Achievements & Impact
- Human Resource Development
Formation and training of Farmers’ Groups The groups that attained organizational maturity have been developed into independent CBOs. The numbers are as follows:
Tehsil Dipalpur, district Okara 40 CBOs 11 groups Tehsil Jaranwala, district Faisalabad 10 CBOs District Sheikhupura 2 CBOs District Bahawalnagar 1 CBOs
Of these several are formally registered with the Social Welfare Department, Punjab, and are undertaking initiatives independently. They have their own organizational structure and elected office holders.
Formation of cooperatives:
- GCO believes in the cooperative struggle and considers it the only way to sustainable development of the country at large. The procedure being adopted by the GCO team is as follows. GCO social organizers visit the village and collect basic information about the village to be included in GCO target area. After the first orientation visit GCO team collects the number and names of the persons eligible for the inclusion in GCO program. After getting the list a general meeting of the village people is being called. Selection of time and place for the meeting is being done very carefully so that these may be suitable for every one to ensure the maximum participation of the people. In the meeting GCO staff brief people about GCO’s objectives, activities, programs and achievements. In Dipalpur GCO team has not to work hard to introduce GCO as most of the people know GCO due to its activities. In the meeting or if desired by the people a group is being formed. It is worth mentioning that the community runs the proceedings of the meeting after the initiation by GCO. After the formation of the group, if the group is large enough to act as independently it is formed as CBO and if in the beginning it is not big enough to act independently it is attached with the nearest village. CBO members choose their representatives through election held in the general meeting of the CBO. The members of groups now are eligible to receive the benefits from GCO programs and they have to attend the monthly CBO meeting held at GCO Dipalpur office regularly.
Local Capacity:
- The farmers have been trained in basic concepts of sustainable agriculture, organic farming and other techniques of farming. Five farmers from these areas were sent for a two-week orientation and exposure visit to Nepal and Bangladesh. Also attended tools implement training and a 7- day Organic Farming workshop organized by SAP-PK and FAO Delhi. The members of local CBOs have also attended specialized training courses by SAP-Pakistan under its Resource Development Program (RDP), training on CBO Management and Micro finance management training from DAMEN Lahore and Smokeless stove training by SAP-PK. Field Assistant and Agriculture officer of Agriculture department regularly visit the area to educate the farmers about the latest developments in the agriculture. A number of women groups have been formed of which 6 have been established as regular CBOs. The initiatives taken by GCO exclusively for rural women include training of cultivating rice seedling nurseries for women’s income generation (with the collaboration of Water Management Department), three days long livestock management training from Bahadurnagar Farm, Okara and mushroom and vegetable cultivation and preserving and processing of food training held at Gattwala Forest Research Institute organised by NARC. In addition to this a model kitchen garden is also established to motivate the women of rural areas to grow vegetables in their own courtyards. Furthermore, GCO is also collaborating with existing Women’s Organizations in the area e.g. Falah-e-Niswan, a registered CBO running a skill-training center and non-formal school in Dipalpur City.
Community Revolving Loans
- Micro-credit program for small and landless farmers: Through its micro credit program, GCO has distributed certified and quality agricultural inputs among small and land less farmers. Total 3000 acreage of land for which inputs have been given for Wheat, Rice, Maize, Vegetables & Potato. The micro credit program, besides strengthening the small farmers financially, serves as a tool for the promotion of scientific and sustainable farming methods. Lectures and discussions are held at the beginning of each sowing season to educate the farmers on the proper methods of cultivation of that particular crop. Field visits are also regularly made to the farms to assess the growth of the crops. The monthly CBO meeting is the forum for these discussions. Besides these discussions visits of farmers to model and progressive farms and Government departments like NARC, Ayub Agriculture Resaerch Institute and Bahadurnagar livestock Farm etc are also arranged to show the farmers the practices. Credit facilities for 76 women farmers have also been distributed till December 1999.
Initiatives for environmental restoration
- Various initiatives have been taken to educate local farmers on environmental conservation. Some notables are:
- § Smokeless stoves (named as Kifaiti Chulha) have been established in 10 villages with the technical assistance of Pakistan Council of Appropriate Technology (PCAT). GCO staff, now trained in the installation of stoves is assisting rural housewives to install stoves independently. In addition to this assistance GCO staff is also training the rural women in installing the stoves. Till the day 33 housewives from different villages got trained for the program and they are now replicating the process by themselves.
- Agroforestation campaign has been launched in 51 villages
- Tree plantation and promotion of indigenous plants and trees, Herbs and fruit bearing indigenous plants – seedling nurseries
- Organic farming of vegetables and horticultural plants and installation of bio-gas plants at two sites
Technology Transfer
- Technology transfer center established with the collaboration of Water Management Department. Facilities offered include modern agricultural implements (laser leveler, zero tillage drill, bed shaper) on reduced rent, training in scientific agricultural techniques (rice seedling nurseries, irrigation, fertilizing, storage of crops etc.), soil and water testing facilities. (list of agricultural machinery and implements available at GCO Technology Transfer Center – Annex II)
Initiatives in transferring various technologies have been taken in the last few years:
- vegetables in tunnels
- training in nursery plantation
- nursery in village Maliwal
- Training in kitchen gardening techniques to local farmers and women
- Agriculture technology (laser leveling, bed furrow shaper, zero tillage)
- Sustainable Agriculture Working Model and Research Training Institute
- Efforts for promotion of Sustainable Agriculture – livestock, EM Technology, compost making, green manure, irrigation techniques
- Promotion of concept of agriculture as a sustainable system
- Bio-gas plant, solar stills, solar oven with PCAT
Education
- 1 formal school has been set-up at Adda Salhowal and a scheme of feeding of children has been started with the help of CRS/Trocaire Food aid Program. In this scheme students were given a glass of milk daily in the recess. The school is run and managed by CBO members themselves and the committee is responsible for the grant of fee concession to needy and eligible students. Fee structure is kept flexible to address the needs of the people of the area. One adult education and skill training center for women is also working at GCO site office Dipalpur where 30 women of area are getting education. These women are provided with the inputs free of cost. Besides this Information center & library have been set-up at Shirin Maafi Dipalpur GCO site office. GCO is in the process of establishing two community schools at its sites with the help of AKRA (Anjuman-e-Khudaman-e-Rasool Allah) Shergarh. They will also train the teachers at AKRA teachers’ training center, Shergarh.
Health
- Health Education & Medical camps: Family Planning Education & Advice program is being run with the support of local communities. Regular reproductive health and family planning camps are organized in these villages
Advocacy, Networking and Linkages
- Linkage Development with CSOs
- Private school union 23 member – close coordination, computer training
- Advocates union – coordination with CSOs, will provide free legal advisory services and promote awareness on legal and citizens’ rights.
Impacts
- Linkage Development with CSOs
- Organization of farmers
- Awareness among local rural population of policy matters
- Confidence among community that they can influence policy level decisions
- Facilities provided to farmers (technology transfer, implements etc.), better and more productive agriculture
- Environmental awareness, shift to sustainable and organic agriculture due to reduced and proper use of chemical inputs
- Indigenous techniques
- Promotion of concept of agriculture as a sustainable system
GCO’s Role
Achievements
Networking
Technology Transfer Center
News
GCO believes in the cooperative struggle and considers it the only way to sustainable development of the country at large.
Through its micro credit program, GCO has distributed certified and quality agricultural inputs among small and land less farmers. Total 3000 acreage of land for which inputs have been given for Wheat, Rice, Maize, Vegetables & Potato.