MITIGATING POVERTY IN WESTERN RAJASTHAN

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MITIGATING POVERTY IN WESTERN RAJASTHAN

• MPOWER, JODHPUR

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Need and Justification

• To achieve the goal of inclusive growth,
  efforts for poverty mitigation need to be scaled
  up.
• Strategies for direct attack on poverty have
  proved to be more effective in poverty reduction
  (Trickle down effect of growth does not happen
  automatically).
• Poverty in Tribal and Desert areas is not only
  high but entrenched more in certain pockets
  requiring saturation approach.

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Project Area
six poorest blocks of the Jodhpur division (one
per district)
Sankada
Bap
Jaisalmer
Jodhpur,
Districts
Bayatu
Pali
Barmer
Jalore
Bali
Sanchor
Sirohi
Aburoad
Selected poorest blocks
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Project Objectives

• The overall goal of the Project is to improve
  the quality of life of the poor and create
  sustainable livelihood opportunities for
  vulnerable and marginalized groups in the project
  area.
• The specific objectives are
• (i) Drought mitigation and water
  securitization
• (ii) Income enhancement and employment
• generation
• (iii) Market led productivity improvements
• (iv) Favorable market access in terms of
• realizing better producer prices (farm
  gate
• prices) and backward forward linkages
• (v) Empowerment and mainstreaming of women,the
  marginalized and vulnerable groups and
• (vi) Leveraging substantial govt. funds through
  convergence and dovetailing.

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Project Rationale

• The project region is beset with a harsh arid
  climate with low erratic variable rainfall
  drought is a recurrent phenomenon across the
  region at least once every three years. The core
  problems faced are severe water insecurity, poor
  agricultural, livestock and IGA productivity, low
  investable surpluses and a social system that
  greatly discriminates against women and the
  socially disadvantaged.

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Project Components

• (I) Strengthening of Grassroots Institutions,
  divided in 2 sub-components
• (i) Mobilisation and Capacity Building
• (ii) Community Infrastructure Development Fund
  (CIDF).
• (II) Livelihoods Support, divided in 2
  sub-components
• (i) Income Generating, Marketing and
• Employment Creation and
• (ii) Development Finance
• (III) Project Management

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Core Approach

• The core approach of CIDF component, in
  particular, is convergence. All applicable and
  relevant on-going schemes of the Government are
  to be dovetailed and implemented in this project.
  Given that allocated resources are very limited
  in comparison with what Government will provide
  for infrastructure development (land and water
  resources development, afforestation, etc), the
  project funding will be for , gap filling and
  complementary financing. Where gaps or slippages
  that would compromise the quality, impact or
  targeting in regard to beneficiaries occur,
  Project funds will complement the effort.

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Target Group.

• The target group consists of all BPL households
  in the project area, as determined by the GOR
  (100 saturation is the goal).

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Innovative Features

• (i) It attempt to make markets work for the
  poor by securing better
• access and better producer prices
• (ii) It seeks to let markets signal and
  provide the incentives for people to adopt new
  technologies and better management regimes
• (iii) By growing SHGs into Marketing Groups
  and making them into micro entrepreneurs, the
  project transforms a mechanism of social
  empowerment into one for economic empowerment
• (iv) It seeks to make equity a concern of the
  village elite also (not only that of the project)
  
• (v) It uses project resources to provide the
  incentives as well as the follow up to leverage
  govt. funds through dovetailing and convergence
  of govt. schemes, especially NREGA.funds. This
  results in substantial augmentation of project
  resources.

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Pilot activities

• Farmer Field Schools
• Promotion of Opuntia Ficus
• Tropical Sugarbeet Cultivation Trial
• Pilot Juliflora Processing
• Crop Demonstrations
• Fodder Storage Treatment
• Promotion of Feed Fodder Practices
• Fodder Crop demonstrations
• Breed Improvement and Vaccination Camps

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
Nodal Office,Jaipur
STATE PROJECT STEERING COMMITTEE (Headed by
Honble Minister(RDPR)
PROJECT STEERING COMMITTEE( Headed by Divisional
Commissioner, Jodhpur)
SPMU, JODHPUR
DPCC(Headed by District Collector)
BPMUs at Block
GPDC(Headed by Sarpanch)
Project Partners (NGOs)
MARKETTING GROUPS
Clusters/ Federations
SHG
VDC
Target groups (BPLs)
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Financial Outlay
(Rs in Crore)
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PROJECT STRATEGY .

• Not Credit alone Holistic approach to address
  root cause of poverty i.e Education, Health,
  Natural Resources, Skills and Empowerment.
• Creating ownership.
• Diversifying risks Enhancing productivity.
• Ensuring good governance.
• Involving NGOs and Private sectors for market
  linkages.
• Mainstreaming gender.
• Convergence with ongoing programmes like NREGS,
  BRGF,SSA, NRHM, Nutrition, Social Security etc.
• Decentralized Participating Planning at village
  level for Convergence.
• Building Public Private Partnership.

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IMPLEMENTATION STRATGY
Grassroot level implementation will be assigned
to NGOs on task based agreement for the entire
project period
PROJECT COORDINATOR

Team leader
Team leader
Team leader ( for 10-12 GPs)
CF
CF
CF
CF
CF
CF
CF
CF
CF
VF
VF
VF
VF
VF
VF
VF
VF
VF
VF
VF
VF
SHGs-Target groups
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KEY TASKS

• Preparation and approval of Village plan
  (includes target house holds survey in prescribed
  format) - 5 months
• Formation of SHGs , opening of bank A/C for
  imparting basic orientation trainings on SHG
  concepts, group dynamics, maintenance of records
  and books of accounts, conducting group meetings
  financial transactions and approval from BPMU.-
  18 months
• (i)Formation of VDCs, identification of
  livelihood based infrastructure, land based
  activities and facilitate the sanctioning
  committee to get approval of the proposal and
  release of funds by concerned line
  depts.(ii)Successful completion and submission of
  CC- 24 30 months
• Group qualifies for revolving fund and gets
  linked to the bank by way of availing credit and
  subsidy from Project and continues to work
  satisfactory. Grade-I- 24 months
• After the SHG takes up an economic activity by
  formulating a Sub-Project and getting it financed
  from bank along with Project subsidy ,completion
  of requited Skill based trainings and submission
  of CC-Grade-II- 36 months
• Successful execution of sub-Projects by the SHGs
  and repayment of first 6 instalments as per
  repayment schedule of the Bank- 42 months
• Ensure each member of SHGs to get benefits from
  minimum 5 different identified schemes as per
  schedule.- 60 months
• Formation of Marketing groups and SHGs linked
  with cluster/federation Sustainability of the
  Clusters.- 60 months

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Expected Outcomes
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Road traveled so far

• IFAD Loan effective from 11th December 2008.
• GoR allocated Rs 8.39 crore budget for FY
  2009-10.
• PMU established at Jodhpur.
• BPMUs established at all project blocks.
• Base line RIM survey work completed through
  CmF(Nodal agency of
• Project Co-financier SRTT).
• Project staffs two days orientation training
  and two days workshop on
• ME completed.
• All Project managers trained through
  HCM,RIPA,Jodhpur on Rajasthan
• Service Rules and financial Management.
• Project staffs two days two days workshop on
  Financial management and
• Procurement guidelines of IFAD completed.
• Livelihood related community infra structure
  work and individual benefit
• scheme under NREGS identified and included
  in MGNREGA action plan
• for the FY2010-11.
• Proposal submitted for budget allocation of Rs
  14 crores for F.Y 2010-11.
• FNGO selection is under progress.

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Action plan for 2010-11

• After NGOs deployment start up workshop to
  be scheduled by
• Apr10.
• After FNGO deployment village planning
  exercise which includes
• 100 target HH survey will be carried out.
• Capacity building of FNGO staffs/ PRIs
  carried out with the help of
• SRTT co financing part.
• Sensitization workshop for bankers
• Need assessment study has to be carried out
• Gender workshops carried out in state level
  as well as in blocks
• level
• Infra structure works carried out in 300
  villages
• Drudgery reduction activities carried out in
  200 villages
• Demonstrations at Gram panchayat level
  carried out with the help
• of concerned line departments/FNGOs
• Some 3000 SHGs will be formed and more than
  1000 SHGs
• credit linked with banks.

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Reasons for slow Progress

• Due to election code of conduct (Since loan
• effectiveness Parliament, state legislative
• and PRI elections held in our state)pre-
• implementation activities delayed.
• Concurrence on NGO selection procedures
• cause delay in grassroot implementation.

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Thanks