WP23: A study of livelihoods and value chain development through off-grid electricity interventions in Dhenkanal district of Odisha

WP23: Livelihood and Value Chain Development study

OASYS SOUTH ASIA Research Project

Working Paper Series

Working Paper 23

A study of livelihoods and value chain

development through off-grid electricity

interventions in Dhenkanal district of Odisha

Sapna A Narula

Teri University

Final version: 30th April 2015

Version: Final

Abstract

As part of the demonstration project carried out through the OASYS South Asia project, an

off-grid electrification intervention was undertaken in a cluster of villages in Dhenkenal

district of Odisha. In order to develop productive uses of electricity, a detailed study of

livelihoods was undertaken and potential areas for improvement in the value chain were

identified. This paper reports the above activity and documents the existing livelihoods in

the area. Through a series of interviews, focused group meetings and stakeholder

interactions, the study finds that there exists potential for improvement of agricultural/

horticultural production and artisanal activities undertaken by the local population. Value

can be added by undertaking simple processing and packing activities and by selling organic,

eco-friendly outputs through local NGOs or government outlets. Electricity can support such

activities, thereby offering an opportunity for improved income generation and a better

quality of life.

Key words: off-grid electrification, Odisha, livelihood, value chain

For any clarification, please contact: Prof. Subhes Bhattacharyya may be contacted at

[email protected]

The Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work-in-progress so that the

outcomes can be shared quickly with the research community to facilitate exchange of

ideas on important issues that the researchers in this project are working on. The authors

can be contacted directly or through the Principal Investigator of the project. The views

expressed in these papers are those of the authors and the project team but they do not

necessarily represent the views of the organisations they are affiliated with, or that of the

funding agencies.

mailto:[email protected]


Table of Contents

1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 4

2. Objectives: .............................................................................................................................. 9

3. Research Framework and Methodology ................................................................................ 9

4. Results and Discussion ........................................................................................................ 13

4.1 Profiles of Selected Villages .......................................................................................... 13

4.1.1 General Information ................................................................................................ 14 4.1.2 Demographic Details ............................................................................................... 14 4.1.3 Village Accessibility ............................................................................................... 15 4.1.4 Existing energy demand .......................................................................................... 15

4.1.5 Economic details ..................................................................................................... 15 4.1.6 Irrigation .................................................................................................................. 16 4.1.7 Drinking Water ........................................................................................................ 16 4.1.8 Livestock population ............................................................................................... 17

4.2 Livelihood Analysis: Rajanga Village ........................................................................... 17 4.2.1 Land acreage and ownership details ........................................................................ 17 4.2.2 Existing infrastructure ............................................................................................. 17 4.2.3 Agricultural Activities in Rajanga Village .............................................................. 18

4.2.4 Constraints in Agricultural production .................................................................... 19 4.2.5 NTFP ( Non-Timber Forest Produce) Collection .................................................... 20

4.2.6 Income and Expenditure Details of the households: ............................................... 21 4.2.7Energy needs ............................................................................................................ 21 4.2.8 Community and financial resources ........................................................................ 21

4.2.9 Forward Linkages .................................................................................................... 22

4.2.10 Why they want electricity? .................................................................................... 23 4.2.11 Stakeholders’ perceptions regarding Potential Interventions ................................ 23

4.3 Livelihood analysis: Baguli Village ............................................................................... 24

4.3.1 Agricultural Activities in Baguli Village ................................................................ 24 4.3.2 Income and Expenditure Details of the households ................................................ 26

4.3.3 Community and financial resources ........................................................................ 26 4.3.4 Existing infrastructure ............................................................................................. 27

4.3.5 Interventions proposed by Villagers ....................................................................... 27 4.4 Livelihood Analysis of Village Chaddoi ........................................................................ 27

4.4.1 Agricultural Activities in the Village ...................................................................... 27 4.4.2 Non-timber forest produce collection ..................................................................... 28 4.4.2 Poultry and Animal rearing Actvities in Chaddoi ................................................... 28

4.4.3 Land acreage and ownership details ........................................................................ 28 4.4.4 Infrastructure ........................................................................................................... 28

4.4.5 Energy habits ........................................................................................................... 29 4.4.6 Community .............................................................................................................. 29

4.5 Livelihood Analysis of Village Kanaka ......................................................................... 29 4.5.1 Existing Infrastructure: ............................................................................................ 29 4.5.2Main activities .......................................................................................................... 29

4.5.3 Energy habits ........................................................................................................... 29 4.5.4 Livelihood Activities ............................................................................................... 30

5. Value Chain Analysis .......................................................................................................... 31


5.1 NTFP ( Non Timber Forest Produce) Value Chain: ...................................................... 31

5.2 Proposed NTFP Value Chain Interventions: .................................................................. 32 5.3 Agricultural Value Chains .............................................................................................. 37 5.4 Proposed Interventions ( Agriculture specific) .............................................................. 38

5.5 Market Linkages ............................................................................................................. 40 5.6 Capacity Building ........................................................................................................... 44

6.0 Conclusion: ......................................................................................................................... 44

References ................................................................................................................................ 45


1. Introduction

Off grid electrification has the potential of paying huge dividends in terms of provision of

livelihood opportunities and raising incomes of people in rural areas of developing countries

(Bastakoti, 2006; Zomers, 2003; Palit and Chaurey, 2011; World Bank, 2008; Sovacool, 2013;

and Raha et al, 2014). Abundant literature is found in the area of off grid electricity supply and

the benefits these have generated in countries such as South Africa, China, Japan, Scotland,

Nepal, Bhutan, India and Bangladesh (Raha et al. 2014; Chmiel and Bhattacharyya, 2015; Hong

and Abe, 2013; Bertheau et al, 2014; Bhattacharyya, 2015; Sarangi et al., 2014 and Jinayim et

al., 2014). A number of projects have been installed and a range of technologies have been

experimented by various agencies including state governments, private entities and international

donor in developing countries including India and Bangladesh (Mishra and Sarangi, 2011).

Evaluation studies, however, reveal that a number of these projects are non- functional due to

one or the other reasons (Mishra and Sarangi, 2011; Raha et al., 2014) and hence are unable to

deliver welfare benefits to local population in spite of huge potential. The barriers pertaining to

their sustainability have been identified and classified as policy related (Chaurey, 2011;

Sovacool, 2013), operational such as lack of maintenance and other manpower constraints

(Chaurey, 2011; Balachander, 2010), capacity building ( Sovacool, 2013), backward supply

linkages (Kumar and Banerjee, 2010), credit finance (Martinot et al., 2001, Wamukonya, 2007)

and lack of focus on long-term operational sustainability (TERI, 2009; Kumar et al., 2009; and

Palit, 2003).

For an off grid project to be successful, it must be able to provide new opportunities to the rural

users in terms of economic empowerment (DFID, 2002, GNESD, 2007, Wamukonya and Davis,

2001; Raha et al., 2014; Sovacool, 2013). Kirubi et al. (2009) described how provision of

electricity to rural households in Kenya helped people to generate extra income and pay the

tariffs which are used for operation and maintenance of the plant. The researchers found that

rural electrification provision in the Sunderbans made a significant impact in the socio-economic

life of the rural people (Chauray and Mohanty, 2007). Creating economic linkages is important

for sustainability of these projects because these are located in rural areas where people have low


disposable incomes and hence their willingness to pay for electricity remains questionable (Palit

et al., 2011; Kumar et al., 2009; Shrank, 2008; Kirubi et al. ,2009; Alzola et al., 2009). In another

study in the Sunderbans Island, it was found that users were willing to pay more as it provided

them with economic benefits. (Chakraborti and Chakraborti, 2002).

Various studies are available in the literature highlighting the impact of off-grid solutions on the

local rural and regional development i.e. creation of new livelihood opportunities, setting up of

domestic enterprises and creation of local industries (Rio and Burguillo, 2009). The potential

impacts of renewable energy solutions have been well classified as quantitative or qualitative,

demographic, education and health related, social cohesion, human development and

development of indigenous resources (Rio and Burguillo, 2009; Wustenhagen and Menichetti,

2012; Trumper et al., 2014 ). In an evaluation study of biogas plants in Sirisi, Karnataka state of

India, the researchers attributed the success of biogas plants to the availability of free servicing,

active end-users and presence of competing entrepreneurs who assisted the households in all,

phases of plant construction, installation and procurement of subsidies and maintenance (Bhat et

al., 2001). Community behaviour, free market competition and the availability of microfinance

and affordable business schemes thus have potential to enhance the effectiveness of local energy

schemes. Solar heating systems can prove beneficial in case these are linked with provision of

one essential service (Wamukonya, 2007). These may help in extending more business hours,

thereby generating additional income (James et al., 1999), in helping children to study in evening

hours and women to do more household work ( Wamukonya and Davis, 2001) and increased

socializing ( Youm et al., 2000). Mini grids have also been discussed to be a potential electricity

delivery model (Bhattacharyya et al., 2011)

Successful off-grid interventions do not only target the technical aspects of the project such as

choice of technology , supply chain linkages, desired scale of the project, and policy support but

depend on a range of implementation challenges in the field. Through their analysis of off-grid

electricity system in Isle of Eigg (Scotland), Chmiel and Bhattacharyya (2015) offer useful

lessons for developing countries regarding off-grid projects. The authors are optimistic about the

use of off-grid solutions for rural areas of developing countries provided the demand assessment,

demand management, and system design are taken care off and localized solutions based on end

user needs are provided. The authors also reported that commercial, agricultural and small-scale


industrial activities could be envisaged to achieve a better capacity utilization of the system and

to generate income for supplier and local community (Chmiel and Bhattacharya, 2015).

An evaluation study of 74 projects in India regarding operational status revealed that only 61

percent of these projects are operational. The study reported that whereas there is large

entrepereneurial potential in these projects, only 10 % of these are under private sector and most

of these are implemented by Government and Non-Governmental sources of funding (Mishra

and Sarnagi, 2011). The choice of business models we choose hence become important for the

long term sustainability of project. Four sets of implementation challenges have been identified

in literature:

Most of these off-grid projects are in remote areas with limited livelihood opportuinities.

Unless the project does not revolve around facilitating already existing livelihood

opportunities and creation of new opportunities, it hardly serves the population in the

long run (Chaurey, 2011). Designing a project keeping in view the user demands hence is

essential (Chmiel and Bhatacharyya, 2015; World Bank, 2008).

The challenges in understanding the community dynamics at the local level and

understanding their indigenous capabilities and skill set make it complex to link the

livelihood angle to these off-grid projects. Since the technology choice is mainly an

external determinant, the success of intervention depends on strength and ability of local

community structures and economic linkages (Mishra and Sarangi, 2011; Raha et al.,

2015; Rehman et al., 2012). Analysis and engagement of these stakeholders, hence, is a

big concern for these projects

As most of these projects are funded by state as well as international agencies, so these

remain viable till the time the funds are available but the sustainability of these projects is

questionable once these funds get exhausted. Financing is one big challenge once the

project duration is over and unless the strategic investment opportunities are created, the

project cannot be sustainable in long run. Besides removal of taxes and levies and

provision of subsidies, the author have suggested to provide micro credit facilities for end

users and dealers, loan schemes and have also advocated fee for service models for

project sustainability (Wamukonya, 2007).

Manpower constraints have been identified as a big constraint at the implementation


level. Researchers have also highlighted to assess the capacities in these areas before the

start of a project so that a connection in terms of livelihood linkages can be established

Enormous potential for socio-economic empowerment of these communities through off-grid

projects exists (Ulsrud et al., 2011; Wamukonya, 2007; Rio and Burguillo,2009; Fang, 2011;

Sriwannawit, 2014). What is needed for the long run sustainability of these projects is that

designing an business model around the project which sustains on its own and provide livelihood

opportunities at the local level. REDCO Alliance and Energy Access Foundation have played an

important role in rapid growth of rural energy in developed countries. Enormous opportunities

are available for similar rural energy business models in developing countries (Mishra and

Sarangi, 2013). Bairiganjan et al., 2010 have estimated the opportunity of the rural energy

business to be 94 billion INR in India. The analysis reveals that a lot of literature is available on

technical and operational aspect of off-grid projects. Barriers have been identified and remedies

have been suggested regarding the user-need assessment and constructing economic linkages,

however, none has so far specified the link of these projects in terms of creation of marketing

linkages and development of value chains. As in most of these rural areas, local people follow

basic livelihood activities such as agriculture and due to lack of infrastructure and

communication facilities, forward and backward linkages in the value chains are weak, it

becomes very pertinent to establish a connection between provision of off grid projects and

development of value chains.

As a part of the OASYS South Asia project, this study was planned with the objective to

identify business models for off-grid electricity supply in selected villages of Dhenkenal District

of Odisha i.e. Rajanga, Kanaka, Chaddoi and Baguli. The study aimed at addressing the income

generation opportunities the project can create for the local people. It has been found that the

selected sites have both agricultural and allied activities as well as forest resources but these

activities are of very basic nature and are mainly pursued for their domestic consumption. There

is only a very minimal marketing of the produce to the outside world. These activities have the

potential to be developed into the value chains of commercial importance with technological

interventions through off-grid electricity supply, which certainly can help in income generation

for these communities. Our study follows the value chain approach for livelihood generation

through off-grid electricity supplies wherein we make an effort to demonstrate how


underdeveloped livelihood activities can be transformed to market efficient and sustainable value

chains through collaborative efforts and resource generation and this can further lead to an

overall economic empowerment of rural communities.

This study was motivated by the following questions:

What are the primary and secondary livelihood activities the residents of the

selected villages are engaged in especially those related to agriculture and allied

activities, such as collection of non-timber forest produce (NTFPs)?

What are the existing underdeveloped value chains in selected villages, if any and

how do these operate? Is there any value addition of commodities in the existing

value chains? If yes, at what level? Are there any value chains which have the

potential to be developed with possible technological interventions for socio-

economic improvement?

How do these value chains operate? What backward linkages are operating with

respect to supply of raw materials, resources and technologies available? How do

forward linkages operate with respect to intermediaries, markets, price discovery

and infrastructure? What are the technological, financial and market constraints in

selected value chains with respect to both forward as well as backward linkages?

What are existing set of natural, financial, technological and entrepreneurial

resources available in the selected villages which can be utilized into building

new value chains and scaling up of existing underdeveloped value chains?

In light of development of new value chains which are the new financial,

technological and infrastructural resources needed?

What are the activities in the respective value chains which can be further scaled

up or developed using interventions with off-grid electricity interventions? What

are the various policy interventions needed to develop these?


2. Objectives:

Based on the above mentioned research questions an exploratory study was planned in

the four villages with the following objectives:

o Study existing primary and secondary livelihoods and identify scope and potential

for new market opportunities;

o Select value chains of commercial importance, study and identify constraints in

both forward and backward linkages and propose technological interventions with

the help of off-grid electricity;

o Designing market, financial, entrepreneurial and institutional value chain

interventions and policy support for the proposed off-grid models;

o Identifying entrepreneurial potential in the selected areas and strengthening the

capacities of existing institutions/communities especially women for

strengthening backward and forward linkages;

o Identify scope of partnership between producers, public institutions and local

industry to facilitate technology transfer, market information exchange and

capacity building.

On the basis of the primary data collected, the study aimed at recommending the

necessary value chain interventions for socio-economic empowerment of the rural

communities through off-grid electricity supply. This information was further used for

the next phase of the project i.e. preparation of detailed project reports (DPRs) for off-

grid models based on the user need assessment.

3. Research Framework and Methodology The study has adopted the value chain framework for generation of income opportunities for the

beneficiaries. Value chain approach has been used in both social science and business strategy

literature quite extensively (Porter, 1985). A value chain describes the full range of activities

required to bring a product from development to its end use and beyond. This includes activities

such as design, production, marketing, distribution and support to the final consumer (Ruijter de

Wildt et al, 2006). The products in a value chain pass all activities of the chain in


order and at each activity, the product gains some value. The chain of activities gives the

products more added value than the sum of added values of all activities. The activities that

comprise a value chain can be contained within a single actor or divided among different actors.

Value-chain activities can take place within a single geographical location or spread over wider

areas.

Value chain concept believes that the steps where maximum value can be added need to be

identified and these activities are the core activities where maximum interventions are to be

carried out as they give maximum value to both producers and consumers. Any intervention in

value chain (upstream and downstream) resulting into the gains for the producers is called a

value chain intervention which can be of many types depending upon the type of requirement

e.g. institutional involvement and networking, re-intermediation, redesigning the chain,

redesigning the activities and processes.

In developing countries, local farmers/rural producers being unorganized have usually little idea

about who the other players in the chain are, what happens to their produce after they sell it, or

what types of products consumers want. Value addition, processing, creation of market

infrastructure, bringing new technologies are some of the opportunities which can remove

value chain inefficiencies and improve the social and economic lives of poor communities in

these countries. Market information and transparency is another factor through which we can

empower rural communities to gain more benefit Value Chain analysis has been quite useful

approach in understanding the dynamic linkages that exist between rural farmers as well as

markets Value chain analysis allows us to identify any inefficiencies in the system from both

forward and backward linkage perspective.

For the purpose of our study, we have used the value chain framework in the context of

livelihood generation and promotion through off-grid electricity (see table 1). In the selected

areas of Dhenkanal district, the existing value chains are underdeveloped with weak market

linkages as well as traditional production/collection methods of NTFP and hence these offer a lot

of scope for further development. Off-grid electricity options have the potential to introduce new

interventions in both backward as well as forward linkages and hence generate better

opportunities for local stakeholders. This is how the value chain framework will be used for the

same:


Identification of Underdeveloped Value Chains: First of all, the value chains which make for

most of the rural livelihoods for the selected villages in the state shall be identified. Based on our

preliminary studies, the value chains which play an important role in the livelihoods of the

people concerned in the areas are NTFPs, agricultural and allied activities. For identification of

the value chain, we need to look at the local economy and then the analysis must funnel down to

the specific value chain/supply chain in which an intervention needs to be made.

Value chain analysis: (Flow of goods/money/information and also the profit share of all

stakeholders was studied to find out major market, technical and financial inefficiencies across

both the upstream and downstream of the value chain. A thorough analysis of the value chain

was made with respect to identification of various actors, their role and functions of these actors

and also the activities, processes and critical success factors in the chain. Finally, an analysis of

constraints in the chain was made to serve as the basis for finding out the scope for a new

intervention.

Designing Value Chain Interventions: At the last stage, technological interventions based on off-

grid mode will be designed for both forward and backward linkages. To facilitate the

technological interventions, market, financial and entrepreneurial linkages will be worked out.

Table 1: Research Framework for Value Chain Development through Off-grid Electricity

Step 1: Identifying structure,

Process and Actors in supply

Chain

Identification of sub-sectors

Identification of actors, their roles, functions

Identification of critical activities and processes

Step 2: Value Chain analysis

o Socio-Economic o Technical o Market o Financial

Step 3: Proposed

Interventions for

development of Value Chain

o Market interventions o Technological interventions o Financial interventions o Entrepreneurial interventions o Capacity building interventions


Methodology:

A household survey was carried out in four villages namely Rajanga, Kanaka, Chaddoi, Baguli

of Dhenkanal district of Odisha during September 2012 with the help of a structured

questionnaire. A total of twelve focus group discussions including three women focused group

discussions were also administered and each focus group consisted of 8-10 villagers. The number

of focus groups in Rajanga, Kanaka, Baguli and Chaddoi were 4, 4, 3 and 1 respectively. The

purpose of the focus group discussions was mainly to get inputs for energy need assessment and

villagers’ perceptions of energy uses and their willingness to pay. Additionally, data were

collected from other stakeholders such as gram Pradhan (village head), NGO workers, and

government officials through in-depth interviews. These focus group discussions were audio-

recorded and data were transcribed for further analysis. Photo 1 shows a group discussion

session in one of the villages.

u

Photo1: Focus Group discussion in progress at Rajanga Village

Livelihood analysis: As a first step, primary data were collected on the primary and secondary

livelihoods of the people concerned with reference to scope and scale both. Besides this, the

various potential livelihood options based on agricultural and allied activities and forest

resources were also explored.

Value Chain analysis: Based on the livelihood analysis, agricultural and NTFP (Non Timber

Forest Produce) based activities were found to be ones which demanded more attention and


hence it was decided to work on the same. The existing value chains (agricultural and allied;

NTFPs) were analysed with respect to all the activities, actors, technologies and resources

involved. An effort was made to identify the critical steps in value chains, where technological

interventions could be introduced with the help of off grid electricity. The role of both central

and peripheral stakeholders was also analysed (as mentioned in Section 3, Research framework).

Resource availability and need assessment: The existing set of resources available in the

selected villages was identified and an assessment of additional set of resources was made with

the inputs from research team and stakeholders. The various types of resources studied were:

Natural

Technological

Financial

Entrepreneurial

Capacity Building: For the success of the project, it is required to identify the existing skill

sets in the village as potential livelihood opportunities will depend on these skills. Alongside,

inputs were obtained regarding capacity building needs of communities in association with

potential future interventions.

Business Models: Based on the analysis, the possible business models were worked out

highlighting both forward and backward linkages. The policy measures needed for their

implementation have been recommended.

4. Results and Discussion The results of the study have been presented in the following sections.

4.1 Profiles of Selected Villages Dhenkanal district with a population of 1.087 million (as per 2001 census) and 4452 sq km. area,

is centrally located in Odisha map – with Keonjhar in north, Jajpur in east, Cuttack in South and

Angul in west. It has 3 subdivisions, 8 blocks and 199 gram panchayats (village committees). It

is 75 km away from the State capital Bhubaneswar.


The selected villages for project installation are un-electrified villages; they have the least chance

of getting access to electricity in the coming decade as they lie inside the Kandhara reserve forest

and falls under an elephant corridor in the Hindol block of Dhenkanal district. These village sites

fall under the radius of 5 -10 kms from Dandiri (Gram Panchayat HQ) and are cut off in rainy

season. It is in the foothills of the mountain Gophamundia.

4.1.1 General Information

The four selected villages Rajanga, Chaddoi, Baguli and Kanaka and the hamlet fall under the

Hindol block in Dhenkanal district of Odisha. The nearest electrified village is Dandiri, which

is the panchayat headquarters of these four villages and is located at a distance of 4 km from the

villages. Table 2 provides some general information about these villages.

Table 2: General Information

Name of Rajanga Kanaka Baguli Chaddoi Rajanga

Village

Hamlet (Purana

Sahi)

Gram Dandiri GP Dandiri Dandiri GP Dandiri GP Dandiri GP

Panchayat GP

Block Hindol Hindol Hindol Hindol Hindol

Latitude/Long N 20o34‟07.6” N 20

o33‟19.6” N 20

o32‟51.9” N 20

o34‟26.4”

Itude E 85o16‟26.3” E 85

o17‟47.2” E 85

o16‟38.6” E 85

o16‟24.7”

No of hamlets 1(PuranaSahi) 0 0 0 0

4.1.2 Demographic Details

The village population is dominated by the Scheduled tribe and the total population in these

four villages is around 550. Majority of the houses in these villages are thatched with one to

three rooms each. The demographic details of the population are given in table 3.

Table 3: Demographic Information

Name of village Rajanga Kanaka Baguli Chaddoi

Total households 44 43 35 12

Ethnic group Tribal Tribal Tribal Tribal


Number of below poverty line (BPL) families 14 23 13 6

Total Population 178 189 142 46

Average family size 4 4 4 4

Male Female ratio 88:90 94:95 64:78 20:26

4.1.3 Village Accessibility

The approach road to all the four villages is not well developed and is not approachable by car.

These villages are inaccessible during the rainy season. The nearest approach road is up to

Dandiri GP which is 4 km from Rajanga Village and one has to walk up to these villages from

Dandiri.

4.1.4 Existing energy demand

Energy is mainly used for cooking and lighting needs. Firewood is one of the main sources for

energy in these villages which is used for cooking and is sourced from the nearby forest at no

private monetary cost. Each household uses around 3kg of firewood for cooking every day. Each

family uses kerosene for lighting purposes. They are dependent on PDS (Public Distribution

System) for kerosene. Each household requires upto three litres of kerosene per month and

purchases two litres of kerosene under PDS at a rate of Rs20/litre. If this is insufficient, they

purchase kerosene from the open market at a rate of Rs 30-40/litre.

4.1.5 Economic details

The primary occupation of the villagers is agriculture which is mostly for self-consumption. The

villages have a majority of medium or marginal farmers. There are very few employed persons.

Men are involved in agriculture, labour work and goat rearing and the women folk are involved

in NTFP collection, household work and goat rearing. The households are also involved in

making plates out of Sal leaves but only for use in village function and not for selling in the

market. Some households are also involved in preparing bamboo products whereas households

also earn their livelihood through poultry and pisciculture. The average monthly income of each

family is Rs 1000/month. The villagers are involved in labour work for around 15 days a month.

Each village has at least one to two self-help groups involved in medical and microfinance

activities respectively. Table 4 provides the economic details of the villages whereas Table 5

provides land ownership patterns in the villages.


Table 4: Economic Status of the villages

Nature of job Rajanga Kanaka Chaddoi Baguli

Government Employee 1 2 0 2

Agriculture 21 29 3 23

Labour 62 22 22 23

Forest Work 1 1 0 0

Hired/Private employee 2 2 0 2

Table 5: Land Ownership

Farm Size ( in acre ) Rajanga Kanaka Chaddoi Baguli

>5 1 3 0 0

2.5-5 9 12 3 3

1-2.5 16 9 4 15

<1 0 2 4 2

4.1.6 Irrigation

The villagers depend on rain for their agriculture. Delay or erratic rainfall greatly affects

their agricultural output. On many occasions the villagers have hired diesel pump sets for

irrigation at a cost of Rs 100/-per hour excluding fuel which turned to be very expensive for the

villagers. The water for irrigation is obtained from wells constructed by villagers for irrigation

and from perennial streams.

4.1.7 Drinking Water

These villages have no access to safe drinking water. Due to this, villagers are prone to water borne diseases. The four villages have at least one hand pump and well for drinking water (see table 6).

Table 6: Water availability

Village Name No of hand pumps No of wells

Rajanga 2 2

Kanaka 3 1

Chaddoi 1 1

Baguli 0 1


4.1.8 Livestock population

In each of the four villages, the villagers own cows and bulls which are used for agriculture.

There are around 60-70 cows in the villages. They also rear goats which are used for milk and

consumption. There are around 600 goats reared in these four villages. All the goats and cattle

are open grazed during the day. Chicken are also reared which are mostly for consumption or

selling in the village itself (see table 7 for details). Goat and cattle are stall-fed at night and

during the rainy season. Dung of the cattle is used as manure. There is no surplus production of

milk and is mostly for personal consumption. Also in these four villages, the villagers have a

custom of rearing cattle for the Brahmins (the priests) who give them the calves and once they

have reached their milk bearing phase they are given back to their respective owners.

Table 7: Livestock population

Livestock Rajanga Kanaka Chaddoi Baguli

Cattle 16 46 15 8

Goats 200 87 23 31

Bullock 24 37 8 13

Poultry 53 61 4 0

The next step in the analysis was livelihood analysis and resource assessment. The detailed livelihood analysis and resource assessment have been presented below:

4.2 Livelihood Analysis: Rajanga Village

4.2.1 Land acreage and ownership details

The landlord in the village has seven acres of land, whereas the rest of the villagers have 1-2

acres of land each. Landless villagers also exist in the village, who are involved in taking care of

the goats of the villagers. Sometimes, they are also involved in other jobs.

4.2.2 Existing infrastructure

A school is available but was non-functional last year due to unavailability of teachers. It was

found to be functioning during the team visit. But the school has no infrastructure for higher

classes. Two to three mobile phones are available in the village. They pay to get it charged in


Dandiri GPA forest guest house built by forest department. There is a community centre in the

village. Two functional hand pumps were observed in the village.

4.2.3 Agricultural Activities in Rajanga Village

Agriculture is the prime income generating activity. Rice, mustard, horsegram. Arhar (split

pigeon peas, Cajanus cajan), til (sesame seeds, Tilletia Indica), turmeric, and vegetables are

grown (see table 8). Agriculture is quite primitive in these areas as hardly any technologies and

implements are used. Photo 2 shows a paddy field in the village.

Table 8: Crops grown in Rajanga Village

Crop Season

Rice June-December

Mustard October-November

Horsegram August-December

Arhar ( October

Til (Sesame seeds) September-December

Turmeric /Ginger June –next june

Vegetables ( Cucumber, January-June

ladyfinger, Aubergine)


Photo 2: Paddy fields in Rajanga Village

4.2.4 Constraints in Agricultural production

The village being an elephant infested area, elephants are a menace to the

villagers. Around 50% of the harvest is destroyed by elephants and villagers can

effectively save 3-4 quintals of paddy.

Local varieties of paddy are grown. No hybrid types are grown due to

unavailability of proper irrigation facilities.

Brinjal (Aubergine) cultivation was affected due to absence of rainfall this year. A

few local NGOs are trying to introduce hybrid varieties of vegetables but villagers

have not yet experimented with these varieties.

There is a continuous problem of irrigation due to which farmers are unable to

take up agriculture on a large scale.


4.2.5 NTFP ( Non-Timber Forest Produce) Collection

NTFP collection is also one of the major livelihood activities of the village. Men and

women both go to nearby forests to collect honey, siyari, sal leaf (Shorea robusta), tumba

( Puntius tumba) , amla ( Phyllanthus emblica), tamarind and oilseeds like mahua

(Madhuca longifolia) and karanj (Pongamia pinnata) (see table 9 for related details).

Table 9: NTFPs collected by Residents of Rajanga

NTFP Season Use

Honey October, March-April For both selling and domestic purpose

Siyari Round the year Used for domestic purpose

Sal leaves (Shorea robusta) Round the year Used for plate making for domestic

purpose and these are not sold in the

M arket.

Karanj seeds July-September Oil is extracted for medicinal purpose

Tumba (Puntius tumba) Round the year Collected For food

Mahua Seeds July-september Oil is extracted from the seeds

Tamarind July-September sold to middlemen from nearby towns

Amla July-September sold to middlemen from nearby towns

Honey; Honey is collected in October and in March-April from the far-off forests by both

men and women folk. It is the Sal tree where bees make hives. Males who go to the forest

for rearing goats give information to women back home about the beehives and then

women go to collect the honey. Around100 kg of honey is collected each year from this

village. Villagers pack it in very basic tin packages available from the market. These are

½ kg tin pots which are not attractive at all.

Poultry and animal rearing: A good number of families are involved in poultry and

animal rearing activities. Animal resources are present in villages (e.g. goat, cows and

bulls) – see table 10 for details.


Table 10: Inventory of Animal Resources in the village

Animal Numbers Details

Goat 200 Grazing time – 9am to 5 pm and they are

stall-fed at night. Litter collected –

250g/day.

Cows and bulls 60-70 bulls

and 15-16

cows

Total milk collected – 5/6 litres from

whole village. Cows are stall-fed in the

monsoon season. Dung collection 3-4 kg.

Dung is used for manure.

Poultry 20-30

chicken

Sold in retail to people from same village

or from other villages who come to buy for

Rs. 200-300 on the basis of chicken size

(not weight). Turnover is Rs. 2000-3000

per family.

4.2.6 Income and Expenditure Details of the households:

Every family earns Rs 800-1000 per month. Labour work is available for 2-3 months per

year i.e. from July-September. The daily income from forest labour work is Rs. 92,

agricultural labour is Rs. 120 and construction work is Rs. 150. As the NTFPs are not of

sufficient quantity, so most of them prefer labour work as income is more than that

earned by selling forest products.

4.2.7Energy needs

Each family gets 2 litres of kerosene from the retailer per month at Rs 20/litre. Kerosene

is used for lighting purposes. No expense is incurred in firewood as the women folk

collect from the forest. They use around 3kg of firewood for cooking.

4.2.8 Community and financial resources

There exist three self- help groups in the village being operated by an NGO FARR: one

in the hamlet and two in the villages. The average collection from each member is around

Rs. 30-50 per month and is deposited in Gandhanali Gramin Bank. Money is used from

the bank in terms of emergency (health, agriculture etc.) and is given as loan with 2%


interest rate. It was revealed during FGDs that the youth of the village have migrated to

Kerala and nearby town in search of work. Villagers marry in the same community across different villages. Middle class families

who support the poor villagers in times of need, the villagers pay 15 kg of their harvest as

interest. If unable to pay in a year, than 30kg is paid as interest next year. Barter system is

followed by the villagers. Villagers also get money at an interest rate of 5% for Rs1000

every month which is higher than the interest rate charged by Self Help Group (SHGs).

Villagers use mobile phones for social purposes, not for economic purposes. Girls are

allowed to go to school. They attend school in Dandiri GP. Also, they help in household

work like wood collection, water collection, chores etc. The village is very prone to

malaria. Also there is no proper health center due to which there has been many deaths.

Maternal health facilities are very poor in villages and there have been a few deaths of

women last year during child delivery. They own job cards given to them by rural

employment guarantee scheme (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005).

Men are involved in agriculture, labour work and goat rearing. Women are involved in

forest produce collection (mahua, karanj), household work and goat rearing. Around 15-

16 male and female from the village go for forest product collection.

4.2.9 Forward Linkages

Villagers do not have any means of travelling, hence do not go out to the market to sell

their products, however, intermediaries from nearby towns of Rasul, Kathkumpa, Lahada

and Naupatra visit them to collect agricultural produce as well as Intermediaries are

involved who buy goods from the villagers and sell it to the nearby markets. The

intermediaries are the middle class businessmen from Rasul, Lahada, Kathkumpa and

Nuapatra. The intermediaries pay money in advance for the goods they want and come

and collect it when it is available. As for example, local businessmen pay advance to the

villagers for aubergine. So when it is harvested, they come and collect it from the village.

Businessmen are not comfortable with weighing the goods as they pay in advance for it.

In fact, they do not bring any weighing machines with them. Because of lack of

communication facilities, the villagers have no information about the prevailing prices in


other markets. The villagers even experimented with contract farming. Intermediaries pay

less price compared to market price and also use unfair market practices as they do not

weigh goods etc.. There is lack of market transparency. Barter system is followed when

the villagers have no money to buy goods form market. They exchange bidi (local

cigarettes) dal (pulses), til (oilseed) in return for other grocery items.

Distance of nearby markets from village

o Rasul- 12km

o Kathkumpa-10km

o Lahada-6km

o Nuapatra-15km

4.2.10 Why do they want electricity?

The villagers responded that they want electricity so that the children can study at night.

The women can also work late in the night in case power is available. Electricity will

help in irrigation. They are willing to pay for electricity provided they get employment.

4.2.11 Stakeholders’ perceptions regarding Potential Interventions

The villagers want irrigation facilities for enhancing their agricultural production.

Villagers responded that they needed proper training for women for developing their

existing handicraft skills and learning new skill. They wish to get proper market

information which helps them in selling their products at correct price. They want to be

updated with the latest news around the world. So they want television for news and

entertainment. Villagers stressed on the need for weighing systems to avoid exploitation

from the hands of intermediaries. They would like to have machineries intervention as for

example grinder for grinding turmeric (haldi).


4.3 Livelihood analysis: Baguli Village

4.3.1 Agricultural Activities in Baguli Village

Agriculture is the prime income generation activity. Rice, mustard. horsegram, arhar

(split pigeon peas), til (sesame seeds), turmeric, and vegetables are grown (see table 11).

There is a mango tree in the village where mangoes are collected, dried and sold. Each

landowner has about 0.2 acres of land.

Table 11: Agricultural Activities in Baguli Village

Commodity Season

Rice June-December

Tamarind ( Tamarindus Indica ) April –May

Mustard ( Brassica spp.) October-November

Horsegram ( Macotyloma Uniflora) August-December

Arhar ( Cajanus cajan) October

Til ( sesamum Indicum ) September-December

Turmeric /Ginger June –next June

Vegetables ( Cucumber, January-June

Ladies finger, aubergine)

Mango ( Mangifera Indica) ( Dried ) June-July

Total land area of the village is eight acres out of which only 2-3 acres are cultivable.

This year brinjal was cultivated over 1.5 acres. Elephants are a menace to the villagers.

Around 50% of harvest is destroyed by elephants. Around 3-4 quintal is saved. Local

variety of paddy is grown. No hybrid types are grown due to unavailability of proper

irrigation facilities. Brinjal cultivation was affected due to absence of rainfall this year.

Villagers also collect non-timber forest produce (see table 12) and generate income

through animal rearing (see table 13).


Table 12: NTFP related Economic Activities in Baguli

NTFP Season Use

Honey October, March-April Total honey collected 20 kg.

Siyari Round the year Used for domestic purpose

Sal leaves ( Shorea Robusta ) Round the year Used for plate making for domestic

purposes and these are not sold in the

market.

Karanj seeds ( Milletia Pinnata) July-September Oil is extracted for medicinal purpose

Tumba ( Puntius Tumba) Collected For food

Mahua Seeds ( Madhuca Longifolia) July-september Oil is extracted from the seeds

Tamarind ( Tamarindus Indica) July-September sold to middlemen from nearby towns

Amla ( Phyllanthus Emblica ) July-September sold to middlemen from nearby towns

Firewood Round the year Cooking

Table 13: Poultry and Animal Rearing Activities in Baguli

Animal No.

Goat 87 Grazing time- 9am to 5pm and they are stall-

fed at night.. Litter collected – 250gm/day

Cows and Bulls 11-12bulls and 7-8 Total milk collected – 5/6 litre from whole

cows Village

Cows are stall fed in the monsoon season.

Dung collection of 3-4 kg.

Dung used for manure purpose.

Milk used for personal consumption, no

surplus.


Poultry 20-30 chicken are 20/30 chicken are available

available Sold in retail to people from same village

or from other village who come to buy for

Rs200/300 on basis of chicken size not in

weight.

Turnover is Rs2000-3000 per family

Pisciculture Two ponds are

Two ponds for pisciculture are available. It has been two years since pisciculture was commissioned in the village through a community-based intervention.

present for fish

rearing

4.3.2 Income and Expenditure Details of the households

Income from labour work Villagers get labour work for around 10-15 days a month as per the rates mentioned

earlier. Man gets Rs 92/day and women Rs70/day. Each family get 2 litre of kerosene

from the retailer per month at Rs20/litre. Kerosene is used for lighting purposes. No

expenses are involved in the collection of firewood as the women folk collect it from

forest. Households use around 3kg of firewood for cooking. As the NTFP‟s are not of

sufficient quantity, so most of them prefer labour work as income is more than that

earned by selling forest products. They earn Rs10-12/kg from tamarind and Rs 10-12/kg

from dry mango. This income is also seasonal as there was no production of dry mango

in the year of survey, whereas last year they had a total production of 50 kg.

4.3.3 Community and financial resources

There exist only one SHG comprising of 12 members. They collect Rs30/month and

deposit in Gandhanali Gramin Bank. A total of around Rs300/500 per month is deposited


by each member. There are a total of 32 families.11-12 families have acquired NREGA

job card. Twelve families have the BPL (Below Poverty Card) card and also there are

three widow pension schemes in the village. There is a family suffering from disability.

No disability pension schemes for that household are available. They are supported by the

village. The community is very vibrant and unified.

4.3.4 Existing infrastructure

Unlike other villages, this village was found to have a grocery shop. The owner gets

items from town (Dandiri) and keeps there for villagers to buy. There is also an

Anganwadi (child care and mother care centre) operating out of this village. The children

come here for studying and also play around the day.

4.3.5 Interventions proposed by Villagers

The villagers very clearly understand the importance of electricity for livelihood

generation. When enquired about the potential uses, they responded that energy will help

them in raising their income levels. They also showed interest in taking up their own

enterprises in case they are provided opportunities. Villagers told that they want light so

that they can also work in the night, Women weave special type of mats in these villages

and they are unable to carry on their activities when the sun sets. They responded that

electricity will enable them to do similar activities during evening time as well. Besides

this, villagers also showed interest in entertainment activities.

4.4 Livelihood Analysis of Village Chaddoi

4.4.1 Agricultural Activities in the Village

They are dependent on agriculture –which is rain fed. They try to earn a living by

working as labourers either in the forest department or in stone crusher units in nearby

villages. A few also go off to distant places like Kerala to make a living. This village

produces similar crops as other villages and the cropping season and other details are


same as in other villages.

4.4.2 Non-timber forest produce collection

Major NTFPs collected are honey, siyari, sal leaves, karanj, tumba, mahua, tamarind,

amla, mushroom, and firewood. The details of NTFP activities are same as provided

earlier for other villages.

4.4.2 Poultry and Animal rearing Actvities in Chaddoi

The villagers own 23 goats. The cows in the village are open grazed and milk is only

used for personal consumption.

4.4.3 Land acreage and ownership details

Six families have 0.04 acre of land. They get labour work for around 10- 15 days a

month. As the NTFP‟s are not of sufficient quantity, so most of them prefer labour work

as income is more than that earned by selling forest products. They earn Rs10/12 per kg

from tamarind. Each family gets 2 litre of kerosene from the retailer per month at

Rs20/litre. Kerosene is used for lighting purposes. No expense in firewood as the women

folk collect from forest. They use around 3kg of firewood for cooking.

4.4.4 Infrastructure There is no road to the village. It is surrounded by Bhaliki forest in the west and Anishpur

forest in the south. No scope for elementary education or healthcare exists. Elephants are

a regular threat in the area. A small school is present but students cannot pursue higher

studies as there is no facility in the school and the children have to walk through forest to

go to other schools for further studies.

There is only one mobile handset in the village which is being charged in the village

Dandiri (costing Rs.2 for each charging). There is no scope for entertainment –so a TV

set will be of great value to the village.


4.4.5 Energy habits

The energy consumption habits are similar to those of other villages as mentioned above.

The villagers are interested in having electricity to be able to avoid sleeping early in the

evenings. They want irrigation using solar pumps so that they can take up agriculture in a

bigger way. They are also willing to work at night to prepare plates and mats (the

ingredient for which is available locally).

4.4.6 Community

There is no concrete road to this village. The village is very prone to malaria. Also there

is no proper health centre due to which the mortality rate is very high. The SHG group

(Maa Bhadrakali Group) is interested in taking up goat rearing, vegetable cultivation like

turmeric, aubergine, and ginger and other crops which shall not be damaged by elephants.

4.5 Livelihood Analysis of Village Kanaka

4.5.1 Existing Infrastructure:

There is no pucca (metal) road to the village .One has to wade through Kanka nal

(perennial stream) to reach the village. There is one forest guard office and a primary

school. One TV was supplied by the wildlife society but is not working.

4.5.2Main activities

They are dependent on agriculture –which is rain fed. They try to earn a living by

working as labourers either in the forest department or stone crusher units in nearby

villages.

4.5.3 Energy habits

The energy consumption habits are very much similar to other villages. The respondents


from this village showed interest in getting electricity. They want to have the pumps so

that they can take up agriculture in a big way. They are also willing to work at night to

prepare plates and mats (the ingredients for which are available locally). On an earlier

occasion, one villager had tried to rent a pump set but it was very expensive as it

consumed 1.5 litres of fuel in running 1 HP Honda pump set, in addition to rent of Rs 100

per hour.

4.5.4 Livelihood Activities

There is ample scope for vegetable cultivation-in particular aubergine produced has a big

demand in the neighbouring market. But lack of proper seed and fertilizers is hindering

them from taking up other crops. The villagers are collecting minor forest produce like

harada (Terminalia Chebula), bahada (terminalia bellirica), mahua (Milletia Indica) but

are exchanging it to buy oil for their own consumption. At present, businessmen come to

this village to buy vegetables, spine gourd (Kankada) and Mushroom. However when the

production goes up arrangement can be made to transport the produce from Kanka to

other places as marketing is not a problem.

They have offered land for setting up the solar station. Their intention is to take up

farming in a big way if irrigation can be done by solar pump set. They, aided by the

women folk, can also take such activities as broomstick-making and mat-making at night.

There are two mobile phones in the village but they have to go to nearby towns Dandiri

or Rasol to get it charged.

The village cluster also includes Muruda and Dantpal –two hamlets which is now having

a household of 5 against original settlement of 14 families. Some have now fled to

Rajanga due to extreme economic conditions. These hamlets may ultimately be devoid of

any people. Hence should not be considered for electrification.


5. Value Chain Analysis

The livelihood activities in all the four villages are almost similar and hence the value

chain analysis for all the villages has been presented in a cumulative manner. An analysis

of the value chains in all the four villages reveal that there is hardly any value addition of

commodities produced in the village. The value chains are very primitive in nature with

almost no technological interventions present. The people in all the surveyed villages are

engaged in a few common activities: i.e. agriculture, NTFP collection, and labour as

presented in previous sections. Agriculture is the main income generation activity. Quite

recently, agriculture was being taken up only to fulfil their own food needs, but in all the

villages started growing vegetables i.e. ladies finger and Brinjal ( Aubergine) in last few

years for marketing purpose. The villagers understand that if these activities are scaled

up, it can fetch them good profits. Agricultural production is conventional in nature with

almost no irrigation facilities. Besides this, NTFPs also form a major part of livelihoods

of the villagers and a few activities such as honey collection, sal leaf plate making and

others too have the potential of scaling up and can be good source of their income

generation. On the basis of stakeholder responses and livelihood analysis, we have

identified NTFP and agricultural (paddy, brinjal etc.) value chains for development and

off-grid interventions.

5.1 NTFP ( Non Timber Forest Produce) Value Chain:

NTFP forms an important part of the livelihoods of residents of all four villagers. NTFPs

are defined as any produce obtained from forests other than timber. These could be fibres,

grasses, fodders, oilseeds, tannins and dyes, gums, resins, medicines etc. In this village

cluster under study, various NTFPs which are collected from forests are honey, Sal

(Shorea robusta ) leaves, oil seeds Mahua (Madhuca longifolia) and Karanj (Milletia

pinnata), roots and honey. The rural communities are engaged in collection of the

produce and selling it to the local markets (local name haats) or local traders. However,

there is a long chain leading to making of value added products. The villagers who collect

the produce are mainly not linked with the markets and sell the produce at the price given


by the local trader, ultimately making low margins across the value chain. Villagers are

free to collect this produce and also possess selling rights as it is concerned with their

livelihoods. With the interventions related to the collection, processing of these products

and markets, the villagers can earn more margins.

The analysis of NTFP activities reveal that the supply chain is highly underdeveloped and

the activities are carried in a highly primitive manner. There are various constraints

related to the collection of NTFPs as it has been observed that villagers do not follow

standardized collection practices (see Fig. 1). They do not have collection equipment e.g.

for honey they do not have storage containers to store it under hygienic conditions. There

is hardly any value addition of produce in terms of packaging and processing. For making

Sal (Shorea robusta ) leaf plates, no facilities are available and it is done manually only.

No extraction facilities are available in the village. The villagers either give it to the

trader or go the nearby town to get it processed.

Fig. 1: Constraints in NTFP Value Chain in the Selected Village Cluster in Dhenkenal

District

5.2 Proposed NTFP Value Chain Interventions:

NTFP Collection Processing Marketing

•No standardised •Hardly any value •Lack of proper collection addition done marketing system techniques •Processing •No standradised

•Collection and facilities: Nil weighing facilities drying equipment (especially oil •Complete lack of lacking seeds) market price

•Quality •packaging information maintainance an facilities Nil ( •Distressed sale issue Honey , oilseeds through petty

•No storage and •No sorting and traders with non- weighingfacilities grading facilities 9 transparent

oilseeds) market practices •No access to nearby markets •Transport and logistics support nil


Collection and Drying Platform: Construction of a collection and drying platform in one

of the villages is proposed. This platform may help in drying the collected produce such

as Sal leaves, Mahua (Madhuca longifolia) and Karanj ( Milletia pinnata) seeds and will

help in reduction of moisture absorption and facilitating storage for shorter duration.

Supply of Polythene sheets: supplying polythene sheets for covering the produce in

order to maintain quality is another intervention which can be adopted. In absence of

these sheets NTFP produce gets deteriorated in rain.

Pressed sal leaf plate and cup making machines: Villagers collect sal leaves from

forests and use it for making cups and leaf plates for eating during family functions. This

activity also has a huge scope of scaling up in all the four villages as these products have

good market in the nearby villages. This activity could be commercially exploited with

the help of introduction of compressed Sal leaf cup and plate making stitching machines.

This activity like other activity would also require capacity building and market

interventions.

Introduction of Electronic Oil Expeller: Collection of Mahua and Karanj seeds is also

one of the livelihood activities. Villagers collect Mahua and Karanj seeds from forests to

prepare oil. This is an activity they employ only for obtaining oil for domestic use. The

collected seeds are given to the merchant in nearby village markets (faraway) where the

oil expeller facility is available. Usually, they get two parts of the oil and one part is

retained by the merchant towards his charges for oil processing. If an oil expeller facility

is provided to them this shall reduce their dependence on the merchants. In fact, there is a

huge scope for collection of Mahua , Karanj and other seeds and hence could be exploited

commercially for increasing their income. An oil expeller facility will not only help them

for the domestic purpose but also create new business opportunities through value

addition resulting into more income. This can be a common shareable platform for all the

villages in the cluster and services can be provided on a chargeable basis.

Electronic weighing Machine: The villagers mainly sell their produce to the merchants.

There are around 10-15 merchants from the nearby market who regularly visit all the four

villages for collection of their produce. They take NTFP produce, paddy, oilseeds, and


poultry from them. There are no weighing scales in the villages and the merchants also do

not bring one of their own. In that case, most of the times the villagers get cheated. A low

cost electronic standardized weighing machine will actually bring transparency to the

entire system as this will help the villagers to get the right price of their produce and

building transparency in the entire system

Mobile phone/Charger: Mobile phones have been regarded as one of the affordable

source of communication for poor across the world. In India too, many models are

running where mobiles have facilitated the better flow of information between rural

people and markets and have been able to add on to their incomes by adopting

transparent market practices.

Mobile phones have already made their presence felt at these places. In Rajanga, there are

three-four mobile phones and in Kanaka, two mobile phones are present. The villagers

get it charged from other nearby markets which have electricity. There are one or two

spots in these villages where these mobile phones catch signals. At present, this facility is

used for social interactions only and not for commercial purpose but the team saw a huge

scope if mobile interventions are brought in. The main reason for poverty in these areas is

presence of weak market linkages. The merchants from nearby villages visit the people

once a fortnight and collect the material from them, which include seeds, poultry, paddy

etc. The major market related constraints existing in the system are lack of standardized

weighing facilities, and the presence of traditional intermediaries. They do not weigh

anything and only pay the price to these people based on their estimation which makes

the entire process unfair and non -transparent. Regarding the weight and the price, they

have to settle with how the merchant dictates his terms. A mobile phone can actually

empower them by allowing them to explore alternative market channels, approach new

intermediaries and also improve price information and transparency across the system.

The mobile can also be a good entrepreneurial activity and also have the potential to be

turned into a revenue stream their facilities.

How a mobile phone can help the village residents? Mobile phone will help the farmers look beyond these traditional markets and find out

alternative markets. They can get better price of the commodities if they sell it in the


nearby town markets. A phone will help them co-ordinate with the other traders as well and will ensure market

transparency in terms of getting better prices of commodities. They would be able to

know the prevailing prices in other nearby markets and then decide on who to sell to.

This will ensure an increase in bargaining power of villagers in the entire marketing

process. It will ensure better business co-ordination among the fellow farmers at a common

marketing platform and also with the traders outside the village for better business

practices. They can now more frequently interact with NGO workers for more technical

inputs. Mobile phone will not only help farmers improve their livelihoods but will also ensure

that they are connected to the outside world. They can also have access to information

related to healthcare services available outside village and education for their children. In light of the proposed off grid interventions, we see mobile phone having a great

potential as a platform of information delivery as in the proposed collective market effort.

This will aid in co-ordination of activities associated with the project and are related to

NTFP collection, collective marketing, repair and maintenance services, transport and

logistics and also other social activities. Figure 2 provides the schematic for a mobile-

phone based information system.


Fig. 2: Linking farmers in Dhenkanal District to nearby Markets through Mobile based Information System

Livelihood improvement

Better Access to nearby

markets

Price Discovery ( NTFP, paddy, vegetables,other

commodities)

Awareness and access to technologies

Social platform to interact with

friends, relatives, other communities, NGO workers

Better co-ordination of

existing livelihood and

business activities

Awareness about

Education and health services

in outside towns (


5.3 Agricultural Value Chains Agriculture is the main livelihood activity in all the four villages. Villagers have land where they

take up a range of activities. Since last few years, they have started cultivating paddy and

aubergine which they can sell in nearby markets. Mustard, Ginger and turmeric are other

commodities which are grown in the villages. Mostly, the villagers do it for their own

consumption but since last year they have started selling small quantities to the dealers outside.

They sell these to the intermediaries who visit the villages on a periodic basis. The market

linkages are almost as the farmers only depend on these traders. Since there are no means of

transport available.

Fig. 3: Constraints in Agricultural and allied activities Value Chain in the Selected Village

Cluster in Dhenkanal District

Production Processing Marketing

• Use of traditional •Hardly any value •Lack of proper and indigenous addition done marketing system seed varieties ( •Processing •No standradised paddy and facilities not weighing facilities brinjal)\ present especially •Complete lack of

•no proper farm for ginger and market price implements turmeric information

•mainly rainfed •packaging •Distressed sale agricultureNo facilities nil through petty source of •No sorting and traders with non- irrigation. grading facilities transparent

•No storage and market practices weighingfacilities •No access to

•Use of traditional nearby markets cropping •Transport and techniques logistics support

nil


5.4 Proposed Interventions ( Agriculture specific)

Enhancing Paddy/ Aubergine/Turmeric Cultivation:

The area has a vast potential for paddy, aubergine and turmeric cultivation.

Agricultural Pumps/Tubewells

Paddy is grown in all the four villages. Though there are ponds in two of the four villages,

providing irrigation facilities through electrical pumps would enhance the productivity.

Providing hybrid varieties for paddy, fruits and vegetables would also help enhance productivity.

Electricity wires to prevent wild elephant attack

Wild elephant is a big problem in the area. Wildlife society of India Head told that they tried

electric wires manufactured by an Australian company which helps prevent elephants away from

agricultural fields. So installing these wires could be a good idea but more work is required

These are the activities which can be started immediately with the project. The suggested

livelihood activities and electricity interventions (see table 13 for a summary) can be integrated

together with all the villages in the cluster as these villages are in close proximity and are

connected. The livelihood activities related to agriculture and livelihood promotion are almost

similar in the entire area. The villagers belong to similar tribes and are known to each other.

They have social connections and relationships and also pursue business with each other.

Marriages are also very common amongst the residents of these four villages. The primary

interventions which are directly linked with off grid project have been presented in table. There

are secondary interventions which also need to be pursued in order to successfully implement

these primary interventions.


Table 14: Proposed Primary Interventions for the Selected Value Chains

Livelihood Activity Electricity Rationale

Intervention

Paddy cultivation Agricultural Irrigation for paddy. aubergine and other

Pumps/Tube wells vegetables.

Electricity wires to To prevent wild elephant attack

prevent wild elephant

attack

Mahua, Karanj, til Low cost oil expeller Oil extraction i.e. value addition of oilseeds

seed oil extraction including mustard

Honey collection Packaging material Value addition for marketing will fetch more

Sealing machine revenues

Sal leaf Cup and Pressed sal leaf plate Marketing of sal leaf cup and plate machine.

Plate making and cup making

machines

Drying Platforms

Haldi, Ginger Value Grinder/packaging Value addition of haldi with packaging and

addition material/sealing branding will improve

machines

Integrated across a Electronic Standard Ensuring market transparency will give more

range of livelihood weighing scale freedom in hands of farmers and they will

activities earn more

Integrated across a Mobile Phone/

Range of livelihood Charger

activities


5.5 Market Linkages It has been observed that the market linkages of these villages with the other nearby towns are

extremely weak and this is due to weak infrastructural, transport and communication facilities.

The agricultural and NTFP collection activities are almost similar in this village cluster and as

discussed above, there is need to enhance marketing efforts of the produce which may include sal

leaf plate, honey, Mahua and Karanj oil, dried haldi (turmeric) and ginger. Following steps may

be taken:

Fig. 4: Proposed Interventions through Off grid Electricity


Establishment of a marketing society: A small society with member producers from all the

villages in cluster can be considered. Packaging material:

o Containers for honey collection can be provided so that the quality can be

maintained and there is less wastage. Attractive packaging material for honey

(250ml, 500ml. and 1 litre) bottles can be provided. Honey produced in the area

has very good taste and health benefits.

o Small polythene bags of different sizes for dried ginger and turmeric powder can

also be provided

o Packaging bottles for marketing oil ( in varying sizes ) Availing shareable transport facilities: Since the produce is abundant during season time,

shared transport facilities can be hired to sell the produce to nearby towns. This will help farmers

gain access to new markets and also end up their sole reliance on existing middlemen who

engage in unfair marketing practices. Tie-up with NGOs: There are already a few self-help groups working in three of the four

villages so these self-help groups can be involved market related activities. With the business

opportunities coming their way, more members will be interested in joining the societies. The

level of trust which members have with SHG representatives can be leveraged to create a

marketing platform. Branding: It was found during the survey that a few products being collected from the forests

were really unique e.g. honey, Though not aggressive marketing strategies are needed but a little

branding efforts differentiating the produce on the basis of origin i.e. collected and produced by

tribal societies will also help gain better prices in the marketplace. The produce can be

collectively differentiated on the basis of Origin (tribal), natural and organic and health benefits


43

Fig.4 : Establishing Market Linkages in selected Villages of Dhenkanal Districts


44

5.6 Capacity Building

In light of developing the primary interventions alongside off-grid electricity, various

secondary interventions also need to be concentrated upon. Capacity building related needs

for the proper functioning of proposed interventions have been identified which are given in

table 15.

Table 15: Capacity Building Needs ( Secondary Interventions )

Capacity Building Needs Institutional Interventions

Training on mat weaving The Orissa State Co-operative Handicraft Co-operation,

The Odisha State Livelihood Promotion Society

Training on sal leaf stitching The Odisha State Livelihood Promotion Society ,IRADA

Training on turmeric/ginger mango FARR, The Odisha State Livelihood Promotion Society ,

drying and packing IRADA

Training on Good Agricultural FARR, IRADA

practices

Oil Expeller machine operations The Odisha State Livelihood Promotion Society

and maintenance

6.0 Conclusion:

Through our research study, we find that there is an immense scope of expanding paddy as

well as brinjal (aubergine) cultivation in the villages and both the commodities also have a

lot of demand in nearby areas. Turmeric cultivation could also be an effective option as it

offers a lot of scope for value addition and does not require any specific machinery except

grinding and packaging. The commodity is used as a spice in all households offering lot of

demand. Also there are a lot of NTFP activities such as collection of honey, oil seeds, sal

leaf where villagers can earn good income through value addition. Market linkages were

found to be very weak in the area in terms of access to market, lack of proper weighing

facilities and intermediaries. The entire system was found to be dominated by traders with

lot many market efficiencies. On the production/collection side also, villagers do not have

any farm implements, collection equipment, storage and packaging material. Also, they

lack in their knowledge of using modern seeds/technologies. Off-grid electrification


45

through OASYS South Asia project can offer help bring new interventions, both on the

backward as well as forward side for these value chains such as irrigation, mobile phone,

sal leaf pressing machine, oil expeller etc. may lead to empowerment of these communities

through value addition of their products and building market information and transparency.

The next phase of the study shall aim at estimating the impact on development of relevant

value chains and also on socio-economic lives of the communities concerned.

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Acknowledgement

The activities reported in this case study report are funded by an EPSRC/ DfID research grant

(EP/G063826/2) from the RCUK Energy Programme and supported by REEEP (Renewable Energy and

Energy Efficiency Partnership) South Asia. Several REEEP and non REEEP partners have provided

critical information and facilitated our onsite stakeholder discussion, surveys and interviews for the

report

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the

views of the institutions they are affiliated to or that of the funding agencies.


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OASYS South Asia project

The Off-grid Access Systems for South Asia (or OASYS South Asia) is a research project

funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council of UK and the

Department for International Development, UK. This research is investigating off-grid

electrification in South Asia from a multi-dimensional perspective, considering techno-

economic, governance, socio-political and environmental dimensions. A consortium of

universities and research institutes led by De Montfort University (originally by University of

Dundee until end of August 2012) is carrying out this research. The partner teams include

Edinburgh Napier University, University of Manchester, the Energy and Resources Institute

(TERI) and TERI University (India).

The project has carried out a detailed review of status of off-grid electrification in the region

and around the world. It has also considered the financial challenges, participatory models

and governance issues. Based on these, an edited book titled “Rural Electrification through

Decentralised Off-grid Systems in Developing Countries” was published in 2013 (Springer-

Verlag, UK). As opposed to individual systems for off-grid electrification, such as solar home

systems, the research under this project is focusing on enabling income generating activities

through electrification and accordingly, investing decentralised mini-grids as a solution.

Various local level solutions for the region have been looked into, including husk-based

power, micro-hydro, solar PV-based mini-grids and hybrid systems. The project is also

carrying out demonstration projects using alternative business models (community-based,

private led and local government led) and technologies to develop a better understanding of

the challenges. It is also looking at replication and scale-up challenges and options and will

provide policy recommendations based on the research.

More details about the project and its outputs can be obtained from

www.oasyssouthasia.dmu.ac.uk or by contacting the principal investigator Prof. Subhes

Bhattacharyya ([email protected]).

OASYS South Asia Project

Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development,

De Montfort University,

The Gateway, Leicester LE1 9BH, UK

Tel: 44(0) 116 257 7975

http://www.oasyssouthasia.dmu.ac.uk/

mailto:[email protected]

WP23: A study of livelihoods and value chain development through off-grid electricity interventions in Dhenkanal district of Odisha

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