mechanization could not pick up on ownership basis. Therefore, custom hiring has been identified as a major institutional innovation for promoting small farm mechanization. The key points of action research include identifying the precise mechanization needs of the cluster considering the crops, soil types and the holding size, optimizing the size of the center, the number of units of a particular machine etc. The need for mainstreaming these centers with existing community based organizations such as self-help groups and the village panchayats was also realized during the initial phase of the project.

The major innovation so far has been inclusion of efficient irrigation systems also as a part of custom hiring centers in addition

Farmers operating foot pump (Thummalacheruvu, Khammam)

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Savings on man days, timely planting and harvesting, reduction of drudgery were some of the gains recorded due to small farm mechanization. The key to success however lies in evolving a sustainable

Sprinklers for supplemental irrigation of rainfed crop were provided through custom hiring centers

On-farm demonstration of six row planter for sowing groundnut (Pampanur, Anatapur)

Women trying their hand with a groundnut decorticator, a drudgery reducing equipment

A training session in progress for on-farm mechanization

Three row bullock drawn planter being set for a demo in farmers’ field

system of repair and maintenance within the village cluster. We plan to promote bank linked entrepreneurship involving trained youth from the same village in this regard.

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Process: Several rounds of discussions were held involving the community to understand the mechanization needs of small and marginal farms in the clusters. Accordingly, a list of agricultural implements/machinery was prepared for participatory evaluation. Two strategies were adopted for promoting mechanization in the clusters. Firstly, custom hiring centers were initiated by making available implements needed on payment of nominal user charges for critical operations. Secondly, small and useful equipment required on individual basis were made available to select households on cost sharing basis. In order to effectively utilize the limited sowing window in low rainfall areas like Anantapur, training sessions were specially organized to impart the skill to the operators. Besides, two educated youth were trained from each cluster for 45 days at a state level training institute on maintenance and repair of farm machinery (See section on capacity building)

Lessons: Identifying the actual need and scope for mechanization is the key for sustainable use and adoption by the farmers rather than indiscriminately introducing machinery in the cluster. In some of our earlier projects, the

optimum size of the CHC was not determined and this is a researchable issue in this project. Eventually it needs to be evolved as sustainable commercial model. Further, building local capacity for repair and maintenance is crucial to their continued use by the farmers.

4.6. Post Harvest Processing and Value Addition One sure way of enhancing returns to farmers in the project clusters is through PHP and value addition. A number of primary and secondary value addition opportunities were identified during the PRA and subsequent interactions with farmers groups. In this project, only primary value addition interventions were made during the first year in order to standardize the process and document the lessons learnt. Dal milling (redgram) was introduced as a major intervention in Ibrahimpur (Rangareddy) and Jamistapur clusters (Mahabubnagar) and primary grading of mangoes was attempted in B.Y.Gudi cluster (Kadapa) (see details in market linkages section).

Process: In both the clusters, large number of farmers cultivate pigeonpea and all the

National Coordinator, NAIP Comp-3 inaugurated the Community Dal Mill in Ibrahimpur cluster, Rangareddy

Dal mil being prepared for test run

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interested farmers were formed into a group. In the case of Ibrahimpur cluster, the group consisted of farmers who grow redgram without pesticides and hence the product was named NPM (Non Pesticide Management) dal. The land and infrastructure were provided by the Panchayat and the dal mill was provided under the project as initial capital investment. In Ibrahimpur cluster, it was a women user group that was formed from members of different SHGs, while in Jamistapur cluster, the group was both from men and women. The women group in Ibrahimpur was trained on running the dal mill, procurement of raw material, book keeping, etc. In B.Y.Gudi cluster, a group of landless women were trained on grading and packing of mangoes and marketing.

Lessons: The dal mill started operation during January, 2009 in Ibrahimpur and we have yet to record the experiences. In the case of Kadapa, the additional price earned by the women by way of primary value addition did not go to the growers and hence the farmers were not fully satisfied. An institutional mechanism needs to be put in place for benefit sharing between women group and the farmers. Further, training mango farmers on appropriate harvesting method and time also played a major role in fetching higher price in the market.

4.7. Market Linkages Providing strong market linkage was identified as an opportunity for enhancing returns to farmers on their produce, as the

Selecting right stage for harvesting (left); Washing the fruits to improve the keeping quality

Cleaning and of grading the fruits (left) and pouch packing (right)

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major cause of low profitability to farmers was found to be non-remunerative prices for their produce. Facilitating market linkage involves understanding of the demand and supply situation, transient storage opportunities, transport infrastructure and easy access to the markets. The idea was to intervene at any of these steps in the value chain to enhance farmer share in the retail market price. One major strategy identified in the project was encouraging the group approach as investments on the above require collective approach which provide critical mass of produce and also improves their bargaining power.

The project piloted few interventions in Jamistapur, B.Y.Gudi and Dupahd clusters during first year. In Mahabubnagar, a milk collection center was opened in collaboration with Reliance Retail which started operations during middle of 2008. In Dupahad few mango growers were linked to M/s Subhiksha, a leading retail chain and in B.Y.Gudi, a women’s group was formed which took up marketing of graded mangoes with the brand name of Pakka Honey in the urban markets. The vermi compost produced by women group in B.Y.Gudi was also branded and linkages were established with Department of Horticulture under National Horticulture

Mission for regular uptake. On an average, these market linkages for various commodities helped the farmers realize 15-20% higher profitability. So far, these initiatives were facilitated by the project but eventually a self sustainable model has to evolve.

Process: A preliminary market survey was carried out by the project staff around the cluster and opportunities for linkages were identified. Series of awareness meetings were organized with the community in the cluster on the importance of value addition and its benefits. Interactions were also organized with the representatives of the private companies involved in procurement of farm commodities. This process helped in identifying commodities where initial piloting could be done.

Lessons: Having a critical mass of produce is necessary for sustaining the market linkage initiatives. For example, in Jamistapur cluster, the milk center could not run beyond six months due to the seasonal fluctuations in the milk availability, which was not viable for the firm in terms of returns on the capital. As a midterm correction, this center was moved to a nearby larger village which is serving a catchment area covering non- project villages. Secondly, a corpus need to be built to help the group to absorb the reduced income

Primary grading at farm gate at Dupahad, Nalgonda

Reliance milk center established at Jamistapur, Mahabubnagar as a part of market linkage efforts

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during lean periods. Breaking resistance/sabotage attempts from existing vendors in unorganized sector is another challenge. These lessons will be kept in mind for planning new interventions in other clusters.

4.8. Income Generating Activities/Entrepreneurship Development Promoting income generation opportunities both through on-farm and off-farm enterprises was considered as an important strategy for livelihood enhancement in the project clusters particularly among rural youth. During the first year, the youth were trained in skills that would make them more employable. Besides, other

skills that are needed to complement project interventions were also imparted through customized training courses. From each cluster, educated youth (matriculation and above) were trained under the following skill development programmes (Table 16).

Table 16: Training of rural youth in need based skills

Type of skillNumber of

youth trained

Para vet service 18

Basic computer skill required for outsourcing jobs

24

Repair and maintenance of farm equipment and drip systems

18

Physically challenged Sri Adinarayana assisted with a telephone booth for earning a livelihood (B.Y.Gudi, Kadapa)

Village youth from project villages undergo training on computer skills at SRTRI, Pochampalli (left) and motor winding (right)

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Day old chicks of different popular breeds were introduced in the clusters through woman households to assess their comparative performance and understand the issues involved in their rearing. The breeds included Vanaraja, Gramapriya, Rajashree and Kroiler. However, a high mortality rate was recorded with most breeds. It was noted that the local birds were transmitting diseases to the improved breeds resulting in mortality. The lesson was that along with the introduced breeds, vaccination is required for the local birds also so as to control disease spread. Another issue was about hatching the eggs in the village level by women groups as an entrepreneurship activity. A controlled hatching technique has been standardized by CRIDA, which will be piloted in Ibrahimpur and Jamistapur clusters during 2009. This will ensure rapid spread of the poultry intervention in the villages.

Another major intervention for the landless women was the rearing of ram lambs. A group of women was selected and 6 months old lambs were provided on cost sharing basis. These lambs were sold after six months of fattening. The group could realize Rs.7,800 to Rs.10,080/-. This was a very successful intervention, which has potential for upscaling across all clusters. While

The skill-oriented programmes were organized at Swamy Ramananda Teertha Rural Institute, a State government sponsored technical training center specialized in rural crafts in Nalgonda district. So far the experience on gainful employment of the trained youth has been mixed. Special attention was paid to train physically disabled persons for eg. handicapped youth who was provided a telephone booth in B.Y.Gudi cluster could generate enough income to support his family and also open a small shop in the village ploughing back the income. In other cases, entrepreneurship development models through bank finance are being thought off.

For the landless women, backyard poultry was introduced as a major intervention. Although backyard poultry is generally seen as a good income generating activity for landless families, there are very few success stories of its upscaling on a wide scale. There are several issues that limit upscaling of the technology like constraints in local level multiplication and high mortality rates. In order to overcome these, action research was planned. However, this intervention helped to supplement the nutrition of children and women.

A batch of youth trained as paravets

A landless woman feeding the stock of her Rajasree birds

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ram lamb rearing per se is not new, the timing of sale of lambs during peak demand was the innovation. Another unique feature was rearing the lambs in the existing horti-pastoral systems by tying up with the orchard owners (please see Box for the case study).

Process: Educated youth who were unemployed were selected through Gram sabha. An understanding was reached that those who are trained on skills required in the village will serve the community and project will partly support the material cost of the services required for some time. In the case of para vets, 50% of the trained youth began their work in the village clusters attending to animal health camps, vaccination and administering drugs etc. under the supervision of local Veterinary Assistant Surgeon. After they gained the confidence of the community, the project provided them a basic health care kit and essential drugs for few months. The para vets started charging for their services and the mechanism is just picking up momentum. Eventually, the farmers are expected to pay both for the medicine and service, so that the para vets become self-sustainable as rural entrepreneurs. It was ensured through a convergence meeting that the services of the Para vets are also utilized for the Government schemes. This is thought as a win-win proposition as the animal husbandry department has funds for medicines but not enough manpower to administer them.

Lessons: In the case of the computer training, there was an expectation from the trained youth for a job immediately. However, only some of them could be absorbed in the nearby towns. Some of them became a source of remittance income for the family. The third category of the trainees are yet to be utilized in the project as the workshops which are to be established are

capital intensive and requires to be linked with some bank schemes like agri-clinics or SGSY, CMEY etc.

4.9. Application of ICT Use of ICT for technology dissemination, market and weather information was considered an important intervention in all the clusters. This included establishment of an ICT kiosk in each project cluster. The kiosk consists of an IVRS system, a computer and a touch screen kiosk. In six out of 8 clusters, these kiosks have been established and the content relevant for the cluster has been up loaded in the systems. The village youth who received basic computer training were encouraged to work as kiosk operators and involve in two way interaction with the farmers for transfer of information and giving feedback to the project staff. These kiosks have enabled connectivity to otherwise remote villages. The kiosks were established during the later part of 2008 and the experiences and issues that would emerge in their utilization will be documented. As an initial spin-off, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has also selected these centers to establish the village resource centers (VRC) in the same premises. This will help connect these remote villages with experts in the areas of agriculture, rural health, sanitation and distance education etc.

Process: The space for the kiosk was provided by the panchayat and the community contributed labour component for the construction of the kiosk building-cum-godown with funds coming from the project for purchase of materials. This center is expected to be the hub of all project activities in the clusters providing information on weather, market prices and cultivation practices. The kiosk operators have been trained by IKISAN, one of the consortium partner who have the necessary expertise to link farmers and

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Box-2

Ram Lamb Rearing as Livelihood Option for the Landless Women Livestock has always provided the much needed resilience to rainfed farming in most drought-prone regions of the country. Among livestock sheep and goat are an important means of livelihood for small farmers and landless. However, over time the importance of livestock to rainfed farming was overlooked and as a result the livelihoods of small holder families started to wither away. In order to establish the importance of livestock in the livelihoods of the poor and landless, the project piloted ram lamb rearing as livelihood option. From Ibrahimpur cluster of Rangareddy district, two Self Help Groups (SHGs) viz. Thulja Bhavani and Bhavani having 8 and 9 tribal women beneficiaries were selected and capacity development programme was conducted on ram lamb management and production. About 48 and 54 Nellore cross ram lambs aged 3-4 months were procured, insured under Jeevakranthi Scheme and distributed to Thulja Bhavani and Bhavani SHGs on 50 : 50 cost sharing basis initially. Trained Para worker were encouraged to take up periodical vaccination and deworming as per the advice of the local Veterinary Assistant Surgeon (VAS). As an action research intervention, faecal samples were collected from each flock at monthly intervals to assess worm dynamics and worm burden and suggest appropriate deworming schedule. Effect of supplementation of concentrate mixture on daily average weight gain and final weight gain on ram lambs was evaluated under village situation to demonstrate the advantage of feed supplementation and deworming.

All the ram lambs were reared for about 6 months on semi-intensive system of management with supplementation of concentrate mixture at evening. After 6 months rearing of the lambs, the animals were sold in the local market @ Rs.100 per kg live weight. Live weight gain of ram lambs reared by tribal women was compared with similar age group ram lambs in the village at monthly intervals. Live weight gain (kg) over a period of 6 months was 15.6-18.96 in ram lambs of the women group, where as 8.9-10.7 in other ram lambs in the village. Similarly, the net income (Rs.) per ram lamb ranged from 1800-2150 and 975-1495 in case of tribal women and other villagers, respectively. On an average, the villager could get Rs. 41 per/kg ram lamb, where as the tribal women who followed the scientific feeding, health and management practices got Rs. 54 per kg ram lamb. A flock size of 5-6 ram lambs gave an income of Rs. 7800-10080 to the tribal women. Regular screening of faecal samples for worm dynamics and worm burden in selected flocks revealed highest worm infestation from May to July. The learnings from the study indicated that drenching of deworming drug according to the worm dynamics and worm burden along with appropriate management practices would help achieve higher weight gain in small ruminants. Further, supplementation of concentrate mixture resulted higher daily average gain and final weight gain in Nellore cross ram lambs and improved the overall profit. This has raised enthusiasm of the villagers in the cluster and the otherwise reluctant tribal farmers have come forward to adopt scientific feeding and health care practices to small ruminants for higher productivity and income.

A landless women rearing ram lambs

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the research organization/universities.

Lessons: We anticipate that dynamic content and market information will be key for effective utilization of the kiosks. The major challenge, however lies in making the kiosk operate on

self sustainable basis. We envisage to expand the scope of the kiosk to provide several services required by the village community with a revenue generating model.

Dr.Mruthyunjaya, National Director, NAIP observing kiosk operation after its inauguration in B.Y.Gudi, Kadapa

A view of the VRC building in Jaffergudem, Warangal; A training session underway inside the VRC building (inset)

Director, CRIDA and Consortium Leader inaugurating the touch screen Kiosk at Pampanur, Anantapur

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42

Capacity building of the farmers is considered critical for the success of interventions in the project area, thereby contributing to improved livelihoods. A series of innovative capacity building

efforts were initiated which included exposure visits, hands-on training to the farmers, the landless, village artisans and the project staff. The details are given in Table 17.

Table 17 : Capacity Building Activities Across Clusters

Name of the cluster and training course No. of Trainees Date

Pampanur, Anantapur and Jamistapur, Mahabubnagar

Farmers field day at CRIDA on Dry land Agriculture technologies 30 05.10.07

Exposure visit to Surasheetikoppa to study the tree based farming system 26 09.02.08 to 12.02.08

Exposure visit to Pedddapur village on castor crop production 20 05.04.08

Exposure visit to ICRISAT on vermi-composting 6 12.05.08 to 13.05.08

Livestock para- veterinary training 3 19.03.08 to 05.05.08

Motor winding training in SRTRI 3 21.04.08 to 20.06.08

Exposure visit to Surasheetikoppa to study the tree based farming system 29 09.02.08 to 12.02.08


Participation in ICRISAT Field day 50 10.04.08

Exposure visit to Dr.Ram Reddy dairy farm at Appareddipally on Progressive Dairy Farming

19 20.6.08

Training on Dryland agriculture-Crop production in Red gram Jowar & Castor 30 24.8.08

Training on Live stock Management /Animal health, Breed improvement, Fodder management, Calf rearing & Clean milk Production.

30 24.8.08

Farmers day at DOR- Rabi Castor & Sunflower production 22 7.9.08

Exposure visit to NRC Ground nut, Junagarh- Improved production technology in Groundnut

05 16.9.08 to 22.9.08

Farmers Field day at Gunegal farm CRIDA – water harvesting techniques 12 30.9.08

Hybrid Seed Production of DCH 519 Castor rabi crop at DOR Hyderabad 04 22.10.08

Exposure visit to group vermin-composting unit at NAIP Kadapa cluster 10 2.8.08

Exposure visit to NRC Ground nut, Junagarh- Improved production technology in Groundnut

8 16.9.08 to 22.9.08

Field Day on Groundnut-Improved Varieties of Groundnut Cluster farmers 1.10.08

Dupahad, Nalgonda



Computer training course at SRTRI 2 06.02.08 to 05.04.08

Vermicompost Training 15 12.5.08 to 13.5.08

5.0. Training and Capacity Building

Annual Report 2008

43


Training programme on Organic farming with Panchagavya 15 16.5.08 to 25.5.08

Vermicompost Training 30 03.11.08

Vermicompost Training 30 04.11.08

Exposure visit to Tirupathi for Mulberry Gardens 15 1.8.08 to 3.8.08

Exposure visit to Gunegal Farm CRIDA 30 16.10.08





Visit to Ganya Thanda, Warangal Dist to study organic cotton cultivation 28 14.11.07

Visit to Mulkanoor to study cooperative credit society and Mulkanoor Cooperative Women Dairy Society

28 15.11.07

Exposure visit to Non-Pesticide Management 35 1/06/08

Training on seed suing and seed treatment 06/06/08 to 08/06/08

Training and Awareness on Balanced nutrition at ICRISAT 12 18/6/08

Training on sustainable agriculture 2 25/06/08 to 27/06/08

Training on weeding in SRI paddy 4 05/08/08

Demo on Agricultural instruments 55 14/08/08

Training on mulberry development 3 21/09/08 to 29/09/08

Exposure visit for SRI paddy fields 12 19/10/08

Meeting on lively wood activities with SHGS 10 20/10/08

Awareness programme on crop insurance 35 19/11/08

Training on solar energy systems 80 03/12/08





Method demonstration Seed treatment on Redgram and soybean. 40 15.06.08

Nursery raising 05 8.06.08

Training cum demonstration on 6 row planter and wheel hoe 32 9.07.08

Method demonstration on stem application in cotton fields 51 23.08.08

Training cum demonstration on preparation of poison bait for eradication of Spodoptera

52 25.09.08

Preparation of gel candles to rural youth 38 16.10.08

Training on production of biological agents for control of mealy bug in cotton at Centre Research & Training Institute, Mysore

2 23.9.08 to 29.9.08

Participation in Farmers Day at Gunegal farm 25 30.9.08

Awareness programme on kitchen gardening 90 26.9.08 to 29.9.08

Awareness on crop insurance and market linkage 31 18.11.08

Annual Report 2008

44






Training on Green manuring 43 1.06.08

Training on soil fertility management and use of bio fertilizers 45 15.07.08

Training on best crop management practices 25 7.08.08

Participation in Farmers day in CRIDA 30 30.9.08

B.Y.Gudi, Kadapa

Training on mango cultivation and subsequent field visits made at B.Y.Gudi 24 24.01.08

Exposure visit on Multipurpose field activities in ARS, Utkuru 35 22.02.08

Field level Training programme on soil testing analysis by ICRISAT people in different cluster villages

25 20.03.08




Training programme on Vermi wash production 10 12.06.08

Training programme on Package of practices in Groundnut & Redgram 75 10.07.08

Training programme on Nursery establishment & Vegetable seedlings production

12 02.10.08

Training programme on making household items like Phenyl, Candles, Detergents and Jam

38 21.11.08

Field demonstration on INM trials 65 19.06.08

Field demonstration on Utilization of Sprinklers 18 23.07.08

Field demonstration on Usage of Taiwan Sprayers 9 15.09.08

Exposure visit to Groundnut cultivation in Gujarat 10 15.09.08 to22.09.08

Participation in Farmer’s day programme at CRIDA 20 30.09.08

Interaction of Ramlamb unit beneficiaries with ADAH,LR Palli 42 14.08.08

Ibrahimpur, Ranga Reddy




Participation in farmers day at HRF (2007) 25 05.10.07

Participation in farmers day at GRF (2008) 25 30.09.2008

Annual Report 2008

45

Groundnut growers from B.Y.Gudi, Pampanur and Jamistapur clusters leave for Gujarat on a study tour

Farmers of B.Y.Gudi attending Farmers’ Day at Gunegal Research Farm, CRIDA

Visiting farmers show keen interest on implements used for groundnut cultivation in Gujarat

Annual Report 2008

46

The project has been striving to achieve convergence with the ongoing development

activities of various agencies including State line Departments to exploit the synergy among schemes. One of the major convergence is with the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) of the Govt. of India. While the list of works under NREGS was being prepared, the information collected during the PRAs and subsequent interaction with the communities along with maps and survey details was passed on to the district authorities. Further, efforts are being made to get important NRM works included in NREGS shelf of works at Panchayat level. Andhra

6.0 Convergence and Linkages

7.0 Institutional Innovations

Pradesh Micro Irrigation Project (APMIP) is another major programme with which project interventions are being converged. Thus, micro irrigation equipments promoted through APMIP, increased the use efficiency of harvested rainwater. Similarly, efforts are also on to converge with prophylactic vaccination for livestock with State Department of Animal Health, management and rejuvenation of fruit orchards through the National Horticulture Mission, etc. Crop oriented interventions are already being converged with ATMA, ISOPOM and NFSM. The cluster-wise and intervention-wise linkages and the benefits derived so far are listed in Annexure-2.

It is not only important to introduce technology interventions to enhance income, but also

necessary to see that development impacts all sections of the rural poor. This requires that the interventions address the needy families and that these families are selected through a transparent and participatory process. A system of targeting the poorest of the poor was put in place by involving community-based organizations in the process of selection. Salaha Samithis, village action teams and cluster action

teams were specially constituted including members of all sections of the society. These bodies and the existing village organizations (Federation of SHGs of the village) were actively involved in targeting households for project interventions. Special attention was given to enlist female-headed households and physically challenged persons having no means to livelihood. New institutional frame work would emerge as the project progresses and new challenges emerge.

Annual Report 2008

47

8.0 Environmental and Social Safeguards

As committed in the project document, efforts are being made to address environmental

and social safeguards through various initiatives. As a first step, in 5 out of 8 clusters, dedicated experiments have been taken up and equipment installed to measure the runoff and soil loss from the watersheds. This will quantify the environmental services rendered in terms of controlling soil loss by the project interventions. Special formats have been designed to

track excess ground water exploitation and deforestation activities by the community in the project area. The baseline survey has also collected data on socially vulnerable groups who will be tracked in terms of livelihood impacts as the project progresses. Further, vulnerable groups are being organised as self-help groups, commodity interest groups and user groups to encourage them to gain access and entitlements for means of production.

2527 28

40

37

4244

49

17

3740

45

22

37

30 30

Existing and new self help groups in different clusters

Annual Report 2008

48

9.0 Innovations in Project Management

In order to put in place an accountable and responsive system for day-to-day monitoring

of the project at different clusters/districts, the consortium has collectively evolved a two-tier system of project management (see Fig.1). The main objective of this system is to provide continuous technical assistance to the project partners besides evolving strong monitoring and reporting mechanism. This consists of Cluster Anchors (CA), Cluster Coordination Monitoring Teams (CCMT) and Thematic Support Groups (TSG).

Cluster Anchor (CA): Cluster anchor is the organization that is assigned with the overall responsibility of implementing the interventions envisaged in the cluster. Besides, some of the partners have an across-the-cluster responsibility for a particular domain area. The roles played by the NGO partners, CG center, State Agricultural University (ANGRAU) and private sector (AAKRUTHI) are given below:

Consortium partners and their responsibilitiesPartner Responsibility

Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), Hyderabad

As a lead Center, responsible for coordination and monitoring of the project and technical support to project interventions.

Acharaya N.G.Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU), Hyderabad.

Cluster anchoring in Adilabad and technical support and capacity building in Anantapur and Cuddapah clusters.

International Crops Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad.

Soil fertility enhancement related interventions and monitoring runoff in watersheds across the clusters including capacity building.

Partner Responsibility

Watershed Support Services Network (WASSAN), Hyderabad, A.P.

Cluster anchoring in Rangareddy and supporting institutional innovations and support systems across the clusters.

Modern Architects for Rural India (MARI), Warangal, A.P.

Cluster anchoring in Warangal and capacity building on community led rehabilitation of traditional water harvesting structures across the clusters.

BAIF Institute of Rural Development (BIRD), Mahabubnagar, A.P.

Cluster anchoring in Mahabubnagar and Anantapur and technical support to livestock related interventions across the clusters.

Sri Aurobindo Institute for Rural Development (SAIRD), Gaddipalli, A.P.

Cluster anchoring in Nalgonda and technical support to village level seed production across the clusters.

Center for World Solidarity (CWS), Secunderabad, A.P.

Cluster anchoring in Khammam and capacity building on social regulation of ground water use across the clusters.

Aakruthi Agricultural Associates (AAKRUTHI), Hyderabad, AP

Cluster anchoring in Kadapa and supporting contract farming innovations across clusters.

Ikisan Limited (IKISAN), Hyderabad

ICT and market linkage activities across clusters.

Cluster Coordination and Monitoring Teams (CCMTs): Cluster Coordination and Monitoring Teams (CCMT) are a team of 3-4 multi disciplinary scientists constituted for each cluster separately. CCMTs work in close coordination with the CA, address the day to day implementation issues and maintain

Annual Report 2008

49

a continuous liaison with the implementing partners. The senior scientific staff has been formulated into technical support group in different theme areas to provide consultations and guidance to the CCMTs (See Appendix). The terms of reference of CCMT and TSG are as follows:

CCMT

Coordinate all the project implementation •activities in the cluster

Provide required logistic support to the •Implementing Agency (NGO partner/KVK)

Responsible for all the communications from •the cluster

Liaise regularly with the thematic support •teams on interventions and report to the

Consortium Principal Investigator (CPI)/Consortium Leader (CL).

Travel frequently to their respective cluster/•district and oversee the implementation of interventions, record progress and report to the CPI/CL

TSG

Provide support to CCMTs through •consultations and / or visit to the project sites

Report to the CPI/CL on their observations •after visiting the project sites

Participate in periodical meetings / •workshops / consultations

Provide inputs to progress reports / •documentation

Project Management System

Annual Report 2008

50

The TSGs will work across clusters as and •when needed

CCMT interactions: CCMT members regularly travel to their respective clusters and monitor the progress of activities. Issues requiring attention of the CPI and CL are discussed in separate interactions in frequently held CCMT meetings. Special formats have been designed (Activity Progress Monitoring Sheet) to track and follow up activities at the cluster level (Annexure-4). CCMT meetings also are conducted to encourage cross learnings among

clusters. Teleconferencing is being utilized as an innovative means of interaction between cluster anchor and CCMTs.

Theme-based interactions: Frequent interactions and brainstorming sessions are organized to discuss specific issues and interventions on different themes. For instance, brainstorming sessions on livestock related issues and NRM interventions gave several insights into the challenges and opportunities in different clusters. These interactions are organized by inviting all the project staff besides experts in the domain area.

Padmasri Dr.I.V.Subba Rao, Chairing the CAC Meeting

CIC Meeting chaired by Director, CRIDA and Consortium Leader

Annual Report 2008

51

10.0 Publications

Dixit, S., Venkateswarlu, B. and Desai, S. 1. 2008. Towards sustainable rural livelihoods: Innovative options and institutions. Poster presented in the technical session on Sustainable Rural Life at the Symposium on Education and Research in Sustainability during 8-9 September 2008, IIT, Chennai.

Suseelendra Desai, 2008. Towards 2. sustainable rural livelihoods : Innovative options and institutions. Invited lead paper presented in the technical session on Sustainable Rural Life at the Symposium on Education and Research in Sustainability during 8-9 September, 2008, IIT, Chennai.

A.Vijaya Kumar, D.B.V.Ramana and 3. K.Ravi Shankar. Streamlining Animal Health Services as Community Activity In Containment Of Animal Diseases: A Participatory Approach, presented in the global meet on veterinary public health and Symposium on “New Horizons in food security with special reference to veterinary

public health and hygiene- evolving strategies with global perspective” held at Hotel Taj Residency, Lucknow (U.P), India on 19th to 21st November, 2008.

Saroja, D.G.M, Prasad, Y.G. and Sreenath 4. Dixit. Incidence of Mealybug, Phenococcus solenopsis Tinsely and its Natural Parasitoids on Cotton in Andhra Pradesh. National Symposium on IPM Strategies to Combat Emerging Pests in Current Scenario of Climate Change. January 28-30, 2009 at College of Horticulture and Forestry, Central Agricultural University, Pasighat.

Suseelendra Desai, B. Anuradha, B. 5. Sahadeva Reddy, Sreenath Dixit and B.Venkateswarlu. Seed Self Sufficiency in Groundnut : A Participatory Approach, National Symposium on Vegetable Oils Scenario : Approaches to Meet the Growing Demands, January 29-31, 2009 at DOR, Hyderabad.

Annual Report 2008

52

Ann

exur

e-1

Live

lihoo

d S

ecur

ity in

Pro

ject

Vill

ages

: Maj

or Is

sues

, Int

erve

ntio

ns a

nd In

nova

tions

Acr

oss

the

Clu

ster

sK

ey li

velih

ood

issu

es

Cau

ses

Inte

rven

tions

pro

pose

dIn

nova

tion

in th

e ap

proa

ch

Rel

evan

t to

the

clus

ter(

s)

1)In

adeq

uate

food

gra

in

avai

labi

lity

for t

he e

ntire

fam

ily

for w

hole

yea

r (la

ck o

f yea

r-ro

und

fam

ily fo

od s

ecur

ity)

Sm

all h

oldi

ngs

•Lo

w y

ield

s•

Exc

essi

ve c

omm

erci

al

•cr

oppi

ng w

ith h

igh

risk

Too

man

y de

pend

ents

on

•

agri-

inco

me

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ovin

g cr

op p

rodu

ctiv

ity•

Impr

ovin

g liv

esto

ck

•pr

oduc

tivity

Cro

p di

vers

ifica

tion

•O

ff-fa

rm s

kills

•

Incr

ease

are

a un

der f

ood

•cr

ops

with

out r

educ

tion

in n

et in

com

e by

bet

ter

tech

nolo

gy a

dopt

ion

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ter f

eed/

fodd

er

•m

anag

emen

tA

nim

al h

ealth

man

agem

ent

•Tr

aini

ng ru

ral y

outh

in o

ff-•

farm

ski

lls

All

the

clus

ters

2)Lo

w p

rofit

abili

ty fr

om fa

rmin

g an

d in

debt

edne

ssLo

w y

ield

leve

ls•

Mid

term

dro

ught

s•

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use

of q

ualit

y se

ed/

•va

rietie

s in

cer

tain

cro

psIm

bala

nced

nut

ritio

n•

Dep

letio

n of

soi

l fer

tility

due

•

to ru

noff

and

soil

loss

Inad

equa

te d

raft

pow

er

•co

nstra

inin

g tim

ely

plan

ting

Sea

sona

l lab

our s

horta

ge•

Low

cro

ppin

g in

tens

ity•

Exc

essi

ve/in

disc

rimin

ate

•in

put u

seH

igh

cost

of c

redi

t/poo

r •

acce

ss to

inst

itutio

nal c

redi

t

Impr

oved

see

ds•

Bal

ance

d nu

tritio

n•

Run

off h

arve

stin

g•

Mec

hani

satio

n•

INM

, IP

M•

Valu

e ad

ditio

n•

Inst

itutio

naliz

ing

seed

•

prod

uctio

n, s

tora

ge a

nd

sale

Soi

l tes

t bas

ed n

utrie

nt

•ap

plic

atio

nC

usto

m H

iring

for s

mal

l far

m

•m

echa

niza

tion

Zero

tilla

ge to

incr

ease

•

crop

ping

inte

nsity

All

the

clus

ters

3)Po

or p

rice

real

izat

ion

for t

he

prod

uce

Low

sca

le o

f ope

ratio

n•

Lack

of a

ggre

gatio

n•

Qua

lity

of p

rodu

ce•

Inab

ility

to h

old/

dis

tress

•

sale

Lack

of m

arke

t acc

ess

•

Agg

rega

ting

inpu

ts s

uppl

y •

and

outp

ut m

arke

ting

Prim

ary

valu

e ad

ditio

n•

Gra

ding

and

sto

rage

at f

arm

•

gate

Cap

acity

bui

ldin

g fo

r val

ue

•ad

ditio

nTy

ing

up w

ith re

tail

mar

ket

•ch

ains

Cre

atin

g gr

adin

g st

orag

e •

faci

litie

s at

vill

age

leve

lIm

plem

enta

tion

thro

ugh

•co

mm

odity

inte

rest

gro

ups

Col

lect

ive

mar

ketin

g•

All

the

clus

ters

Annual Report 2008

53

Key

live

lihoo

d is

sues

C

ause

s In

terv

entio

ns p

ropo

sed

Inno

vatio

n in

the

appr

oach

R

elev

ant t

o th

e cl

uste

r(s)

4)N

utrit

iona

l def

icie

ncy

in

child

ren

and

wom

enLa

ck o

f aw

aren

ess

•La

ck o

f ava

ilabi

lity

of

•nu

tritiv

e fo

od –

milk

, egg

, m

eat,

vege

tabl

es, e

tc.

Dru

dger

y•

Cre

ate

awar

enes

s•

Pro

mot

ion

of d

airy

and

•

poul

tryP

rom

otio

n of

sm

all f

arm

•

mec

hani

zatio

n

Bac

kyar

d po

ultry

with

•

impr

oved

bre

eds

and

capa

city

bui

ldin

gN

utrit

ion

gard

en in

the

•ba

ckya

rds

Cus

tom

Hiri

ng C

entre

s •

Inno

vativ

e m

etho

ds

•in

volv

ing

ICTs

for a

war

enes

s ge

nera

tion

All

the

clus

ters

5)Po

or li

vest

ock

prod

uctiv

ityS

easo

nal f

odde

r sho

rtage

•La

ck o

f tim

ely

heal

th c

are

•su

ppor

tLa

ck o

f ins

titut

iona

l sup

port

•fo

r pre

vent

ive

heal

th c

are

Pro

mot

ing

use

of C

PR

s •

like

tank

bed

s fo

r fod

der

culti

vatio

n by

the

land

less

Pere

nnia

l fod

der t

rees

on

•bu

nds

Intro

duct

ion

of p

astu

re in

•

orch

ards

Trai

ning

rura

l you

th a

s pa

ra-

•ve

tsC

IGs

for u

se o

f CP

Rs

•P

rom

otin

g A

zolla

as

•al

tern

ate

feed

add

itive

Pro

mot

ing

ram

lam

b re

arin

g •

as a

n en

terp

rise

All

the

clus

ters

6)La

ck o

f rou

nd th

e ye

ar

empl

oym

ent f

or fa

rm la

bour

Lack

of f

arm

rela

ted

wor

k •

betw

een

Mar

ch to

May

Ren

ovat

ion

of e

xist

ing

wat

er

•co

nser

vatio

n st

ruct

ures

and

de

func

t wel

ls

Con

verg

ence

with

NR

EG

P.

•E

nabl

e th

e Pa

ncha

yats

•

to p

repa

re s

helf

of w

orks

in

tegr

atin

g th

ese

need

s.

All

the

clus

ters

7)La

ck o

f inc

ome

gene

ratio

n op

portu

nitie

s fo

r the

land

less

Lack

of c

apita

l•

Lack

of s

kills

•La

ck o

f sup

port

syst

ems

•

Trai

ning

and

cap

acity

•

build

ing

Mob

ilizi

ng th

e po

or fo

r •

spec

ializ

ed p

rodu

ctio

n.O

rgan

izin

g m

arke

ting

of th

e •

prod

uce

All

the

clus

ters

8)Lo

w p

rice

real

izat

ion

for

peris

habl

esLa

ck o

f sto

rage

faci

litie

s•

Impr

oper

han

dlin

g an

d •

grad

ing

prac

tices

Poor

qua

lity

prod

uce

•

Faci

litat

ing

acce

ss to

bet

ter

•se

ed/p

lant

ing

mat

eria

lTr

aini

ng o

n im

prov

ed p

ost

•ha

rves

t han

dlin

g an

d gr

adin

g m

etho

ds

Trai

ning

and

cap

acity

•

build

ing

for p

ost h

arve

st

hand

ling

of p

rodu

ceIn

trodu

ctio

n of

zer

o en

ergy

•

cool

cha

mbe

rE

rect

ion

of c

omm

unity

pol

y •

hous

es

Spe

cific

to D

upah

ad

clus

ter,

(Nal

gond

a),

B.Y

.Gud

i clu

ster

(Kad

apa)

an

d Ib

rahi

mpu

r clu

ster

(R

anga

redd

y)

Annual Report 2008

54

Annexure-2

Convergence with other Development Programmes/DepartmentsArea of convergence Intervention Linkage with Additional benefit/ Remarks

Seethagondi, Adilabad

Efficient NRM management Digging of community farm ponds

NREGS 30 farm ponds worth Rs.20 lakhs sanctioned for 2009 under NREGS.

Mini percolation tanks NREGS

Training on off-farm skills Finding new opportunities like computer training, motor winding training and paravet. Training and training on biological pest control etc

Central Sericulture Training Research Institute (CSTRI), Mysore, Department of Animal Husbandry (AHD), Mahabubnagar

Trained youth are supporting ICT and livestock interventions.

Pampanur, Ananthapur

Nursery raising Nursery establishment in convergence with NHM involving women in production

National Horticulture Mission (NHM).

Plants bought back by Department of Horticulture.


Establishment of milk collection centers

Liaison with milk federation/ private sector dairies

Reliance Collection of average 100 L/day from the cluster of villages.

Dupahad, Nalgonda

To replace the desi varieties with hybrids

Vegetable seeds of HYVs Department of Horticulture 400 farmers benefited.

Soil Nutrient Management 8 tonnes of gypsum Department of Agriculture 200 beneficiaries covered

Supply of foliar micronutrients (chelated zinc)

Department of Horticulture 15 farmers benefited

Farm machinery Taiwan(28 Nos) and hand sprayer(161 Nos)

Department of Horticulture 50% subsidy availed worth Rs.1,68,000/- (Taiwan) and Rs. 1,28,800 (hand sprayer)

3 tier cultivars Department of Agriculture 222 beneficiaries covered


Wasteland development Development of CPRs Comprehensive Land Development Programme (CLDP)

3 borewells and 3 borewell motors obtained for the community.

Jaffeergudem, Warangal

Crop Diversification Resource conservation Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), Warangal

2.4 ha covered Rs.7390/- benefit per ha.

Balanced nutrition INM Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU)

4 ha covered.

Nutrient Management Gypsum Application Dept. of Agriculture 17 tonnes (26 farmers benefited)

Annual Report 2008

55

Area of convergence Intervention Linkage with Additional benefit/ Remarks

Farm machinery Chaff cutters (2 Nos.) Dept. of Animal Husbandry 50% subsidy availed worth Rs.5000/-

Taiwan sprayers (12 Nos.) Dept. of Agriculture 50% subsidy worth Rs.72,000/- availed

Seed Production Groundnut seed production National Food Security Mission (NFSM)

0.8 ha covered

Greengram seed production (WGG-37, WGG-2)

Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA)

12 ha covered

Cowpea seed production ATMA, NFSM 2 ha covered

Redgram seed production (PRG-158, Asha)

ATMA 28 ha covered

NRM Supplemental irrigation through water harvesting structures

NABARD(WDF) and IGWDP 5 farm ponds

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56

Cluster Coordination and Monitoring Teams (CCMT)

Cluster / District Scientists

Seethagondhi, Adilabad Dr.Mohammad Osman

Dr.G Ravindra Chary

Dr.RavikanthV Adake

Dr.Arun Shanker

Pampanur, Anantapur V.Maruthi

Dr.S.Desai

Dr.K.A.Gopinath

B.Y.Gudi, Kadapa Dr.K.Srinivasa Reddy

Dr.N.N.Reddy

Dr.K.Kareemulla

Dr.B.M.K. Reddy

Thummalacheruvu, Khammam Dr.K.Srinivas

Dr.M.Srinivasa Rao

Dr.C.A. Rama Rao

Dr.J.V.N.S. Prasad

Jamisthapur, Mahabubnagar Dr.M.Prabhakar

Dr.D.B.V.Ramana

Dr.K.Ravi Shankar

Dr.V.S.Rao

Dupahad, Nalgonda Dr.P.R.Reddy

Dr.B.Sanjeeva Reddy

Dr.M.Vanaja

Ibrahimpur, Rangareddy Dr.I. Srinivas

Dr.S.S.Balloli

Dr.M.V.Padmanabhan

Dr.G.Pratibha

Jaffergudem, Warangal Dr.K.V.Rao

Dr.Y.G.Prasad

Dr.M.Maheswari

Consortium Monitoring UnitDr. Sreenath Dixit, Pr.Scientist (Agril. Extn.) CPI

Dr.K.Kareemulla, Pr.Scientist (Agril.Econ.) Convener

Dr.C.A.Ramarao, Sr.Scientist (Agril. Econ.) Member

Dr.S.S.Balloli, Sr.Scientist (Soil Science) Member

Dr.D.B.V.Ramana, Sr.Scientist (Livestock Mgt) Member

Dr.B.M.K.Raju, Sr.Scientist (Agril.Stat.) Member

Dr.K.Ravi Shankar, Scientist (Agril.Extn.) Member Secretary

Annual Report 2008

57

Consortium Lead Centre (CRIDA)

Name Position Role/Responsibility

Dr.B.Venkateswarlu, Director Consortium Leader Overall Management, Administrative Leader

Dr.Sreenath Dixit, Principal Scientist

Consortium Principal Investigator (CPI)

Overall Coordination, Technical Leader

Dr.B.Sanjeeva Reddy, Sr.Scientist Co- CPI Coordination/ Communication/ Monitoring

P Lakshmi Narasamma Technical Officer Technical Support/ Budgeting

MA Rekha Personal Assistant Secretary to CPI

C Kanaka Durga Personal Assistant Secretary to CMU

Lead Centre Staff

Name & Area of Support Responsibility

A Vijaya Kumar, Research Associate (Veterinary Science) Supporting CPI, CCMTs and Cluster Anchors in implementing interventions I.Baskhar Rao, Research Associate (SWC)

K Gayatri Devi, Research Associate (Agronomy)

B.Anuradha, Senior Research Fellow (Plant Breeding)

D.G.M. Saroja, Senior Research Fellow (Plant Pathology)

Raghava Sharma, Senior Research Fellow (Computer)

M.Uday Kumar, Senior Research Fellow (FM&P)

G. Punyavathi, Assistant Administration and Accounts support

M.V. Jyothirmayi, Assistant

S.Suresh, Assistant

A. Srikanth Office Assistance

S.D.T. Srinivas Driver

Documents

Sustainable Rural Livelihoods through - CRIDA · Sustainable Rural Livelihoods through Enhanced Farming Systems Productivity and Efficient Support Systems in Rainfed Areas Annual