Sustainable Rural Livelihoods through Enhanced Farming Systems Productivity and Efficient Support Systems in Rainfed Areas

Abstract

Sustainable Rural Livelihoods through Enhanced Farming Systems Productivity and Efficient Support Systems in Rainfed Areas” was a sub project implemented under component 3 of the National Agricultural Innovation Project. It was implemented in eight backward districts of Andhra Pradesh by a consortium of ten organizations led by CRIDA. In many ways the consortium was unique, as it consisted of a CG institute, SAU, NGOs & private sector. The area of implementation was also varied in terms of soils, rainfall, crops and socio economic settings. It was indeed a challenge for the consortium to come together as a team and implement a complex project of this scale. This was one of the first sponsored projects to take off and provide leadership to many projects that came to be implemented in different parts of the country later. During the past four and half years of its implementation, this project brought out many significant outcomes that have bearing on future course of development of rainfed areas in our country. It showed that it takes much more than technologies alone to make a difference to the livelihoods of the poor and this was demonstrated in the form of innovative institutions, community organizations with novel systems and processes of operation. This project strongly believed in application of prudent resource management technologies as a means of improving the livelihoods of the poor in rainfed areas. This philosophy was ably blended with institutional interventions that involved developing farmers capacity for continued adoption of resource conservation technologies. Many departments of the government of Andhra Pradesh have noted the outcomes of this project with keen interest and with an intent to draw cue for policy formulation, especially in the areas of water resource management. I consider this project as a milestone in the area of sustainable rural livelihoods and hope that the future projects and programmes will draw liberally from the outcomes of this project. I congratulate the entire project team for bringing out key learnings and compiling them in the form of this comprehensive report.