Making a difference in livelihood of rural people

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) is implementing a project in collaboration with the Government of Germany dubbed as Umbrella Programme on Natural Resources Management (UPNRM), which is aimed at enhancing rural livelihoods through improved natural resource conditions and assisting community managed sustainable natural resource management through loan-based financial products for skill and capacity building of the rural populace.

Outlay

The guiding principles of the programme are pro-poor orientation, sustainability, community participation, good governance, and integrated need-based approach.

Nabard Assistant General Manager K.V.S.S.L.V. Prasada Rao told The Hindu that the bank was implementing 27 projects in the State in collaboration with NGOs, MACS, and Mahila Mandals with a total outlay of Rs.43 crore, including a grant assistance of Rs.2.50 crore.

The projects are being implemented in Visakhapatnam, Adilabad, Anantapur, Chittoor, Krishna, Mahabubnagar, and Medak districts. During the financial year 2011-12, as many as 12 projects had been implemented with an outlay of Rs.12.93 crore and a grant component of nearly Rs.1 crore. In the 2012-13 financial year, the executing agencies of Nabard disbursed financial assistance to 2,375 rural persons for taking up vermin-compost pits, residue-free agriculture, organic cotton, chilli cultivation, dairy development, biogas, mobile veterinary units, tank silt application, shade net houses, NPM units, recharging of open wells, development of barren and common lands, fisheries development, sheep rearing, and introduction of smokeless chullahs.

UPNRM is following a programme-based approach, wherein different channel partners are being supported for implementing various models of sustainable NRM projects conforming to the flexible programming mechanism on agreed policies and guiding principles of the strategic partners.

The programme envisages giving loans to poor people to purchase smokeless chullahs. This is expected to reduce drudgery of rural women and bring about improvement in their environment and also reduce the risk of eye related problems to them. The implementation of the project ensures an increase in the family income of women by Rs.1,500 per month.