Farmers' Empowerment Project
[last updated April 23, 2009 11:44 AM]

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General Information
Partnership website(s)
Expected Timeframe
September 2007 - Open Ended
Partners
Governments:
  • Government of India - Chief Minister Maharashtra
Major Groups:
  • Mata Amritanandamayi Mata (MA Math) (India)
  • Mata Amritanandamayi Math (MA Math) (India)
  • Amrita SREE (India)
  • Farmer Relief Project (India)
  • Vidtamritam (India)
UN System:
    		Other intergovernmental organizations:
      Other:
        		 
        Thematic Focus
        Primary Themes:
        • Agriculture
        • Changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production
        • Chemicals
        • Sustainable development in a globalizing world
        • Education
        • Poverty eradication
        • Gender equality
        		 Secondary Themes:
        • Disaster management and vulnerability
        • Health and sustainable development
        • Biodiversity
        • Rural development
        • Land
        Geographic Coverage
        Geographic Scope: Local
        Country(ies) where the partnership is being implemented:
        India
        National Focal Points
        This partnership has not made any contact with the national focal points for sustainable development in the countries involved
        Goals and Objectives
        Summary of the partnership's goals and objectives
        The Farmers' Empowerment Project aims at helping the poorest farmers (and their families) in India gain economic security through sustainable practices and diversifying their means of support.
        Specifically, the Farmers' Empowerment Project seeks to reduce the suicide rate among poor Indian farmers suffering from debt and crop failure in the states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnatika through providing scholarships for educating children, vocational training for women and helping the farmers make the transition to more sustainable practices.
        Targets and Progress
        Partnership targets
        - Provide scholarships to 100,000 children (ages 10 to 15) of farmers living below the poverty line.
        - Retraining and start-up capitol to 5,000 groups of women from impoverished agricultural families.
        - Insuring one member of each farming family has a trade or profession so that at least one income is independent from the success of the harvest.
        - Providing education on environmental preservation.
        Progress against targets
        Scholarship applications are being accepted. Staff has been deployed to the four states to determine how to proceed with retraining and assess the needs of individual regions. Working capitol has been distributed to 101 women's Self Help Groups. Two hundred young people from Washim have been offered jobs at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) in Cochin. Advanced-education camps and symposiums on environmental preservation are being conducted. A newsletter containing articles, stories and discussion forums to further facilitate the intellectual and mental growth is being received by all the children.
        Capacity-Building and Technology Transfer
        Arrangements for Capacity-Building and Technology Transfer
        • Human resources development/training
        • Education/building awareness
        Training women to be able to start cottage industries (including tailoring, making snacks for small-scale industries, electrical repair, and making paper products), helping children complete their education, and providing job opportunities in a trade or profession makes their survival less dependent on selling agricultural output on the global market.
        Relationship to International Agreements on Sustainable Development
        How the partnership contributes to the implementation of Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation
        Agenda 21, Section I, Social and Economic Dimensions: our programs combat poverty(chaprter 3) by empowering communities (A) to participate in the sustainable management and protection of the local natural resources to enhance their productive capacity; and by training women and children. We will integrate environment and development into decision-making through education and technical training.
        Section II, Conservation and Management of Resources for Development: the farmers' project supports the protection of fragile environments (chapter 12) by enabling farmers to use a combination of sustainable (replenishing) and traditional methods; this involves ensuring people's participation and promoting human resource development for sustainable agriculture; we are also promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development (chapter 14) by ensuring people's participation and promoting human resource development as well as improving farm production and farming systems. Conservation of biological diversity (chapter 15) is encouraged through the use of natural seeds.
        Section III, Strengthening the role of major groups: the project includes improving the roles of women and children (chapters 24 and 25) as well as strengthening the role of farmers (chapter 32).
        Section IV, Means of Implementation: promoting education and training (chapter 36) and exploring alternative micro financial mechanisms.
        Coordination and Implementation
        Coordination Mechanism of the Partnership
        Based on a meeting between the Chief Minister of Maharastra and the CEO of M.A. Math Sri Mata Amritanandamayi, (Amma). The M.A. Math is overseeing the project.
        Implementation Mechanism of the Partnership
        Senior staff from M.A. Math are in the filed working with experts (irrigation technology, seed technology, etc.) as well as the farmers and their families.
        Resources
        Funding Currently Available
        Amount in US$: 43,000,000
        Source(s): Private sector - NGO
        Self funded through the MA Math. Math founder, Amma, made this pledge in March 2007 and world-wide efforts are under way to raise the money both at the grass roots level and as major donations.
        Non-financial resources available
        Type(s): Computers - Staff
        Source(s): Private sector - NGO
        volunteers, equipment of the MA Math and affiliates, personal equipment of volunteers, donations
        Funding Sought
        Required Amount in US$:
        Source(s) already approached:
        Non-financial resources sought
        Requirement(s): Still to be determined.
        Source(s) approached and details:
        Additional Information
        Additional Relevant Information
        None at this point.