Major shift in the IPPE II

• Bringing farming system based livelihoods

perspective in planning process

• Making CBOs (SHGs, VOs) in the centre of

planning (NRLM-MGNREGA convergence)

• Focus on the Vulnerable sections

Objectives of today’s Livelihood session

• Develop a conceptual understanding of what

constitutes livelihoods of rural poor

• How MGNREGA can contribute in

strengthening livelihoods of rural poor

• The need & ways for convergence of

MGNREGA, NRLM, and other various schemes

What do you understand by livelihoods?

What is livelihoods?• “A livelihood comprises – the capabilities, assets (store, resource, claims, and

access) and activities required for strengthening means of living.

– A livelihood is sustainable which can cope with and recover from stress and shocks, maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets

– and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for the next generation

– and which contributes net benefits to other livelihoods at local and global level and in the long and short term”

– Robert Chambers and Conway

Livelihood Goals

• Families have varying livelihood goals–Basic needs security–Reducing vulnerability– Income– Leisure– Social status–Growth

SGA

Visualise a woman / Family who has

experienced a significant livelihoods

improvement. Describe her/its life &

livelihood situation (IA-5 minutes, SGA-

20 minutes)

Five A’s

The conditions under which the family needs to make efforts

to achieve these goals can be described by 5 A’s

Assets

Access

Abilities

Assurances

Attitudes

The first four are objectively verifiable features

Attitudes are uniquely a personal, individual feature.

5A Livelihoods framework

Poor wom

en

Asset

Attitude

Ability

Access

Assurance

Attaining Livelihoods

goals

Income

Well-being

Sustainability

Empowerment

Assets• Physical assets such as land (with its

topography), animals, equipment (pump, tractor, implements), ponds, wells, cash, jewelry, bank balances, home stores of seed, grain and food and perhaps also goodwill with the traders, bankers etc

• People – both asset and liability• The quality of the asset, its carrying (or work)

capacity and the risk of its deterioration are relevant facets households need to consider.

Access• To assets – leased in/out, encroached, ownership for

women• To commons -canals, ponds, streams, rivers, forests,

wastelands, grazing lands etc• To information on things like market prices, demand,

seasonality, expected quality for the produce; on schemes and programmes

• To markets and institutions; to input suppliers-physical, social and financial

• To technology

Abilities• Physical prowess – strength, eye sight• Motor skills -- eye – hand co-ordination

in spinning and weaving• Special abilities unique to a specific trade

– rigour, regimentation, managerial skills• To envision, plan• To receive market signals, negotiate• “Street smartness”

Assurances

• Crop diversification• Insurance• Futures• Savings• Social Capital

5-As in vegetable intervention Asset Access Ability Assurance Attitude-Fertile & well drained land- Irrigation infrastructure- Storage facility

-Access to quality inputs like seed, fertilizer, plant protection materials- Easy access to market to sale the produce- Handholding technical support by experts-Credit sources

- Technical know-how-Put physical labour- Co-operation among family members- Can bargain in market

-Sale of products at certain minimum price-contingency measures to address climatic vagaries (insurance)

- Confidence & Interest in vegetable cultivation- Ready to Soil hands

Need for differential as well as collectivisation approch

• Different people have different level of these As depending on their life stages and thus need different approaches even in same activity

• This framework also equality applicable at collective level such as village, Panchayat level etc.

• Collectivisation like SHG often fosters these As and thus livelihoods outcomes

Movie on “Earth , Water & Life”

• INRM Planning processes followed • Activities adopted • Impacts of interventions

How have livelihood approaches and principles been integrated into Natural Resource Management ?

Either in the movie or from own experiences

Livelihoods of rural poor is the result of

a complex set of interactions among

various factors related to the

Community themselves, the Area where

they are situated and sector dynamics

Framework of Area-Community-Sector

AREA

SECTORCOMMUNITY

Community

• “Self” of the person is the most pivotal factor that guides livelihoods choices

• self-efficacy’, which helps explain what either constrains or supports people’s ability to seize opportunities

• Enhancing the “self-efficacy” or “sense of agency” of poor people must be a necessary and key element of strategies to remove poverty.

• This can only be done by engaging directly with them focusing on the “person”, her aspirations, her dreams, her dilemmas and internal blocks rather than the task / project at hand

• Collectives like SHGs, Cluster and federation can help the members women develop confidence, draw support from each other emotionally and help each other in times of crisis

Contd.

• The collectives also help in achieving scale of economies, share resources and knowledge, and also manage risks.

• Again to fight these structures which are inherently discriminatory, women have to be organized to collectives

Area• Poverty is also a function of the physical location a person

finds herself. • A vast majority of poor people in villages typically inhabit

regions with complex and vulnerable ecologies; for e.g., – the undulating, hilly and mountainous terrain, erratic rainfall.

• Need intervention in such ecologies that result in higher productivity and carrying capacity of natural resources, which would have a direct impact on livelihoods & well being of the people

• A booming farm economy also benefits a large number of people down the line such as the laourers, traders, transporters and a host of market players.

Sector

• The Sector here denotes the multifarious institutions of the Market and the State ( including policies and rules), Technology directly affecting choices.

• A vast majority of poor people live in regions with weakest institutions, including poorly developed markets and weak governance.

• Weak governance results in inadequate penetration of public resources and programmes into the rural areas which further exacerbates the already dismal situation.

• New opportunities/technology developments in different sectors influences production system and thus livelihoods

SGA

Based upon your understanding of 5-A and

Area-Community-Sector framework and your

experience;

“ what role do you think that MGNREGA &

NRLM can together play to enhance the

livelihoods of rural households?”

Convergence of NRLM and MGNREGS

Community Mobilisation• Organising women into

SHGs• Training of SHG members

(Reactivating human capability)

Resource Development• Preparing Plan for development of

resources• Land and water resources

development work• Plantation• Composting, Liquid bio

manure• Shed for Poultry, Goat

• Flooring of cattle shed with feed and urine tank

• Fisheries at community level

Productivity Enhancement• Planning for productivity

enhancement with effective use of resources developed

• Training and demonstration to increase productivity and income from farm and off farm based activity

• Establishing linkages with market

• Forming and nurturing producer organisation

NRLM MKSPMGNREGS

Approach to influence the life of poor

Social mobilization • Affinity based SHGs – forming the foundation for

strong and cohesive community structures as well as financial intermediation

• Creates a platform for livelihood planning, gender based inequalities, Local governance and opportunity seeding for Youth engagement & skill building

• [National Rural Livelihoods Mission – is a nationwide programmes]

Resource augmentation and area development• Take an area perspective based on a poverty

pocket/INRM approach

• Integrated natural resource management investments, Demystify & simplify Technologies

• Development of livelihood Prototypes

• [MGNREGS, RKVY are nationwide programmes]

Mobilize Mainstream Resources

• Inventory of Public Schemes

• Template for planning, engagement with line departments,

• Drawing commitment for investment

Employment

• Productivity and income enhancement

• Linking with opportunities in the macro environment

• Aggregation and economies of scale

• Producer institutions such as Co-operatives, Producer Companies

Intervention Template for Livelihoods