Securing livelihoods in India's tribal areas
04 July 2007
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Millennium Development Goal 1: Poverty &
Hunger
Madhya Pradesh is one of the poorest states in India, and those living in its
remote tribal areas are the poorest of the poor. For a long time, people
in these areas have been unable to make money from the land or forests where they live, lacking
the necessary skills, tools and government support. With malnutrition common,
access to clean water unreliable and educational and work opportunities limited,
life has proved too hard for many tribal people, and they have been forced to
flee to the towns and cities.
Since 2004, however, a programme supported by DFID has given people a reason to
stay in the tribal areas. The
 Madhya Pradesh Rural
Livelihoods Project, which was initiated by the Government of the region,
and the first phase of which ended in June 2007, works closely with local
communities, helping them to make more of natural resources and their own
potential. The aim is to give people the raw materials to build better lives for
themselves well into the future.
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Communities setting the agenda
 Through
Gram Sabhas (village assemblies), the project disperses funding throughout
individual villages. It is important that decisions about where money should go
originate within the community and that the
community is involved in their implementation. Funds might go towards training
activities, such as teaching farmers how to conserve soil and water and use
seeds more effectively, and providing villagers with the skills and certificates
needed to find work in growing industries like construction and diamond cutting.
One person who has benefited from such tuition is Raju from Badwani District. In the
past, his economic situation has been very unsure. As he says, “I do not have
any land holding. I have responsibility for my grandmother and a sister, (and) my
mother also works on a daily wage basis. It was a hard nut to crack to support
my family. Suddenly I got this opportunity and joined the diamond cutting
training...” With his new found skills, Raju has a better chance of
finding stable employment and keeping his family out of poverty.
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Giving power to marginal groups
 The
project also raises awareness amongst villagers of their basic rights,
explaining what services and help they ought to expect from local
government. By encouraging them to demand more from the authorities, it is
empowering marginalised groups to take more control over their lives.
In particular, instrumental work has been done to improve the status of women. Ram Bai is a tribal woman from Anuppar district. Once she joined
the rural women’s group, the formation of which was made possible by project
funding, she found herself part of a supportive network and her job stability
increased.
Ram describes the changes to her life: “We all used to work as farm labourers,
growing paddy in the fields of big farmers. Sometimes we used to work on a daily
wage basis in the local market. Now there is a constant demand for our leaf
plates, and we do not have to wait for small jobs and (deal with) the uncertainty of daily
wage work”.
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Gains made and gains to come
During its first phase, the project has made a difference to the lives of
many other people like Ram and Raju. For instance, over 20% of households have seen an
increase in the income they obtain from farming. This is due, in significant
part, to the agricultural training that they have received. Also, food supplies
are now more reliable, with 44% of poor households seeing a reduction in the
length of the “hungry season” (when food stocks reach their annual low)
in the
last two years.
The
Government of Madhya Pradesh is
looking at how it can spread the project’s approaches and achievements to other
parts of the state. DFID is working with the Government on the
design of a follow-up project, which would enable it to reach over 3 million
poor tribal people over the next five years, securing their livelihoods and
moving them closer to self-sufficient futures.
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Key facts
- DFID contributed £16.6 million to the first phase of the Madhya
Pradesh Rural Livelihoods Project (2004 to 2007).
- DFID’s rural livelihoods programme in India works with the
governments of three other focal states:
Andhra Pradesh,
Orissa, and West Bengal, and with the
Gram Vikas Trust NGO. Recent
evidence shows that more than 40% of participating households, or
approximately 2.3 million people, are significantly increasing income,
to the extent that are moving above the income poverty threshold.
- Madhya Pradesh is one of the largest and poorest states in India.
More than 37% of its population of 60 million live in poverty. Poverty
rates are highest amongst historically excluded groups, with 57% of
tribal people and 40% of people from the Scheduled Castes classed as
poor.
- Madhya Pradesh has the highest rates of malnutrition in India – and
the situation is getting worse, with 60% of children under three
underweight.
- Gender-based discrimination is reflected in the unequal sex ratio
(916/1,000, against a national average of 933/1,000) and lower human
development indices (e.g. literacy) for women.
- Only 8% of rural people have access to piped drinking water and only
9% have access to proper sanitation.
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