By H H Mohrmen
It was for the first time in the history of the state that two projects under MBMA, namely Agroecology Learning Circles and Natural Resource Management approach under the World Bank Funded Community-Led Landscape Management Project (CLLMP) shared the same forum. It is also for the first time that the farmers were given a prominent space in the program as they not only shared their best practices but also debated amongst themselves on issues related to their lives. It was also the only program where there were no politicians to grace the function and media presence at the event was also scant. The event highlighted various spheres of indigenous natural landscape management and solutions that have been successfully implemented by different communities.
The workshop also served as a platform for networking and collaboration among indigenous communities, fostering a sense of solidarity and collective action toward achieving resilient and innovative natural resource management practices. Whether this is the way forward for the farmers of the state, is the question on everybody’s mind.
Inter-learning amongst the project under MBMA
The first session was sharing best practices from the project namely ‘Empowering indigenous communities through Agroecology Learning Circles (ALC) for resilient, integrated and innovative natural resource management.’ Six farmers presented their best practices on three different topics, namely, knowledge on practice for the management of soil, knowledge on practice for the management of pests, and knowledge on practice for the management of seeds. The second session was sharing CLLMP best practices which included a speech on Forest management plan, Payment for Eco-system services, living root bridges, water resource management at Mawteibah village, Ri Bhoi Traditional Healer Association, and Reclamation of mining-affected land.
Sharing and Co-learning
Despite the impediment of translation between Khasi, Garo, and English the session was very interactive in which the farmers asked each other questions on an issue which is dear to their hearts. Farmers and community members from diverse fields shared their knowledge and experiences, emphasizing the importance of traditional ecological knowledge in sustainable resource management. It was the first time that the farmers asked questions and farmers also answered. Hence in a sense it is not only sharing but it is co-learning between them. The enthusiasm was such that during the session on the following day, the farmers were unanimous on the need to have a regular forum like this for them to share their best practices and problems.
Government’s different initiatives
In the government’s efforts to provide a livelihood to the people and help them improve their economy, it has made so many interventions to achieve the goals. Self Help Groups promoted by Meghalaya State Rural Livelihood Society have done a commendable job not only helping create livelihood opportunities for the womenfolk in the state but have also been able to empower them.
The MBMA itself has a bouquet of livelihood programs like Farmers’ Collectivization for Upscaling-production and Marketing System (FOCUS) which support funding, value chain development, machinery support, market linkage, transportation, aggregation of produce, and others support. FOCUS’s goal is to form a producer group (PG), which will help the farmers upscale their production and link them to the market.
The integrated Village Cooperative Society (IVCS) is another innovative project in the list of MBMA interventions. Financial inclusion is still very poor in rural areas, so the IVCS was created to help overcome the challenges and access to financial services in rural areas. IVCS is like a bank in the village for the villagers and is run and owned by the community themselves. MBMA has another project which deals with Natural Resource Management under CLLMP project also, including forming of Village Natural Resources Management Committees (VNRMC) which manages the natural resources in their respective villages.
The Cooperative Department on its own also promotes different cooperative societies which include multipurpose or specific societies that deal in activities like piggery, dairy, poultry, tourism cooperative society, and others. The government also promotes different missions to help the people of the state, Piggery mission, jackfruit mission, diary mission, Lakadong mission to name a few. Apart from that the Department of Soil and Water Conservation also promotes SHGs and these interventions target the same group of population and that is the farmers.
Extension institutions which were interventions initiated by both the central and the state government like the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), Kisan Vikyas Kendra (KVK), and Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA) are meant to help the farmer. In some cases, research has been done by ICAR but the technology is yet to be transferred to the farmers. There are gaps in between that need to be bridged. There is no doubt that all the government institutions and projects have done a commendable job, but there is also a need to rethink the way these institutions engage with the farmers.
There are also interventions from the Tourism Department and the focus is now shifted to promoting rural tourism. Again when the target is to promote rural tourism why is there no convergence between the Tourism Department and the Department of Rural Development or the Agriculture Department if the agenda is to promote tourism in the rural areas? Or why are the rural communities not involved when the department is also targeting to promote their culture as one component of tourism promotion? Even the Autonomous District Councils which are the custodian of culture were not involved in promoting culture tourism.
The intervention’s unachieved objectives
It is a known fact that the sole objective of all the intervention by both the state and the central government is to increase the income of the farmers and improve the economy of the state. But the question is – why the state is still poor? It is also true that in the communities sometimes the same people reaped the benefits of most of the schemes and projects because they are active members of the committees and they grab every opportunity that comes their way. In some cases when the projects are implemented by different departments, there are duplications of approaches and activities.
The problem is that those implementing central and state government schemes and projects seldom talk to each other. Like in the different departments in the state, there is no opportunity for the schemes or the projects to converge. Everything works in silos in this state and there is no convergence between projects or between missions.
The need for convergence of schemes and projects
The outcome of the workshop was the felt need to have a platform where farmers can interact amongst themselves. The need for continuity and to set up for knowledge network to share issues to co-learn and co-create solutions for the farmers was also felt so they can share their best practices, learn, and co-learn from each other and others. The recommendation from the workshop was that the government should organize workshops that would serve as a platform for the farmers to come together and discuss their problems. The government should also initiate a similar kind of initiative at the village or block level. These platforms will not only help them share their experiences and learn from each other but more importantly will help the projects and the missions complement each other. The platform will also help government officials who are working for the same cause to interact and exchange ideas between themselves. It is believed that these platforms will also serve as warning mechanisms that can be useful for the government particularly the district administration in tackling the challenges faced by the farmers.
Suggested Action
The consensus arrived at the workshop was it would be helpful if the suggestions serve as a policy for the government and particularly the MBMA to implement for the benefit of the farmers in the state. The need of the hour for the state is to have a comprehensive development plan where all the schemes and projects for the state’s developments come at a convergence point. The interventions can be designed that operate at different levels, at the local level or the block level and the state level. At the district level or the State level, it should also coincide with the commemoration of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. This proposed approach is looking at the farmers not only as an empty glass which needs to be filled with knowledge from the officers or the expert, but as partners in co-learning and co-creation of knowledge.