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Project area. The project will be implemented in Western Rajasthan, one of India's poorest areas, characterized by a harsh and arid climate with low and erratic rainfall. The project will target the poorest block in each of the six districts of Western Rajasthan, namely Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Pali, Sirohi and Jalor.
Target group. The project will target an estimated 95,000 poor households headed by landless agricultural labourers, small and marginal farmers, owners of marginal land or wastelands, traditional artisans, women, or young people with no employable skill sets.
Project objectives. The overall goal is to improve the quality of life for the poor and create sustainable livelihood opportunities for vulnerable and marginalized groups in the project area. The project has the following objectives: (i) organize and empower the target group through community-based organizations (self-help groups, marketing groups, producers' companies, village development committees); (ii) promote income and employment opportunities while reinforcing risk-mitigating strategies; and (iii) provide access to financial services and markets.
Project description. The project has three components:
- Strengthening of grass-roots institutions. This component has a dual focus: mobilization and capacity-building and community infrastructure development. The project will promote inclusion (gender, social, economic, financial and developmental) by empowering target groups and organizing them into community-based organizations that can articulate, effectively represent and secure their own interests. It will also mobilize non-target groups in the project area to identify community-wide needs, and facilitate the mobilization of government resources, augmented by the project if necessary. In addition, the project will provide funds to develop community infrastructure (farm bunds, farm ponds, open dug wells, fodder processing and storage facilities) and other measures (drip irrigation, soil conservation, horticulture, silvipastoral plantations) to mitigate the effects of drought, stabilize current livelihood strategies and enhance productivity.
- Livelihood support. The project will enable self-help groups to become marketing groups to improve farm gate prices and develop appropriate linkages with markets and the private sector. It will improve productivity in agricultural and livestock operations. It will expand employment opportunities on a demand-driven basis but also for selected industries experiencing growth, such as construction, tourism, handicrafts and transportation, where young people from the poorest households are likely to find work. Further, it will develop viable off-farm income-generating activities and develop partnerships between local village-level entrepreneurs and poor households on a pilot basis. The project will also help develop financial services by establishing self-help groups, enhancing their access to financial services and promoting linkages with banks.
- Project management. The project will establish a project management unit at Jodhpur and project implementation units in each of the six districts.
Important features. The proposed IFAD support for a rural poverty reduction and drought mitigation project is aligned with the Government of India's Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007-2012) and the Government of Rajasthan's plans. It is also consistent with IFAD's country strategic opportunities programme. The project will include a number of innovations, namely: (i) a new approach to market-driven development; (ii) partnership with the Marwar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and with the Sir Ratan Tata Trust; (iii) promotion of marketing groups as second-level institutions; (iv) internalization of equity concerns within existing institutions; (v) introduction of institutional mechanisms to achieve convergence with Government of India schemes, including the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act; and (vi) piloting of low-cost schemes for health insurance and dairy animal insurance.
Potential cofinanciers and domestic contribution. The Sir Ratan Tata Trust (US$3.2 million) and commercial banks (US$4.4 million) will cofinance the project. The domestic contribution will consist of resources from the Government of Rajasthan (US$21.3 million) and beneficiaries (US$2.6 million).
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| Facts and figures |
- Region: Asia and the Pacific
- Project name: Mitigating Poverty in Western Rajasthan Project
- Country: India
- Project ID number: 1418
- Nature of project: Rural development
- Project cost: US$62.5 million
- Estimated IFAD loan: US$30.3 million (plus a country grant of US$0.6 million)
- Cofinancing gap: See section on cofinanciers
- Domestic contribution: US$23.9 million
- Proposed terms: Highly concessional
- Stage of project cycle: Design completed
- Next step in project development: Negotiations
- Tentative date for consideration by the Executive Board: April 2008
- Project duration: Six years
- Tentative project start-up date: September 2008
- Implementing agency: Department of Rural Development and panchayati raj (local self-governance system at village, block and district level), Government of Rajasthan
- Borrower: Republic of India
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| Contact information |
Mr T. Elhaut
Director, Asia and the Pacific Division
Mr M. Prayer Galletti
Country Programme Manager
e-mail:m.prayer@ifad.org
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
Via Paolo di Dono, 44, 00142 Rome, Italy
Tel: + 39-06-54591
e-mail: ifad@ifad.org |
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