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To maximize impact on India’s large and highly diverse food and agricultural systems, FAO is working to promote multilateral cooperation in the country in areas such as transboundary pests and diseases, livestock production, fisheries management, food safety and climate change.
FAO is working with the Government of India to provide technical assistance and capacity building to facilitate the transfer of best practices and to draw lessons from different countries and apply them to India’s agricultural systems.
Demonstrating an integrated model for small-scale poultry and small ruminant (goats and sheep) development in arid and semi-arid regions
The South Asia Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Programme (SAPPLPP) aims to strengthen the capacity and knowledge of government and non-government actors to implement sustainable small ruminant and smallholder poultry rearing interventions based on lessons learned from pilot interventions. In addition to policy advocacy work, including knowledge management and network building, the programme supports three pilot projects in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The programme is funded by a FAO Technical Cooperation Programme grant (USD 385,000 over two years) with co-financing from the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Government of India (approximately USD 300,000). The pilot projects are being implemented in partnership with local non-governmental organizations.
The programme successfully demonstrated the contribution of small ruminant and backyard poultry farming to household economies and highlighted the importance of these sub-sectors as major contributors to poverty alleviation.
A motivated team of women Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs), known as Pashu Sakhis, are providing regular preventive veterinary care services at two pilot sites in Khargone and Jhabua districts of Madhya Pradesh. Each pilot project covers 10 villages. CAHWs work to promote improved livestock management practices and preventive veterinary care to prevent major small ruminant and poultry diseases (Pest of Small Ruminants, Enterotoxemia etc. (goats) and Newcastle’s disease (poultry)).
Pashu Sakhis are responsible for keeping vaccination records and monitoring and reporting disease outbreaks. They are linked to government veterinary hospitals and clinics in the area. The community has responded very positively to the Pashu Sakhi service model, with significant reductions in animal mortality (from 37% to 7% in the goat pilot and from 76% to 48% in the poultry pilot over an eight-month period), improved profitability (increased income by $100 to $200 in the first year), and savings in veterinary care costs.
To further promote policy dialogue on small ruminant agenda in western Rajasthan, the state has set up a Goat and Sheep Development Forum. The initiative is also facilitating multi-stakeholder dialogue and discussion in collaboration with the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, to standardize CAHW training courses and modules in the areas of small ruminant animal husbandry practices and veterinary care.
Building community resilience to the impacts of climate change
FAO has been working to build community capacity to adapt agricultural models and apply strategies to minimize the impact of climate change in India, through a successful pilot project in seven drought-prone districts in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states, whose model is now ready for application in other agro-climatic zones.
The intervention, called SPACC (Strategic Pilot for Adaptation to Climate Change), covers nine hydrological units and is being implemented through a network of nine non-governmental organizations (NGOs) led by the Bharati Integrated Rural Development Society (BIRDS).
Participatory Climate Monitoring (PCM) stations were set up in 25 villages in the project area. Nearly 300 volunteers regularly recorded and registered seven climate parameters such as wind direction and speed, rainfall and sunshine hours. The results recorded in the volunteers’ logbooks were then disseminated at the settlement level through display boards.
The Climate Change Adaptation Committee (CCAC) was established as a coordination and consultation mechanism to manage the climate monitoring system at the settlement and hydrological unit levels and ensure the dissemination of the information and knowledge gained.
Women and men farmers equally participate in the Farmer Climate School, established in partnership with CCAC. Participants collect data on climate-related factors and analyze their impacts on agricultural livelihoods, subsequently making more informed decisions on adaptation measures and developing corresponding action plans. During the pilot period, 1,156 farmers (650 women, 506 men) graduated from two sessions of the school.
Cutting-edge insights to improve food and nutrition security report
The project “Integrating International Best Practices into Indian Agricultural Outlook and Situation Analysis” has enabled India to develop an outlook for its agricultural sector for the first time. In less than a year, eight quarterly and three half-year reports have been prepared and 26 briefings have been provided to senior policymakers.
The project is also a successful example of using digital technology to improve the reliability and timeliness of crop status, production and market data collection, compilation and transmission.
This information helps forecasting and planning at global and national levels, thereby strengthening efforts to address global food and nutrition security.
Newest OECD-FAO Agricultural OutlookLaunched in July 2014, the programme focuses specifically on India, forecasting continued growth in food production and consumption in the country, led by value-added sectors such as dairy production and aquaculture.
In late 2014, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed during talks in New Delhi on how to further step up efforts to promote food security and sustainable agriculture in India.
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