US keen on taking Sewa's agri story to Africa by Niyati Rana

They have done much more than uplift their own lives. Members of the city-based  Self-Employed Women's Association (Sewa), it appears, will now be playing an instrumental role in the empowerment of women farmers in Africa!

It seems likely that India and the US will together replicate Sewa's agriculture model in Africa, for the betterment of the women farmers there. A discussion to this effect took place during US president Barack Obama's high-profile visit to India.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack attended the meeting, where the model employed by Sewa to aid small-time farmers was discussed. Vilsack, after listening to the experience of one of the women, enquired as to how the campaign could be taken to Africa.

Chairperson of Sewa Trade Facilitation Centre, Reema Nanavaty, said that India, the US and Africa could form a joint committee to replicate Sewa's agricultural campaign and help small-time and marginal farmers. "For widespread awareness about the campaign, ICT medium as well as IT service can be used," said Nanavaty at the meeting with Vilsack.

Sewa started its agricultural campaign in small villages in 1995, when farmers were facing problems like non-availability of credit, water, seeds and fertilisers, and lack of access to technology and to markets. These issues had led to their exploitation, and they were in the clutches of traders and moneylenders. Sewa, under its campaign, coined the idea of 'village economy', where the money earned by farmers of a particular village remains within the village.

To make this effective, Sewa developed a system to get rid of intermediaries, and taught women farmers to evaluate the future prices of commodities grown by them. According to Sewa members, this has enabled farmers to earn and learn better. The agricultural campaign encouraged and motivated farmers to organise 'krishi bazaars' (farmers' markets) locally as well as at the national level, say Sewa members.

Successful model:

* The US Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack attended the meeting, where the model employed by Sewa to aid small-time farmers was discussed.

* Vilsack, after listening to the experience of one of the women, enquired as to how the campaign could be taken to Africa.

* Chairperson of Sewa Trade Facilitation Centre, Reema Nanavaty, said that India, the US and Africa could form a joint committee to replicate Sewa's agricultural campaign and help small-time and marginal farmers.

NDTV, 6 December, 2010, http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/us-keen-on-taking-sewa-
s-agri-story-to-africa-70907