Presentation at Cornell University Speaker: Dolon Ganguly, Executive Director of Jeevika Development Society Date: November 25, 2013 Sponsored by SRI-Rice and International Programs/CALS (Cornell University)

1. JEEVIKA DEVELOPMNET
SOCIETY
SYSTEM OF RICE
INTENSIFICATION
PROGRAM

2. The Situation of Women in Jeevika’s Operational Area
 Jeevika was founded in 1990 and was registered in




1994
The operational area is spread across 47 villages in
the district of South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India
Complicated patriarchal context owing to proximity
of some villages to the urban area
Religious diversity
In spite of diversities, there exists a commonality in
the lives of all women

3. The Situation of Women in Jeevika’s Operational Area
Restriction
on mobility
Rampant
violence
against
women and
girls
Lack of access
to
education, hea
lthcare and
livelihood
opportunities
Control
over
sexuality
Underprivileged
rural women
Little control
over
participation
in livelihood
activities, inc
luding
agricultural
work
Lack of
decisionmaking
power
within and
outside the
family
Lack of
control
over
financial
and other
resources

4. Jeevika’s Interventions
 Jeevika started its work through a micro-savings and
credit program and livelihood generation activities
with the aim to ensure women’s access to financial
resources
 It became apparent that women’s access to financial
resources was not necessarily leading to their control
over those resources, however
 It became necessary to intervene also in the areas of
social restrictions that women faced
 Financial interventions thus became supplemented
with interventions on women’s social rights

5. SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION (SRI) PROGRAM
The SRI Program was
launched in 2008 with the
following objectives :
 Ensure environmental



Chhabi Sardar, SRI Field Worker
and Farmer

sustainability
Ensure food security
Make visible women’s work
as agricultural producers
Currently the Program is
being implemented in
around 15 villages with 500
farmers
40% of the participating
farmers are women

6. Advantages of the SRI Method
 Produces higher-
yielding crops
 Reduces use of water by
25-50%
 Promotes the use of
organic manure to
improve crop and soil

7. The Support that Jeevika Provides
 Motivating the farmers to shift to the SRI method
 Regular methodological assistance
 Providing the Package of Practices (a combination of
seeds and manures, mainly organic) to the farmers
 Regular equipment support in the form of weeders,
threshers, tractors, etc. which become community assets
 Formation of Farmers’ Clubs that puts emphasis on
promoting the voices of women farmers
 Regular liaison with government departments and
panchayats to promote the SRI method

8. Production comparison between SRI Method and
Traditional Method of Farming
Note that farmers often begin their SRI practice on their poorer lands

9. Challenges
 Lack of resources available to farmers
 Rapid urbanization
 Lack of ownership of women farmers over




lands and others resources
Lack of participati0n of women farmers in
decision- making processes
Dependence on traditional methods of farming
Women farmers denied access to markets
Lack of financial assistance to further
implement the program

10. Looking Ahead
 Increase the number of farmers participating in the




SRI program to at least 1000 over the next one year
Establish market linkages for the farmers, mainly
women farmers
Increase the visibility of women farmers, and increase
their decision-making processes
Ensure that at least 50% farmers in the program are
women farmers over the next two years (currently the
share is about 40%)
Strengthen the Farmers’ Clubs

11. Presented by:
Dolon Ganguly, Executive Director,
Jeevika Development Society, West Bengal, India
Website: www.jeevikadevelopmentsociety.org
Thank You
November, 2013