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Issues for Policy & Action A Presentation by PRADAN

Integrated Natural Resource Development for Sustainable Growth, Food Security & Poverty Alleviation in Rain-fed Areas. Issues for Policy & Action A Presentation by PRADAN. Context: The Rain-fed Regions. 60% of Country’s NSA (~85 m Ha) Typically, UHM ( undulating, hilly & mountainous )

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Issues for Policy & Action A Presentation by PRADAN

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  1. Integrated Natural Resource Developmentfor Sustainable Growth, Food Security & Poverty AlleviationinRain-fed Areas Issues for Policy & Action A Presentation by PRADAN

  2. Context: The Rain-fed Regions • 60% of Country’s NSA (~85 m Ha) • Typically, UHM (undulating, hilly & mountainous) • Cereal-based, Monsoon Dependent, Mono-cropped Farming System • Highly Vulnerable; Unstable/Unsustainable • Low Inputs, Yields, Outputs & Incomes • Yields 1/3rd of country average; Value ~Rs 7,000/Ha • Low Capital Investment, Poor Husbandry, Resource Degradation • Little Scope for Large & Medium Irrigation • Huge Ecological Variation, Locally & Globally • Within Villages/Micro-watersheds; Across Regions

  3. Context: The Rain-fed Regions • Poorest States/Regions • A Majority of 100 Poorest Districts • Distinctly More Rural – 80% to 90% • Home to Almost All the Scheduled Tribes • Most Food Insecure (3 to 9 months) • High Involuntary Migration • High Consumption-related Indebtedness • Often Leads to Land Alienation

  4. Determinants of Policy & Action • UHM Terrain Ecologically “Connected” • Need Integrated NRM with Watershed Approach • Need to Plan & Act Across Large Area/Basin • Need to Broaden Participation; Build Institutions; Integrate PRI • Main Source of Livelihoods; Privately Owned • Need to Integrate Livelihoods & Productivity with Conservation • Plan to Maximize “Sustainable Livelihoods” • Huge Ecological Diversity • Need for Diversified Farming Systems • Flexible Programming • Integrate “Micro” with “Macro” at All Levels • Cross-Sectoral Integration

  5. Determinants of Policy & Action • Low Productivity, Mass Poverty, Capital Erosion, Subsistence-centered Economy • Need Larger Investments (Rs 15 to 25,000 /Ha or /Family) • Need Longer Planning Horizons (7 Yrs+) • Need to Assign Key Role to Women in Planning & Action • Need a “Deliberate”/Interactive Planning Process (“contra-extension”) • Need Infusion of Quality Human Resources (sensitivity & creativity) • Need to Invest in (People’s) Capacity Building

  6. Determinants of Policy & Action • Limited Experience But Isolated “Success Stories” • Need to Systematically Create Scale Demonstration • Need to Build & Consolidate Process Know-How • Need to Develop Benchmarks • Sectorally Fragmented Administration • Seed New Institutional Mechanisms • Limited Human Resources • Need to Document Processes • Need to Develop Education & Training Materials • Need to Institute Training/Education Programmes

  7. Way Forward • Carefully Designed Pilots • An Intensive Rain-fed Area Development Pilot (IRDAP) • At Least One in Each Sub-Agro-Ecological Region • In all, 25 Sites of 5,000 to 10,000 Ha or Families • Total Investment Rs 250 to 500 crore in Seven Years • 8 to 10 NGOs Selected for Experience, Field Presence, & Good Internal Systems & Governance • Unified Funding & Management • Broad Design Parameters; Outcome Focused • Systematic Documentation, Monitoring & Review • A Long-Term Vision Needed for Development of Rain-fed Regions as the Arena for Future Growth

  8. Outputs of the Pilot • Know-How for INRM in Rain-fed Regions • Knowledge for Education, Training & Policy Development • Know-How for Scaling Up • Training Sites for Personnel for Expansion • Nuclei for Institution-Building for Expansion • Benchmarks for Inputs, Outputs and Outcomes

  9. Plantation Sabai + 30X40 Gully plugging 5% + WHS Seepage tank Kharif paddy growing area Integrated NRM in AEZ VII: An Example

  10. Problems in Implementing Watershed ProgrammesPRADAN’s Experience • Whimsical Selection of NGOs • Often No Consideration for Experience, Present Base • Fragmented Implementation; No Perspective • District Targets Distributed Across Blocks (2’s & 3’s) • Delayed & Highly Uncertain Fund Flow • Unrelated to Plans; Merely Ration Available Funds; March Bias • No Project Completed in Jharkhand; Many Closed • Arbitrary Allocation/Cancellation • Large Number of Projects Withdrawn Arbitrarily • Corruption • At Dealing Level; Among Auditors! • Tensions with Forest Department

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