Livestock is an important part of poor people's livelihoods in remote areas of India. If these people can keep their animals healthy and get them to produce more, they can break age-old cycles of debt and set foot on the path out of poverty. Madhya Pradesh Rural Livelihoods Project has shown that, with basic veterinary services and sound advice, poor livestock owners can generate a regular income and accumulate savings as a buffer against life's shocks and stresses.
MPRLP works to eliminate rural poverty by empowering rural households in nine mainly tribal districts of the state. MPRLP takes a bottom-up approach, facilitating, inspiring and guiding community-driven collective and individual action to reduce poverty through Gram Sabhas (village councils). Find out more at www.mprlp.in.
Original Title
MPRLP Update series no.3: Better livestock-keeping
Livestock is an important part of poor people's livelihoods in remote areas of India. If these people can keep their animals healthy and get them to produce more, they can break age-old cycles of debt and set foot on the path out of poverty. Madhya Pradesh Rural Livelihoods Project has shown that, with basic veterinary services and sound advice, poor livestock owners can generate a regular income and accumulate savings as a buffer against life's shocks and stresses.
MPRLP works to eliminate rural poverty by empowering rural households in nine mainly tribal districts of the state. MPRLP takes a bottom-up approach, facilitating, inspiring and guiding community-driven collective and individual action to reduce poverty through Gram Sabhas (village councils). Find out more at www.mprlp.in.
Livestock is an important part of poor people's livelihoods in remote areas of India. If these people can keep their animals healthy and get them to produce more, they can break age-old cycles of debt and set foot on the path out of poverty. Madhya Pradesh Rural Livelihoods Project has shown that, with basic veterinary services and sound advice, poor livestock owners can generate a regular income and accumulate savings as a buffer against life's shocks and stresses.
MPRLP works to eliminate rural poverty by empowering rural households in nine mainly tribal districts of the state. MPRLP takes a bottom-up approach, facilitating, inspiring and guiding community-driven collective and individual action to reduce poverty through Gram Sabhas (village councils). Find out more at www.mprlp.in.
livestock are an important part of poor Gram Sabhas and vets from the BAIF people's livelihoods in remote areas of India. If these people can keep their Development Research Foundation to Achievements organise and run annual vaccination animals healthy and get them to camps. Between July 2007 and August By working with Gram Sabhas, produce more meat, milk or eggs, they 2010, 8027 of these camps were held, MPRLP has helped thousands can break age-old cycles of debt and at which 565,615 animals were of poor livestock owners in set foot on the path out of poverty. vaccinated against diseases that could tribal areas learn how to boost affect or kill them. meat, milk and fish output. MPRLP has shown that, with basic By working with Gram Sabhas veterinary services and sound advice, and the BAIF Development Paravet services Research Foundation, MPRLP poor livestock owners can generate a regular income and accumulate has put basic livestock MPRLP has also pioneered paravet services and advice within the savings as a buffer against life's coverage for clusters of villages in shocks and stresses. Some can even reach of nearly 3000 remote Barwani District. Previously, livestock villages, resulting in fewer build small but profitable livestock owners could do little to prevent their livestock deaths and healthier enterprises. animals succumbing to common animal animals. complaints. At best the animals became By working with Gram Sabhas feeble and unproductive; at worst they to channel funds through Boosting returns from died, and owners lost valuable Gram Kosh for promoting a livestock household assets. successful poultry business model, MPRLP has helped Between July 2007 and August 2010 Since August 2010, 208 paravets have many women start viable MPRLP, working through Gram Sabhas, each been taking responsibility for the chicken-rearing enterprises. helped boost returns from livestock in treatment of animals with each paravet over a third of poor communities in covering about 15 villages. They vaccinate, nine remote tribal districts of Madhya de-worm, castrate and attend to livestock Pradesh. for set fees, working to a code of conduct agreed by the Gram Sabhas. This "With basic veterinary Vaccinating goats approach succeeds because, as long as services and sound paravets visit villages regularly to provide services and follow up on treatment, they advice, poor livestock Many poor households keep goats for can be sure they will be paid. owners can generate a meat and milk, but these animals often fall ill or die of disease. To overcome Controlled and managed by Gram regular income" this, MPRLP has been working with Sabhas and backed up by the BAIF MADHYA PRADESH RURAL LIVELIHOODS PROJECT
Chickens
Rearing chickens in their backyards
also provides households with food for themselves and eggs and chickens to sell. Working with Gram Sabhas, MPRLP has helped 994 households select and breed local chickens to produce more meat and eggs.
But there is also a ready market for
chickens in growing urban areas. In Dindori District, MPRLP worked with PRADAN, a local NGO, to replicate a successful model for small poultry businesses. The Gram Sabha played an important role in helping 302 women (by August 2010) to start Development Research Foundation group organised watchmen to prevent raising chickens. The women formed (which provides appropriate technical thieves from stealing the fish. As well and registered a cooperative, and expertise), this scheme is an as fetching good cash returns, the joined a producer company to help outstanding example of how to deliver protein in fish improves nutrition and them solve problems they might basic veterinary services to remote fish-rearing provides jobs. encounter. Each woman works for communities in a practical way. Such a about four hours a day looking after scheme can be easily replicated, is the chickens and makes Rs.10,000 to transparent and delivers services Rs.17,500 (£148 to £193) a year. effectively at prices villagers can afford. The way ahead Involve Gram Sabhas in Building livestock planning and managing enterprises livestock development in remote communities. Strengthen Gram Sabhas' Fish capacity to plan, manage and use the Gram Kosh to provide Remote areas of Madhya Pradesh are efficient and affordable basic dotted with water bodies that veterinary services to village communities traditionally use for fish clusters. culture. Working with Gram Sabhas, Train a livestock development MPRLP is helping people to access committee in each village to healthy fingerlings (young fish) and is Contact give them knowledge about providing advice on low-cost inputs Telephone: +91-(0)755-2766812, the selection and breeding of such as oil cake and rice bran (used as 814, 815 animals and how to buy fish feed) and cow dung (used as a Fax: +91-(0)755-2766818 animals (their dental health, pond fertiliser). By August 2010, this Email: mprlp@mprlp.in whether to buy a pregnant project had helped communities get Website: www.mprlp.in animal etc). more fish from 817 ponds. Mainstream the paravet approach to providing basic MPRLP is funded by the UK Department for In Dindori in 2009, for example, four veterinary services through International Development (DFID). self-help groups netted fish that sold Gram Sabhas in government for Rs.13,000 (£193). In Mandla This publication does not necessarily represent programmes. the views of the Department for International District in the same year, a self-help Replicate successful Development. group invested Rs.4,200 (£62) in approaches to launching fingerlings and harvested 250kg of livestock microenterprises. fish, which they sold in the local market for Rs.25,000 (£371). This