Agripreneurship: Helping Revive Smallholders

Manas Satpathy . September 14, 2018

Promoting a community-based model of agricultural advisory services through Community Service Providers has helped PRADAN improve the lives of smallholder families through increased agricultural productivity.

Abstract

S MALLHOLDERS CONSTITUTE nearly 801 per cent of the total farm households and make up one of the largest constituencies among India’s poor. Their food, nutritional security and poverty alleviation pose great challenges. Their lives can be improved only by increasing their agricultural productivity and by promoting off-farm rural employment. This requires appropriate technology dissemination systems, which will equip them with modern practices, in both farming and off-farm activities. This paper captures the lessons from PRADAN’s experience in improving the lives of smallholder families through increased agricultural productivity by promoting a community based model of agricultural advisory services. Other actors may find this useful for adaptation in different contexts.

Introduction

In spite of several initiatives that have been introduced since Independence, neither the public extension system nor the market has been able to reach the millions (200–400) of smallholders in the remote areas of our country. Their low self-efficacy, the lack of belief of outsiders in their capability, the ignorance of public extension workers about the needs of these smallholders, and the unwillingness of specialists to live and work in such areas are some of the reasons for the current state of affairs. New models have to be developed to ensure that these families have access to the right information, as well as knowledge and skills to optimize the productivity of their livelihood activities.

New models have to be developed to ensure that these families have access to the right information, as well as knowledge and skills to optimize the productivity of their livelihood activities

As a result, the productivity of most of the on-farm and off-farm activities that they are engaged in varies from 50–65 per cent of the national average. To ensure their well-being as well as to meet the national food demand, this situation cannot be ignored or be allowed to continue. New models have to be developed to ensure that these families have access to the right information, as well as knowledge and skills to optimize the productivity of their livelihood activities.

Efforts are on to come up with an appropriate model of extension into these areas. PRADAN, a notfor- profit entity, working for the socio-economic empowerment of rural communities in the most poverty-stricken pockets of seven central Indian states, has been promoting Community Service Providers (CSPs) for many years now, to successfully address the challenge.

The uniqueness of PRADAN’s approach is that the women from disadvantaged households, who are organized into SHGs, select, engage and supervise local youths to work as CSPs to help their members adopt modern practices and to access markets. The lesson is that when CSPs identify an enterprise to support the production system, they not only benefit the community by advising them on the scientific practices, they benefit themselves by finding a means of earning. It becomes a win-win situation for both the community and the entrepreneur.

Manas Satpathy is Integrator, Research and Advocacy, PRADAN

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