Empowering India's Rural Poor through Poultry

Dear Friend of Shivia,

In our last report we promised to tell you more about an exciting new enterprise opportunity we are offering to poor families living in the rural villages of West Bengal, close to Kolkata.

In April last year, we launched this enterprise to help some of our existing farmers who are already registered with our Poultry Development Services programme but also have access to small, unproductive plots of land. They asked us how we could help them make this land fertile and agriculturally productive. So we developed the Agri-Management Services (AMS) programme and offered it to our farmers for a small investment from them of Rs100 (approx. $1.5).

AMS provides soil testing and training on how to develop these small plots to produce high yield crops and consequently provide a new source of income and food for the family.  We have now helped over 325 families with AMS, formed 18 Farmer Interest Groups and feedback to date is very positive.

The groups have undergone rigorous practical and theoretical (demonstration and video-based) training for Systems of Rice Intensification (SRI).  This is a low water, labour intensive, organic method that uses younger seedlings singly spaced and typically with special tools. All our farmers were engaged in paddy cultivation during the monsoon season (July-September). They have also received training in mustard cultivation and the use of bio-organic pesticides and fertilisers. 

“We are taking a holistic approach to solve the basic problems faced by small scale farmers. The first step is soil testing and, based on the results, we advise on crop selection and use of bio-fertilisers. We also discuss pest management, focusing on bio-products, to help reduce costs and minimize loss of end produce for our farmers.  We have formed a number of farmer interest groups that enable our farmers to have greater bargaining power and better market access, plus access to institutional credit and banking services, which are vital requirements for most agriculturalists to allow for business development and growth.  With market linkage for agri-inputs (seeds, fertilizers and pesticides) and agri-outputs, we are able to offer our farmers all the support they need to establish a thriving enterprise that very quickly becomes sustainable.”  Joe Rao, General Manager, Shivia India (Nirdhan)

Our Impact

The impact of AMS is very apparent since fields that were previously not productive now are. They are much healthier than the neighbouring fields, which have not benefited from our services.  Shivia trustees who saw AMS in practice for the first time during their field visit in March 2015 were struck by the clear benefits to our farmers of this programme.

Although the majority of the farmers registered with AMS are men, we are delighted that we have also registered some women, including one farmer group of 18 women who have joined together to participate in the training and develop their own paddy field.  As a group, and with the benefit of their new skills and knowledge, they have been able to approach a local bank for a small loan to lease a plot of land and buy the equipment they need to develop and harvest their crops. They are delighted with their new enterprise and the opportunity it has given them to work together near their homes and earn some much needed money to support their families.  The sense of achievement and empowerment that AMS has given this group of women should not be underestimated.

The men who join our programme are very aware of the benefits it is affording them.  They enjoy being able to work nearer to home, no longer needing to move away to the city for casual and unsecure jobs or join the traditional groups of itinerant farm labourers who have to spend much of the year working in different states.  As with our poultry farming programme, Agri-Management Services is empowering poor families to create new livelihoods and enables them to make spending choices not previously open to them.  Social impact assessments, supported by anecdotal evidence, has shown us that giving their children access to an education is the main priority of our farmers who have school age children.  Any parent the world over will empathise with that motivation.

Shivia's model of enterprise not just aid is based on a mission to develop sustainable farming programmes that promote a culture of independence not dependency.  As a charity, however, we are still reliant on the generosity of our supporters whose donations subsidise our services and have allowed us to help over 6,000 very poor families change their lives in a positive and permanent way. 

We would like to thank you for supporting Shivia and continuing to follow our progress.  

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