Collective Farming Through SHGs: A Case of Kudumbashree

Abstract

Kutumbashree was launched in 1998 as a community network to work in tandem with local self-governments for poverty eradication and women empowerment. Kutumbashree is one of the largest women’s movement in Asia with a membership of 41 lakhs representing equal number of families. Collective farming is an initiative introduced by Kutumbashree to encourage cultivation by neighbourhood groups (NHGs/SHGs). It facilitates to enchance the agricultural production by bringing fallow and cultivable waste land into agricultural use, and has significance as a food security measure. Women enter the programme as cultivators as opposed to agricultural labour and control the means of production and access formal credit which helps in increasing the returns from farming. Joint liability groups (JLGs) of women farmers are formed under the collective farming initiative to help women cultivators access agricultural creditfrom the banking system. The paper highlights the various processes of promoting the JLGs of SHG women and how they take up collective farming in Idukki district of Kerala by presenting various case studies. Through the collective farming programme of SHGs, the twin benefits of poverty eradication, food security and financial returns through agriculture, and increased agricultural production are being accomplished by the poor women.