1 First Dialogue – Sherqilla, Gilgit (Pakistan) 1982

Shoaib Sultan Khan - April 2015

CIVIL SOCIETY: PUTTING THE COMMUNITY IN THE CENTRE

SOUTH ASIA EXPERIENCE

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Development policy is almost always about industrialisation and rarely about poverty.

Current trends of globalisation creating inequity and impoverishment

20% of the world population consumes 80% of global resources. The poorest 20% only account for 1.3% of global consumption.

Development Policy

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The centre-piece of a policy framework for poverty alleviation has to be the mobilisation of the poor in order to enable them to participate directly in the decisions that affect their lives and prospects.

* Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation

(ISACPA)

Main Recommendations of ISACPA* - 1991

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Why Poverty in South Asia

The public sector makes huge investments but does not create a receiving mechanism for delivery of goods and services at the grassroots

Commonly it does not effectively involve poor communities when planning or delivering ‘development’

Proposal for reducing poverty and

improving quality of life of people

By linking political and administrative pillars with the socio-economic pillar (community institutions);

By engaging people for their own development; and

By building the capacities of people and increasing the outreach of government and other development actors for effective supply and genuine demand.

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Three Pillars of State

Essentials of Good Governance/Welfare State

Administrative Pillar: – Central, provincial and local governments, Judiciary,

Police and Other institutions of (From the PM/President to the Patwari)

Political Pillar: - National and Provincial Assembles, District & Union

Councils

Functions of Local Government: - Political education;

- Inter village planning;

- Coordination with government departments; and

- Local taxation 6

The missing link: The Socio-Economic Pillar

• None of the Federal Ministries, Provincial & District Departments or Elected Bodies have the capacity to engage all or overwhelming majority of people especially the vulnerable and the poor in planning, implementing and monitoring their own development agenda; and

• They are not equipped with the tools required to:

- assess the economic status of each household;

- prepare a development plan for each household;

- design products and projects that meet their local requirements; and

- Assess the needs of each village and prepare a village development plan based on villagers perceptions and aspirations

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Fostering of Socio-Economic Pillar through social guidance cannot be undertaken by government departments or NGOs. It requires an institutional mechanism which has the resources of the government and flexibility of an NGO, such as Rural Support Programme (RSP).

The approach of Rural Support Programme (RSP)

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Implementation Strategy and Institution Building by Governments of South Asia:

support financially and administratively the establishment of independent, non-governmental and national level support mechanisms to catalyse formation of organisations

* ISACPA – 1993 SAARC Summit

An Agenda For Action

RSPs ARE PRESENT IN 115 OUT OF 131

DISTRICTS, AND 5 OUT OF 13 FATA/FRs

SRSO

BRSP

NRSP

SRSP

PRSP

GBTI

AKRSP

TRDP

RSP Network

AJKRSP

SGA

FIDA

IRM

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• Number of clients: 4.1 million

Micro Health Insurance

• Clients: 203,788

• CIF amount Rs.2,347.6 - $25.5 million

• No. LSOs Managing CIF: 317

• No. of VOs Managing CIF: 5,465

Community Investment Fund (CIF)

• Rs. 2,661~$49.1 million

• (Rs. 715~$12 million women)

Community Savings

• Community members trained:24,684

Traditional Birth

Attendants/

Health workers

• 6.09 million members (51.1% women)

• 5.89 million HHs

• 38 million people

Membership

• Rs. 115,883~$1,486 million

• (Rs. 55,675~$659.8 million women)

Credit Disbursed cumulative

• Schemes: 151,552

• Cost: Rs. 20,491 ~$ 290.8million

• HHs benefiting: 4.7 million

Community Physical

Infrastructure

Schemes

• 7.6 million

• ( 3.3 million women)

Credit Beneficiaries

• # of community schools :2,327

• Total Students Enrolled: 91,342 (47% Girls)

Education

Community Schools

• Community members

• Benefiting: 3.99 million (2.12 million women,)

Skills Training

- Vocational & Technical

-leadership & management

LSOs: 1,088

Community Organizations

(COs)

Total :354,270

Women only: 48.4%

Impact of RSPs (till September, 2014)

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• 9.6 million poor Social Risk Management

• Number of centers: 4,225

• Liter milk procured daily: 274,833

V.O Milk Procurement

Centers

• US$677million saved

Community Savings

• 3.1 million poor Food Security

• US$ 1.43 billion

Commercial Banks Loan accessed

(2011-12)

• 0.34 million Person with

disability Helped

• 12 million acres

Community Managed

Sustainable Agriculture

by 2014

• US$ 462.43 million Collective

Marketing of Agri.Produce

(2011-12)

MMS: 1,098

VOs: 38,821

SHGS: 1,059,056

Key Impacts of Andhra Pradesh (India)

Poverty Reduction Programme through Social Mobilisation

As of June 2012.

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• 11.55 million (100% women) Membership

Linkages with Government Departments

Community Managed Sustainable Agriculture

All farmers – special vulnerability of small and marginal farmers

Risk Environment

Rain fed Agriculture

< than 30% cultivable land is irrigated

Increasing vulnerability and reducing the propensity to invest

Credit – informal sources

External input intensive agriculture

Shifted power towards suppliers

Tied sales excludes farmers from participation in markets

Imperfect Markets

Malpractices in market place

Price discovery only after farmers have sunk in marketing costs

Delayed payments

Challenges in Agriculture growth

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Enhancing the growth through Ecologically sound Practices

Non Pesticide Management

Natural soil fertility Management

In-situ rain water harvesting

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Community driven Knowledge Production and Dissemination

Farmer field schools:

A. Key activity for transfer of technology

B. Farmers upgrade knowledge by sharing, observation and by experimenting

C. Farmers are active participants rather than passive recipients

Community Resource Persons:

Best practicing farmers as “change agents”

Community Video films:

A. Human mediated Video films as extension tool

B. Video films produced by women farmers for the farmers

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Scale of Activities in 2013-14

Intervention Reach

District 22

Mandals 704

Villages 14,004

Farmers 30 lakhs

Area in Acres (gross cropped area) 60 Lakhs

POP strategy 50,000 families

RFSA 25,000 Acrs

Food security models 22 villages

Value chain investments 110 villages

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LiveStock & Poultry Development

Mandal Samkyas managing (179) BMCUs and procuring (2.90) Lakh lit of milk per day from(3272) villages and (65679) House holds in (13) districts to ensure MSP to milk. During the year 2012-13, (2149) SHGs/DJLGs have established Paala Pragathi Kendralu (PPKs) i.e mini dairies each with (8) milch animals with unit cost of Rs.6.00 lakhs. The SERP s providing Rs. 1.00 lakh and Rs.2.25 lakh subsidy to Non PoP and PoP groups respectively and rest is met from Bank loan. So far Rs.34.54 Cr. spent from NRLM funds benefiting 13153 SHG HH.

1.2 lakh Rajasri Dual purpose birds distributed to 11906 PoP families to encourage back yard poultry rearing and 1.30 lakh birds to 866 NDCCs to reduce the food cost. So far 4685 SHG women trained as Community managed livestock extension workers to act as liaison between community and Animal Husbandry Department.

India National Rural Livelihood Mission

(2011-2017)

Total No. of Households

to be organised 70 Million (approx. 350 million population)

Total Estimated Cost US$ 5.1 billion

(12th Five Year Plan)

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THANK YOU!