Diary of a Rural Manager!

There are two factors that affect the lives of farmers - Lack of financial planning and Information Asymmetry. Let us roughly cash flow of the marginal farmer (as owner or tenant or share cropper who cultivates agricultural land up to 2.5 acres) that will fall into low-income households. The cash out flow of the household is throughout the year and peak-out during festive season, marriage or birth) and bad patches (accident/death) in the family. The farmer gets cash inflow with sales of produce only. Hence, the borrowings of the farmer limits the growth option for the household. Let us take an excerpt from the paper -  Why Don‘t We See Poverty Convergence? by Martin Ravallion  - "Banerjee and Duflo (2003) provide a simple but insightful growth model with borrowing constraints. Someone who starts her productive life with sufficient wealth is able to invest her unconstrained optimal amount, equating the (declining) marginal product of her capital with the interest rate. But ...

Livelihoods Initiative at CMF has compiled a list of government schemes that focus on livelihoods promotion, broken down by state that is updated by latest August 2013. I am updating here name of schemes implemented in Odisha. Social Security Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) Annapurna Scheme Anganwadi Karyakartri Bima Yojana Emergency Feeding Programme State Old Age Pension (SOAP) Scheme National Social Assistance Programme for Social Security Pensions National Old Age Pension Scheme National Family Benefit Scheme Balika Samriddhi Yojana (BSY) Jana Seva Divas - Streamlining of the process of Pension Payment Programme for Care of Older Persons Day care Centre Prevention of Alcoholism and Substance (Drugs) Abuse. Scheme for Welfare of Orphan and Destitute Children Orissa Disability Pension (ODP) Scheme Welfare Rehabilitation of distressed women Balika Samridhi Yojana State commission for Women MVSN An Integrated programme for Street Children Training & Rehabilita...

I saw two vans simply parked around in block office compound at Balangir district. I don't know which department/agency own the vehicles. Both are marked with the sign of UNICEF. And they are rusting like a junk. Our tax money and foreigners aid money, earned though hard work, in this case are hardly put at work. These vehicles are mere extension of wastage of public goods by our government. Vehicle at Muribahal Block Office Vehicle at Titlagarh Block Office, The most reliable way to save an asset at government workplace? Make sure it is used. End Notes : *Photographs are taken by personal phone camera in July 2013. **No offence to the local governance ! :)

I joined OLM office as YP at Balangir on 27th May 2013. I completed 100 working days today. Let me redirect reader to details of the place where I am working : Balangir District . Balangir/Bolanagir lies in KBK (Koraput Blangir Kalahandi) region and is considered as one of the country's 250 most backward districts. KBK itself has attracted the attention of policy makers, development planners and the poverty critics due to its persistent underdevelopment from last few decades. As per my observation, this place is working with slow/numb administrative activity supported by overt political agitation. There is no resource block under OLM (Odisha Livelihood Mission) strategy for this financial year 2013-2014 in Balangir. Hence, I have to solely work with ORMAS (Orissa Rural Development and Marketing Society). Motto of ORMAS is simple- Creating competence and values in rural Orissa . ORMAS was constituted to facilitate for a sustainable livelihood of the rural poor by working with S...