Monday, April 14, 2008

IFAD plans 3 new projects; to focus on Hindi belt

The Financial Express, 14th April, 2008
ASHOK B SHARMA
Posted online: Monday , April 14, 2008 at 2342 hrs IST

New Delhi : In keeping with its strategy of focusing on improving rural people's access to economic and social resources, the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), a UN agency, plans to assist three new projects in Rajasthan, West Bengal and Maharashtra.
‘‘The project details are in different stages of finalisation and will be launched in the next three to five years. This year onward, we have planned to concentrate in the Hindi belt,’’ said IFAD president, Lennart Bage, who was recently in India to participate in the first Global Agro-Industries Forum conference in Delhi.
In Rajasthan, the project would aim at mitigating poverty in the western part of the state, while the project for sustainable livelihoods in coastal fisheries will be implemented in West Bengal. Another project for sustainable livelihood is slated to start in the suicide-prone districts of Maharashtra.
IFAD has financed 21 programmes in India since 1979, including a highly concessional loan of about $565 million. At present, IFAD has seven ongoing loan programmes extending assistance of about $200 million to seven programmes in 11 states. These include the north-eastern region community resource management project for upland areas, Jharkhand-Chhattisgarh tribal development programme, Orissa tribal empowerment and livelihoods programme, livelihoods improvement project for the Himalayas, Post-Tsunami sustainable livelihoods programme and Tejaswini rural women’s empowerment programme.
According to IFAD’s country report, Portraits of Resolve, the Orissa project changed the lives of the tribals along the Muktikhana Jhola catchment area in Kalahandi district after 36 structures were built in the area to prevent flash floods. This project also generated 300 wage-days of labour.

4 comments:

Parimita Routray said...

As mentioned in the news that a project in Orissa changed -
The lives of the tribals along the Muktikhana Jhola catchment area in Kalahandi district after 36 structures were built in the area to prevent flash floods.
- The project also generated 300 wage-days of labour.

It is really interesting to learn about such a positive development taking place in districts like Kalahandi. It would be really nice, if similar projects are run and funded by IFAD in years to come, for other districts of Orissa like Koraput, Rayagada Malkangiri, where flash floods have been affecting the tribal communities.

Most of these southern and eastern districts of Orissa state remains under developed, and added to their woes, are the newer forms of disasters like flash floods, landslides.

Agencies like IFAD need to come forward and work for the upliftment of these tribal communities, who have mostly been excluded in the development process.

AKSHAYA said...

DEAR PARIMITA,
Thanks for your concern for tribals. Myself is Akshaya Sahoo, working in ORISSA TRIBAL EMPOWERMENT & LIVELIHOODS PROGRAMME (OTELP- an IFAD/DFID/WFP assisted Programme)in Kalahandi district. The original story is from Pustiguda village, Kaniguma GP of Th. Rampur block of Kalahandi district titled "blessings of Mutkikana" states the change in livelihoods pattern of tribal communities and micro envirnoment of the village, also the changing scenario of shifting cultivation as a result of focussed intervention under OTELP.
If you are interested in this story, I will send it since it was documented, developed by me and the works also executed under my guidance.
For your information, OTELP is also being implemented in Koraput, Gajapati, Kandamal dist. Shortly, in Raygada, Malkangiri and Nabarangpur dist. it will be implemented.
Akshaya

AKSHAYA said...

DEAR PARIMITA,
Thanks for your concern for tribals. Myself is Akshaya Sahoo, working in ORISSA TRIBAL EMPOWERMENT & LIVELIHOODS PROGRAMME (OTELP- an IFAD/DFID/WFP assisted Programme)in Kalahandi district. The original story is from Pustiguda village, Kaniguma GP of Th. Rampur block of Kalahandi district titled "blessings of Mutkikana" states the change in livelihoods pattern of tribal communities and micro envirnoment of the village, also the changing scenario of shifting cultivation as a result of focussed intervention under OTELP.
If you are interested in this story, I will send it since it was documented, developed by me and the works also executed under my guidance.
For your information, OTELP is also being implemented in Koraput, Gajapati, Kandhamal dist. Shortly, in Raygada, Malkangiri and Nabarangpur dist. it will be implemented.
Akshaya

Parimita Routray said...

Dear Akshya,
It will be great, if you could send me the story Pustiguda village, Kaniguma GP of Th. Rampur block of Kalahandi district titled "blessings of Mutkikana" . It will be of great help to me, for my future study.
regards,
Parimita