Revitalization of Rivers in India Draft Policy - Isha Guru Jaggi Vasudev

Revitalization of Rivers In India
Draft Policy Recommendation
POLICY ECOSYSTEM CONDITIONS
FOR SUCCESSFUL TREE PLANTATION
ON FARM LAND
The need for specific policy ecosystem conditions for tree plantation
on farm land is necessary due to the vulnerable state of farmers, as
covered earlier. The farmer’s soil is in a poor state and he hardly has
any financial ability to take any risk to his livelihood in order to save the
rivers. It is unfair and impractical to expect the most vulnerable lot to
bear the brunt of saving the rivers all by their volition.
INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF RIVERINE COMMUNITY FARMERS THROUGH FPO
The biggest bane of the farming community in India is its lack of
organization. By facilitating organization of farmers through FPOs, the
government can provide and implement schemes to these large groups
seamlessly. This also gives farmers the strength to participate in markets,
as their graded and aggregated produce will now become substantial in
quantity. Information about institutional provisions by the Government
of India to help set up and form FPOs and facilitate training should be
made available to farmers in the riverine floodplains and target areas.
Wherever river revitalization work is mooted, formation of FPOs should
be facilitated. Small Farmer’s Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC), a society
promoted under the Department of Agriculture, Government of India
is the nodal agency that is responsible for promoting FPOs across the
country and linking producer groups to marketing opportunities. 22 While
SFAC helps in setting up of the FPO, NABARD funding is available to
manage the administrative affairs of the FPO. SFAC gives guidelines on
how to set up an FPO, which is designed to train and facilitate farmers
who may have no knowledge of FPOs and their benefits.
SFAC through its accredited facilitating agencies, hand-holds the
farmer groups from villages from the point of providing them awareness
on FPO formation and guiding them through all the later steps involved.
The major steps through which SFAC will support, and coordinate
between the government, NGOs, resource persons and farmers are:
1. Pre-project implementation: this involves conducting a baseline
study on the volume and value of produce the farmer group has
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