Women led Climate Resilient Farming WCRF

Prema Gopalan is the Founder and Executive Director of Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP) India. Prema’s belief is that resource-poor communities can be revitalized if the true potential of grassroots women entrepreneurs is realized and resourced.

Prema was a researcher when she took a leap of faith to lead the post earthquake reconstruction with the government. Under her leadership, women’s collectives were repositioned as entrepreneurs and changemakers in local development. The scaled approach is impacting 180,000 women, 5.5 million people across 7 climate-risk states in India. Their earnings tripled, recognized as decisionmakers locally with better health, nutrition and basic services.

Prema is Schwab Outstanding Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 (World Economic Forum), UNDP's Equator Prize (2017), Ashoka Globalizer (https://www.ashoka.org/en-in/fellow/prema-gopalan), Synergos, and Womanity Foundation Fellow. A relentless advocate and Advisor to Huairou Commission a global Coalition, Prema strongly roots for women’s leadership in building resilience in disasters and climate-hit communities. 

WCRF project repositions rural women, viewed as mere labor, as agriculture decision-makers and knowledge holders. Rural women have low confidence due to low access to education and skills, rights, resources, markets and technology. These multiple vulnerabilities are deepened by recurring climate crises, further reducing their participation in local development, impacting their lives.

Despite limited opportunities, women create savings groups and networks to find local inclusive solutions. WCRF advances sustainable climate-risk responsive sustainable agricultural systems led by women hitherto marginalized, placing them at the center of development.  It helps women diversify livelihoods; improve health nutrition wellbeing and participation in local governance and markets.

As a result, women, gain rights over land, recreate sustainable food systems, build a resilient shield by embracing community leadership protect water and natural resources and lead climate change and development processes. 

https://www.equatorinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Swayam-Shikshan-Prayog-SSP.pdf

In agriculture, women are considered as mere labour and not as farmers even on family farms, with no rights to land, training, resources. Due to structured cultural biases, rural women have lower access to education, rights, credit, markets and technology, and face restrictive social norms. In developing countries, 43% laborers in agriculture are women (FAO), but in India, 79% rural women are engaged in agriculture – and barely 13% own agricultural land. In water-scarce region where WCRF is operational, farmers grow water-guzzling cash-crops, leading to high climate risk, debt and food insecurity. Absence of diversified livelihoods reduces economic resilience and increasing inequality and risks on health and well-being.

Diverse factors impact women being recognized as farmers and economically productive citizens. Addressing this, WCRF builds women’s agency, capacities to contribute as farmers, decision makers in markets and in local governments. https://swayamshikshanprayog.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Gender-Water-Agriculture-Report_Final.-Feb-19.pdf

Underlying structural issues of inclusion, access and control of women over productive resources and participation in governance are key factors in the vision and design. This global vision enables SSP to strengthen climate resilience and gender justice while working with rural poor women’s collectives as partners.

WCRF positions women agri-innovators & decision makers. Women use their innate wisdom and skills, and are trained to decide on climate-sensitive sustainable practices, farm-allied activities, and engagement with diverse stakeholders. It brings four key shifts in farm practices- from 1. Cash crops to food crops 2. chemical to bio inputs, 3. Conservation of soil and water 4. Diversi­fied livelihoods through farm-allied businesses

Women systematically gain cultiva­tion rights from families. WCRF promotes growing multiple food crops with a 6-step natu­ral inputs package.

https://www.livelihoods-india.org/uploads-livelihoodsasia/subsection_data/fighting-drought-and-improving-food-security-in-maharashtra-a-women-led-climate-resilient-farming-initiative-by-anwesha-tewary-and-anjali-verma.pdf

Women are trained to increase productivity using indigenous seeds and inputs with short-du­ration crops suiting wa­ter-stressed climate. The program is managed and sustained by local women farmers de­veloped into adoption-ready social capital – as Trainers.  

A three-stage operation process enables women farmers to participate in and lead community and government platforms, and influence decisions on community resources and practices. 1. Build ecosystem of women farmers, key partners and farmer adopters; develop food systems prototype of demonstration farms; 2. Empower core ecosystem actors, adopter farmers, as dynam­ic producer collectives. Women farmers are mentored as local agri-experts; 3. Sustain farmer groups with market operations supported by government schemes for agricultural enterprises. 

WCRF’s multiple strategies support, train, and mentor women farmers and entrepreneurs. They engage men as stakeholders like duty-bearers, elected representatives, frontline workers, administrators and market players. Cross-sectional vulnerabilities due to geography in low-resource rural areas with poor infrastructure with core focus in climate-change affected regions in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Bihar, Assam, and Odisha. WCRF is committed to serve women from small marginal farming households with land; landless households; mothers, women-headed households and girls belonging to socially excluded groups.

Building collective local leadership is core strategy, and needs and aspirations of groups facing multiple exclusions require diverse, culturally appropriate communication and local planning. This complex process, evolved by local leader cadre, was to build solidarity networks and plan with each household who do on-boarding, handholding and mentoring. Champions from each 20-member group in every village are points-of-contact with Trainers at cluster of 20 villages to build linkages with the government. 

https://www.thebetterindia.com/218547/prema-gopalan-rural-women-empowerment-maharashtra-organic-farming-entrepreneurs-womens-day-say143/

Climate change adversely impacts small marginal farmers and among them women. SSP builds awareness among communities, markets and governance systems, and drives local action to address this universal challenge. SSP recognizes the resilience and potential of women in climate-risk zones to lead transformative change. Read more at https://bit.ly/2AXxL1A

Leveraging the enabling policy environment, SSP advocates on connectivity between empowerment of women and food and income security, leading to wider positive behaviour-change of farming households towards women’s leadership, environmentally-friendly farming practices, and nutritional choices. These approaches are universally applicable, helping build more sustainable inclusive social and economic system.     

The region where WCRF project was started suffered five-year consecutive droughts between 2012 and 2016, rendering agriculture unviable for small and marginal farmers. In order to extract more profit with diminishing resources, male farmers decided to grow high chemical input crops resulting in loss of income and reduced soil fertility. Leveraging insights gained from organized women’s groups, SSP began re-visioning an agriculture model for climate resilience led by women farmers in India, as well as being globally adaptable in climate-risk communities.

Operational challenges led SSP to focus on women in climate risk regions being organized, empowered in collectives, with diverse source of incomes.

The World Bank, Community-Led partnerships for resilience, 2015 is available online at https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/35795. It identified strategies for increasing knowledge and skills of women in agriculture, and effective recognition of women’s leadership by governance systems and in markets. Leveraging inclusive but unevenly implemented government policies, SSP created large-scale programs.

SSP built a network of rural entrepreneurs, known as Sakhis (friend), and social enterprises to provide agri-business skills, financial services and marketing opportunities. By systematically training women leaders, SSP formalized this innovative approach for women farmers, repositioning them as problem solvers and agents of change across sectors.

My connect with rural women grew from looking at their resilience in repeated disasters. The close association was translated into intensive women centered efforts experiencing severe climate breakdowns. It made me believe that can play a role as facilitators, to bring governments and grassroots women together to affect sustainable change. I feel motivated to make this connection and influence work at both national and grassroots levels by bringing policymakers and duty bearers to the villages to see initiatives in action and develop personal ownership and connection. I also want to engage grassroots women leaders in direct dialogues with policy makers, so they understand the challenges women face, and able to support the collective power of their work.

Education, technical knowledge, markets are not women-friendly. Our experience with women leaders shows that when women have secure rights to land, they use their resource sustainably. I feel passionately about women farmers and their potential to the world’s best climate change leaders. They respect and care for nature and are passionate about building a resilient future. Women’s entrepreneurial spirit, and inclusive leadership has hardly been allowed to flourish, and I am committed to contribute towards nurturing these untapped opportunities for doing good.

SSP has developed a cohesive professional team and a network of women leaders and entrepreneurs who have built resilient communities. My own experience as a social researcher made me develop an institutional framework that combines community empowerment with social enterprise.

The challenges faced by small farmers and women in climate-hit regions have hitherto been neglected, and our experience provided opportunities to operationalize diverse innovative local solutions and develop leadership for 2000 women changemakers in seven states of India. The trained team and agile organizational systems are constantly evolving, and management of data and impact measurement is now providing evidence for advocacy with policymakers and market players. SSP has an ability to analyse and learn, and constantly evolves its understanding about alternate rural markets, and would build initiatives jointly with women leaders, government and private sector.   

SSP’s learnings provide deep understanding of climate change and multiple ways in which it impacts vulnerable communities.  SSP brings together community platforms, collective networks, goodwill of donors and governments, taking rural women’s priorities into mainstream of agriculture, enterprise and governance. With Local Action at the center, SSP has sensitive strategies backed by community of experts and practitioners to address food security, climate change, sustainable agriculture, and economic resilience. 

Persistent lack of recognition for women’s work in agriculture by their families and policy makers does not allow women to access  resources, leading to extreme vulnerability to climate change. Women leaders trained by SSP become dejected, lapsing into traditional gender roles, unable to use the climate responsive technology. A particularly severe drought in 2014-15, led to intensive reflective process to understand the social barriers, beyond the technological approach. Early adopters agreed to give small pieces of land for women to prototype food farming. This phase, over three harvest cycles, was critical to demonstrate women’s role in agriculture and build evidence on productivity of resilient farming. Despite several setbacks, number of farmers increased from zero to 70,000 covering over 60,000 acres of land, lowered input costs from INR 35000 (500 USD) to only INR 7000 (100 USD). Their ability to bear risks began to change family and local attitudes towards women as farmers, on the basis of which SSP has been able to expand its position as an innovative change maker for women led climate resilient farming. 

In India, women were considered as caretakers, subordinate to men both by their families and duty bearers. Seeing the relentless challenges they face from a gendered lens, we realized that it was not enough to promote climate resilient farming. Specific interventions were required have women recognized as earners - decision makers within their families. We had to build up a cadre of women mentors, to engage with their families, involve community leaders, and provide a safe environment for women to take on new public roles.

Time and again team had to return to the grassroots network for inputs, reflections and analysis of the challenges. Women were hesitant in engaging with men in positions of power, particularly in government. It was by strengthening women’s collective negotiation skills and forming partnerships with government system that these challenges were addressed.

SSP formalized this as its core process, called Women’s Initiative to Learn and Lead (WILL) in 2018. Women farmers are becoming adept in addressing risks and developing innovations related to all sectors, confident in their own abilities and results achieved. They have initiated efforts in afforestation, increasing pasture land, and bridging the digital divide, among other, for which SSP is continuously evolving strategies.

Recognition of women’s role in climate-resilient farming is SSP’s major innovation, empowering women farmers and entrepreneurs to ensure food security, increase income, create jobs, and boost local economies. SSP’s innovation is women farmers evolving a holistic approach based on their cultural learnings and adaption of organic technologies tested rigorously. The innovation links women farmers and rural entrepreneurs with diverse partners, enable women’s networks to develop skills, and access finance, technology, and marketing platforms, not as beneficiaries but as leaders.

Women were regarded by families, communities, businesses and governments as unpaid or low paid family or informal labour. Enabling women to have control over land and productive resources, have skills, collectively negotiate in rural markets and governance platforms, access basic services, and be informed about their rights and opportunities is SSP’s core approach, which has led to women being recognized as farmers, women are managing stakeholders, have wide engagement on social services, and are increasingly active in local governance platforms.

With women farmers becoming community leaders, there is higher adaption of climate responsive Bio-Farming model to significantly increase agricultural productivity, crop diversity, and reduced costs with innovative Zero-Budget Farming. Trained women leaders (Krishi Samvad Sahayaks) support women farmers develop agriculture enterprise and leverage agri-markets. Comprehensive life-changes: health benefits from growing and eating Nutrition-sensitive food crops, with 30,000 acres brought under bio-farming, soil conservation and bio-inputs, with 30-35% input cost saving, and annual savings of about 486 USD each by consuming farm-grown food, improving nutrition access.  

SSP promotes grassroots women’s collectives to lead innovative, inclusive and resilient strategies to address severe impacts of climate breakdown and poverty. Viewed as labour, women from marginal farmer households are repositioned and trained to become confident farmers and agri-preneurs. Aiming for sustainability of the model, SSP created Women Entrepreneurship & Leadership Institutes (WELI) as a robust local ecosystem with self managed WELI centres that ensure ease of access to mentorship, finance, skills, and rural marketing and technology platforms. Poor women’s lives are transformed as they are perceived as knowledge creators and decision-makers in their households, communities and local-governments. This holistic approach has built a community-led sustainable model that empowers women as farmers, entrepreneurs, change agents and leaders.

Core of WCRF model’s Theory of Change is a three-stage model of Build, Empower and Sustain. First, SSP builds a foundation at community level - farmer adopters, producer groups and key partners –climate, agri scientists, govt etc. Simultaneously, SSP creates farmer owned assets like prototype farms in collaboration with adopter farmers. Women acquire land with user rights from their families for testing bio-farming models to improve food security - https://bit.ly/3gUDrst. SSP’s core process for developing women’s leadership is Women’s Initiative to Learn & Lead (WILL). SSP promoted social enterprises further act at a meso level to forge institutional linkages for finance, marketing and inputs costs of women farmers.  

At second stage, SSP trains and develops core ecosystem actors – adopter farmers – developing their dynam­ic collectives through Krishi Samvad Sahayaks (Agri-Communicators and Trainers), trained at WELI to become local agri-experts. Success of women-farmers practicing bio-farming technologies and water conservation in drought-affected areas has been tested and documented in several studies - https://bit.ly/2AXxL1A)  

At third stage, farmer adopters are ready to go to market and link with agriculture institutions to access Government schemes to expand farm-based enterprises and markets. Community resource persons by design are local women leaders who support farmers after end of program. Farmer groups, resource persons, community collectives and social enterprises created by them become social capital in which markets and governments invest, sustaining their transformation out of poverty.

SSP works with women from low income rural communities of small-marginal farmers in climate risk areas, characterized by high rates of migration and insecure households. SSP supports women overcome injustice and poverty due to social discrimination and structural exclusion for accessing basic services, economic opportunities and decision making on critical issues of well-being impacting their health and education. SSP currently affects 5 million people through 80,000 women and in next one year, 1,15,000 women entrepreneurs, farmers and community leaders and their households directly. SSP is evolving plans to skill and integrate 15,000 returning migrant workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

SSP’s long term strategy is to develop inclusive women’s leadership with transformative impact. This impact rests on building economic resilience and food security and well being for the most vulnerable groups -Scheduled Castes and Tribes, women headed households, daily wage workers, disabled, landless, and poor farmers.

In 5 years, SSP’s work by choice will focus underserved climate/disaster hit regions across seven states of India impacting 10 million people indirectly, through 500,000 women it capacitates directly. The indirect reach would be at national level through the networks and partnerships with state governments. And globally through learning exchanges across Africa and South Asia.     

SSP’s goal is to purposefully invest in increasing knowledge, skills, leadership and agency of women farmers, as an end in itself and as a strategy for recurring income and resilience of agriculture dependent rural communities. The goal is to demonstrate potential of women as change makers to ensure social and economic well-being to attain equity and justice.

SSP’s core strategy to attain SDGs is enabling women’s collectives to be holders of process innovations in agriculture, livelihoods, food, water security and basic services – as decision makers and effective participants in local development. Building resilience forward, solidarity networks are at the core to confront combined crises climate, economic and health shocks like COVID-19 pandemic. The goal would be to increase women-owned federations disbursing loans and creating circular economies where local demand for food essentials is met by agri-enterprises and cash incomes and overall incomes increase through the year.

In next five years, SSP would develop learning and education curricula and scale up efforts to embed the model within national flagship for women’s empowerment, by increasing number of women producers accessing markets, gaining land titles, establishing agricultural enterprises, securing income and generating local employment. Women’s collectives would use technology platforms to create economies for food/essentials by developing climate adaptive organic value chains involving 5,00,000 women and their families.

Finance is the most critical barrier preventing poor women from engaging in agriculture entrepreneurship. Barriers include lack of awareness of financial opportunities, lack of collateral/assets to access credit, discriminatory social norms and complex financial regulations. As an organization, SSP’s major barrier is lack of secure long term funds for core institution building and operational costs and to scale programs. 

Technical education is a major gap for women, who are unable to acquire professional skills and trainings, and this is compounded by low awareness on advanced farming and technology. Not being recognized as farmers denies women access to public/private agriculture extension programs, value chains and diverse markets. Enhanced digital systems are likely to impede women’s access to opportunities as they do lack technology.

There are hardly any legal barriers - challenges are complex legal systems that cannot be navigated by women farmers. Layers of compliances, multiple government authorities, and lack of women in markets make it difficult for women to advance in value chains as agri-producers and entrepreneurs. Cultural gender biases deeply entrenched in structures of men, families, markets, and governments are expected to increase due to recent increase in economic insecurity and recurring disasters. Women experience cultural backlash in public spaces when competing with men to access land, credit and resources, and as self-confident leaders.

SSP has strategies for supporting women farmers to advance in the food, agriculture and allied enterprise value chains. SSP will expand its Resilience Fund to provide low interest and flexible finance, strategic partnerships with market players and government to link women farmers with credit and retail opportunities

Women Entrepreneurship & Leadership Institute (WELI) will roll out structured capacity building and mentoring program for women farmers to make the transition to markets that include technical knowledge, business skills, mapping markets forging government and financial linkages and leadership development .besides training, SSP has created a partnership eco-system with agriculture scientists, universities, government and institutes; developed capacity building programs from farm to market and to the table.  

SSP has been addressing cultural barriers preventing women being recognized as farmers and decision makers. The gradual transformative process requires women to not leave anyone behind –so they make enabling and lasting  changes in their ecosystem, by engaging with men and stakeholders in community, markets and governance,  all included in SSPs’ Women’s Leadership programs. SSP will create safe spaces for women’s individual and collective development at its WELI centers. SSP plans to increase its advocacy and networking programs to create responsive public-private systems for women farmers to move up and be part of mainstream food value chains, without which women are set up for failure if discriminatory practices in families, communities, economy and governance are not addressed.

To expand its core model in 6 other operational States, SSP has strategic partnerships with local organizations like ORRISSA and Udyama in Odisha and Kanchan Sewa Ashram, GPVS in Bihar and RVC in Assam. Similarly agri-entrepreneurship partnerships with the private sector include  Himalaya, Urvara Bio-Sciences, Promothean Power Systems, Agni Solar, Creamline Dairy and Gaavkhoj, an online platform. Social enterprises promoted by SSP facilitate marketing links with farmer producer groups, on cost and revenue sharing to cover a critical last mile sales and distribution gap.

SSP’s advocacy is based on strong time tested partnerships the government, specifically to bring in critical financial entitlements to women farmers otherwise excluded from the mainstream. It also enables SSP to embed its strategic operational model into programs and influence policies on gender, agriculture and enterprise thus reaching several million people indirectly. Presently, SSP has formal partnerships as national resource organisation for last five years with Government of India’s Ministry of Rural Development’s for Rashtriya Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (National Women Farmers Empowerment Program - MKSP), and Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Program (SVEP).

SSP receives funds from UNICEF, Misereor, Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives (APPI), Habitat for Humanity India, European Union, Huairou Commission, Global Fund for Women and DASRA. Corporate partners Great Eastern CSR Foundation, Dalyan Foundation, Avendus Capital, and Shapoorji Pallonji have also extended support to expand this program with farmers across the country. 

Focus of SSP’s Business model is to eliminate poverty with dignity, in a sustainable process to increase income and food security. WCRF is not limited to agriculture, rather, it empowers women, enabling them to become decision makers in their families and communities, and generates local resources for them through a variety of community-based organizations. Women farmers organise themselves in Federations to negotiate with governance systems, form Producer Cooperatives for marketing agricultural produce, and develop Social Enterprises for agriculture-linked businesses to increase income.

Lack of rural markets led SSP to promote social enterprises like Sakhi Unique Rural Enterprises (SURE) for rural marketing and distribution, Sakhi Social Enterprise Network (SSEN) for developing skills and entrepreneurship, and Sakhi Samudaya Kosh (SSK) for providing innovative finance. Legal regulation complexities make it difficult for women-farmers to operate effectively as individuals. Government system provides finance for farmers collectives as non-profits. Marketing products requires other finance vehicles in order to sell agricultural produce in Value Chains, for which women farmers needed SSP support through collective enterprises to sell agriculture-allied products, and access inputs and services.

The Business model supports women farmers at several levels, enhancing skills and access to technology with inputs otherwise not available. Facilitation for training women farmers is also done through grants from government programs like MKSP, multi-lateral funds from the World Bank and European Union; and foundations like APPI. These provide women with skills for Bio-farming, Dairy, Poultry, Goatry, Pulses, Foodgrains, Vermicomposting, Jowar and Vegetable cultivation to diversify income in climate-change affected areas. 

SSP’s robust model transforms marginalized rural women from farm labourers to changemak­ers in agriculture. Women bringing food security and im­proved livelihoods for their families and community. Financial sustainability is a constant challenge across levels. First, Women-led Climate Resilient (WCRF) Model helps adopter farmers graduate as agricultural leaders within four agriculture cycles through community-based resource persons (Krishi Samvad Sahayaks-KSS). Resource persons - local women trained as agri-experts - extend knowledge support beyond SSP programs, embedding sustenance, serving as nodal points for multiple ecosystem partners bringing funding and resources.

Second, collective efforts unlock strategic partnerships with Agriculture departments to access relevant schemes, training and knowledge. Social enterprises Sakhi Unique Rural Enterprises (SURE) generate funds from rural marketing, and Sakhi Samudaya Kosh (SSK) provides innovative finance for women farmers. In supplementing agricultural income, Dairy value chain partnership with corporations brings leasing for infrastructure, reducing loans and variable costs, with women providing last-mile retail connectivity for sourcing milk. Sourcing and direct sale of vegetables produced by women farmers is piloted and scalable. Women’s collectives generate income as last-mile sales points for organic products and agricultural inputs like Solar Water-heating, Vermi-composting, Spray Pumps, Bio-gas and Milking Equipment of various companies.    

Third, SSP’s Build-Empower-Sustain operating model’s experience with over 70,000 women farm­ers can be deepened and scaled up with partnerships. Support through grants from government and non-government institutions covers core costs of training, facilitation and administration. Major challenge in the financial sustainability is funds for scaling, upgrading skills and accessing technologies to bridge the digital divide.  

SSP received grants from institutional and corporate donors. Government program includes MKSP 100,000 USD for capacity building and 1 million to community to develop value chain.

Corporate foundation grants are from Dalyan Foundation 100,000 USD, Shapoorji Pallonji Finance Private Limited 50,000 USD, Avendus Capital 100,000 USD, APPI 1.2 million USD.

Current institutional grants are from UNICEF 250,000 USD, European Commission 1.5 million USD, and Misereor 2.5 million USD (since 2014).

Funds used in 2019 for Community Resilience programs (USD 576,000); Entrepreneurships and Leadership Programs (USD 276,000); Health, Nutrition and Agricultural programs (USD 378,667); Water and Sanitation (USD 133,333); Staff, admin & coordination (USD 417,067); and Impact, MIS, Documentation (USD 20,000).     

SSP-promoted organisations SURE and SSEN partnered ethical business companies for sale of organic green and agricultural products, which generate income for collective enterprises, and brings new opportunities for increasing income to women farmers from diverse sources.

SSP-promoted SURE social enterprise partnered with 12 corporate organisations in 2019 to generate sales of 200,000 USD benefitting 28000 farmers and giving an income of 1000 USD to women nodal sales persons through sale of 10-15 agriculture products and equipment. 

Start-Up Entrepreneurship Program with 5.5 million USD from government has generated turnover of 30 million USD for 3410 social-enterprises, giving 7647 women entrepreneur an income of 10 million USD.

SSP promoted Community-Resilience-Fund is a community-owned and managed low-interest fund to help farmers access government-schemes without needing to invest large-sums themselves. CRF is sourced through CSR funds and bank loans and maintained by women’s federation. 

For SSP-promoted Social Enterprises and Community Resilience Fund, funds are required to continue core programs and expand to leverage emerging opportunities and risks for rural communities in rapidly changing operating environment. 

SSP has significant gaps in funding for core operations and social enterprises. While there are some secure institutional funds, gaps are for scaling, impact studies, digital technology transition, and staff training.  Grants are required for widening scope of Entrepreneurships and Leadership Programs, including SSP’s core Women’s Education & Learning Initiative (WELI) training centers for adaption at national level 1 million USD expanding Health, Nutrition and Agricultural programs 2 million deepening Water and Sanitation program for water-conservation 1 million USD building Community Resilience programs and Sakhi Task Force women-leaders-network in other climate-risk geographies 1 million. Staff, administration & coordination 50,000 USD and Impact evaluation studies and digitization of MIS-system 50,000 USD and promoting national network of women farmers organizations 50,000 USD.     

Due to impact of COVID-19 pandemic, changes in grants for affected vulnerable groups were done on request of donors and governments. Significant funding to address impact-on- women, children and migrant-workers due to prolonged shutdown of social and health-services and economic-activities are needed. SSP seeks funds for large scale re-skilling training of migrant workers to be re-employed (1 million USD). For investing in new agricultural-enterprises to promote employment, average 1000 USD required for each enterprise (1 million USD for 1000 enterprises). SSP would expand its Community-Resilience-Fund with another USD 2 million to fund long-term finance requirements of women farmers.       

The estimated expenses for the year 2020 were estimated to be USD 1,801,067.  However, due to COVID-19 pandemic, many of the estimates are being changed to meet the evolving emergency needs of the communities. SSP is in the process of revising the estimates in consultation with donors and governments.

Prior to this, the committed expenses for 2020 were - Community Resilience programs (USD 576,000); Entrepreneurships and Leadership Programs (USD 276,000); Health, Nutrition and Agricultural programs (USD 378,667); Water and Sanitation (USD 133,333); Staff, admin & coordination (USD 417,067); and Impact, MIS, Documentation (USD 20,000).

Expenses related to SSP-promoted social enterprises for the current year are - Sakhi Unique Rural Enterprises-SURE is 100 thousand USD; Sakhi Social Enterprise Network-SSEN is 50,000 USD Sakhi Samudaya Kosh-SSK is 300,000 USD.   

The governance of climate /development related policies combined with social norms restrict poor women’s opportunities to influence them. The Prize would enable SSP to strengthen its advocacy and partnership efforts to expand outreach to 35000 more women farmer leaders and support their leadership to participate in food and agricultural chains and influence local governance.

The pandemic has put a spotlight on the urgent need for trusted, ambitious leadership capable of complex problem solving and this is linked to the emerging need for presence of women in public domains – markets or governments at national and global levels. The Elevate Prize would enable SSP to navigate new pathways in its role as a leader on Women-Led Climate Resilient Farming to advocate with multilaterals like IFAD, FAO, World Bank, GCA and UNDP and governments to promote the WCRF as a one stop climate adaptation solution that empowers poor women and their well being and  builds resilience to sustain shocks and risks.SSP will build local and global partnerships to institutionalize learning through peer exchanges between farmers across Africa, Asia, through Huairou Commission and other networks to bridge the digital divide and link to innovations in climate adaptation.

As a Swchab social entrepreneur and bridging leader I strive for a systems change approach and collaboration, that seeks to amplify grassroots women’s voices in global platforms. Rural women facing climate-risk need support to sustain their solidarity networks to lead the combined climate crises/pandemics -would immensely benefit from partnerships offered by The Elevate Prize.

SSP’s collaboration goal stems from an identified need to evolve effective impactful models and systems for learning and evidence-based advocacy, as a knowledge organization. Funding and revenue and monitoring and evaluation are part of this overall goal.  

Our revenue model, based on ethical economic and social justice would identify more private and public partners also accelerating SDGs through more equitable pro-poor relationships.

The monitoring and evaluation collaboration will aim to gather a circle of innovative multi sector players and design thinkers to build robust frameworks for transformative impact that responds to the emerging climate challenges, integrates women’s perspectives, roles as solution providers and SSP’s ground up strategies. Building women’s agency to enable higher investment in a new narrative of social, economic and climate justice would emerge as evidence of change. SSP aims to evolve cutting-edge universally applicable frameworks for securing women’s lives supported by partnerships for more effective impact measurement.  

Building partnerships is a core strategy for scaling SSP’s work. Several potential partners have been identified at local, national and global levels. Identifying new partnerships for funding and revenue model is required to enable new forms of revenue generation for SSP and the Social Enterprises it promotes that enable women farmers enter into core economies, gain market share  and be in higher levels of food and agriculture business value chains. This includes lobbying with government partners in states where SSP is expanding, for establishment of Program Management Units to embed the WCRF model in large-scale government training institutions run by Agriculture and Rural Development to generate funds through trainings of frontline workers on a revenue model.

Innovative advocacy networks like Nourishment Economies, Food Tank, Equator Initiative and women’s leadership support such as Huairou Commission, Womanity Foundation are among potential partners for building SSP’s funding and revenue model. Opportunities for funding partnerships through knowledge networks and corporate foundations are being identified. There is immense scope for national partnerships for agriculture technology, drudgery reduction and women friendly equipment with corporations like John Deere and Tech Mahindra.

Monitoring and Evaluation related partnerships are required for building evidence-based advocacy and proof of concept in climate-risk areas, for which SSP has identified partners like Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab-India, Bridgespan, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) of the United Nations.