Transforming Lives through Agro-allied, Agro-based and Forest-Based Income Generation

Promoting livelihood amongst the poor and backward strata of the society such as Dalits, tribal, small and marginal farmers, landless labourers, women and minority groups. YRA has focused on Agro-allied, Agro-based, Forest Based and other livelihood promotion Income Generation Programs.

YRA’s Major focus is on stabilising and promoting the existing livelihoods portfolio of the poor through its three pillars –

• Vulnerability Reduction and Livelihoods Enhancement through expanding existing livelihoods options and tapping new opportunities in farm and non-farm sectors;
• Employment – building skills for the market outside; and
• Enterprises – nurturing self-employed and entrepreneurs (for micro-enterprises).

Key strategies

YRA organizes all poor households, especially women farmers, into combined institutions of the poor that offer them a voice, space and resources. These platforms ‘of the poor’ and ‘for the poor’ would partner with local self-governments, public service providers, banks, the private sector and other mainstream institutions to facilitate the delivery of social and economic services to the poor.

Social Mobilization

• Poor are identified through participatory processes (wealth ranking) – vulnerable participatory assessment.
• Special efforts are made to identify vulnerable and marginalised households – SCs/STs, PVTGs, single women and women-headed households, disabled, landless, migrant labour, isolated communities and communities living in remote and disturbed areas.

Building Institutions

• The poor are mobilised into Peoples Institutions and Peoples Organisations.
• Develop Community professionals, Community Resource Persons (CRPs) and Community Change Agents and their federations.
• YRA invests in building ‘social capital’ – community animators, activists, CRPs, etc., who are crucial in making community-driven and sustainable.

Capacity Building

• YRA ensures that the poor are provided with the requisite skills for managing their institutions, linking up with markets, managing their existing livelihoods, and enhancing their credit absorption capacity and credit worthiness.
• A multi-pronged approach is adopted for providing continuous capacity building for the targeted families, CBOs, their federations, PRI functionaries, and other key stakeholders.
• Focus is to develop and engage community professionals and community resource persons (CRP) for capacity building of SHGs and their federations and other collectives.

Key Elements

• Create sustainable livelihood opportunities (Agro-allied, Agro-based and Forest Based)
• Ensure food and nutrition security at the household and the community level
• Focus on inclusion of the poorest of poor
• Supporting institutions around agriculture and allied activities to strengthen the livelihoods of the poor.
• Promote value addition and set up market linkages to ensure higher returns