SOUTH ASIA Livelihoods Learning Note Series 3 Note 1 76338 Enhancing Agricultural Livelihoods through Community Institutions in Bihar, India Debaraj Behera, Arvind Kumar Chaudhary,Vinay Kumar Vutukuru, Abhishek Gupta, Sitaramachandra Machiraju & Parmesh Shah Inside Context 3 Implementation Strategy: Key 4 Innovations Institutional Platform of Poor 5 Pro-Poor Investment Climate 6 System of Crop intensification – 7 the Technologies and Practices Single Window System at the 11 Doorstep of Small and Marginal Farmers Key Benefits and Impacts 13 Lessons Learnt and Issues for 16 Wider Applicability Challenges 17 Way Forward 17 1 Bihar’s agriculture sector employs more than eighty percent of the labor force and more than four- fifths of these farmers are small and marginal. They have one of the lowest agricultural productivity in India that has not increased due to several constraints. Jeevika, a project jointly supported by the World Bank and the Government of Bihar, has piloted, customized and eventually scaled-up several innovative livelihood interventions to improve the well-being of poor households in Bihar. A number of innovative aspects account for the success of these livelihoods programs in the state. Foremost among these is the fact that it was implemented through community-driven and community-owned institutions. The institutional platform that was facilitated by the project has enabled the creation of a single-window system at the doorstep of small and marginal farmers. Farmers can now demand better services from the public sector, access credit from commercial banks, and experiment and customize various technologies. This note will focus on System of Crop Intesification’ (SCI), which has evolved from a well-known farming methodology called System of Rice Intensification. It has been customized and adopted for wheat, green gram, oil seeds and vegetables in Bihar. The participant farmers have witnessed 86% increase in rice productivity and 72% increase in wheat productivity. The profitability of rice cultivation has increased 2.5 times and has almost doubled for oil-seeds. Since 2008, implementation of SCI has contributed to an additional income increase of around US$10.7 million. 103,028 farmers practiced SCI for rice in 2012 86% yield increase in rice 72% yield increase in Wheat 250% increase in profits of rice cultivation 86% increase in profits of wheat cultivation US$ 5.2 million additional income generated in 2012 SOUTH ASIA Livelihoods Learning Note Series 3 Note 1 Context Bihar is the third most populous state in India with lower than the all India average of 37%. over 100 million inhabitants. The state’s economy is Second, small holders can’t invest in higher quality dominated by agriculture: it constitutes 19.2 percent inputs due to poor access to credit. Bihar has lagged of state’s GDP1 and employs nearly 751 percent of behind in increasing access to finance in rural the labor force. 92.8 percent of the farmers in Bihar areas. The Credit-Deposit (CD) ratio5 of Bihar is just are small and marginal(small holders), which is much 34 percent, far below the national average of 75 higher than the all India average of 83.5 percent2. percent, and much lower than the CD ratio of other In addition, only 29% of households own any land states. The baseline study of ‘Jeevika’ estimated that and the average landholding size is approximately less than 10% of farmers in the state have borrowed 1 acres3. Furthermore, Bihar’s agriculture productivity money from institutional sources. Most of these is one of the lowest in India. For instance, the households borrow money from informal sources at a average productivity of paddy and wheat, the two very high interest rate or sell their land to raise money. major crops of the state, is much lower than the national average (See Figure 1). The productivity of Unavailability of good quality seeds is the third smallholders is further lower than the state average. biggest constraint faced by the small and marginal Agriculture productivity in Bihar also affects food farmers in Bihar. Even in nearby urban district centers, security as 88 percent of Bihar’s poor depend on it is difficult to find good quality seeds. The prevalence farming for subsistence. of fake seeds further exacerbates the problem. These problems have resulted in only 33 percent of Figure 1: Agricultural productivity in Bihar compared smallholders using improved seeds compared to an all with other states3 India average of 43.9 percent6. Most of the poor and 1.08 marginal farmers use grains from the previous year to 1.03 1.00 sow their crop. Seed replacement rate in Bihar is only 0.86 0.85 about 30 percent in paddy and wheat, 17 percent in 0.80 0.77 pulses, 50 percent in oilseeds1. In addition, most of the Average Productivity in acre 0.60 0.60 existing varieties used are over 15-20 years old. 0.43 0.40 0.30 Fourth, the extension facilities are not customized for 0.25 0.27 0.20 smallholders. This has resulted in only 0.4 percent of farmers in Bihar accessing extension services, which is 0.00 Paddy Wheat Maize Pulses Oilseeds much lower than the all India average at 19 percent. Bihar India Figure 2: District-wise flood and drought in Bihar Low agriculture productivity is a multi-dimensional problem and following factors can partly explain some of its causes: First, poor households don’t have sufficient ‘voice’ and lack collective bargaining power to improve their access to credit, better inputs and public services. The supply side institutions such as commercial banks, public extension services and urban markets, are geographically dispersed, which further restricts their DROUGHT access. Bihar has one of lowest membership ratios of PRONE FLOOD farmer organization in India; only 9.1% of farmers are PRONE FLOOD AND members of any farmer organization, which is much DROUGHT PRONE 1 (Government of Bihar - Finance Department 2007-08)(Government of Bihar - Finance Department 2010-2011), (Government of Bihar - Finance Department 2011-2012), (Government of Bihar - Finance Department 2009-2010) 2 (National Commision for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector December 2009) 3 There is no estimate of average size of land under cultivation as each farm could possibly be leased out to multiple farmers. 4 Productivity figures for 2003. Source: Department of Agriculture, Government of Bihar. 3 5 CD ratio is an indicator of outreach of institutional credit in states 6 (National Commision for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector December 2009) Enhancing Agricultural Livelihoods through Community Institutions in Bihar, India Frequent floods and droughts in Bihar have worsened met with limited success. Other programs that are the problem. There are 28 districts in the state, mostly administered in a top-down manner have had a very in north Bihar, which are affected by floods almost slow adoption rate and limited long-term impact. every year while many districts in south Bihar are These interventions have neither addressed the root drought prone. See Figure 2 for more details. of the problem nor the intergenerational nature of landlessness and poverty. Currently, programs that have not customized and adopted technologies for smallholders, have Implementation Strategy: Key Innovations Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (BRLPS), an Jeevika- System of Crop Intensification (SCI)-was autonomous society supported by the Government implemented through these community institutions of Bihar and the World Bank, has been working and the following innovations in the implementation with community institutions since 2007. BRLPS is the strategy were crucial to the success of its scale-up: implementing agency of the livelihoods project in • ‘Jeevika’ facilitated the creation of an Bihar, popularly called ‘Jeevika7’. Key investments ‘Institutional Platform’, which is owned and of the project include: building and strengthening supervised by communities. institutions of the poor and investing in social capital; • The institutional platform with support from the developing financial services for the poor; promoting project staff enabled a ‘pro-poor investment and diversifying livelihoods; and improving last mile climate’ in the state, which lowered the cost of delivery of public services. credit A number of innovative livelihood initiatives for • Community professionals, technical agencies and small and marginal farmers have been piloted and ‘Jeevika’ staff also helped smallholders customize scaled-up under ‘Jeevika’. However, building strong and adopt the methodology of System of Crop community institutions is a necessary precondition Intensification for small landholdings. before implementing any livelihood intervention. The • A single-window system for small and marginal social mobilization should also be accompanied with farmers at their doorstep built on the social lowering the cost of credit for poor households. The infrastructure was facilitated by the project social and economic mobilization is critical for the Figure 3 provides the process at a glance, as well as sustainability and scalability of livelihood interventions. the key investments by the project. The primary agriculture intervention facilitated by Figure 3: Key investments by Jeevika & the implementation strategy of SCI Investment by Jeevika 6 6 6 Facilitating & strengthening Enabling Pro-poor Technology development & the Institutional platform Investment adaption; good quality technical for poor Climate support Social Mobilization Financial Literacy Micro-credit planning Formation of Self-help groups, Village Encouraging savings Demand driven community managed exten- Organizations and Cluster-level sion services Federations Reducing dependence on high cost debt Selection and appointment of Village Re- Capacity building of community federations 4 Credit through commercial banks 4 source Person to provide technical support Bulk input procurement for the village Building Social Capital Low cost loans for leasing land Peer-based learnings through farm-field schools Generating voice and scale 6 6 6 Single Window System for Small and Marginal Farmers at their doorstep 7 Jeevika is a statewide community-driven poverty reduction project jointly funded by the World Bank and Government of Bihar. 4 SOUTH ASIA Livelihoods Learning Note Series 3 Note 1 Institutional Platform of Poor Figure 4: Community Institutional Arrangements and Mobilization First 2 Years: Building Social and Financial Capital for the Poor Accumulate savings, Managing money, lending within small groups, accessing credit Commercial Banks PHASE 1 Village Cluster level Organizations Federations Fedarates about 20 SHGs Fedarates about 30 VOs Strengthens SHGs Secures links with Govt Depts Arranges lines of credit to SHGs Audits VOs Social Action Microfinance funtions Year 2 onwards: Converting Social Capital into Economic Capital Creating assets, developing technical business and management skills 10 - 15 individuals Self Help Group Markets and Private PHASE 2 Sector Savings and Village Cluster level Federations Internal lending Organizations and Producer Companies Accessing credit from banks Managing Farmer-field Schools and Local value addition to the output Community Extension Workers Developing market linkages with cooperatives Wholesale procurement of inputs and private sector to get a higher price for the Bulk sale of produce produce Since 2007, Jeevika has supported the formation of 534 blocks in the next 2 years. Figure 4 provides key three tiers of institutions. It has mobilized 850,000 rural roles and responsibilities of community organizations. women into 67,000 self-help groups (SHGs)8 in 141 After these self-managed community institutions blocks and 21 districts. The affinity based SHGs have reached scale, they have enabled both state and been federated into 4500 village organizations (VOs) the market to work for poor households and become at the village level, and 42 cluster level federations a effective institutional platform that has created (CLFs) at the sub-block level. It has also been able to demand side stimulus for investment and services. cover nearly 70 percent of the SC and ST9 households Furthermore, they have enabled poor to create in the coverage area10. BRLPS will soon be expanding social, human and financial capital. to all 38 districts of the state by March 2013 and to all 8 A typical self-help group comprises 10-15 women from the poorest of the poor and the poor. The members meet atleast once a week, collect savings and maintain books of accounts. Representatives from several groups are further federated into village organizations. 9 Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe 10 (The World Bank 2009) 5 Enhancing Agricultural Livelihoods through Community Institutions in Bihar, India Pro-Poor Investment Climate Institution building was accompanied with the CBOs have become attractive credit-worthy clients creation of an ecosystem of social capital based for the mainstream financial sector. financing, which enabled the formation of a favorable Since 2007, US$36.4 million has been disbursed as CIF investment climate for poor. The project established and these communities have US$8.2 million savings. a Community Investment Fund11 (CIF), which was The total cumulative credit flow from commercial managed by Community-based Organizations banks to these groups was US$31.8 million till Dec (CBOs)12. CIF acted like a revolving risk fund and 2012 and around 400,000 households have accessed fostered experimentation at the community level. credit multiple times. The communities have revolved The management of CIF has strengthened financial these funds for inter-loaning purposes. Since 2007, capacity of CBOs. Jeevika also facilitated strategic the total financial turnover of households, which partnerships with commercial banks and insurance have accessed credit multiple times, has been companies. These efforts significantly improved US$94 million, which is approximately US$23413 per access to credit in participant households and the household. Figure 4: Multi-tiered Community Institutions in ‘Jeevika’ Table 1: Financial turnover of communities US$36.4 million disbursed as CIF US$31.8 million: Cumulative credit flow from commercial banks US$8.2 million: Savings of community institutions US$94 million: Total financial turnover US$234: Cumulative household financial turnover since 2007 11 The Community Investment Fund is sanctioned as a grant or revolving fund to the village organizations for undertaking livelihood interventions. The first disbursement is given as a grant to the VO, but subsequently CIF is given as credit and SHG members are responsible for repayment. 12 CBOs refer to self-help groups and higher level federations 13 For calculating this figure the households that have accessed credit multiple times has been taken (approximately 400,000) 6 SOUTH ASIA Livelihoods Learning Note Series 3 Note 1 System of Crop intensification – the Technologies and Practices ‘Jeevika’ has introduced several livelihood Seed treatment under SCI interventions in the last five years based on the demands of the communities. Most communities were keen to productively use credit and enhance their agricultural income. The project also recognized that enhancement of agriculture income can significantly impact poverty incidence in the state and improve food security. A well-known methodology called System of Rice Intensification was introduced under the project in 2007. It was chosen for two primary reasons. First, it is not capital intensive but focuses on intensification of knowledge, skill and management. early establishment and sufficient spacing for roots to Second, it has successfully demonstrated improved grow. SCI is different from the conventional method yields for small and marginal farmers in the past. After in the following ways15. the success of initial pilot in rice, it was scaled-up for Seed treatment: The seed rate16 under SCI is a fraction wheat, green gram seed, rapeseed and vegetables, of the seed rate in conventional farming e.g. seed and is called System of Crop Intensification (SCI). rate for rice is 90 percent lower through the SCI Another initiative called Zero Budget Natural method. For a low seed rate, the seeds need to get Farming is also being piloted in Bihar. Figure 5 has the adequate treatment, which helps in good growth of comparison of various agricultural interventions. the plant and provides strength to it. SCI is not a high cost technology intensive solution Nursery Preparation17 :The nursery bed created for but a mix of scientifically proven methods, indigenous sowing the treated seeds in a SCI farm is much smaller knowledge, and better management of soil, water, than the conventional method. The area of the bed plant and nutrients. The core principle of this usually depends on the spacing to be maintained methodology is to ensure adequate development in the main field and the preparation is different for of roots to enable greater access to nutrients in the each crop, as individual seeds need customized soil. Thus SCI emphasizes on nurturing the growth intensive treatment. of a larger and a more robust root system through Figure 5: Comparison of conventional Farming, SRI, SCI and ZBNF14 System of Rice System of Crop Zero Budget Conventional Farming Intensification (SRI) Instensification(SCI) Natural Farming • No seed treatment • Adequate seed treatment • Applying SRI concepts to • Complete stoppage of use other crops of external inputs • Broadcasting leading to high • Nursery with treatment seed-rate • Using efficient water • No use of chemical • Land is ploughed and management relevant to pesticides • No land preparation pulverized that crop • Use of biological pesticides • Seedling are transplanted late • Young seedling • Tailoring spacing and and fertilizers and in clumps transplantation shaping of seedlings • Cost reduction by using • Wider-spacing indigenous inputs made • Alternate wetting and drying from crop residuals and irrigation other home grown material • Rotary weeding soil aeration 14 ZBNF is still in pilot stage. 15 (Cornell University n.d.), (SDTT-SRI Secretariat n.d.), (Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society n.d.), (Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society n.d.) 16 Quantity of seed needed to plough 1 acre of land 17 Only relevant for transplanted crops 7 Enhancing Agricultural Livelihoods through Community Institutions in Bihar, India Nursery preparation under SCI Land preparation: In SCI, land needs to be ploughed well so that the soil is pulverized for easy root growth, and appropriate soil moisture should be maintained by adequate irrigation. Transplantation18: In the SCI method, seedlings from the nursery that are transplanted into the field are younger compared to the conventional method. Younger seedlings have a higher potential for tillering and rooting. Furthermore, it is important to plant Transplantation in the conventional method seedlings quickly after removal from the nursery as swift transplantation helps in avoiding trauma and shock, which can impede growth. For example, rice seedlings that are 8-15 days old are transplanted directly in the field within 15-30 minutes of gentle removal. Wider spacing in a uniform manner: In conventional farming seedlings are not transplanted in a uniform manner, which limits the growth of the plant. However, the SCI methodology has crop-specific recommendations for spacing and shaping. Transplantation through the SCI method Adequate spacing improves the aeration of the roots of the plant and gives them sufficient area for nutrient absorption. For instance, wheat and rice are transplanted in the shape of a square, while rapeseed is transplanted in “L’ or “I� shape. Efficient water management: The optimal water management for SCI is alternate drying and wetting, which minimizes the water requirement for that crop. Continuous flooding or long intervals between irrigation should be avoided. SCI methodology has Line sowing in wheat under SCI water efficiency compared to the conventional method. Rotary weeding and soil aeration: The field is not hoed in the conventional farming method but in SCI the land is weeded at regular intervals. This ensures lesser wastage of soil nutrients and better aeration and thus enables profuse growth of the roots. Use of organic fertilizers: Under the SCI method, there is an emphasis on the usage of organic fertilizers like Weeding under SCI Farm Yard Manure and Vermi compost to sustain the high fertility of the soil. SCI follows the principle – ‘feed the soil, and soil will feed the plants.’ 18 This is only relevant for crops that are transplanted 8 SOUTH ASIA Livelihoods Learning Note Series 3 Note 1 Carrot farming under the conventional method Carrot farming by SCI Table 2: SCI comparison for Rice Conventional method SCI for Rice Seed Treatment None Treated with salt solution & fungicide Seed Rate (Kg / acre) 20 – 25 2 Nursery Area (Sqft / acre) 4350 325 Seedling age for transplantation 21 – 35 8 – 14 Spacing No Spacing 25 cm * 25 cm in square shape Weeding / Hoeing No Weeding 3 times Table 3: SCI Methodology for various other crops Rice Wheat Oilseeds (Rapeseed) Vegetables Warm water, warm water, cow Warm water, cow salt solution cow urine, Seed treatment urine, jaggery, vermi- urine, vermicompost, & fungicide vermicompost, compost & fungicide jaggery, tricoderma jaggery, tricoderma Seed rate (per Depends on the 2 kgs 8-12 kgs 2 Kg acre) crop Age of transplanted 8-12 days NA NA 8-10 days seedlings Nursery raising and Method of crop Nursery then transplanting Line Sowing Line Sowing establishment raising in an organic environment Spacing and 25 cm x 25 20 cm x 20 cm in 45cm x 45 cm in “L� or Depends on the shaping of cm in square square shape “I� shape crop seedlings shape 3 times in 3-4 times in the Weeding/Hoeing 3 times in the season 3 times in the season the season season Alternate Ensuring Irrigation Water Ensuring irrigation Ensuring Irrigation dry and during critical Management during critical stages during critical stages wetting stages 9 Enhancing Agricultural Livelihoods through Community Institutions in Bihar, India Single Window System at the Doorstep of Small and Marginal Farmers The most innovative aspect of Jeevika’s kilometers of the farmer’s house, building a single- implementation has been the creation a single- window system. Figure 6 explains the key elements of window system for small and marginal farmers at the single-window system. their doorstep, which provided all services within 2 Figure 6: Creation of a “Single Window System at the Doorstep� BEFORE AFTER Commercial banks Too far and very di cult to Same Village < 2 km access tio s za d ni see n ga f Ba or se o s nk ut Lo ge ha np Lin w lla c vi pur i ka -c d os ge ice by ulk Extension Services s Informal Finance tC pr B ~10 km Government re er di w Small and t Lo Marginal >10 km Farmers kn s Se d Pe dg ice ow n se er rv io mi le -p tra s ns to s ion De por cie DA Su ag PR re ov ol ee ns <2 km Small and te us l G nn o e m tb s- N p en A en at r ta i ch C an y t A gi gy S Marginal d ec SA Di lo ld Dr hn , e no Fie fe Ex suitable for smallholders Services that are not Government Extension Farmers iv ic r leading to a poverty trap lik ch er en al Te rm Fa High cost of nance Institutional platform for poor >20 km Higher quality inputs are Single Window System at Urban Markets the doorstep only available at a prohobitive cost Implementation of SCI through community based Figure 7: SCI’s implementation through community- organization led to the creation of a single-window based organizations in Jeevika system. Figure 7 provides SCI implementation through community organizations at a glance. VO agrees to participate and appoints a VRP SCI is implemented based on the expressed demand of the village organization. The project staff presents 6 the concept of SCI to the VO after it reaches a VRP assists SCI implementation and provides technical support certain level of maturity(typically 4 to 6 months old). Members of the VO democratically decide if SCI 6 should be implemented in their village. After the VO VRP helps SHGs build a bottoms-up micro-plan has expressed the demand for SCI, a village resource person (VRP) is hired to assist with the implementation. 6 The role of Village Resource Person (Community Short-listed micro-plans are financed by the VO Extension Worker) is critical for the successful adoption of SCI amongst communities as it builds technical 6 capacity in the village . Every VRP typically covers 19 VO procures all inputs required for SCI 40 to 60 households and is responsible for convincing in the village farmers for implementing SCI, providing technical support and training the community members about 6 VRP encourages peer-based learning SCI. through Farm-field schools 19 The VRP is mostly from the same village and is usually a farmer or an unemployed youth. Preference is given to households that have been mobilized by the project, as they can convince and motivate small and marginal farmers to adopt this intervention faster. The selected VRP immediately undergoes a three-day residential training given by the technical agency and two additional trainings are given during the crop cycle.The project and technical agency staff provide technical support to the VRPs on a weekly basis. 10 SOUTH ASIA Livelihoods Learning Note Series 3 Note 1 Self-help groups (SHGs) mobilize the farmers and help in formulation of a village level micro-plan based on Box 1: Whats Innovative? farmers’ requirements. The micro-plan consists of the • Implementation of SCI through strong com- following: list of farmers interested in SCI, consolidated munity institutions that own and manage the list of all the input requirements, and a request for land program leasing on loan basis as per the need. The micro-plan only includes members who have saved regularly, • Scaling-up with Village Resource Person (VRPs) attended weekly meetings, and repaid loans regularly which has helped build technical capacity in to encourage financial discipline. The VRP visits the the village plots of all interested farmers and identifies gaps in • Communities have adapted and experiment- crop management such as water management, gap filling, vermi-compost application, weeding and ed the technology, which was facilitated by hoeing, and fertilizer application. The findings of this the farmer field schools. assessment and the solutions to overcome these • Partnership with technical service agencies gaps (based on the SCI methodology)are shared at the next SHG meetings. In addition, the benefits of SCI best practices in these identified plots. In addition, -higher productivity and improved incomes – are also interactions between practicing households are explained at this meeting. also facilitated during the crop cycle to enable Village Organization is responsible for the financing cross learning. Farmer Field Schools have also been of the micro-plans and procurement of inputs in an a major platform for farmers to experiment SCI’s efficient manner. The final micro-plans of all SHGs methodologies and technologies. This method of are consolidated at the VO and SHGs are appraised extension has been very effective as farmers observe based on the regularity of SHG meetings, regular and learn about intervention first-hand. This ensures savings by the members, and repayment rates of the greater believability and quicker internalization of the SHG. These micro-plans are evaluated and approved new agriculture practices. The ability to experiment by the internal project staff at the block level and CIF helps farmers customize various technologies is disbursed to the relevant VO. In addition to CIF, the according to their requirements. micro-plans are co-financed by commercial banks and internal savings of the communities. Figure 8: Roles and responsibilities of SHGs and VOs VO also facilitates significant savings by aggregating The project partnered with several technical demand and procuring inputs at the village level. A three-member village level procurement committee Self-Help Village appointed by the VO, maps out the nearby areas Groups Organizations for the prices and quality of the agriculture inputs and procures them based on it. The centralized 6 6  Mobilises farmers  Appoints, remunerates procurement at the VO level has significantly for SCI and supervises VRPs improved access to better quality inputs at a lower cost.  Helps VRP in the  Aggregates and shortlists preparation of micro-plans Figure 8 summarizes the roles and responsibility of micro- plans community organizations.  Finances Micro-plans Farmer field schools (FFSs) facilitate the transfer of peer  Monitors SHG progress learning and act as a platform for experimentation.  Procures all inputs for the The VRP is entrusted with the responsibility of village identifying plots in the village that have successfully implemented SCI. These plots become a local platform for demonstration of best practices and agencies, which were selected by a unique selection training. Exposure visits for the SHG members from method of Bihar Innovation Forum (see Box 3). These nearby villages are organized to demonstrate 11 Enhancing Agricultural Livelihoods through Community Institutions in Bihar, India Box 2: Use of technology in extension systems Jeevika has also integrated ICT with its current extension mechanism to make it more robust and effective to meet its increasing communication needs. It has collaborated with Digital Green to create a locally generated video database of various interventions. Digital Green is a Delhi based non-profit, which has been at the forefront of digital technology with community driven extension programs. Digital Green videos feature community members and provide a reliable and comprehensive information package on various agricultural practices. These videos have helped in faster and cheaper dissemination of information. Furthermore, it has created a sustainable system, which can exist even after Digital Green withdraws support from the project. The project started as a pilot in 100 villages of one district and has been scaled up to 5 districts. agencies20 had prior experience in implementing similar interventions at large scale. The partner agencies have been crucial in helping the project build up the capacities of the project staff, village organizations and the community para-professionals associated with the intervention. Jeevika aims to make this extension system self- sustainable in the long run. Two years ago a concept of “fee based extension services� was introduced. Under this initiative, the farmers are encouraged to pay 50 percent of all expenses (approximately US$1.8 per season) to the Village Resource Persons. These charges are collected by the village organizations at the beginning of the season.  A recent study also found out that technical agencies can gradually withdraw from villages after three-four years. The monitoring of the field implementation in these areas is usually main streamed and is carried out by the block level staff after the agency withdraws. Eventually SCI becomes a standard practice in mature community organizations, which significantly reduces project expenditure and further improves the ROI. Box 3: Bihar Innovation Forum (BIF) Bihar Innovation Forum was organized in 2007. One of the technical service agencies of SCI -PRADAN – was selected from BIF. It provided a platform for innovators, social entrepreneurs and private sector com- panies to show case their innovative ideas in livelihood and related sectors. It also gave an opportunity for the innovators to partner with BRLPS and other agencies in Bihar government to pilot the idea at a large scale. BIF encourage participation of innovative solutions that addressed both the supply and demand issues. BIF – I focused on last-mile service delivery of public and private services, health and nutrition, edu- cation, energy, clean drinking water, financial services, rural markets and technology for small/marginal producers. BIF – II will soon be held in Bihar in 2013 20 Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN) and Advance for Social Advancement (ASA) are the national resource organizations that provided technical assistance for initiating the model in Bihar 12 SOUTH ASIA Livelihoods Learning Note Series 3 Note 1 Key Benefits and Impacts SCI was piloted in 2007 with only 128 farmers and 30 minimal cost, which has resulted in significant income hectares. The project’s innovative implementation increase leading to wide ranging systemic impact strategy helped it scale-up rapidly in Bihar. Figure 9 and policy changes. Following are the key impacts has the crop-wise details of the scale-up of SCI. Table of SCI amongst participant farmers: 4 has the details of land under SCI cultivation in 2012. Higher Plant and Grain Growth Figure 9: Scale-up of SCI in Bihar Agriculture practices based on SCI methodologies have systematically improved the quality of the plant 120000 110921 103028 and grain. Participant farmers have witnessed a 100000 91289 higher ratio of tiller to mother seedlings, an increased number of effective tillers per hill, enhanced panicle 80000 75000 length, and bigger grain size. Table 6 compares 60275 X 60000 plant and grain size before and after SCI. These 48521 41645 40000 X improvements have resulted in higher yields for small 29190 holdings at minimal additional costs. 25235 5 19911 20000 8367 5146 2500 6000 X X 4500 5 108 405 400 425 755 X 0 5 X X 5 X 5 X X 5 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Rice Wheat 5 Oilseeds X Pulses X Vegetables Panicle length - Conventional Method versus SCI Table 4: SCI in ‘Jeevika’ in 2012 Land under No of cultivation in (acres) households Rice 20,139 103,028 Wheat 11,790 91,289 Oilseeds 1,898 29,190 Tiller - SCI versus conventional method Pulses 15,590 41,645 Vegetables 5,244 60,729 Table 5: Scale-up of capacity through VRPs Year Villages Farmers VRPs 2007 15 128 3 2008 194 7753 250 2009 322 25235 510 Roots of a wheat plant - SCI versus Conventional method 2010 892 68432 1095 2011 1288 197176 1361 201221 1278 348759 2086 The communities adopted SCI rapidly because farmers witnessed a visible improvement in plant and grain growth, and a significant improvement in yields. The productivity increase was achieved at 21 Till June 2012 13 Enhancing Agricultural Livelihoods through Community Institutions in Bihar, India Potato cultivated using chemical pesticides Potato Culivated through ZBNF Table 6: Higher Productivity after the adoption of SCI productivity increase of approximately 86 percent in paddy22 and 72 percent in wheat23. Figure 10 has the Before crop-wise comparison of productivity increase under SCI After SCI SCI. Ratio of tiller to mother 8:1 20:1 seedlings Increased household income Effective tillers per hill 4-6 15-17 The net-income of participant farmers has increased Enhanced Panicle significantly24. Although input costs under the SCI 9 cm 14 cm Length method are marginally higher than the conventional method due to higher labor costs, the household Grain Size 45-55 70-85 incomes have still increased for three primary reasons: First, the farmers have witnessed a significant Higher Productivity increase in yields by adopting SCI. Second, higher The higher plant and grain growth, better soil labor cost under SCI has been offset by reduced management, and implementation of other SCI input costs such as seeds. Third, improving access to methodologies have contributed to a major finance has lowered the cost of credit and reduced productivity increase for many crops in Bihar. The vulnerability of these households. Eventually, farmers participant farmers in Jeevika have witnessed a have witnessed a manifold increase in profits. For Figure 10: Crop-wise increase in yields after SCI Vegetables 7.2 20% 6 Pulses 0.5 56% 0.32 0.6 Yield after SCI (Tonnes per acre) Oil seeds 0.4 50% Yield prior to SCI (Tonnes per acre) Wheat 1.55 72% % Increase 0.9 1.3 Rice 0.7 86% 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Yield in tonnes per acre 22 (Krishnagopal 2011), (Palanisami, Karunakaran and Amarsinghe Feb, 2013). Yields are based on a combination of internal MIS and estimates of the external impact assessments that have been referred later. These yield increases are achieved after farmers have fully adopted the SCI methodology. A detailed 13 state agricultural study conducted under the IWMI-Tata Water Policy program showed a similar increase of productivity for famers that adopted System of Rice Intensification. Although the study hasn’t included Bihar but Madhya Pradesh, which has similar landholding pattern, witnessed a 68% increase in productivity for rice amongst full adopters of SRI. 23 (Sinha 2009) 24 Although external studies compare the increase to non-participants but this note has not factored in non-participant performance 14 for the calculation. A detailed randomized trial of this intervention is underway to get more robust results. SOUTH ASIA Livelihoods Learning Note Series 3 Note 1 Figure 11: Profits per crop before and after SCI 500.0 67% 450.0 400.0 86% 350.0 47% 300.0 93% 250.0 250% 200.0 150.0 % increase 100.0 Net profit prior to SCI (US$) 50.0 Net profit after SCI (US$) 136.4 200.0 127.3 132.7 247.3 146.2 178.2 298.2 36.4 75.6 0.0 Rice Wheat Oilseeds Pulses Vegetables instance, the profits of rice have almost increased households have witnessed a 27 percent higher 2.5 times. In 2012, the overall increase in income for reduction of food shortage compared to non- all participant farmers was US$5.2 million, which is participants. Although many factors have contributed approximately US$3125 per household. Cumulatively to this improvement, but the SCI intervention has an additional income of US$10.7 million has been played a major role. generated since 2007. Table 8 in Annexure has more details about the profitability of farmers in SCI. Figure Inclusion of the Poorest 11 above has the crop wise summary of increase in The focus on the poorest at every stage of the profits due to SCI. planning and monitoring of the intervention has resulted in the inclusion of the the vulnerable and Systemic Impact socially excluded population like the Scheduled The agriculture and economic outcomes were Castes and the Backward Caste farmers. External achieved at a very small investment by Jeevika, studies commissioned by the project revealed28 that which invested only US$2.8 million in SCI26. The overall nearly 25 percent of the farmers belonged to the SC financial turnover of member households in the last or ST category and 65 percent of them belong to the 6 years has been approximately US$94 million. The other backward castes. economic benefits on this turnover and investments are around US$10.7 million making the intervention Policy Impact highly efficient for communities as well as Jeevika. Based on the success of BRLPS, the Department of Agriculture, Government of Bihar has scaled up the Table 7: Investment versus Benefits SCI intervention across all districts in Bihar for rice and US$2.8 million: Total Investment in SCI wheat. The department aims to cover 20 percent US$10.7 million additional income generated of rice and 15 percent of wheat area in the state since 2007 by the end of 2012. Several of the VRPs promoted by the project were used as resource persons US$34 - additional household income per annum during this process of scaling up. The agriculture per household since 2007 department is also keen to leverage the institutional US$4.5: average investment per farmer per architecture created by the project for expanding annum irrigation coverage and scaling up cultivation of vegetables and other horticulture crops amongst Improved Food Security the small holders. In the latest economic survey, The increase in productivity of various crops has also Bihar government has also recognized the successful improved the food security in poor and vulnerable increase in rice productivity due to the adoption of households. According to an independent study SCI29. The production of rice in Bihar increased to conducted in 201227, a significantly higher proportion 8.2 million tonnes in 2011-12 compared to 3.1 million of participant households that faced food shortage tonnes in the previous year. in 2007 became food secure in 2010. The participant 25 Calculations some participant farmers under the project. This is assuming that SCI is practiced by farmers for both seasons. Currently many participant farmers are partial adopters. 26 Investment figures are calculated from 2008-2012. The increase in income has been adjusted accordingly to calculate the correct ratio. 27 (Dutta 2012) 15 28 (Krishnagopal 2011), (Sinha 2009) 29 (Government of Bihar - Finance Department 2012-13) Enhancing Agricultural Livelihoods through Community Institutions in Bihar, India Lessons Learnt and Issues for Wider Applicability Building strong community institutions and investing in functioning of this community-based extension human capital are a necessary pre-condition before system. any livelihood interventions are implemented through External technical support agencies played a crucial community institutions. There is adequate evidence role in the success of SCI in Bihar. During the initial two from Bihar and other projects in South Asia supporting years of the intervention, these agencies provided the importance of appropriate sequencing. intensive technical support and training to the Strong institutions need to be accompanied by project staff and village resource person. This brought lowering the cost of credit. Vulnerability of poor down the cost of implementation from INR 2000 per households to high-cost debt needs to be reduced farmer to INR 700. As the community-based system for livelihood interventions to be successful. matures these agencies gradually withdraw support and extension system will become self-sustainable. The community managed extension system is critical for a large-scale agricultural intervention. The The project built monitoring systems and provided community managed extension system was highly incentives such that landless were included in successful in Bihar for three reasons. First, peer learning the interventions. A special focus was placed on is the most effective extension methodology. Second, designing the intervention such that it encouraged capacity building at the community level significantly participation of landless farmers. For instance, the reduces dependence on external sources for inputs. landless families are encouraged to take land on The intervention was able to achieve such a large leaseright from the micro planning stage in BRLPS. scale because it invested heavily in building a foot Similarly VRPs get a higher fee for working with the army of VRPs. Third, accountability to federations poorest. considerably improved efficiency. In case of SCI, VOs monitor and pay the VRPs, which ensures smooth 16 SOUTH ASIA Livelihoods Learning Note Series 3 Note 1 Challenges SCI is not effective in extreme climatic conditions methodology and create a larger pool of trained such as floods and drought. Further research on the professionals. interface of SCI with climate variations like drought The results on the ground need to be backed-up and flood needs to be conducted. Similarly, greater by robust impact evaluation to get a buy-in from experimentation and adaptation needs to be carried the wider academic and technical community. out to transfer the SCI methodology to even more The project is currently conducting a randomized crops. The current agriculture research community evaluation of the intervention to enable wider has not adequately invested in improving the SCI dissemination and acceptance of the methodology. methodologies. Thus the existing research on this methodology is scant and not enough evidence Project would need to identify professionals and has been built on the productivity gains that SCI has technical service providers that could provide vital already achieved. In addition, more funding should technical backstopping to the VRPs for scaling up. It be directed towards sponsoring and facilitating would also need to adopt innovative technologies doctoral studies and fellowships related to SCI. These faster (e.g. Digital Greens) to ensure cost-effective investments will further build evidence about the dissemination of knowledge. Way Forward Horizontal Integration: The project will focus on Other similar technologies that can improve farming increasing the adoption rate of SCI methodology systems will also be introduced through community for several other crops to achieve wider scale in institutions. Bihar. Successful adoption of SCI for commodities Move up the agri-value chain. The project will and cash crops can also generate higher profits facilitate setting-up more producer organizations to and significantly improve the incomes of small and enable farmers to gradually move up the agri-value marginal farmers. chain. These organizations will lead to a higher market Vertical Integration: Horizontal integration will be share for the poor, improve market linkages and build accompanied with vertical integration amongst the community-owned infrastructure. current participants. Partial adopters of SCI will be Self-sustainability: As farmers move up the value encouraged to move to full adoption. In addition, chain and earn higher incomes, the extension system smallholders will be encouraged to graduate to can become self-sustainable. Communities can organic farming techniques such as ZBNF, which can self-finance this extension and the government can get them a higher premium in the market place. gradually withdraw financial support. 17 Enhancing Agricultural Livelihoods through Community Institutions in Bihar, India SCI in Action: Case study of Ghazipur Village Ghazipur, a small village in Nalanda District, is one and Figure 13 has the details of year-wise land under of earliest adopters of SCI in Bihar. Agriculture is the cultivation for rice and wheat. major occupation of the village and the average land Furthermore, higher yields and increased profits from holding of famers in the village is approximately 1.54 SCI have encouraged farmers to lease extra land and acres, which is slightly higher than the state average. cultivate it under the SCI method. Women farmers SCI was first introduced in 2008 by Jeevika. However, who are members of community organizations have most farmers in the village were not aware of SCI and increased the size of leased land from and more than were very reluctant to adopt it. Project staff convinced 70 farmers in the village have adopted SCI. Improved the members of self-help groups to experiment with access to finance and internal loans of CBOs have SCI in 0.3 acres. The SCI farmers witnessed a yield played a major role in facilitating this land lease. improvement of more than 100% on the land under These factors have contributed to the rapid increase SCI cultivation in the first season itself, surpassing their of land under SCI cultivation from 0.30 acres to 6.175 expectations. These results encouraged 20 farmers acres in the village. 10 out of 60 farmers have leased to adopt SCI for vegetables in the second season of land to cultivate vegetables using the SCI method 2008. Subsequently, SCI adoption for rice, wheat and last year. vegetables has gradually increased. Figure 12 below has the details of the adoption rate of SCI in Ghazipur The success of SCI has also reduced the resistance to experimentation and adoption of new technologies Figure 12: Adoption rate of SCI in Ghazipur in Ghazipur. Villagers have actively taken-up vermi- composting, which gives them extra income by 10.0 selling their surplus produce to village organizations. 9.0 8.8 5 Ghazipur is also one of the first villages to adopt Zero 8.0 8.3 Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF). 20 women farmers’ 7.0 6.3 were given training about ZBNF in Gaya (nearby 5 6.0 6.2 district) in 2011 and all farmers cultivating rice in 4.5 5.0 4.3 Ghazipur partially or fully adopted ZBNF that year. 5 4.0 5 4.2 Other farmers have been gradually adopting ZBNF 3.9 3.0 2.5 for other crops as well since then. Initial observations 5 Wheat 2.0 show that farmers can command a higher price from 5 Rice 1.0 urban markets for ZBNF produce by branding them as 0.0 0.0 organic produce. Ghazipur is a perfect example of 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 the success of the institutional model of Jeevika and Land under cultivation (in acres) ways it can assist farmers to adopt new technologies. Figure 13: Land under SCI cultivation 20 Vegetables 45 55 55 60 35 55 Wheat 65 70 71 0 60 Rice 55 65 71 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 SCI Farmers 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 18 SOUTH ASIA Livelihoods Learning Note Series 3 Note 1 Annexure Table 8: Profitability of SCI farmers30  Commodity 31 Rice Wheat Oilseeds Pulses Vegetables Before After Before After Before After Before After Before After SCI SCI SCI SCI SCI SCI SCI SCI SCI SCI Revenues32 7000 13000 10800 18600 10160 15240 12800 20000 30000 36000 (INR / USD) 127.3 236.4 196.4 338.2 184.7 277.1 232.7 363.6 545.5 654.5 Costs33 (5000) (6000) (3500) (5000) (6000) (7200) (3000) (3600) (22500) (25000) (INR / USD) (90.9) (109.1) (63.6) (90.9) (109.1) (130.9) (54.5) (65.5) (409.1) (454.5) Net profit 2000 7000 7300 13600 4160 8040 9800 16400 7500 11000 (INR / USD) 36.4 127.3 132.7 247.3 75.6 146.2 178.2 298.2 136.4 200 Increase in 5000 6300 3880 6600 3500 profits 90.9 114.5 70.5 120 63.6 (INR / USD) Table 9: Total increase in income34 Total increase in Total increase in income (2012) income (2007-12) Rice 100.7 241.9 (INR / USD) 1.83 4.4 Wheat 74.3 195.6 (INR / USD) 1.35 3.56 Oilseeds 7.4 8.6 (INR / USD) 0.13 0.16 Pulses 102.9 124.9 (INR / USD) 1.87 2.27 Vegetables 18.4 18.7 (INR / USD) 0.33 0.34 Total 304 590 (INR / USD) 5.53 10.73 30 All prices in US Dollars and INR. 1 US$ = 55.0 INR 31 Price data is based on internal MIS. It is usually 15-20 percent lower than the minimum support prices announced by the government 32 Yields are based on a combination of internal MIS and estimates of the external impact assessments that have been referred later. 33 Cost calculations are based on a combination of internal MIS, data from Indian Agricultural Statistical Institute and www.Indiastat.com 34 All figures in millions 19 Enhancing Agricultural Livelihoods through Community Institutions in Bihar, India References Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society. “SRI Government of Bihar - Finance Department. Manual.� Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society. Economic Survey. Patna: Government of Bihar, 2012- n.d. http://brlp.in/admin/Files/SRI_Manual_Hindi.pdf 13. (accessed Nov 15, 2012). Krishnagopal, G V. “Assesement of SRI in Bihar.� 2011. —. “SWI - Manual.� Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion National Commision for Enterprises in the Unorganized Society. n.d. http://brlp.in/admin/Files/SWI_Manual_ Sector. A special program for Marginal and Small Hindi.pdf (accessed Nov 15, 2012). Farmers. National Commision for Enterprises in the Cornell University. System of Rice Intensification Unorganized Sector, December 2009. (SRI). n.d. http://sri.ciifad.cornell.edu/ (accessed Palanisami, K, K R Karunakaran, and Upali A November 15, 2012). Amarsinghe. “Doing Different Things or Doing It Dutta, Upamanyu. “Socia-economic Impacts of Differently? Rice Intensification Practices in 13 States Jeevika, a project by the BRLPS, A retrospective of India.� Economic and Political Weekly, Feb, 2013: Study.� 2012. 51-58. Government of Bihar - Finance Department. SDTT-SRI Secretariat. System of Rice Intensification Economic Survey. Patna: Government of Bihar, 2011- (SRI) Programme. n.d. http://sdtt-sri.org/ (accessed 2012. Nov 15, 2012). Government of Bihar - Finance Department. Sinha, Manu. “Performance Review of System of Economic Survey. Patna: Government of Bihar, 2010- Wheat Intensification Program.� 2009. 2011. The Registrar General & Census Commissioner. Government of Bihar - Finance Department. Census of India 2000. New Delhi, India: Government Economic Survey. Patna: Government of Bihar, 2007- of India, 2001. 08. The World Bank. Mid-term Review of Jeevika. Government of Bihar - Finance Department. Washington DC: The World Bank, 2009. Economic Survey. Patna: Government of Bihar, 2009- Uphoff, Norman. “System Intensification Towards Food 2010. and Enviornmental Security.� Keynote presentation for International Symposium organized by the Crop and Weed Science Society and Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, in collaboration with NABARD, Kalyani, World Bank, February 24-27, 2011. 20 SOUTH ASIA Livelihoods Learning Note Series 3 Note 1 Phool Kumari Devi, Muzaffarpur, had a small farm of 0.17 acres. After she started practicing SCI for wheat on her farm - the output went up from 0.15 tonnes to 0.35 tonnes. The increased income after SCI enabled Phool Kumari to recover an additional 0.67 acres, which was a collateral for a loan. Now her landholding has increased to 1.25 acres and she grows wheat through the SCI method on the whole field. During the pilot phase in 2007, Barti Devi,a member of a SHG from Gaya, had difficulties convincing her husband, Dilu Voices from the Ground Yadav to practice SCI for rice. After four rounds of heated arguments and negotiations at home, Barti Devi convinced her husband and started implementing SCI on her land. Due to the SCI methodology, her productivity increased to 4 tonnes per acre. She is now a role model for many SHG women. She travels across several project villages, before the start of season, to assist the project staff in recruiting new SHG members for the SCI intervention. 21 Enhancing Agricultural Livelihoods through Community Institutions in Bihar, India 22 SOUTH ASIA Livelihoods Learning Note Series 3 Note 1 23 Enhancing Agricultural Livelihoods through Community Institutions in Bihar, India South Asia Livelihoods Learning Note Series 3 Note 1 Debaraj Behera is the State Project Manager (Livelihoods) at the Bihar Rural Livelihood Promotion Society, Patna, India Arvind Kumar Chaudhary is the CEO of Bihar Rural Livelihood Promotion Society Vinay Kumar Vutukuru is a Consultant at the World Bank Abhishek Gupta is a Consultant at the World Bank Sitaramachandra Machiraju is a Senior Rural Development Specialist in South Asia Sustainable Development at the World Bank Parmesh Shah is a Lead Rural Development Specialist in South Asia Sustainable Development at the World Bank. Photo Courtesy: Bihar Rural Livelihood Promotion Society, Patna, India This note is a joint publication of the World Bank and Bihar Rural Livelihood Promotion Society South Asia Livelihoods Learning Note Series is facilitated by the Rural Development and Livelihoods Unit in the South Asia Sus- tainable Development Department of the World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC 20433, USA. The findings, interpreta- tions, and conclusions expressed in this note are entirely those of the author(s) and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the countries they represent. The authors would like to thank the Department for International Development, Government of the UK, for their generous con- tribution that made the research, writing, and production of this note possible For further details or additional copies of this note contact agupta20@worldbank.org or debaraj@brlp.in Bihar Rural Livelihoods PromotioN Society Vidyut Bhawan, Annexe-II 1st Floor (Southern Wing), Bailey Road Patna - 800021 T : 91 - 612-2504980 | w: https://www.brlp.in | f: https://www.facebook.com/jeevika.brlps Design: www.digitatemedia.in World Bank India 70 Lodi Estate New Delhi, India The World Bank T 91 011 4924 7000 | f https://www.facebook.com/WorldBankIndia | w http://www.worldbank.org/india 24