In the project region, climate-related hazards and extreme weather events have increased significantly in recent decades – both in terms of their severity and frequency. This has far-reaching consequences for agriculture, food security and the health of the population. People who live far below the poverty line and therefore have less resilience and resources are particularly affected by this situation.
This primarily affects landless smallholder farmers and people who depend on the harvests of larger farms as day labourers. Their already fragile economic livelihoods are further worsened by the consequences of climate change.
The project aims to enable people who have previously lived in extreme poverty to generate a permanent and sustainable income, utilise their own self-help structures – including to gain access to state benefits – and thus strengthen their economic and social resilience and their ability to adapt to climate-related hazards and natural disasters.
The measures include the joint creation of their own family development plan, Based on these development plans, the women of the families received start-up capital in the form of agricultural inputs. The combination of means of production that yield short-term profit (e.g. vegetable seeds,plant seedlings, ducks, chickens, etc.) and more long-term main sources of income (e.g. sheep,goats, etc.) allows families to be as diversified and climate resilient as possible throughout the year.
For example, in training sessions on climate-resilient farming systems, all participants learn not only procedures for improving water management, selecting drought-resistant seeds, and maintaining or improving soil fertility under difficult climatic conditions, but also how to protect their crops in the event of disasters through simple and inexpensive adaptation measures (e.g., by creating raised beds).
Project no.: 130-21
Funding country: India
Funding location: West Bengal
Funding year: 2021-2022
Project partner: Netz Partnerschaft für Entwicklung und Gerechtigkeit e.V.
Local organization: Development Research Communication and Services Centre