Market-led improved agriculture

Overview

Small agricultural holdings constitute the vast majority of farms in many developing countries. In the Indian context, approximately 86% of our farmers are small and marginal farmers (i.e. owning less than 2 hectares of landholding); approximately 47% of the total arable land is owned by these small and marginal farmers.

This data indicates the dominance of small and marginal farmers in Indian agricultural system and it is therefore imperative to work towards uplifting their status and ensuring them a secure means of livelihood.

The Indian agriculture sector employs 80% of all economically active women in India; they comprise 33% of the agriculture labor force and 48% of the self-employed farmers.

Challenge

Despite major technological advancement, small and marginal farmers continue to face basic challenges such as the availability quality inputs, new technology, capacity building and exposure.

The lack of working capital and asset creation is a major challenge hampering the growth of the sector. Mostly small farmers do not have equipment, storage, grading and other marketing facilities which in turn leads to easily avoidable losses, hence discouraging the new generation from working in the sector.

There are several reports that suggest that farmers do not see agriculture as a viable livelihood opportunity anymore, as the efforts involved far outweigh the returns.

Strategic approach

Our livelihoods promotion programmes are aimed at interventions to diversity both on-farm and off-farm livelihood streams as well as non-farm livelihood activities.

The entire focus has been to improving incomes, while reducing risks and vulnerabilities. Our interventions in farm livelihoods are promoting  sustainable and climate resilient agriculture, where in we are bringing in improved technology, value addition, aggregation and market linkages to facilitate better prices for farmers through producer organisations and market led interventions.

Our team comprising of subject experts, is working in close association with government institutions and other partners, in order to address the complex issues faced by women farmers and improve their overall living conditions.

Promoting Krishi Sakhi - A change agent and farmers friend for transferring knowledge and skills to farmers
Promoting Farmers Field School – Farmers to farmers learning
Introducing new technology and scientific practices with the active support of KVK and knowledge institutions
Facilitating and linking with market, mandi and institutional buyers for marketing from the farm gate

Empowering women farmers

Recognising women farmers through the promotion of women-led agribusiness

Impact stories

What People Say

  • Nusrat Pathan
    We are happy to collaborate with Manjari Foundation under Social Initiative Parivartan. Parivartan and Manjari share a common goal of bringing about a comprehensive and sustainable development at the grassroots. The partnership has brought about a positive change through several thematic interventions including micro-enterprise development, capacity building, health, and education. As a result of this initiative, we have seen effective community engagement and empowerment and the resident of Dholpur district (Rajasthan) continue to get benefitted. We will continue to work on similar projects to improve the lives of the less privileged through our Holistic Rural Development Programme.
    Ms Nusrat Pathan, Head Corporate Social Responsibility, HDFC Bank
  • ‘Sakhi’ means a friend in Hindi, someone who stands by in trying times and during jubilations too. 26500+ women from across 2212 SHG’s and 6 Federation have come together to be the same for each other by making Micro Finance work for them. Sakhi is a platform of rural women which aims at economic well-being, reduction in poverty, self-dependence, and development of personal and social standing in the society through establishing Micro Finance and Micro Enterprises. Hindustan Zinc Limited together with its partners Saheli Sameti and Manjari Foundation are working towards unlocking their potential and empowering them to lead as Enablers.
    Mrs. Anupama Nidhi, CSR HEAD HZL
  • Manjari Foundation is IPE Global’s implementation partner in Dholpur, Rajasthan under the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), UK supported Project Udaan that aims at reducing teenage pregnancies. They have been instrumental in successfully piloting interventions for improving the knowledge of adolescents around sexual and reproductive health (SRH) in Bari block of Dholpur. Their efforts in organizing a team to take up the issue of adolescent SRH and facilitating its implementation with great sensitivity across the block has not only been recognized by the district administration, but has also paved way for attempting a scale-up across the district. Their coordination with the community-level institutions, local government bodies and the target group has been noteworthy and exemplary.
    Mr. Ashish Banerjee, IPE Global
  • Without larger vision and dedication of the team of MF and its leadership, both vertical and horizontal growth would have never been possible to pick up at this level in this short history of its evolution. Since I have been associated with the Sakhi project of MF funded by Hindustan Zinc for the last 2 years, the happiness and confidence seen in their faces of hundreds of women in the villages proves its vitality. I have also witnessed the UN-women funded second chance education project (SCE) being implemented in 3 districts under the guidance of PRADAN is a much worthy to reach out to those young women in the age group of 16-35 who have been deprived in their childhood with the education, skills and employment are now happily enrolled and trained to overcome these deprivations with much positive outcome. While writing all these statements, I recall each visit to the project area to witness the change processes that were taking place within those women who had never dreamed of being so empowered and self-reliant so soon in their lifetimes.
    Binod Raj Dahal, Integrator- PRADAN
  • Our collaboration with Manjari has allowed us to better understand the approach of solidarity groups and concretely towards the empowerment of women in the commune of Logo.The participation of Indian PRCs has been beneficial because the women have appropriated easily by seeing that they are rural women Indian women who share their experiences with them. The Camide team was formed by the professionals of Manjari with enthusiasm and professionalism and is able to reproduce most of the activities. This period of collaboration opens up prospects for our two structures to replicate the model in Mali and Africa. We again thank Manjari for all the efforts made for Camide and particularly the Director Sanjay Kumar. We were able to reach more than 2,500 women and more than 180 million CFA francs of credit granted four test henhouses substantial support for the winter and market gardening campaign in terms of results thank you.
    Mr. Aou Keita, Director Camide, Kayes, Mali, West Africa
  • Development of Corporate Citizenship (DoCC), the social internship program of SPJIMR has been collaborating with Manjari Foundation since 2015. This has been fruitful relationship for us. I want to emphasise the four following themes. First the internships give our students a different idea of leadership which also gives them a sense of requirements for the future and adds to the ethics of sociological content. The participants acquire a notion of innovation- both social and technical which gives them a systemic view of the society. Such an empirical location gives them both a sense of limits and possibilities of what they can do. Environmental consciousness and gender sensitivity constitute two critical parts of social responsibility as we define it today. The participants of the internship understand what these key concepts mean in everyday sense. Internship at Manjari adds to their imagination in this direction. We value this relationship.
    Dr. Chandrika Parmar, S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research

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