Caritas India and her partners in Maharashtra have decided to intensify works to support women farmers and help them their rightful identity as active farmers. The Diocesan Social Service Societies (DSSSs) also decided to intensify their community mobilisation efforts for fostering grassroots-level movements that will address local issues. These decisions were taken in the two review-cum-reflection workshops of Jeevan programme that were recently held in Mumbai and Nagpur.

Caritas India is supporting eleven partners of Maharashtra to implement Jeevan programme that works in the sectors of sustainable agriculture, good governance and tribal identity. Addressing the review in Mumbai Dr. Saju MK, zone manager west said that women farmers have been deprived of their legitimate decision-making powers in farming. “Women despite performing more than seventy percent of farm work are invisible when it comes to decision-making. There is a need to give more encouragement and space to women-led farming because women-led farming can contribute more to food and nutrition security of families”, Dr. Saju said. He also urged the partners to help communities by empowering women farmers and helping them become decision-makers.

During the reviews, partners shared their successes in initiating grassroots level movements in the areas of good governance, sustainable agriculture and tribal identity. Partners shared several stories of collective actions of communities in the spheres of good governance, reviving traditional agriculture systems, eradication of social evils and creating community assets. Accounts of several people’s campaigns were shared during the review meeting. These included convening special Gram Sabha meetings by communities, agitations against alcoholism, revival of traditional art forms, women organising special Gram Sabha meetings with police protection, collective farming and people’s campaign for cleanliness and fighting social evils. Partners informed during the review that women farmers have organised themselves to start group farming on collectively leased farms and have also started helping preparing botanical solutions to reduce dependency on chemical inputs.

Mr. Melvin Pangya, Caritas India state officer for Maharashtra urged the partners to work with greater vigour for creating grassroots level networks and federations. “There is an urgent need to critically review the progress of the mobilisation processes on the field. The ongoing empowerment process needs to be translated into greater ownership of communities”, Mr. Melvin Pangya said.

The eleven partners, during the review-cum-reflection, expressed satisfaction over the gains realised by Jeevan programme. They have decided to scale up their interventions for helping communities to secure decision-making participation in grassroots-level governance processes. Mr. Melvin Pangya while appreciating Caritas India partners for their successes in organising and empowering communities, urged them to work more vigorously on empowering communities and work towards communities’ ownership of grassroots level development processes.

Jeevan programme, supported by Misereor, Germany, is being implemented 176 villages in 9 districts.