Rural Economy Revival Post COVID-19 - Focus on Livelihoods and Food Security

As per the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) survey (in 2011), about 80% of India’s poor live in rural areas, and livelihood of most of them is dependent directly or indirectly on the performance of agriculture. The rural farm and non-farm incomes are interdependent such that a strong non-farm rural economy requires a vibrant agricultural economy.

The COVID-19 outbreak exacerbated the suffering of small marginal farmers (SMF) as there was an absolute collapse of the rural economy - crops were not being harvested or if harvested were sold at throwaway prices as local haats and mandis were not functional. The farming community ran low on food stock and there was a huge erosion of whatever meagre savings they had. Across Eastern and Central Indian remote rural pockets, farmers are now are running out of capital for seeds, fertiliser’s and other inputs to sow the next batch of crops which feed their own families and the country. In this scenario, PRADAN with its direct presence in 10,000 villages of India across seven states and 500 professionals engaged in the grass-roots is in a unique position to ameliorate the aftermath of pandemic. Reviving the agriculture and allied sectors is now relevant and critical more than ever! Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and Agri-entrepreneurs (AEs) would be the key focus areas to promote and facilitate sustainable agriculture, thereby revitalizing the rural economy.

There is need to work with farmers with a ew paradigm. We would need to balance the need of immediate farm incomes by intensive chemical-based agriculture and on the other hand the need for adopting sustainable eco-friendly agriculture practices. PRADAN has the experience on both fronts and can help our farmers to move towards adopting sustainable agriculture. We would be working with 2,50,000 farmers over the next few years so that we can have a measurable impact at scale.

With the loss of income and erosion of savings, SMFs, do not have sufficient capital to invest in the coming sowing season. FPOs or similar organized Farmer groups can play the role of providing inputs like seeds, fertilizers, ploughing and other land preparation services to start sowing/cropping process. PRADAN plans to help set up and support 100 such FPOs, who in turn would support around 4,00,000 SMFs through providing such inputs and services on credit. For the coming years, the focus would be on cultivation of cereals, oilseeds and pulses to ensure food security at the household level as well as contributing to the national food security. FPO’s can play an important role in mending the value chain and provide some market assurance to its farmers.

PRADAN would also promote 5,000 AEs who would provide various services like custom-hiring centres for small farm implements, providing vegetable seedlings, para-vet services for small ruminants and poultry, and marketing services to the farmers of various commodities. Some of them would also produce organic manure and plant protection products to be sold to the SMFs to reduce their dependence on chemical fertilizers and pesticides and reduce input costs.

We seek to garner support of INR 30 Lakh for the aforementioned 3 areas through this campaign. Your contribution will complement, fortify, and strengthen the assistance we are currently receiving from our other donor partners for these initiatives. Through these holistic efforts, farmers would be facilitated to attain gross annual Income level of ~INR 80,000 which will take them above the poverty line, leading to a virtuous cycle of growth. We look forward towards your support and contribution for facilitating the revitalization of rural lives.