Livelihood
livelihood & Sustainability
Agroforestry can help address multiple problems found in rural areas and can be an effective system to deliver a range of economic, environmental, and socioeconomic benefits to the people living in rural India.
There is an urgent need in the rural regions to build sustainable development and livelihood security systems in Agriculture to support the small landholding farmers with the knowledge and expertise to sustain in farming. We have successfully piloted a food forestry project “Kheti Shiksha Ke Liye” to support the small landholding farmers from tribal communities at Mandla in Madhya Pradesh, India.
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Partner To Improve Livelihood In Tribal Regions
Agriculture is the backbone of the livelihood security system of nearly 700 million people in the country and we need to build our food security on the foundation of homegrown food.
Kheti Shiksha Ke Liye
Challenges
- The tributaries of the river are in a bad state suffering the ill effects of sand mining and silting.
- Acres of barren land lying in the Mandla region. If this land is not re-forested, it will soon become a desert.
- This tribal region is beset by poverty. There are no consistent income opportunities and resources available to people.
- The local farmers have abandoned the natural practices of farming and use pesticides for faster yield
Positive Impact
- Kheti Shiksha Ke Liye project helps rejuvenate the great Narmada river and the entire region around it.
- This project ensures carbon sequestration. Creating forests on barren lands would help build valuable carbon sinks.
- This project helps generate livelihood for consistent income and empowers families to pay for their children’s education.
- KSKL encourages natural farming practices through forest-based farming, and farmers receive premium prices for the produce.
Transforming Tribal Belts
The Kheti Shiksha Ke Liye (KSKL) project has helped tribal farmers with small landholdings to earn higher than what they make in the entire year from their small land parcels. In addition, opportunities for labour work in the village have been created that are providing direct cash income to the farmers. Through the KSKL project, Mrida offers free education and residential schooling facilities to the children of farmers at the Riverside Natural School in Mandla, Madhya Pradesh, India.
Beneficiaries of the project:
- The Sustainable Livelihood KSKL project with its first phase of cultivating ashwagandha and food forestry in 75 acres of land, has helped support 34 tribal families with direct cash income in their hands.
Mrida has collaborated with multiple stakeholders such as Ma Narmada Kisan Abhibhavak Samuh (MNKAS) and the local community of farmer parents of students studying at Riverside Natural school to benefit the rural tribal community in the region under this livelihood intervention project.
Under the food forestry approach, we have planted different varieties of trees, shrubs, herbs and grasses in high density on a piece of land. The local farmer community working with us are practising the ‘no-tillage’ method of natural farming where we do not till the land, nor do we add any organic or inorganic inputs to the soil. Each species is chosen, keeping in mind its potential to support other species in the forest ecosystem.
Teaching Vegetable Farming
Students from Riverside Natural School, a residential school for tribal children are taught the subsistence model of farming since many of their parents hold small landholdings. Under the Agroforestry studies, students learn the efficient and organic methods of vegetable farming. This helps the students to prepare themselves in the field of their interest for future employment pathways. In High school students take up independent responsibilities to manage the farm operations under the guidance of expert teachers. We have built a model farm for this purpose and are piloting the vegetable farming livelihood development model in 2021-22 (subject to MP government’s COVID-19 guidelines)
Income from Farming
Helping farmers cultivate Ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera) and other herbal plants and grasses such as lemon grass, accompanied by fruit and timber trees such as mahua, amla, guava, teak, and Jamun that grow naturally in the forest here. The global demand for Aswagandha is poised to grow with studies and clinical trials proving the herb’s efficacy against coronavirus. From 2015-2018, there was an increase of 48% in the number of food and beverage launches using Aswagandha extract and the herb’s strong credentials as an adaptogen to equip human beings with a higher immunity. Thus under the Kheti Shiksha Ke Liye intervention program, tribal farmers are assured of consistent income from farming.
Potential Positive Impact To the Region
Rejuvenation of Ma Narmada
The Mahakaushal region is situated in the upper or eastern reaches of the Narmada river valley, located only 180 km from Amarkantak where the river originates. The tributaries of the Narmada river are in a bad state. Rivers like Burhner is suffering the ill-effects of sand mining and silting. The river Burhner,which joins the mighty Narmada river, has started drying up in peak summersdeepening the water and livelihood crisis in the region.
Bring Back Natural Farming
Over the recent years, the farming trend in the region has started to shift to the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides for a faster yield. The local farmers who have been traditionally following natural farming practices are now abandoning it in favour of the chemically driven cultivation that increases output but lowers the soil quality. This shift can only be stopped if forest-based farming is promoted, and farmers are given premium price for the produce.
Ensure Carbon sequestration
The Mahakaushal region is stretched with acres and acres of barren land. If this land is not re-forested, it will soon become a desert, a movement from forest to desert in a single lifetime. Creating forests on such lands would also help in building valuable carbon sinks.
Social Development and Mobilization
There is a need for investment in institution-building to promote education and agricultural entrepreneurship. The sustainable livelihood opportunities in agriculture in the region have the potential to lift the tribal community out of poverty.