Livelihood Promotion

Livelihoods are sometimes narrowly defined as income generating activities. The first step in understanding the livelihoods of the poor calls for a holistic perspective to understand the broader issues of development and the overall context of poverty. Conditions of poverty in a way define the contours of the livelihoods of the poor. Thus, understanding poverty context is useful in affecting changes in the livelihood options of the poor that will lead to their development. Understanding livelihoods in the context of poverty with social, political and cultural underpinning is necessary. Livelihood is a means of subsistence or support for physical and mental well-being. A high percentage in rural India (98 million of 120 million of Land households in the country)ares mall and marginal farmers cultivating land up to three to five acres in size. Agriculture and allied services are one of the major sources of livelihood. Yet, these men and women get very little returns fro their crop, are often laden with crippling debt, and resort to distress migration and are risk of suicide.
At YCDA we support work that makes farmers and land less households aware of their rights and entitlements and existing Government schemes to subsidies. We also support farmers to form Farmers Producers Group with objectives on production, enhancement & appropriate marketing linkages. Following are major intervention under livelihood/poverty reduction.

With an objective to increase farmers’ income by reducing farmers’ expenditure, YCDA has been promoted Four Farmers Producers Organization(FPOs)registered under Companies Act with the support of NABARD. By Sept.2019, total membership in four FPOs is 900 with share capital amount of Rs. 3.5 lakhs. By March.2020, YCDA aim to increase the FPO membership to 2000 with share capital amount of Rs.8 lakhs. Over a period of one year, YCDA has planned to strengthen FPOs to increase the income of its farmer’s shareholder under three broad heads i.e access to Govt. welfare schemes, transfer of knowledge & technology, production enhancement & marketing support.

With an objective to sustainable doubling the income of 3000 small & marginal farmers an Agriculture Production Cluster has been established by YCDA at Kantamal Block, Boudh with the support of Govt. of Odisha and BRLF. In this model around 150 Farmers will be organized into one Producer Group (PG) who would be facilitated to practice synchronized market linked production of identified horticultural crops covering around 40 acres in a contiguous manner. This model stands on three components:

  • Setting of PG &PC : Strengthening farmers’ collective, selection of winner crop looking at small holder suitability and market attractiveness, synchronized production and developing aggregation center
  • Building market Eco system: Support PG to carryout business and building linkages with market ecosystem and market player
  • Developing critical infrastructure to support intensification & diversification of farming: Creation of irrigation facilities for year round cultivation, establishment of sorting, grading & aggregation center and access of tool & agriculture implements to enhance efficiency of labor

In partnership with Odisha Millet Mission, YCDA has planned to cultivate millets in 1000 hectares involving 2000 farmers over a period of 4 year in Khaprakhol Block of Balangir district. Mission will be implemented by Community Based Organization (CBO), facilitated by Facilitating Agency (FA) i.e YCDA and administered by Agriculture Technology and Management Agency (ATMA), Balangir. Odisha Millet Mission Project envisages forming Community Based Organizations (CBO) mostly FPO and the FPO is expected to be farmer led bodies that will ensure improvement in production, productivity and direct linkage for higher value realization for the millet farmers. FPO aims to achieve the following objective:

  • Successfully deal with the challenges and constraints confronted by farmers for enhancement of production and marketing of products
  • FPO is expected to be platform for small & marginal millet farmers to collectively sell processed grains and value added products of millets.
  • Support to millet farmers availing work guaranteed under MGNREGA, opening of bank to transfer incentives through DBT, availing benefit of insurance, agriculture, horticulture and other department schemes & programs.

The farmers in Odisha are mostly disorganized and illiterate. Most of them are misguided by the fertilizer and pesticide vendors owing to the fact that the grass root service providers are unreachable to them. This is the reason for indiscriminate use of fertilizers and pesticides in their crop field. This also leads to gradual degradation of the soil health and develop pesticide resurgence in the area which lead to indiscriminate use of agro-chemicals.

With a purpose to maintain long term soil fertility, biological diversity, decrease pollution and to promote a sound state of health, YCDA started educating the households on NPM based agriculture as one of its core intervention in livelihoods promotion. With the support of BRLF (Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation) YCDA intensively engage with 350 farmers from four villages in preparation & application of NPM fertilizers & fertilizers. On pilot basis 252 women farmers from four villages cultivated vegetable in 132 acres of land and convinced because of NPM application cost of agriculture production drastically reduce, soil health condition improve and it helps in keeping agriculture production at a sustainable level. Now YCDA has planned to mobilize NPM farmers in Producer Group (PG) and provide support in scaling up of their production and marketing of products.

SHG based entrepreneurship development program is one of the core intervention of YCDA. Enterprise is the capacity & willingness to initiate and manage creative action in response to the opportunities, wherever they appear, in an attempt to achieve outcomes of added values. For initiating micro enterprise YCDA do the following strategies:

  • Vocational training provided to SHG members to initiate micro enterprise
  • After training proper financial support at nominal rate of interest also be provided to start the enterprise
  • Regular monitoring with continuous up gradation of SHG members should also be done in time
  • Learning from peer group should also be encouraged.
  • Shifting from supply chain to value chain

Sustainable development when inner potential is recognized. Transforming SHGs into Strategic Business Enterprise (SBE) and generating number of entrepreneurs from SHGs is not an easy task. It requires lots of positive force on the part of Government, planners, funding agencies and NGOs.

YCDA started an innovative project in the year 2008 to provide support for mainstreaming People with Mental Illness and caregivers through networking and alliance building. Outreach of the project covers 316 villages from 26 GPs of Boudh & Kantamal Block. Basic objective of the Project:

Objective

  • Capacitating Partner Organizations, community workers and paraprofessionals from Government public health system in support of implementation and sustenance of CMHD program
  • Ensure identified PWMI have access to regular Mental Health Care and reintegration services
  • Build awareness in community and strengthen community support systems to assert with the Government for delivery of mental health services
  • Insuring Treatment Facility of all identified PWMIs

As on date total 730 PWMIs (Male-424, Female-294) identified for the outreach area, Due to project intervention total 192 PWMIs (Male-119, Female-73) completely recovered and 308 PWMIs are under regular treatment. 474 PWMIs are linked with different social security schemes like OAP, DP, PMAY, Ration Card, SBM and 141 PWMIs are provided with disable certificate.