By Manita Raut and Fraser Sugden

Introduction:

Technical, social and economic constraints are limiting the effective use of groundwater and ponds for irrigation in many parts of the EGP. Large areas of land remain fallow during the dry months. Access to year-round water for irrigation would significantly improve the productivity of agriculture, improving incomes and food security.

Marginal and tenant farmers, youth and women are particularly vulnerable and could benefit from a new approach to irrigation provision. This project is researching and demonstrating improved collective farming systems for marginal farmers and improved water management and irrigation practices using efficient systems appropriate to the needs of the marginal farmer communities.

A project funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) is working with communities across Nepal (Saptari), India (Cooch Behar and Madhubani) and North West Bangladesh, to research and demonstrate sustainable social and biophysical interventions.

Village:

Koiladi is situated in Saptari district, Terai, Nepal. It is inhabited by Rajput, Mandal, Kamait and Dailit communities. In Koiladi, the majority of land is owned by 50 households who are mostly from the Singh community. Most of the family members of these landlords reside in urban centers of Nepal like Kathmandu or in India. Land rented or leased by them are farmed by marginal and tenant farmers. Koiladi is located near a small town Hanuman Nagar where farmers buy and sell agricultural produce.

The primary source of livelihood for people living in Koiladi is agriculture. The area is characterized by high male out migration. During the paddy and wheat season, Vice Canal from Koshi Paschimi is used to irrigate some farm plots. The area has more than 20 ponds, which are used for fishery as well as day to day domestic use. Diesel operated pumps are privately owned by water lords and are rented by marginal farmers at a rental charge of Rs 150 per hour.

A woman sitting near at Koiladi field

Community:

A few landlords own large plots of land, while there are many tenant and marginal farmers who have no or small land holdings. These marginal and tenant farmers lease (adhiya) or practice share cropping (batiya). “Batiya” is a system of share cropping under which cost for input as well as production are shared by the landlord and tenant throughout the year. Adhiya is the system of leasing land in which fixed rental charge or produce is given to landlord in paddy season.

Community mobilisation:

The land ownership pattern in Koiladi offers adequate grounds to carry out a project on dry season irrigation. A series of formal and informal discussions and meetings were held with tenant and marginal farmers for group formation. Ma Durga Krisak Samuha (site 2) was formed into a self-help group comprising of 3 women and 4 men. Landholding in the groups represents the landownership pattern in the village. 2 among 7 do not have their own land. Maximum land ownership is 6 khatta (0.2ha) and minimum is 1 khatta (0.04ha). All the farmers have leased land: maximum land leased is 30 khatta (1ha) and minimum land leased is 10 khatta (0.34ha). In the site selection phase a landlord was identified and a formal land agreement was made. Rental charge was fixed on the basis of kg rice per unit area per year.

Community and interventions:

Farmers from Mahila Utthan Krisak Samuha were initially reluctant to be part of the group. As the project team carried out group formation process, farmers came on board. Community mobilization work started in December/January 2015/16. During group mobilization, work was hampered by the 2015 political blockade that affected Terai region of Nepal. Meanwhile, existing tenants had already planted wheat and cropping in the intervention site. So, intervention crops could not be cultivated.

Despite this, nursery raising, group management, compost making training were organized for the capacity building of the group. The project team provided training on saving and credits. The farmers currently meet every month and have started saving of Rs. 100 per month. Assistance was provided to develop institutional capacity through regular meetings, record keeping, linkage and coordination. Farmers were assisted in crop calendar development. Training on nursery raising, IPM, compost making, record keeping were organized.

Water table depth at Koiladi is 3.5m. In March, a 4 inch boring was drilled in the plot. A 4hp pump is connected to the boring.

The project has had to face a number of challenges. As the group was planning to farm paddy collectively in Khariff season, the landlord demanded a share of crop for the entire year. Enthusiasm of the farmers subsided and the project team and farmers negotiated with the landlord a new agreement whereby a portion of land was decided on thekka (leasing) and another portion on adiya (share cropping). This resulted in a reduced intervention area and delays in implementation of planned activities.

After the installation of the boring in March 2016, there were also delays in connecting the 3 phase electric meter. Processing electricity application by the Electricity Corporation Office at Hanuman Nagar took around 1.5 months.

Impact:

Intervention with Ma Durga Krisak Samuha has had a few challenges and benefits in terms of economic return have not been realized yet. Nonetheless, farmers have developed interest to work together. They participate in meetings and save Rs 100 per month. Scope for year round irrigation and perceived benefit has grown interest of the group. To learn about collective farming, the group participated in an exposure visit to Madhubani in May, 2016. Apart from rainfall and canal irrigation (which does not reach every farmer), they used to pay for Rs 150 per hour to rent diesel operated pumps. Members are happy that they will have to pay a relatively small charge for water extraction by electricity (i.e, Rs. 3.60 per unit). They also realize that power cuts can hamper irrigation.

Future:

In the Khariff season, collective paddy cultivation will be initiated. This will be expanded to dry season crops. Farmers continue to seek information on appropriate vegetables to be planted in the Rabi season. They have started planning which vegetable will fetch them higher income, associated cost and potential output.

To strengthen the agronomic and water management skills of the group, the project team will carry out follow up training in SRI, water management and irrigation scheduling in the upcoming season. Currently, farmers have been carrying out flood irrigation, for the forthcoming Rabi season, farmers’ capacity in furrow irrigation, mini- row basin irrigation (1,000 sq.m) and pipe irrigation will be developed.

Shallow tube well at Koiladi site 2

Koiladi Intervention Site 2 Cultivated by Mahila Utthan Krisak Samuha

By Manita Raut and Fraser Sugden

Introduction:

Technical, social and economic constraints are limiting the effective use of groundwater and ponds for irrigation in many parts of the EGP. Large areas of land remain fallow during the dry months. Access to year-round water for irrigation would significantly improve the productivity of agriculture, improving incomes and food security.

Marginal and tenant farmers, youth and women are particularly vulnerable and could benefit from a new approach to irrigation provision. This project is researching and demonstrating improved collective farming systems for marginal farmers and improved water management and irrigation practices using efficient systems appropriate to the needs of the marginal farmer communities.

A project funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) is working with communities across Nepal (Saptari), India (Cooch Behar and Madhubani) and North West Bangladesh, to research and demonstrate sustainable social and biophysical interventions.

Village:

Khoksar Parbaha lies in Eastern Terai belt of Saptari district, Nepal. It has recently been part of Sambhunath municipality. Towards the north of the village, lies Churiya range, and Mahendra Highway is in the Southern part. It is inhabited by Chaudary, Muslim and Dalit ethnic groups. Male out migration is very high and is one of the major sources of livelihood. Apart from remittance, agriculture and wage labour are other sources of income. Cropping is largely rain fed. Farmers have invested in limited irrigation infrastructure such as boring and water pumps for ground water extraction. After the construction of pond through GIZ’s support, a few farmers have used pond water for some months following the monsoon. There are two rivers near the village: Khado River and Khaduriya River, both approximately 1km away. Water from these rivers has not been utilised for irrigation.

Community and interventions:

Based on the scoping study in several Saptari villages, Khoksar Parbaha was chosen. After the intervention, among three Self-help groups, Rajja ji Krisak Samuha (group 1) was formed with all 8 women members. Before formation of the group, social mobilization activities were carried out through formal and informal meetings as well as discussions. Group formation and project initiation was delayed by the April 2015 earthquake and then the political blockade. Extensive community engagement activities were required in the initial phase. Members in the group reflect the ethnic composition of the village. All the members are from Chaudary community, indigenous to the region. The group has leased 21 khatta of land collectively from Mr. Yogendra pd Gupta, local landlord. Now the members are cultivating land in individual parcels. Six farmers have marginal land holding and two farmers do not have their own land.

Maximum land holding is 16 khatta (0.54ha) and most members have been leasing land up to 0.32ha.

In the intervention site 1(group 1 farm plot), two 80w sunflower pumps are connected to borings with a hose delivery pipe used to irrigate the plots. One shallow tubewell has been installed with an electric pump. There have been ongoing challenges with sustainable water supply from the groundwater that are being investigated.

Technical training workshops were organized to equip farmers with the necessary skills for high value vegetable and crop cultivation. Training covered nursery raising, compost manure preparation, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), micro irrigation technology and seed, fertilizer and pesticide management. Farmers are cultivating lady finder, bottle gourd, pumpkin, zucchini and cucumber in the pre Khariff season. Six farmers have installed simple Nepal drip irrigation systems. For Khariff season paddy cultivation, farmers carried out soil solarisation and seed preparation. Apart from agricultural management trainings, training on record keeping, group management and gender were also organized to strengthen the group and sensitize on gender issues.

 Preparation for soil solarisation at Khoksar Parbaha, site 1

Bitter gourd cultivated in Site 1 Khoksar Parbaha

Impacts:

The project has generated an awareness of new opportunities with farmers having interest in collective farming and dry season vegetable production. Farmers are contributing Rs.100 every month to a group fund which is fostering self-sufficiency and sustainability will be used for future repair and maintenance of equipment. Farmers are selling vegetables such as lady finger and cucumber for the first tiemat the local market, Traffic Chowk, 1.5 km from the village.

Economic return and access to water has encouraged farmers, and boosted their confidence. Water schedules are being used to coordinate equal time slots for irrigating land.

Future:

The project team are starting to focus on post-production handling and improved irrigation systems. Strong focus will be given to building and strengthening market channels.

To understand soil quality, soil testing is being undertaken. Farmers will continue to be trained in crop agronomy, soil moisture monitoring and cost effective and efficient moisture management such as mulching.

With an aim to start collective farming in Khoksar Parbaha sites, an exposure visit was organized to Madhubani, India on May, 2016. In the upcoming season, farmers are planning to go ahead with collective mode of farming with support from project team.

Zucchini cultivated in Khoksar Parbaha Site 1

Landlord from Khoksar Parbaha, Dr, Surendra Prasad Gupta visiting intervention site 1

Intervention Site 1 Farmed by Rajaji Krisak Samuha, Khoksar Parbaha,Saptari

Sun flower pump installed at Site 1, Khoksar Parbaha

Dr Fraser Sugden, IWMI Nepal

Collective farming has been often written-off as irrelevant in the 21^st century – yet a new model of collective production has the potential to revolutionise smallholder irrigated agriculture and gender empowerment in the Gangetic plains. The project Improving Dry Season Irrigation for Marginal and Tenant Farmers in the Eastern Gangetic Plains was subsequently developed, with financing from Australian Centre for Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

India’s Bihar state has for decades remained one of the most peripheral corners of South Asia, and deeply inequitable landlord-tenant relations have long blocked the technological and irrigation development in agriculture in this densely populated region. In Bhagwatipur of Bihar’s Madhubani district, close to 27% of farmers are tenants, renting all their land from others under sharecropping arrangements, where the landlord retains half of the harvest. A further third of households rent part of their land from others. Investments in irrigation are essential to build resilience to increasingly erratic rainfall and to extend cultivation into the dry months for food security. However, a lack of capital, marginal holdings and tenure insecurity act as a considerable constraint for tenants in accessing water, while for any investments which are made, the landlord retains half of the increase in output. In this context, male out-migration is increasingly an essential component of household livelihoods.

Under the leadership of the University of Southern Queensland and IWMI, and with the support of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (Patna) and Sakhi, the project was initiated in late 2014 and initiated its pilot farms in Bhagwatipur for the winter dry season in November 2015.

This site describes excellent progress by the project team in Madhubani to mobilize existing smallholders and for shared training, irrigation and marketing, and another collective models of farming.

by Fraser Sugden and Anoj Kumar

On the 22^nd of September, Anoj Kumar and Fraser Sugden visited the farmer collectives set up by   Pragiti Grameen Vikas Samiti (PGVS) in Sahar of Bhojpur district, Bihar. The purpose was to understand the potential for collective farming as a solution for improved productivity for marginal and tenant farmers in the Eastern Ganges Basin. PGVS has set up 149 farming groups, out of which 62 are collectives, across rural Bihar, mobilizing groups of landless women to take joint leases of land and share inputs, labour and outputs. This is a model similar to that which is proposed in our ACIAR project sites in Madhubani, Saptari and Cooch Behar.

We are very grateful for the support of PGVS for organizing the visit.

Each collective has taken a joint lease for around 1 bigha of land (0.25ha). All members are landless, although some members also lease land outside of the group.

The lease is done without a formal written agreement,, and the collective pays Rs14,000 per month

Credit for production and accessing inputs

A key foundation of the collective was a savings scheme, whereby members of the groups deposit Rs10 per month (some groups give more, depending on their size). The money collected is used to purchase inputs and pay the rents. Inputs include fertilizer, and use of a tractor for ploughing – which costs Rs700 per bigha.

In the past subsidies were denied to individual farmers from the Block Agricultural Office as to avail the service farmers had to furnish their land ownership or tenancy certificate. The collective was now registered as a women farmers group at the district ATMA office, which will offer them access to subsidies, fertilizer and improved seeds, and technical advice. This right was achieved after collective mobilization by members. Farmers who are members of the collective can now avail subsidized inputs even for their privately rented holdings.

Labour and crop sharing

While the joint savings were used to purchase inputs, labour was entirely shared amongst the group. There were no reported conflicts over the number of days members had contributed. Through peer pressure alone, it was possible to ensure that all participants contributed equally. There is a mutual understanding, so if one member cannot participate due to illness, no compensation needs to be paid. Farmers typically work for half the day on the collective land, and half the day on their own privately rented fields. On average they spend 15 days a season working for the collective.

All crop outputs are shared at the end of the harvest.

Cropping pattern and irrigation

To full seasons of crops are cultivated. Paddy is cultivated during the monsoon, followed by wheat and vegetables during winter. Fortunately this region has access to canal irrigation, so investment in groundwater is not necessary.

Gender

The collectives are women run, and the members of the production team are all women. However, husbands or male family members do also provide labour from time to time. Some ‘male’ tasks such as ploughing are done by tractor, for which the group uses its savings to pay.

Organizational structure

Each group has a president, chairperson and treasurer

Incentives to participate?

• Respondents noted how they now have an ‘identity’ as an institution, which meant they could access subsidies, which can be used for their own rented plots also.
• Repondents noted how they now have access to better food and improved nutrition
• They have greater awareness of agricultural techniques and can generate extra income from selling vegetables
• Productivity is higher as they have improved access to fertilizer. Also on a collective farm, every operation takes place on time. For a family farm, due to labour non-availability (e.g. farmers may sometimes need to hire in workers for key tasks), workers are sometimes not available for a key stage of the production cycle– and cultivation becomes delayed . On a collective farm though, everyone works in a group, so accessing labour for tasks such as transplantation is never a problem.

Key questions for follow up visit

• How can this model be replicated in Madhubani, Cooch Behar and Saptari using larger plots of land (up to 1-2ha). PGVS do have much larger plots of this size in other parts of Bihar. The labour requirements will be higher
• Can we set up a similar credit scheme for covering   input costs?
• Can we also set register our collectives to access govt services normally out of reach for landless farmers?