GENDER-SMART BUSINESS SOLUTIONS STRENGTHENING WOMEN FARMERS IN DCM SHRIRAM’S SUGARCANE VALUE CHAIN CASE STUDY: STRENGTHENING WOMEN FARMERS IN DCM SHRIRAM’S SUGARCANE VALUE CHAIN Project Overview and reduced plant capacity utilization for DCM Shriram. Some of agricultural yield and conserve water and soil health. While the G the reasons for low farm yields include poor technical know-how early assumption was that there were no women working in lobally, India is the second largest sugarcane producer, of the sugarcane smallholder farmers and use of technology in the sugarcane farms of Hardoi, IFC trainings on low farm yields, contributing to about 10 percent of its agricultural agriculture with unsustainable input-usage, leading to an increase along with quantitative and qualitative assessments done in GDP.1 Female employment in agriculture in 2018 in the cost of cultivation without a corresponding yield increase. 2018 revealed and highlighted women’s roles in activities such as stands at 55.38 percent.2 According to the 2011 census, Sugarcane is a conservative crop, historically male dominated, and weeding, planting, and harvesting of sugarcane. DCM Shriram and the agriculture sector employs nearly 98 million with few women visible in the formal value chain. IFC developed specific solutions to increase the visibility of the women, with about 63 percent of them serving as agricultural work done by women farmers and their impact on improving farm laborers.3 Yet, their contribution remains undervalued – especially in sectors such as sugarcane farming, which are perceived to be Project Objectives yields: I. To increase agricultural yield n As a first step, DCM Shriram and IFC identified key operations male-dominated. where women laborers and farmers are the dominant DCM Shriram Limited, a client of International Finance Corporation II. To conserve water and soil health workforce on ground. The project applied the Women’s (IFC), is one of India’s largest business conglomerates, with a strong Empowerment Agriculture Index,6 an innovative measurement tool focus on agribusiness in rural India. Much of its sugarcane produce Challenges to diagnose areas of disempowerment of women in agriculture comes from Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, one of the poorest, most and design development programs to address those areas. This Although women actively participate in the sugarcane value chain, patriarchal, and most disadvantaged districts in the country, with assessment marked a significant shift from earlier gender- their work and contribution are often invisible. Women’s work is 66 percent of its population living below the poverty line.4 Hardoi blind analysis and enabled the project team to create targeted labor-intensive and frequently concentrated at the very start of the has an agriculture-based economy, with sugarcane as the main trainings for women farmers on improving their skills and cash crop. value-chain, such as in weeding or planting. Sugarcane farming knowledge. is often perceived to be a male-dominated activity--so training Smallholder farmers who work on sugarcane production in and programs that allow farmers to increase their yield and n Based on the findings of the baseline on women’s roles and Hardoi with the sugar division of DCM Shriram, tend to have low income are often not targeted at women. Male farmers typically crop yield barriers, the project team hired a female trainer farm yields, compared to sugarcane farmers in other parts of the have assets registered in their name, resulting in the exclusion of to hold training sessions for women on mechanization, country.5 Low farm yields translate into a low supply of sugarcane women farmers or farmers’ wives from accessing credit, markets, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. To address low or becoming members of farmers networks. While poverty and participation, wider outreach and convenience, especially for migration of men are leading to more women managing their women farmers, the team brought in a mobile van to deliver 1 Solomon, S. 2016. Sugarcane Production and Development of Sugar Industry in India. Sugar Tech., 18(6): 588-602. farms independently, women also have limited economic access the trainings closer to farmers’ homes. 2 ILOSTAT database, September 2018 both within their community and outside because of restrictive 3 https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/agriculture/defeminisation-of-indian- social norms and care responsibilities toward the well-being of n This effort was further complemented by focus group agriculture-59834 discussions with women in the villages, to strengthen their 4 https://www.devalt.org/images/L2_ProjectPdfs/(21)AdpativePlanningHardoi. elders, children, livestock, and other assets. role and participation in the sugarcane value chain. When pdf?Tid=156 Gender-Smart Solutions 5 As per GOI estimates and individual third-party baseline assessment (2015) concerns came up about men feeling left out of some of these through Solidaridad Network Asia, DCM Shriram farmers across the company’s discussions, the team offered additional trainings to encourage four sugar mills had reported an average yield of ~45 metric tons/hectare versus men and women to attend the program together. Under the Meetha-Sona-Unnati program, DCM Shriram and IFC, in 58 metric-tons/hectare for state farmers versus 65 metric tons/hectare for Indian farmers versus 100 metric tons/hectare for Tamil Nadu state with more favorable collaboration with Solidaridad Network Asia and Coca-Cola India, climatic conditions. developed an approach to build the capacity of farmers, to increase http://weai.ifpri.info/ 6 Outcomes family farm. The farm that Pushpa Devi and her husband, Man Singh, work on is owned by her brothers, through What the farmer says The programmatic interventions have helped DCM Shriram to create a inheritance on their father’s death, who are absentee lasting shared value with farmers across its value-chain in the following landlords. Pushpa Devi has experimented with different Since my association with the expert trainers from IFC, I have ways: crops, and farming processes and adopted farming now learned some new techniques of growing sugarcane that machinery to improve her farm’s yield and income. include: n Trainings for more than 1,000 women in the classroom and mobile Today, at age 65, she runs the family farm with her sons, n Not burning of leaves and other crop residue of sugarcane vans in Good Agri Water Management Practices (GAWMP) have led in my farm land. As a result, the water requirement post leases additional farmland, and is actively involved in the to an increased yield (of 25 percent) in the DCM Shriram production crop-planting in my farm has decreased. purchase and sale of the crops and the overall upkeep of catchments. The yield increase translates into increased income for her farms. n Using additional inputs alongside DAP fertilizers such as the farmers, often doubling their existing income. The trainings have urea, potash, sulpho-zinc and other micro-nutrients. encouraged women to take on larger and less labor-intensive roles The program enabled Pushpa Devi to adopt modern n Using manure compost instead of cow dung fertilizer. in the agricultural value chain (such as, learning how to operate farm technology in sugarcane production, including the use machinery). of high yielding varieties and trench planting. Gradually, n Using organic fertilizers available at a discounted price at she took up soil health improvement activities such as the sugar mill. n Entrenched gender roles in conservative Hardoi district were green manuring and use of bio-fertilizers. Pushpa Devi is The resulting yield increase from using the above techniques challenged through this project – men and women attending a recognized role model in her district and was honored has helped enhance my income and enabled me to add a new trainings together demonstrated how they could work together by the state government of Uttar Pradesh for being a tractor to my farmland. despite the gender-segregated culture. Some of the women farmers, progressive farmer. such as Pushpa Devi showcased below, became role models of Pushpa Devi, Rupapur, Uttar Pradesh, INDIA leadership in their community, encouraging more women to take on entrepreneurial roles and move up the value chain to work on activities BUSINESS ACHIEVEMENTS leading to higher yields. n Increase in sugarcane yield from 40 tons per hectare PUTTING THE BUSINESS CASE INTO ACTION n DCM Shriram and IFC along with other key partners are now exploring to 110 tons per hectare in two years. WITH IFC how to enable more than 10,000 women farmers in the sugarcane n Increase in the area under sugarcane cultivation from Recognizing that equality of economic opportunity between growing region to participate in dairy farming, as an additional income 2.20 hectares to 4.05 hectares. women and men drives productivity, profitability, and generating activity. Dairy farming is a complementary activity to sugarcane farming, and this intervention will lead to a higher income, n Improvement in soil health and yield reported. performance, IFC helps clients realize gender-smart solutions and greater livelihood and business impacts. to their business challenges. We work with clients to better n A significant attempt at farm mechanization with manage talent in their workforces and supply chains and to purchase of farm equipment. E.g. 48 HP tractor, trench Demonstrating the Business Case opener, deep plough, ridge cultivator and harrow. design products that tap the earning potential of the women’s market. Our motivating force is the knowledge that when Pushpa Devi is a farmer and a resident of village Saidapur in the DCM n Advancement in irrigation resources as Pushpa Devi companies and people—no matter their gender—can reach Shriram catchment area in Rupapur, Uttar Pradesh. At a very young moved from diesel pump to electric tube-well their full potential, families, communities, and economies can age, on the death of her father, she took on the responsibility to run the (7.5 HP). achieve sustainable growth and prosperity. What the Client says What IFC says At DCM Shriram, we acknowledge the contribution of women growers and laborers in our sugarcane IFC’s priority to integrate gender-smart solutions across our engagements aligns within our partnership value chain and have developed training modules specific to their needs. In partnership with IFC, we have with DCM Shriram through Meetha-Sona-Unnati, a sustainable program to boost sugarcane production. recruited female extension experts to relate better with womenfolk and to ensure greater mobilization and This integration is critical to improve the performance of agricultural value chains and to increase climate effectiveness of training. This initiative has enhanced the participation of women in farming activities and led resilience. This is due to the importance of women as farmers, laborers, and entrepreneurs, and especially, as to an increase in yield and household income. decision-makers or influencers in farming households. Roshan Lal Tamak Ernest E. Bethe III Executive Director (Sugar), DCM Shriram Ltd. Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services Advisory Services Regional Leader, Asia, IFC Contact Information IFC 6th Floor, Worldmark-3, Aerocity (near IGI Airport), New Delhi – 110037, INDIA +91 11 41111000/3000 srjoshi@ifc.org hvivek@ifc.org www.IFC.org/gender @WBG_Gender GENDER-SMART BUSINESS SOLUTIONS