ARA
Livelihood Academy has been involved in facilitating value chain
development process in partnership with ILO for the Dairy sector in
Jabalpur. The process began in September 2009 and is now in the stage of
implementation and follow ups. A team from ILO and TLA visited Jabalpur
for follow ups of the ongoing activities. One such green intervention
has been production of green fodder in Jabalpur. It was evident from the
VCD report that the demand for green fodder in Jabalpur is a lot more
than what is produced within the location and this ultimately affects
the quality of milk and milk products.
Interactions with Agricultural University opened the
door of possibilities as the dean shared the willingness of the
university to provide technical support to individuals or groups taking
up production of the green fodder. Next in line the team met with the
dairy association and explored the possibility of entrepreneur’s
willingness to take up this activity. The dairy association felt that
the activity if taken at the village farmers level would be more
effective and the possibility of creating jobs will be higher. The
association gave commitment to buy the green fodder produce from the
village farmers. A farm visit was organized by the agricultural
university where representatives of dairy association and TLA-ILO team
visited and got inputs from the agricultural scientists.
An interaction with the NREGS officer in District
Rural Development Authority opened up a flood of opportunities. The
NREGS officer told the team that there are watershed groups in the
countryside locations in Jabalpur where groups of farmers are willing to
take up production of fodder. For this purpose the NREGS department
agreed to link this activity under the waste land development programme
of the district authorities. He raised the issue of technical support to
which the team shared the commitment of the dean of agricultural
university.
This was followed by a meeting involving NREGS
officer, Agriculture University and the TLA-ILO team. It was agreed by
all the stakeholders to take up this activity. A field visit was agreed
upon and visit to the villages with watershed groups were made. The
NREGS officer made a presentation to these farmers and a detailed
process of production of green fodder was made.