Final Livelihood Study Report of Tripura

8/12/2019 Final Livelihood Study Report of Tripura

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Livelihood based Agri Business and Market Study in Tripura

MART, Noida 0

Livelihood Based Agri Business and Market

Studies for North East Rural Livelihood

Project

Final report, Tripura

April 2011

Submitted by

MARTA-32, 1st Floor,

Sector 17, Noida - 201 301Tel: 0120-2512140, Fax: 0120-4273995

www.martrural.com
http://www.martrural.com/http://www.martrural.com/


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Content

Abbreviation and Accronyms 3

Acknowledgement 6

Executive Summary 7

1 Chapter 1: Background and Methodology 10

1.1 Background 10

1.2 Objective of the study 10

1.3 Approach of the study 11

1.3.1 Key features of the study methodology 12

1.4 Limitations of the study 13

2 Chapter 2: State profile and livelihood issues 14

2.1 State profile 14

2.2 Key indicators of project districts 15

2.3 Rural livelihood and poverty issues 15

2.4 Key livelihood trends 17

3 Chapter 3: Livelihood profile 19

3.1 Existing infrastructure & support services 19

3.2 Market accessed by villagers 21

3.3 Livelihood profile 22

3.3.1 Land-based livelihoods 22

3.3.2 Livestock based livelihood 29

3.3.3 Non-farm based livelihood 323.3.4 SHGs and livelihoods 34

4 Chapter 4: Value chain analysis 36

4.1 Introduction 36

4.2 Summary of recommendations 37

4.3 Potato cultivation value chain 40

4.3.1 Background 40

4.3.2 Feasibility of potato cultivation 41

4.3.3 Production clusters 42

4.3.4 Major usage and by products 42

4.3.5 Potato value chain 42

4.3.6 Project Intervention 48

4.4 Vegetable cultivation value chain 53

4.4.1 Background 53

4.4.2 Feasibility of vegetable cultivation 54


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4.4.5 Vegetable value chain 55


4.5 Fish culture value chain 664.5.1 Background 66

4.5.2 Feasibility of Fish culture 67



4.5.5 Fish value chain 68


4.6 Pineapple cultivation value chain 80

4.6.1 Background 80

4.6.2 Feasibility of pineapple cultivation 81



4.6.5 Pineapple value chain 82


4.7 Pulse cultivation value chain 93

4.7.1 Background 93

4.7.2 Feasibility of pineapple cultivation 94



4.7.5 Pulse value chain 95

4. 7.6 Project Intervention 100

5 Annexure

1. List of stakeholders met during the study 105

2. List of villages visited 107

3. Processing unit for puffed rice making 108

4. List of secondary sources 111

5. Stakeholders consultation report 112


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Abbreviation and Acronym

ADC Autonomous District Council

APMC Agriculture Produce Market Committee

APRLP Andhra Pradesh Rural Livelihood Project

DoNER Ministry of Development for North Eastern Region

DRDA District Rural Development Agency

FGD Focus Group Discussion

FYM Farm Yard Manure

GNP Gross National Product

HDI Human Development Index

JFM Joint Forest Management

Kani Unit of land

Kg Kilogram

MART A leading livelihood and marketing consultancy agency

MFI Micro Finance Institution

MOP Muriate of Potash

MPDPIP Madhya Pradesh District Poverty Initiatives Project

MT Metric Ton

NABARD National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development

NERCRMP North Eastern Region Community Resource Management Project for Upland

Areas

NERLP North East Rural Livelihood Project

NREGA National Rural Employment Guarantee ActNREGS National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

NSDP Net State Domestic Product

OTELP Orissa Tribal Empowerment and Livelihood Programme

RBI Reserve Bank of India

RGVN Rashtriya Gramin Vikas Nidhi

ROI Return on Investment

Rs Rupees

SGSY Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana

SHG Self Help Group

SIPARD State Institute of Public Administration and Rural Development

SSP Single Super Phosphate

VAT Value Added Tax

WORLP West Orissa Rural Livelihood Project
http://rural.nic.in/anual0203/chap-5.pdfhttp://rural.nic.in/anual0203/chap-5.pdfhttp://rural.nic.in/anual0203/chap-5.pdf


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List of tables

List of Tables

Table-1: Key development indicators for state, west district and north district......................... 15

Table-2: Availability of infrastructure and support services ...................................................... 19

Table-3: types of market facilities available................................................................................. 21

Table-4: Classification of landholdings........................................................................................ 22

Table-5: Major crops in villages................................................................................................... 23

Table-6: Seasonality of major crops grown................................................................................. 24

Table-7: Practices adopted by farmers............................ 27

Table-8: Marketable surplus for major crops.................... 28

Table-9: Selling system for major crops................................ 28

Table-10: Major livestock activities............................................................... 29

Table-11: Seasonality of major livestock activities 29

Table-12: Farmers practices for fish culture 31

Table-13: Marketable surplus in livestock activities 31

Table-14: Selling system for livestock activities .. 32Table-15: Major non-farm based activities pursued by villagers........... 33

Table-16:Summary of suggested interventions for value chain activities.................................. 37

Table-17:Potato variety and market prices............................. .. 46

Table-18:Constraints faced by farmers and intervention points.47

Table-19: Economics for potato cultivation . 49

Table-20: Inputs costs and incomes for potato varieties............................. 50

Table-21:Wholesale and retail prices of vegetables.............. .. 59

Table-22: Constraints faced by farmers and intervention points.. 59

Table-23: Economics of green chilli production.... 61

Table-24:Inputs costs and incomes from vegetables............................ ..... 64

Table-25: Fish wholesale prices for farmers................................ 72

Table-26: Wholesale markets and type of fish sold........ 72Table-27:Fish wholesale and retail rates 74

Table-28: Constraints faced by dish farmers and intervention points.. 74

Table-29: Economics for fish culture................... 77

Table-30: Fish culture possibilities and their economics........... 78

Table-31: Pineapple farming practices........................................... 84

Table-32: Wholesale and retail price for pineapple verities.... 87

Table-33: Unit prices for processed pineapple products........... 87

Table-34: Constraints faced by pineapple farmers and intervention points 87

Table-35: Economics of pineapple cultivation.................................................. 89

Table-36 : Economics of cash crop plantations .. 91

Table-37:Area and Productivity of pulse cultivation. 94

Table-38: Comparative practices of subsistence and progressive farmer.. 97

Table-39: Wholesale and retail prices of pulses coming from various markets99

Table-40: Constraints faced by pulse farmers and interventions points . 100

Table-40: Economics forblackgram cultivation .... 101

Table-42: Economics forvarious pulses .. 103


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List of figures

Figure 1: Key steps, activities, and outputs achieved ......................................................................... 11

Figure 2: Map of Tripura ..................................................................................................................... 14

Figure 3: Key steps involved in selection of value chain activities .............................................. 36

Figure 4: Value chain Map for Potato 42Figure 4: Value chain Map for vegetables .. 55

Figure 4: Value chain Map for fish culture . 69

Figure 4: Value chain Map for pineapple ...83

Figure 4: Value chain Map for pulses . 96

List of boxesBox 1: 3 M Model Approach ..................................................................................................... 13

Box 2: case study of cold storage and transport service provider ............................................... 20

Box 3: Potential for improving horticultural productivity ......................................................... 23

Box 4: Case study of a typical landless farmer ......................................................................... 25

Box 5: Rising poultry demand in the state ............................................................................... 29

Box 6: Case study of Baba Saheb SHG, West District ................................................................ 34

Box 7: Factors that affect fish culture productivity ................................................................... 67


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Acknowledgement

At the outset we would like to express our sincere thanks to Mrs. Jayasree Mukharjee (IAS),

Joint Secretary & Director of Ministry for Development of North East Region (DoNER) for

giving us this opportunity to undertake this important livelihood study for north eastern states.

We would like to thanks Mr. Alok Kumar Srivastava (IAS), Project Director, NERLP and his

entire team for the constant guidance and support during the entire study period. A number of

meetings with him at Guwahati and Delhi helped in smooth completion of the assignment. We

would again like to thank him for his and team support for facilitating stakeholdersworkshop in

the state. NERLP feedback on the draft report has helped us improve suitably to make it a useful

project document.

We would like to sincerely thank Mr. Biswajit Sen, Senior Rural Development Specialist &

Nathan M Belete, Senior Rural Development Economist at World Bank for their constant

support in ensuring complete ion of the study, the first meeting at World Bank office along with

PD, NERLP helped finalize the report template. Subsequently, the initial feedback after the firstfield visit helped in finalizing selection of 4 to 5 economic activities for undertaking detail value

chain analysis in the state. We would also like to thank Varun Singh, Social Development

Specialist and Dr. Amarendra Singh from World Bank who also shared the important feedback

on the draft reports.

We would also like to thanks state level officials including Shri Kumar Alok, Commissioner &

Secretary, Shri D. Basu, Rural Development, Joint Secretary, and District Collectors of North

and West Districts, PD, DRDA (North District), PD, DRDA (West District) for their critical

support during the study. We would also like to thank DRDA staff who facilitated and organized

village meetings and also accompanied us to the villages. We would like to thank state level

officials and resource persons including Mr. Shantiriyan, Director, Fisheries Department, Mr. C.R. Bondopadhya, Director, Horticulture Department, Miss Marie Korner, Socio economist, Indo

German Cooperation Project, Mr. R. N. Coudhury, MD, Tripura Co-operation Milk Milk

Producer Union Ltd., Agartala, Mr. Mukesh Thakkar, AGM, NABARD, Mr. Dhiren Das, Senior

Executive, RGVN, Mr. A. K. Chanda, Joint Director, Directorate of Statistics and Economics and

Md. Selim Reza, Chief Executive Officer, INBAR who spread their valuable time to provide us

important information and relevant documents.

We would like to thank Dr. Binay Singh, Director, NIRD, Guwahati, Prof. P. C. Sikligar,

Assistant Professor, NIRD, Ashim Kumar Das, Assistant General Manager (Business

Development), NEDFi, Guwahati who shared with us their understanding of the north eastern

states.

We would like to thank a large number of villagers who spent their valuable time with us in

villages and also a number market players including whole sellers and retailers, processing

units, transport services and cold storage services at Agartala and in district markets.

MART Team


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Executive Summary

The North East Rural Livelihood Project (NERLP) of the Ministry for Development of North Eastern

Region (DONER), Government of India, aims to address rural poverty in the region through creation

of sustainable livelihood for the rural poor, particularly for women. The project has commissioned

Livelihood Based Agri Business and Market study in Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim toMART, a leading livelihoods and marketing consultancy, which was selected to conduct the study in

all four states. MART signed a MoU with DoNER and closely coordinated with Project Director,

NERLP based at Guwahati for finalizing study design, plan, fieldwork and information to key state

stakeholders. The primary objective of the study is to assess economic opportunities in both farm and

non-farm activities in the project area. NERLP assumes that intensive and innovative use of these

local opportunities can result in enhanced livelihood opportunities and incomes for the communities.

MART used 3M approach for the study that looks at ecosystem at the village level, market and

enabling environment to analyze the livelihood scenario and challenges. Study looked at existing

resources, skills, infrastructure and support services, markets for poor, major livelihoods of poor

involved in agriculture, livestock and non-farm activities to suggest practical interventions. The study followed an 8-step approach involving secondary literature review, stakeholders

consultation, preliminary field visits, village and market survey, writing draft report and final report

after receiving feedback from NERLP and the World Bank. Study covered 13 villages in two project

districts with DRDA support and conducted FGDs and individual interviews with villagers, state and

district officials. Market study involved interviews with wholesalers and retailers, transporters,

private cold storage owner, and processing units at Agartala, North district and West District.

Tripura with a population of 31.91 lakhs (2001 census) is located in the southwest north eastern

region. 31% population is tribal and is spread across the state. Tripura shares 84% of its border with

Bangladesh and the porous border allows trade of a number agriculture and allied activities between

the two countries. Around 60% of the area is hilly and forested. Though the state has good social

infrastructure in terms of education but unemployment is high due to limited local opportunities.

While planning commission estimates poverty level at 34.4 percent the state government puts it

higher at 55 percent. The per capita income is low and below the national average. Key trends that will

impact the livelihoods scenario in the state are land fragmentation leading to shifting cropping

patterns with more focus on horticulture and cash crops, better communication, road connectivity,

and marketing infrastructure leading to improved marketing functions, booming service sectors

offering employment opportunities, modified APMC act leading to more private sector participation,

and impetus to state economy by opening business corridors with Bangladesh.

There is good availability of basic infrastructure facilities such as road, electricity, transport,

telephone, and drinking water in project area that facilitate marketing functions and help set up

processing units. Support services such as cold storages are available in big towns but small farmers

are not avail to them due to small volumes and long distances. State government could set up more

cold storages at strategic locations after doing a feasibility study to support small and marginal

farmers.

There is a good network of market infrastructure in the state with 474 primary markets, 64 wholesale

assembling markets, 21 regulated markets, 6 municipal markets and 1 terminal market at Agartala.

There are two big wholesale markets at Agartala. Permanent shops exist in all villages, vendors and


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traders all villages in deal in agriculture, allied and non-farm activities. Weekly markets with

cemented platform and shed exist in most villages and offer opportunity of selling directly to the

consumers.

The state economy is largely rural and agricultural and is constraint by availability of only 27% of its

geographical area for cultivation. Rural community is engaged in three major categories of

livelihoods; agriculture based, livestock based and nonfarm based. It was found that 85% communityis engaged in livestock followed by 68% in agriculture and 46% in non-farm activities indicating

involvement in multiple activities to sustain family needs.

95% of total operational landholding in the state is below 2 hectare and account for 75% of operated

area. Average size of landholding has declined from 1.25 hectare in 1976 to 0.6 hectare in 1995. It has

impacted the cropping pattern in the state with more inclination towards horticulture crops to earn

higher income per unit of land compared to traditional paddy crop.

Farmers are engaged in a number of cereals (predominantly paddy) and horticulture crops

throughout the year. Farmers procure inputs individually locally from government and private players

on as-and-when-required basis when demand is high and supply is low resulting in higher inputs

costs. Farmers use traditional and different package of practices even within one village. Use of powertiller has picked up for land preparation as it saves time and cost. Majority of farmers sell agriculture

produce in raw form to traders within the village and in nearby towns and realize different prices

depending upon supply and demand situation. Creation of proper storage facilities including cold

storage facility in nearby vicinity can help farmers realize better returns.

State is a net importer of most agriculture products. Agriculture in the state has the potential to

develop but is constrained not just by the terrain but by a lack of development of irrigation, limited

use of modern inputs, higher inputs costs, improper use of package of practices, low productivity, and

inadequate access to agricultural extension and markets. There is tremendous potential for the

expansion of horticulture and plantation crops throughout the year. Organizing poor for collective

sourcing of inputs and marketing, adoption of better package of practices, simple value addition such

as sorting, grading and cleaning, marketing information, and direct linkage with wholesalers, and

handholding field support can help poor farmers realize higher returns from the agriculture.

Livestock rearing is done throughout the year in the state mainly as supplementary source of income.

Fish culture, backyard poultry, cow rearing, and goatery are the predominant activities done by

villagers. Government support to fish culture has seen many small famers shifting to it due to higher

returns. Piggery is popular mainly among tribal. Most villagers rear local breeds only. Inputs for most

livestock activities are available locally within the village. Fish seed is available through fishery

department. Majority of farmers sell livestock produce to traders within the village and in nearby

towns.

There is a good potential to promote livestock activities in the state as state is a net importer of

livestock and its byproducts. The livestock sector is constraint by low livestock productivity, adoption

of traditional set of practices, high inputs costs, marketing information and inadequate availability of

extension services. Organizing poor for collective sourcing of inputs and marketing, adoption of better

animal management and rearing practices, marketing information, and field based handholding

support can help poor villagers realize higher returns from livestock activities.

Villagers are engaged in a number of non-farm activities such as agriculture labours, stitching,

electrician, insurance agent, hotel, army, embroidery, knitting, school teacher, and carpenter etc.


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Most of activities in service sector provide employment outside the village and require them to

migrate. Women have acquired skills in stitching, embroidery, and knitting but only a few are able to

earn livelihood out of them due to limited local demand. Imparting skills for automobile repair,

mobile repair, cobblers that has local demand can offer livelihood to rural youths. Service sector

opportunities such as banking, insurance, health, hospitality, and communication offer opportunities

in nearby towns areas and youths can be trained to tap these opportunities. A large number of SHGs have been promoted in state till 2008-09. There were 27010 SHGs in the

state with 11131 SHGs in West district and 4506 SHGs in North district. Under SGSY. DRDA facilitate

both financial and non-financial supports to SHGs. SHGs are engaged in fish culture, piggery,

goatery, cow rearing, handicraft, poultry and agriculture, duckery, rubber plantation, tent house,

incense stick making, betel vine. However, these activities are hardly successful and SHGs face issues

related to lack of proper marketing plan, low productivity levels, low volumes and high overhead

costs, limited holding capacity of agriculture produce, and lack of marketing information and

linkages. SHGs would require marketing handholding support and extension services.

There are number of activities that project can promote among the poor that includes potato

cultivation, vegetable cultivation, fish culture, pineapple cultivation, piggery, goatery, pulsecultivation, cow rearing, rubber plantation, and areca-nut cultivation. However, five activities namely

potato, vegetables, fish culture, pineapple and pulses have been shortlisted in consultation with PD,

NERLP and the World Bank staff for a detail value chain analysis using criteria such as interest and

capacity of poor, possibility of engaging large number of poor, project mandate, market demand and

gestation period. Value chain helps to identify opportunities for poor at every stage of product

movement from producers to consumers based on which intervention strategies can be designed.

The supply for select five products in the state is less compared to their demand and therefore, these

can be promoted in the state. All five products are feasible from technical, market and economic point

of view. The key constraints involved in value chain products are high costs of inputs as most of these

are sourced from outside the state, poor quality of seeds and other inputs, use of traditional practices

and lack of extension services, low productivity levels, and low affinity among farmers for collective

inputs sourcing and output market.

Value chain activity Unit Investment/unit Return on investment

Potato cultivation using TPS 1 kani (o.4 acre) Rs 15815 115%

Vegetable (chili) 1 kani (o.4 acre) Rs 12050 103%

Composite fish culture 1 kani (o.4 acre) Rs 62326 41%

Pineapple cultivation 1 kani (o.4 acre) Rs 42396 147%

Pulse (blackgram) 1 kani (o.4 acre) Rs 6195 151%

The activities to be performed by the project involves selection of beneficiaries and cluster, social

mobilization and institution building of poor, preparation of business plan with the community,organize technical and business trainings, market exposure visits, establish backward and forward

linkages with resource agencies, facilitate market linkages and monitoring and evaluation, and

promoting higher order institutions such as federation and producer groups for collective actions.

Project needs to create a chain of marketing professionals at head office, state level and district level

and para professionals at the village level to execute the implementation plan.


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Chapter 1: Background and methodology

1.1 Background

The North East Rural Livelihood Project (NERLP) of the Ministry for Development of North EasternRegion (DONER), Government of India, aims to address rural poverty in the region through creation of

sustainable livelihood for the rural poor, particularly for women. The project has commissioned

Livelihood Based Agri Business and Market studyin Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim.

MART, a leading livelihoods and marketing consultancy, was selected to conduct the study. MART held

discussions with DONER team at New Delhi and signed a MoU. MART placed a two member team for

each state to coordinate the study. MART maintained close coordination with Project Director, NERLP

based at Guwahati to facilitate the study.

1.2 Objectives of the study

The primary objective of the study is to assess economic opportunities in both farm and non-farm

activities in the project area. NERLP assumes that intensive and innovative use of these local

opportunities can result in enhanced livelihood opportunities and incomes for the communities.

The study evaluates livelihoods and opportunities on the basis of the following two components:

1.2.1 Infrastructure, resources and support services

Identify major livelihood occupations of the rural community, categorize them according to

geographical, ecological and watershed clusters and assess their viability based on local resources,

infrastructure, support services, technology, policy environment and potential for growth.

Suggest strategies to enhance income and nutritional security from the existing livelihoods

through improved productivity, access to inputs and markets, capacity building, and collective

action in marketing to achieve economic scale.

Provide guidance in agriculture and horticulture development, changing demand and supply

scenario, projection of future trends to ensure that farmers are able to face the challenge of

negotiating on an equitable basis with market players.

1.2.2 Value chain analysis

Shortlist major high growth subsectors and commodities for value chain analysis where the

project can intervene to benefit the poor.

Prepare value chain map for key products/commodities/services reflecting economic return at

every stage, product movement from the rural producers to the final consumers.

Identify major players in technology, markets, finance, and inputs contributing to value chain,

and explore partnership possibilities with them.

Identify infrastructure availability and institutional arrangements for input supply and output

marketing.

Identify constraints and institutional obstacles, social process, vulnerabilities and risks

hampering benefits to the poor along the value chain.

Identify critical investment needs in the value chain that can accrue better income to the poor.


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Prepare techno economic feasibility guideline for setting up small, viable and sustainable

processing units to impart value addition and longer shelf-life to-farm products.

1.3 Approach of the study

Figure 1 illustrates various stages of the study in the form of key steps and activities followed and outputsachieved.

Figure 1: Key steps, activities, and outputs achieved

Activities Key Steps Outputs

Reviewed of project literature andreports

Studied livelihoods initiatives such asNERCRMP in north east states.

Studied secondary reports

Met World Bank and Project Director,NERLP at New Delhi to discuss studydesign

Step 1Pre study

preparation

Developed better understanding of thestudy and project states

Finalised study design and plan

Project Director sent intimation to staterural development office regarding MART

field visit and coordination support

Met state nodal officer, ruraldevelopment department officer at

Agartala

Meeting with DRDA and linedepartment officers

Shared study approach andmethodology

Understand NERLP objectives

Step 2Initiation meeting

at state anddistrict level

List of key stakeholders finalised formeeting

Feedback on livelihood constraints andopportunities in the state

Finalized approach and methodology

Interacted with key stakeholders fromline departments such as agriculture,horticulture, animal husbandry,resource agencies, and key marketplayers

Visited three villages in two projectdistricts

Generated list of livelihood activities

Step 3Fieldwork -1

(Interactions withkey stakeholders)

Shortlisted 10-12 major products forpromoting in the state and value chainanalysis

Prepared list of stakeholders and valuechain players and service providers

Finalized plan for Fieldwork-2

Met with World Bank staff and ProjectDirector, NERLP at New Delhi to sharefieldwork-1 observations and

experience Discussion to finalise products for

taking up value chain analysis

Step 4Initiation Report

Finalised five products i.e. fish culture,potato, vegetables, pulses, and pineapplefor value chain analysis

Submitted initiation report containinglivelihood profile and issues, overallapproach and methodology, and field visitplan

Finalized field visit plans

Placed field teams

Visited 10 villages in two districts and

Step 5Fieldwork -2

(Interactions in

Completed livelihood survey in villages andmarkets

Collected information for value chain


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interviewed producers/farmers

Met market players in wholesale andretail markets at Agartala and projectdistricts.

Met line-department officials

villages andmarkets)

analysis of 5 products by meeting valuechain players

Livelihood analysis

Value chain analysis for 5 products

Data analysis

Report writing

Step 6Draft Report

Draft report as per study objectives andfeedback of World Bank and PD, NERLP

Share draft report though power pointpresentation to World Bank, DoNERstaff and other stakeholders assuggested by the PD, NERLP

Step 7Stakeholdersconsultation

workshop to shareDraft Report

Agreed feedback of stakeholders on thedraft report

Content for final report finalized

Stakeholders consultation workshop report

Feedback incorporated fromstakeholders consultation workshopreport

Step 8Final Report

Final report as per study objectives definedearlier

1.3.1 Key features of study methodology

MART coordinated with Director, Ministry of DoNER and Project Director, NERLP, Guwahati for

finalizing study design, plan, fieldwork and intimation to key stakeholders.

The Project Director, NERLP intimated the state governments rural development departm ent about

the proposed study to seek their cooperation during the field visit. Joint Secretary, Department of

Rural Development introduced MART team to DRDA of both project districts and also facilitatedmeeting with heads of government agencies at state level.

MART team got in touch with DRDA of both project districts to finalise village selection for

undertaking village survey and meeting with state line department officials. DRDA staff accompanied

MART for village visit and facilitated meetings with villagers.

MART used 3M approach to capture the existing livelihood scenario as described below.

The fieldwork was planned in two phases: in the first phase knowledge of major livelihood activities

was gathered through discussions with stakeholders at the state and district levels and popular

activities were selected for the study; in the second phase, value chain analysis of the livelihood

practices, productivity and marketing challenges was done.

Thirteen villagers were visited in two project districts and information was collected from villagersthrough Focus Group Discussion (FGD). Individual interviews were conducted with farmers/villagers

engaged in shortlisted activities for value chain analysis. List of villages is annexed.

Interviewed value chain players like the producers, wholesalers, retailers, transporters, cold storage,

processors, and government institutions at village, block, district, and state level. List of stakeholders

met is annexed.


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3M Model Approach

3M is a systematic approach to

livelihood based on the three tenets of

micro finance, micro market and micro

planning. The model primarily provides

a tool to systematically map the local

resources, skills, support services,markets and enabling environment for

developing business plans. This

process of 3M is as follows: surveys are

conducted to assess the current

available resources as well as the

existing market demand. Once

established, the levels of supply and

demand determines the selection of

appropriate livelihoods activities.

Analysis of information collected from villagers, market players and enablers leads to field based practical strategies to

successfully launch and manage the activities. MART has extensively used 3M (Micro Finance, Micro Market and Micro

Planning) Model for livelihood promotion, for resource mapping under various poverty alleviation projects across India such as

APRLP, WORLP, OTELP, APDPIP, MP-DPIP and Rajasthan-DPIP. Based on its successful implementation a User Manual has

been prepared with support of DFIDI and CARE India for its replication by agencies engaged at grass root level in povertyalleviation. The model has been presented at national and international seminars in USA, Philippines, Sri-Lanka and Thailand.

1.4 Limitations of the study

The information from villagers was collected using FGD approach and therefore primary data

collected from them may not exactly match with data available with government department.

Market related data has been collected from wholesalers and retailers in the wholesale and retail

markets by conducting personal interviews. Therefore, data may represent trends only but accuracy ofdata may not be entirely reliable.

Discrepancy has been noticed in various state level data available from various secondary sources. Self

judgement has been used while using the data from a particular source.


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Chapter 2: State Profile and Livelihood Issues

2.1 State profile

The Location: Tripura is located in the southwest North Eastern Region. The state is connected with

Guwahati, by National Highway (NH-44) thedistance between Guwahati and Agartala is about

587 Km. The distance of Agartala from Siliguri

(which is considered the entry point to the North

East) is about 1065 Km. Tripura shares 856 Km long

international border with Bangladesh, which is

about 84% of total border of the State.

Most of the important cities of Bangladesh

(including Dhaka) are within 150 km distance of the

towns in Tripura. The direct distance betweenAgartala (Tripura) and Kolkata (through

Bangladesh) is only about 350 km. The project for

extension of railway line up to Agartala is under

implementation. The state capital Agartala is

connected by Air to Kolkata and Guwahati.

Figure 2: Map of Tripura

The Land: Tripura is among the smaller State in the North Eastern Region, with a total area of about

10492 sq. km. only, out of which about 60% area is hilly and forested. The cultivated area is about 27%

only. The State gets fairly high annual rainfall of about 210 cm, well spread over the year.

The People: The State has a total population of about 31.91 lakhs (2001 census), which is the 2nd

highest in the North Eastern Region, after Assam. The average density of population is also fairly high, at

304 per Sq.km, particularly considering the fact that 60% of the area is sparsely populated being forested

and hilly. Hindu constitutes 85.6%, Muslim 8%, Christian 3.2%, Buddhists 3.1 and 0.1% of population.

Tribal constitutes 31% of total population and are spread throughout the state. There are around nineteen

tribal communities, Tripuri is the leading one that constitutes 55% of total tribal population. The other

tribal group includes Halam, Mog, Kuki, Noatia, Garo, Munda, Lushai, Oraon, Santhal, Uchai, Khasi, Bhil,

Chaimal, Lepcha and Bhutia. The overwhelming majority of the tribal people (97.4per cent) reside in rural

areas. The literacy rate in the State is 74%, which is much higher than national average and 2nd highest in

the North Eastern Region, after Mizoram. The State has a good social infrastructure in terms of

educational and health institutions. The main languages spoken in the State are Bangla, Hindi andEnglish.

The Economy: The State has good agro-climatic conditions, suitable for a large variety of

Agro/horticultural crops. Further, industrial development has also been picked up over the past few years.

In fact, during last about a decade, the state has recorded impressive growth rates. The annual average

growth rate of overall economy in real terms for Tripura during 2003-04 was 7.75% against national


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average of 5.70%. The sectoral share of industries sector in the GSDP during the period 1993-94 to 2003-

04 raised from 11% to 22.15%. The industries and service sector together contribute 74.74% in the GSDP

during 2003-04. The per capita income of the state rose from Rs. 5534 in 1993-94 and further to Rs.

20,357 in 2003-04. On the other hand, per capita income of India rose from Rs. 7690 in 1993-94 to Rs.

20,989 in 2003-04.

2.2 Key indicators for project districts

The table 1 below illustrates key development indicators for the Tripura state, west district and North

district and also presents a comparative picture.

Table 1 : key development indicators for the Tripura state, west district and North district

Indicator State West District North District

Population 31,99,203 15,32,982 5,90,913

Total area (ha) 1049169 299787 210755Forest land (ha) 629429 179872 160134

Literacy rate (2005) 80.14 83.81% 78.53

HDI 0.59 0.61 0.51

Education index 0.73 0.77 0.60

Health index 0.79 0.82 0.74

Income index 0.25 0.26 0.19

Number of cultivators 311690 114900 95000

Agriculture labours 278642 69000 36000

Number of SHGs 27010 11131 4506

Number of markets 566 238 112Source: economic survey 2008-09, NABARDs potential linked credit plans

2.3 Rural livelihood and poverty issues

(Source: Economic review 2008-09 and Human Development Report 2007)

The State has made commendable progress in terms of absolute levels of economic growth, its per

capita income is low and below the national average. The compound annual growth rate of NSDP (at

constant prices) was 5.2 per cent in the 1980s and 6.7 per cent in the 1990s. In 200102, the per

capita income of the State was Rs 18,759 (the Gross National Product or GNP per capita at factor cost

in current prices was Rs 20,047 the same year). The estimate for Tripura in the RBI report is a little

lower at Rs 17,459.

As per NER vision 2020 document the unemployment rate among youth in 15-29 years age group in

year 2004-05 is very high at 33% compared to 5.7% at the national level. This is due to low

marketable skills among them.

The Human Development Index (HDI) for Tripura for the year 2001 was 0.59. The achievements in

human development as measured by the HDI in Tripura correspond to the medium level of

achievement at the international level.


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The Planning Commission estimate of poverty in Tripura is 34.4 per cent. However, poverty estimates

by the Government of Tripura puts it at 55 per cent which is higher than the Planning Commission

estimates in 2001-02.

Agriculture remains important, although the contribution of the primary sector to SDP has declined

steadily, from 47 per cent in 1980 to 30 per cent in 2002. The share of the secondary sector was at

20% and the tertiary sector accounted for over 50 per cent of SDP. The state has high levels of unemployment, particularly among urban areas and among young men

and women. In 19992000, the usual status unemployment rate among young men in urban Tripura

was 21.9. In other words, more than one in five young men was unemployed and one in six young

women was unemployed.

In 200607, Tripura topped all States of India in respect of the person-days of employment generated

per household under NREGA. The generation of 87 days of employment per beneficiary household,

very close to the stated goal of 100 days in the Act, is an unprecedented achievement in the history of

social security in India (Dreze and Oldiges 2007).

While the economy of Tripura is still largely rural and agricultural (83 per cent of the population live

in rural areas and 30 per cent of the Net State Domestic Product, or NSDP, is from the primarysector), the land available for cultivation is relatively restricted at only 27 per cent of the geographical

area. Rice is Tripuras main crop: 91 per cent of the cropped area is sown to rice. Other important

crops are pulses, oilseeds, potato and jute and a variety of fruits, vegetables and spices, covering

around 73,000 hectares, are grown in the State.

The economy of Tripura is characterized by the near-absence of an industrial base, with

manufacturing accounting for less than 3 per cent of NSDP. As per third census, small scale industry

200102 Tripura accounts for only 7.7% registered and unregistered SSI units in the north east

region. The major industries in the State are based on natural gas and plantation crops, specifically,

rubber, tea and bamboo. There is also a traditional handloom and handicraft industry.

Agriculture in the State has the potential to develop but is constrained not just by the terrain but by alack of development of irrigation, limited use of modern inputs, and inadequate access to agricultural

extension and markets. There is tremendous potential for the expansion of horticulture and

plantation crops. Water bodies, including those within forests, can be utilized for fishery activities.

60 per cent of the geographical area in Tripura is under forests. More than 70 per cent of the forested

land is out of the control of the State administration (including the Autonomous District Council),

since its control is vested with the Central Government (through the Forest Conservation Act 1980).

The use and development of forest areas is particularly relevant to the creation of sustainable

livelihoods for the tribal peoples.

Tribal constitutes 31% of total population and are spread throughout the state. There are around

nineteen tribal communities. Tripuri is the leading one that constitutes 55% of total tribal population.

The first-ever census by the forest department in 2007 found 27,278 shifting cultivators families

(1,36,000 persons) or jhumiadependent on jhum cultivation as their primary source of livelihood.

This constitutes nearly 10% of tribal families in the state and is a matter of concern since jhum is a

high-risk system of cultivation and in the current circumstances (with reduced years of the jhum

cycle) cannot provide an adequate means of livelihood. However, it is still an important

supplementary income and inputs in the daily lives of tribal people and provide sometime difficult to


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quantify benefits from the collection of fruits, bamboo shoots and other edible produce, from fodder,

from construction material for houses, and from medicinal plants.

West Bengal and Tripura were the first two States in the country to implement the Joint Forest

Management (JFM) programme. As of 31 March 2007, a total of 472 JFM groups involving 44,882

families have been established. The majority of beneficiaries of JFM are tribal families.

2.4 Key livelihood trends

New employment opportunities will emerge in service sector: The contribution of tertiary

(service) sector in the SDP is increasing from 31% in 1960-61 to 55% in 2002-03. Therefore, in future

more employment opportunities will emerge in the service sectors such as transport, storage,

communication, retail, hotel, hospitality, health, tourism, finance, banking and insurance, and public

services. Most of the jobs would require low skilled staffs which poor can take up undergoing short

duration training courses.

Business corridors with Bangladesh will boost Tripuras rural economy: Governments

agenda of opening of three business corridors with Bangladesh (15 km road link between Agartala and

Dargah in Bangladesh, 75 km water link between Chittagong Port and Sabroom in Tripura and 12 km rail

link between Agartala and Akhaura) will boost outflow of agriculture and allied products to markets

within India and Bangladesh.

Communication and road connectivity will promote marketing activities: Penetration of

mobile and media in villages will spur economic activities by extending marketing information to the

small and marginal poor producers. Private mobile companies operate throughout the state. Road

connectivity till small villages will help in transportation of products/services from villages to markets in

towns and city. Broad gauge rail linkage will facilitate transport outside the state.

Small and marginal farmers will shift to cash crops:90% of farmers in the state belong to smalland marginal category due to land fragmentation; from 1.25 hectare per farmer to 0.6 hectare per farmer

in 1995. This has affected the cropping pattern in the state and there is an increasing trends towards cash

crops such as tea and rubber plantation and fishery culture. This would require creation of necessary

infrastructure such as cold storage chains, rural godowns, marketing infrastructures, setting up

processing units to boost up agriculture activities. Simultaneously, extending business development

services, financial inclusion, and technical support to farmers would be critical to ensure small and

marginal farmers benefit from cash crops.

Marketing infrastructure can help build rural entrepreneurship: A network of marketing

infrastructure (474 primary markets, 64 assembling wholesale markets, 21 regulated markets, 6

municipal market and 1 terminal market) exist in the state that could be used for enhancingentrepreneurship among the poor producers by undertaking market exposures and capacity building

initiatives.

APMC act will spur private sector investment in the state: Modification of APMC Act by state

government in 2007 offers huge opportunity for greater private sector participation especially the big

corporates. It has attracted several big corporate to enter the state and would promote ancillary units and

micro, small and medium size units in the state.


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Inclusive social agenda is critical to economy growth: Past experience shows that civil unrest

results into roads blockage and de-linkage with other states adversely impacting the livelihood of the

villagers. The prices of agriculture inputs and commodities shoot up making setting up of new enterprises

unviable. A conducive socio-economic environment will help poor to benefit from economy growth in the

state.


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Chapter 3: Livelihood Profile

The success and growth of poors livelihood depends on enabling environment in terms of support

services provided by government and private players, availability of basic infrastructure facilities, training

and skills promotion facilities, marketing information and infrastructure, private sector participation,

promotion of micro, small, and medium enterprises, supportive legal and policy framework, and overallentrepreneurial environment. At an individual level viability of a livelihood is influenced by

entrepreneurial attitude of the community, organization and management practices and decisions related

to input sourcing, adoption of package of practices, technology, market access, access to finance, and

access to government support for the sustainability of livelihoods.

The following section presents findings from the field survey for existing infrastructure and support

services used by villagers, markets availability and linkages, existing livelihoods pursued by villagers, and

livelihoods pursued by SHGs.

3.1 Existing infrastructure and support services

The table 2 below captures the existing infrastructure available in villages and support services accessed

by villagers.

Table 2: Availability of infrastructures and support services

Infrastructure and

support services

Availability within

village (%)

Availability in

nearby location (%)

Distance travelled

to access services

(in km)

Road 100 - -

Electricity 100 - -

Telephone 100 - -Transport 100 - -

Drinking water 100 - -

School building 90 10 2-5

Post office 80 20 2-12

Community building 80 20 -

Rice mill 80 20 2-4

Weekly market (Haat) 70 30 2-4

Irrigation (Dug wells) 60 - -

Veterinary services 60 40 2-12

Market yard 20 80 2-10Nursery 20 80 2-12

Skill training centre 20 80 2-12

Bank 10 90 2-12

Oil expeller 10 90 6-12

Cold storage 0 100 2-55

Source: Field survey


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Basic infrastructure such as road, transport, electricity, drinking water is available in all surveyed

villages. This makes it possible to promote marketing activities and also setting up electricity based

processing units.

Most of the services are located at nearby block or sub divisions such as Sonapura, Bishalgarh,

Rabindranagar, Kathalia and Agartala in West district and at Kumarghat, Dharamnagar and

Panisagar in North district and are easily accessible to villagers. Due to availability of good roads and transport facility farmers find it convenient to sell directly to

wholesalers located in nearby block and sub divisions.

Telephone and mobile phone facility is available in all villages. This helps progressive farmers in

accessing marketing information and taking right decisions for selling of produce.

Availability of schools in most villages has ensured high literacy levels in the state. Weekly markets

are present in most villages and help poor farmers sell small volumes directly to consumers realizing

better prices.

Availability of electricity has ensured that rice mills are present in most villages and oil expeller units

have also come in few villages. It helps ensuring value addition taking place at the village level and

accruing higher prices to villagers. Veterinary services are available in many villages through veterinary department however their timely

availability is a constraint making villagers to try traditional practices first. Veterinary services are

curative in nature leading to low adoption of standard practices among villagers.

Skill training centre for stitching and weaving are present in big villages. Though banks have limited

local presence MFI such as Bandhan extend small loans to villagers for consumption as well as small

business activities.

Cold storages are located at Melaghar and Agartala in West district and Kumarghat in North district.

Due to long distances involved small and marginal farmers dont find it viable to stock horticulture

produce in cold storage and they tend to sell the produce immediately after the harvest resulting in

distress sales. Setting up new cold storages after doing feasibility study will help farmers in stockingthe produce and realize better prices.

Box 2: c ase study of cold storage and transport service provider

Bhuturia Brothers Limited Cold Storage, Agartala

It is a private party run cold storage established in 1949. Total capacity of cold storage for Potato is 2000 MT per season and for fruits it is10,000 bags. Mainly 4 to 6 agriculture items are kept in the cold storage that includes apple, mussambir, Grapes, Badana. While potato ischarged on season basis other items are charged on monthly basis. Charge for potato is Rs. 100 per quintal per season, for apple per bagis Rs 13-14 per bag, mosambiis Rs. 15 per bag, grapes is Rs 8-10 per bag, and pomegranate is Rs 10- 12 per bag. Pineapple and tomatois not kept in cold storage as these items damage other items. Labour charge for loading and unloading is borne by the wholesalers andretailers. Its head office is located at Kolkata. There are 6 staffs and 2 security staff to manage the cold storage. Staff is paid Rs 2000 toRs 4000 and free accommodation facility. Monthly salary to each security staff is Rs 2800 per month.

Paul Road Ways Transport service, Agartala

It has been operating for over 15 years. It has four wheelers (3-4MT), six wheelers (8.5 MT to 9MT) and 10 wheelers transport facility. Itgets order for transporting mainly potato, onion and other vegetables. It carries potato from Guwahati (Beltala Godown) to Agartala andvegetables from Guwahati and Shillong to Agartala. Distance from Guwahati to Agartala is nearly 600 km and Shillong to Agartala it is 450km. 5 to 10 trucks come daily from Guwahati and Shillong. The transport cost from Guwahati to Agartala by a ten wheeler truck is Rs28000 to Rs 30000 and Rs 13000 to Rs 15000 by a four wheeler mini truck. Packaging is done by the party that places the order. Whilecabbage is transported in loose, tomato in wooden box of 27-28 kg each, cauliflower in 30-35 kg bag and potato in 50kg bag. Labourcharge for loading is Rs 4 per quintal and for unloading it is Rs 4 per quintal.


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3.2 Markets accessed by villagers

The table 3 below illustrates various types of market facilities accessed by villagers, number of villages

catered by these markets and products available in these markets.

Table 3: Types of market facilities

Types of facilities Availability

in villages

(%)

Number

per village

Products availability

Within village

Permanent shops in the

village

100 5-110 Grocery items, tailor, electrical, rice

mill, hardware, stationeries, cement,

chemist, cloth, and tea stall

Temporary shops in the

village

30 20-100 Fish, vegetables, meat, betel, snacks,

tea stall

Vendors of the same village 20 10-18 Fish, dry fish, vegetables, pig, goat

Vendors coming to village

per day

80 2-15 Milk, cloth/garment, cosmetics,

stationeries, toy, snacks, meat, fish

Outside village

Weekly markets 70 1 Agriculture produce and livestock

Wholesale markets Agartala and

sub divisions

- All households commodities,

agriculture and livestock

Source: field survey

Permanent shops are available in all villages; more number in villages located away from a town

market place. Temporary shops exist in few villages where farmers sell in local haats and seasonal

shops also come up during the harvest season. Vendors from nearby villages visit most villages and sell variety of consumable items. Traders also

visit from near places and procure vegetables and livestock from haats and villages.

Weekly markets exist in most villages which have been set up with government support. These

markets have cemented platform and sheds making it convenient to run them throughout the year.

Wholesalers for agriculture produces and livestock are located at blocks, sub divisions and Agartala.

Wholesalers at Agartala procure products from within and outside the state and in turn sell to

wholesalers and local retailers. Villagers also sell agriculture produce and livestock products directly

to wholesalers. Most of the wholesalers we met during the study have been in business for over 20

years and pass on the trading skills to next generations. Some wholesalers also act as commission

agents and charge 6-7% commissions from farmers by linking them with wholesalers. In West District, Agartala is the major market accessed by villagers for sourcing of inputs, households

commodities and selling of agriculture and livestock based produce. In North District, Dharamnagar

and Silcher (Assam) are such major markets.


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3.3 Livelihood profile

The livelihoods pursued by rural community can be divided into three major categories; land-based

livelihoods, livestock based and non-farm based. Majority of the community is found to be engaged in

livestock rearing (85%) followed by agriculture (68%) and non-farm activities (46%).

Under livestock based livelihoods, majority of villagers are engaged in poultry, piggery, fish culture, goat

rearing, and cow rearing mainly as a supplementary source of income. Pig rearing is popular among tribal

population. Broiler (poultry) and fish culture was found to be primary source of income for many

households. Though fish culture has picked up in last few years but state demand is still met from fish

coming from Bangladesh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.

Under agriculture, majority of villagers are engaged in paddy production where area under production is

highest. The other prominent agriculture activities include vegetable cultivation, potato cultivation and

arecanut plantation. Few are engaged in cash crops such as fruit cultivation (pineapple, water melon,

jackfruit, litchi), rubber plantation, and tea garden. Pulses production has also gain attention in last few

years.

Under non-farm based livelihoods, villagers are engaged in number of skilled and un-skilled livelihoods

and prominent among them are agriculture labour, government jobs, drivers, insurance agents and petty

businesses.

The following section analyses the three categories of livelihoods pursued by the rural community in

surveyed villages.

3.3.1 Land based livelihoods

3.3.1.1 Landholdings

The table 4 below illustrates class of landholdings, percentage of operation land holding, average size of

land holding and the area operated.

Table 4: Classification of landholdings

S.No Class of landholding Number of operation landholding

Average size ofland holding (ha)

Area operated(%)

1 Marginal(


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It is found that around 68% of rural households possess agriculture land and 32% households are

landless. Majority of the farmers possess land patta and several of them have encroached upon the

common land.

3.3.1.2 Major crops

The table 5 illustrates major crops grown in villages and percentage of households growing these crops.

Table 5: Major crops in villages

Major crops Availability in

percentage of villages

Percentage of households

involved

Paddy 100 31

Vegetables (except potato) 90 24

Potato 90 15

Areca-nut 60 20

Pulses 50 1

Pineapple 50 8

Rubber plantation 40 2

Fruits (except pineapple) 30 5


Note: during the survey it was decided that potato and pineapple are important crops from the point of

view of small and marginal farmers therefore information related to these two crops is collected and

represented separately.

Paddy cultivation is the main crop in the surveyed area which is done in all the villages.

Summer and winter vegetables and potato cultivation is done as cash crop in almost all villages by

farmers who are willing to take some risk for higher gains. The major vegetables produced are brinjal,

chili, tomato, lady finger, cabbage, peas, pumpkin and cauliflower.

Areca-nut is grown mainly as a homestead crop. Pulses (moong, blackgram and tuar) production has

picked in last few years after the focus by the agriculture department.

The major fruits grown in the state are mango, orange, pineapple, jackfruit, litchi and banana.

Horticulture department has promoted several crops such as cashew nuts and floriculture however

small and marginal farmers would find it difficult to manage these activities successfully without

proper handholding and marketing support.

Potential for improving horticulture productivity (source: horticulture department)

Tripura is the highest fruit producing state among North East states. However, productivity of Tripura is below the

national average. Against 20MT/hectare national average of productivity Tripura produces 15.7 MT/hectare. The national

average of productivity of pineapple is 27MT/hectare as against state productivity of 18.15 MT/ha. This is due to

traditional practices followed by the famers. The horticulture department has set a target of improving productivity to

44000 plants per hectare from current level of 20000 plants per hectare. Similarly, for mango currently 50 plants are

grown in one hectare that can be scaled to 400 plants per hectare.


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The local people have traditional skills for growing horticulture crops in the state. There is a plenty of

scope to upgrade skills of the growers to make this activity more profitable by enhancing crop

productivities through introduction of new technologies, proper application of fertilizers, use of micro

irrigation techniques, better maintenance of fruit gardens, and high density plantations. In case of

pineapple 20000 plants are grown in one hectare of land that can be scaled up to 44000 plants per

hectare. It is observed that in last few years few small farmers have shifted from paddy cultivation to rubber

cultivation due to higher and assured returns. However, not many farmers are able to do so as

engagement in cash crops such as rubber plantation, pulses, vegetables and fruits require acquiring

new skills, higher inputs costs, more engagement with market players which poor farmers find it

difficult to do in absence of any handholding and marketing support mechanism.

3.3.1.3 Seasonality

The table 6 below captures the seasonality of major crops grown in villages in terms of production,

marketing and production and marketing season

Table 6: Seasonality of major crops grown

Major crops Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb

Paddy P2 PM2 PM2 P1 P1 P1 PM1 PM1 P2 P2

Pulses PM2 PM2 P1 P1 PM1 PM1 P2 P2

Areca-nut P P P P P P P PM PM PM PM P

Potato PM PM P P P PM

Vegetables PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM

Pineapple P P P PM PM PM P P P P P P

Fruits PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM

Rubber

plantation

PM PM PM PM P P P P PM PM PM PM

P- Production, M - Marketing, PM production and marketing Source: field survey

It is observed that agriculture activity is done throughout the year. The intensity of engagement and

area under coverage is higher during the kharif season as many small and marginal dont have

irrigation facilities.

Paddy is grown twice a year. The first season is January to May which requires irrigation facility and

the second season is July to November which is monsoon dependent. It was observed that majority of

farmers takes only one crop during the monsoon season and few farmers having irrigation facility

takes two to three crops a year.

Vegetables are grown during the summer and winter season. Production period for vegetables last for

three to four months.

Arecanut and jackfruit is mainly grown as a homestead crop. Though the gestation period for

arecanut, jackfruit, and rubber plantation is several years from 4 to 6 years but once the tree matures

it gives production every year for several years. Project can promote long gestation crops as

supplementary source of income but provides regular incomes for several years.


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3.3.1.4 Farming practices

The following section captures farming practices in terms of inputs sourcing, agriculture practices and

technology used, market access, access to finance and government services. It has been observed that

farmer practices depends of several factors such as entrepreneurial attitude, size of land holding, plain or

sloppy land, availability of irrigation facility, access to government schemes, adoption of technology andpackage of practices, and linkage with market players. It has been observed that even a landless villager

with entrepreneurial attitude takes land on lease basis, grow cash crops by adopting better practices and

earn higher income compared to a small farmer who owns land but grow paddy mainly for own

consumption.

Story of Kanulal Das, a typical landless farmer in Tripura

Kanulal Das is 45 year old, 7thstandard pass and belongs to BPL family. His wife is 35 year old and is also 7 thstandard pass.He has two children; elder one is a 15 year old daughter and she studies in 9 thstandard and son is 14 year old and studies in8thstandard.

Livelihood profile

Kanulal is landless but has been doing agriculture for past 10 years during September to January every year. He takes 1 kani(0.4 acre) of land on lease every year from a local farmer and grows vegetables such as cucumber, radish, green chili andpotato on rotation basis which have good local demand. He uses power tiller on hire basis for land preparation as it saves timeand labour. Five years back he participated in 3-day training programme by agriculture department at Bishalgarh sub-divisionand found that the practices suggested there didnt give him desired yield. Therefore, ove r the years he has made certainmodifications in the package of practices. Though he didnt feel the training useful but unlike farmers who have not received anytraining he remembers hands on various inputs by their names and quantity to be applied in the field! He does all agricultureoperations by himself with family support and doesnt hire labours. Except seeds, which he procures from Agartala wholesalemarket to ensure its genuine, he procures other inputs locally. In case of a pest attack he prefers to take advice from a localretailer from whom he purchases pesticide. It was observed that he was aware of new potato variety promoted by horticulturedepartment that requires 50% less input cost and gives higher productivity. Vegetable provides him nutritional requirement forsix month as he keeps a small portion for self consumption and sells the remaining quantity in the market. He sells vegetables

to wholesalers at Agratala, which is around 35 km away and uses an auto to take the produce there. Last year he earned a netincome of Rs 35000 of which he shared 50% with the land owner.

Activity Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb

Vegetables

Radish P HM

Chili P P HM

Cucumber P P HM

Potato P P HM

NREGS labour 100 days

Fishing labour 30 Days

P stands for production, HM for harvesting and marketing

Last year he worked for 100 days under NREGS and earned Rs 10000 income. He also gets yearly employment for 30 days

with the village from village fish farmers who hire his services for pond operations, catching fishing and selling at wholesale

market for which he earns Rs 100 per day. For selling fish at Agartala wholesale market he earns Rs 20 per visit and food

expenses. His total income from all sources is roughly Rs 30000 per year.

Family expenses

His yearly household expenditure comes to Rs 21000. His monthly requirement for rice is 50kg per month. He gets 35kg of rice

from government store and procures remaining quantity from the open market retailers. His involvement in multiple activities

ensures that he meets family expenditure and even saves a small amount for unforeseen urgencies.


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3.3.1.4.1 Input sourcing

Farmers procure agriculture inputs such as seeds, fertilizer, pesticides/weedicides, and equipment/tools

from nearby towns. Seeds and fertilizers are available from government department however regular

supply of fertilizer is a major constraint which shoots up its market price. Other inputs are available from

open markets as well. Farmers dont stock inputs and purchase them on as -and-when-required basis,

mostly in cash. Short supplies of chemical fertilizers coupled with individual purchases of small quantities

make farmers to spend two to three times of the actual price. For example, the actual price for 1kg of urea

is around Rs 5.50 but farmers pay Rs 6 to Rs 10 per kg. Farmers also receive inputs on credits and repay

the amount after the harvest. In such cases retailers charge higher rates for inputs. Purchasing of inputs

collectively by building partnerships with wholesalers well before the production season can help farmers

access inputs at lower rates.

3.3.1.4.2 Agriculture practices and technology used

Majority of farmers use home grown seeds but use of certified and hybrid seed has picked in last fewyears. Power tiller, because of its affordability, has picked up in villages for land preparation as it saves

labour cost and time. A number of entrepreneurs have come up in villages that own power tillers and

provide the facility to farmers at Rs 150 per hour. There are variations in the package of practices followed

by farmers resulting in variations in investment cost, productivity and profitability (refer table below) due

to low adoption of practices promoted by government department resulting from limited extension

services in villages. Farmers consult local retailers in case of a pest attack. The one-time training inputs

are not sufficient to change the old practices of farmers which is the main reason for low productivity for

all major crops. For example, paddy yield varies from 5 quintal to 11 quintal per kani(0.4 acre), for chili it

varies from 2 quintal to 4 quintal per kaniand similarly for potato it varies from 16 quintal to 35 quintal

per kani. Even within the village there exists such large variation in productivities. Except cleaning, there

is hardly any value addition such as sorting and grading, proper drying and processing done by farmers.

Some entrepreneurs run processing units for rice preparation and oil expeller in some villages and earn

higher income compared to farmers who sell raw produce. For example, 0.4 acre (1 kani) of land gives 750

kg paddy that after processing gives 450 kg of rice and is sold at Rs 18-20 per kg where as paddy is sold at

Rs 800 to 1000 per quintal. Similarly, one tree of areca-nut roughly gives 300 nuts (raw) and sold for Rs

120 to Rs 130. After drying 300 nuts becomes roughly 2 kg and is sold at twice the amount at Rs 250.

Continue

Issues and concerns

Kanulal achieves low productivity due to improper package of practices adopted, higher input costs, lack of awareness on

latest appropriate technologies, higher marketing overheads due to individual procurement of inputs and selling of produce.

Any uncertainly on government support to NREGS and fish promotion in the state will have an adverse impact on his familyincome. Kanulal can benefit by tying up with other fellow farmers for procuring inputs to optimize costs and selling collectively

to gain higher incomes. Capacity building support and exposure visits to successful farmers in the local area can help him

adopt better package of practices.


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Table 7: Practices adopted by farmers

Farmer practices Farmer 1 Farmer 2 Farmer 3

Location West District West District North District

Household members 8 6 4

Total landholding 0.6 acre 2.8 acre 0.6 acreLand ownership Leased Self Self

Land used for potato

cultivation

0.4 acre 0.4 acre 0.4 acre

Engagement in activity November January November January November January

Daily involvement 2 hours 2 hours 2 hours

Sourcing of seed Private Agriculture office Agriculture office

Use of organic manure No Yes Yes

Application of chemical

fertilizers

Yes Yes Yes

Inputs cost (Rs) 18190 14970 21750Production (Kg) 3200 2400 3500

Selling to Sub division

wholesaler

Sub division

wholesaler

Consumer

(Weekly haat)

Price received (Rs) 12 8 10

Net income 19490 4230 13250

Profitability 103% 28% 61%


Farmers who track market prices and sell directly to wholesale markets and consumers in haats get higher

prices compared to farmers who sell immediately after the harvest. Training on improved farming

practices through series of exposures, interactions with best practitioners and use of certified seeds canhelp crop productivities. A simple value additions in terms of proper drying, sorting and grading can help

farmers realize higher incomes.

3.3.1.4.3 Access to finance

Money lenders are the traditional source of financer to rural community and they charge 5-10% per

month. Micro finance agencies such as RGVN, Bandhan and Basix operate in the state and provide loan

facility to villagers in the range of Rs 5000 to Rs 20000 for consumption and income generation

activities. Bandhan was found to be operating in rural area. The effective rate of interest to farmers comes

to 30% per annum though the flat rate is just 10-15%. Villagers repay the loan on weekly basis. SHGs

promoted by DRDA also extend loan to its members for both consumption and business purposes

however these are small loans that dont meet business needs of the economic activity. DRDA extends

SGSY schemes to poor to start various income generating activities that includes bank loan and subsidy

component. In absence of proper handholding and marketing support SHGs find it difficult to manage the

activity successfully and therefore find difficulties in timely repayment of bank loan.


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3.3.1.4.4. Market access

The table 8 below captures marketable surplus available after consumption fo major crops grown locally.

Table 8: Marketable surplus for major crops

Major crops Volume consumed in village (%) Marketable surplus quantity pervillage (%)

Paddy 74 26

Arecanut 44 56

Pulses 39 61

Potato 20 80

Fruits 18 82

Vegetables 4 96

Tea plantation 3 97

Pineapple 1 99

Rubber plantation 0 100Source: field survey

Except paddy, other major crops are sold by the farmers. Paddy is grown mainly for self consumption

purpose however small and marginal farmers also sell small quantities immediately after the harvest for

cash requirement and are compelled to purchase it back from open market to meet family requirement. A

small percentage of vegetables, fruits, pulses and areca-nut is consumed in villages and excess marketable

quantity is sold. The state is a net importer for pulses, vegetables, potato and paddy. The excess

marketable quantity of rubber, tea and pineapple goes outside the state while other products are

consumed within the state only.

Table 9: selling system of major crops

Major crops Selling system (% of produce) Sale price

Within village Traders Haat (Rs per quintal)

Paddy 4 80 15 800-1000

Arecanut - 20 80 6000-9000

Pulses - 100 - 3000-5000

Potato 5 95 - 700-1300

Fruits - 100 - 2000-3000

Vegetables 3 82 15 1000-3000

Pineapple 2 98 - 3-5 per piece

Rubber plantation - 100 - 14000-16000


Farmers sell the agriculture produce to traders within village, nearby block or sub divisions markets and

at Agartala wholesale markets. Farmers also the produce directly to consumers in local haats (weekly

markets) and villagers. The price of agriculture produce varies on daily basis and depends on supply and

demand pattern. The above table shows wide variations in prices received by farmers and it depends on

timing and place of sale. The prices are generally low immediately after the harvest. Creation of proper

storage facilities in villages and understanding of demand pattern can help farmers realize better prices.


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3.3.2 Livestock based livelihoods

3.3.2.1 Major livestock

The table 10 below illustrates major livestock activities pursued by villagers and percentage of households

engaged in them.Table 10: Major livestock activities

Livestock Availability in

percentage of villages

Percentage of households

involved

Fishery 100 12

Poultry 100 22

Cow rearing 90 18

Goatery 70 25

Piggery 30 3

Source: Field survey

It is found that livestock rearing is done in all villages in the state. Piggery, poultry and goatery aredone as subsidiary activity on a small scale only.

Fishery is being promoted in all villages with government support. It is being done on individual basis

as well as on group basis promoted by the DRDA under SGSY scheme. Similarly backyard poultry is

done in all villages where farmer keeps upto 10 birds. Some progressive farmers in most villages have

started broiler units as well and they rear 400 to 500 birds.

Cow rearing is also done in almost all villages and villagers keep 1-2 local cows only. Similarly goat

rearing is also done in majority of villages and some families are engaged exclusively in goat trading.

Piggery is done in few villages and is popular among tribal community.

3.3.2.2 Seasonality

The table 11 below captures the seasonality of major livestock activities pursued in villages in terms of

production and marketing season.

Table 11: Seasonality of major livestock activities

Livestock Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb

Fish culture P P P P P P P P P P P P

M M M M M M M M M M M M

Rising poultry demand in the state

The state meat market is 50% broiler, 30% pork, 8% goat and remaining for others. Broiler has picked in last decade in the

state as it is cheaper alternate to local poultry birds, goat and pork. There are nearly 2500 broiler units in the state. Each unit

keep 500-20000 birds and a total of 8 lacs birds are produced every year. Live weight of 1.5 to 1.7 kg after dressing is achieved

in 30-35 days of production cycle. 30% wastage is there after dressing. Market rate is Rs 140 per kg in Agartala and it would be

Rs 125 to Rs 130 per kg in Kailashar. There is one broiler association in the state that regulates the price of bird. In Agartala,

50% supply comes from the West district and the other 50% supply come from the remaining three districts.


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Piggery P P P P P P P P P P P P


Goatery P P P P P P P P P P P P


Poultry P P P P P P P P P P P P


Cow rearing P P P P P P P P P P P P


P- Production, M Marketing Source: field survey

All livestock are reared throughout the year. Marketing is also done throughout the year. All livestock

activities can be started in any season during the year.

Fish culture is mainly rainfed as 40% water bodies in the state are non-perennial. There are two types

of water bodies- open water bodies include river, lake where fishery department leaves fingerlings

that help poor in fishing activity; and other category include tank and pond that is used for fish

culture. As per fishery department presently the state has 157688 water bodies for pisciculture with

total area of 20521.07 ha and offers scope for its promotion in the state. The broiler unit has a production cycle of 35 days. A cow gives milk for 6-7 months only in a year and

therefore a minimum of two cows can be promoted per family to provide regular income.

3.3.2.3 Livestock practices

The following section captures farmer practices in terms inputs sourcing, livestock practices and

technology used, market access, access to finance and access to government services. It has been observed

that livestock practices depends of several factors such as entrepreneurial attitude, availability of land,

availability of fodder, government support, adoption of better animal rearing and management practices,

and linkage with market players.

3.3.2.3.1 Input sourcing

Except for fish culture, inputs for other livestock mainly fodder is available within the village itself as

byproduct of agriculture produce and wastages from the households. Fish farmers procure fingerlings

from local markets and government hatcheries. Inputs such as mustard oil cake, quick lime and fertilizers

are available from open market and government stores. Inputs costs are high in the state compared of

other parts of India and these inputs come from outside the state and include high transportation cost.

Inputs are sometimes available on credit without interest and farmers repay it after the harvesting.

3.3.2.3.2. Production practices and technology used

Most families keep local varieties of livestock and follow traditional rearing methods and these are mainly

supplementary source of income to the family. There is low adoption of standard package of practices

suggested by the government department due to limited extension services. Some progressive farmers has

started rearing improved varieties of livestock such as Jersey cow, broiler units, and cross bred pigs that

motivates fellow farmers . Fish farmers have learnt latest practices at model fish farms promoted by the


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fishery department. Livestock rearing is less intensive activity and is managed by the farmer itself.

Whereas male members are engaged in procurement of inputs, production and marketing, women and

sometimes grown up children are involved in production activity. Fish farmers employ local villagers to

manage pond op

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Final Livelihood Study Report of Tripura

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