Status Report on All Women Dairy Co-operative Societies Under COMFED - A Women Empowerment Paradigm

Transcription

1 Status Report on All Women Dairy Co-operative Societies Under COMFED - A Women Empowerment Paradigm (a-homestead-dairy-cow-provides-more, banking-dairy-cash-cows-tribals) Undertaken by Gender Resource Centre, Women Development Corporation Department of Social Welfare, Government of Bihar

2 Status Report on All Women Dairy Co-operative Societies under COMFED A Women Empowerment Paradigm, April 218 Prepared by: Gender Resource Centre Women Development Corporation Department of Social Welfare, Government of Bihar ; Guidance: Dr. N. Vijaya Lakshmi, I.A.S., Ph.D Secretary, Animal & Fisheries Resources Government of Bihar & Managing Director Women Development Corporation, Bihar Team Leader: Anand Madhab Principal Consultant Gender Resource Centre Research Lead: Ashish Kumar Senior Consultant Gender Budgeting and Resource Mobilization Gender Resource Centre Researchers: Prateek Kumar (Senior Researcher) Subir Kumar (Senior Researcher) Vijay Kumar (Researcher) Ravi Shankar (Researcher) Special Inputs: S. Anand Senior Consultant Research and Documentation Gender Resource Centre Rashmi Rani Technical Expert Gender Resource Centre

3 uhrh'k dqekj eq[;ea=h] fcgkj lans'k foxr nks o"kksza esa dkweqsm ds ek/;e ls,d fo'ks"k vfhk;ku ds varxzr izns'k esa efgyk nqx/k lgdkjh lfefr;ksa dk fuekz.k fd;k x;k gsa ;g,d,slk dne gs tks fo'ks"kdj xzkeh.k {ks=ksa esa efgyk l'kfdrdj.k dh fn'kk esa,d u;k vk;ke LFkkfir djrk gsa bu lfefr;ksa ds LFkkiuk ds i'pkr bl ckr dk vkadyu djuk vko';d izrhr gks tkrk gs fd] blls tqm+h efgykvksas ds thou esa oklro esa fdruk izhkko im+k gsa eq>s ;g tkudj izluurk gks jgh gs fd] tsumj fjlkszl lsuvj] efgyk fodkl fuxe us dkweqsm }kjk fo'ks"k vfhk;ku ds rgr fufezr efgyk nqx/k lgdkjh lfefr;ksa dk v/;;u dj ;g le>us dh dksf'k'k dh gs fd xzkeh.k efgykvksa ds thou esa lkekftd] vkffkzd,oa l'kfdrdj.k vk;keksa ij fdruk ifjorzu vk;k gsa ;g v/;;u ewy #i ls Field Research ij vk/kkfjr gsa bl v/;;u ds ifj.kke ;g ifjyf{kr djrs gsa fd lgdkjh lfefr;ksa ls tqm+h bu xzkeh.k efgykvksa ds lkekftd thou esa ldkjkred ifjorzu vk;k gs,oa vkffkzd #i ls Hkh ;s efgyk;sa l'kdr gqbz gsaa lkfk gh xfr'khyrk c<+us ls efgykvksa esa lqj{kk dh Hkkouk] vkrefo okl,oa fu.kz; ysus dh {kerk esa o`f) gqbz gsa lgdkjh lfefr dh ;s efgyk;sa tkfr&/kez ds HksnHkko ls mij mb dj,d lkfk dke dj lkekftd lejlrk dk,d vuwbk mnkgj.k Hkh izlrqr dj jgh gsaa gesa meehn gs fd bl v/;;u ds ifj.kke,oa lq>ko bu efgyk nqx/k lgdkjh lfefr;ksa ds lqn`<+hdj.k,oa folrkjhdj.k esa lgk;d fl) gksaxs] tks varrksxrok bl izns'k esa ^lqsn ØkfUr* ds ekxz dks iz'klr djsxka (uhrh'k dqekj)

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5 i'kqifr dqekj ikjl ekuuh; ea=h i'kq,oa erl; lalk/ku fohkkx fcgkj ljdkj lans'k ;g ge lc ds fy;s vikj g"kz dk fo"k; gs fd ^fcgkj* dk uke efgyk l'kfdrdj.k ds fn'kk esa lqyrk gkfly djus okys ns'k ds vxz.kh jkt;ksa esa gsa finys n'kd esa fcgkj ljdkj esa gq, l'kfdrdj.k ds gj,d vk;keksa ij dk;z fd;k gs] ftlesa fo'ks"kdj xzkeh.k efgykvksa dk fgr dsunz fcunw jgk gsa bl vkyksd esa dkweqsm ds }kjk xzkeh.k efgykvksa ds lkekftd,oa vkffkzd l'kfdrdj.k ds mìs'; ls ^efgyk nqx/k lgdkjh lfefr;ksa* dk fuekz.k,d ljkguh; dne gsa ;g izluurk dk fo"k; gs fd nqx/k lgdkjh lfefr;ksa ls tqm+h bu efgykvksas ds thou esa vkus okys cnyko dk v/;;u tsumj fjlkszl lsuvj] efgyk fodkl fuxe }kjk fd;k x;k gsa ge vk'kk djrs gsa fd bl v/;;u ds Ik'pkr izkir vk dm+ksa,oa rf;ksa ds vkdyu ls u dsoy jkt; esa efgyk l'kfdrdj.k ds fy;s fd;s tk jgs iz;klksa dks cy feysxk cfyd blds dk;kzuo;u esa vkus okys pquksfr;ksa ds lek/kku dk Hkh volj miyc/k gksxka (i'kqifr dqekj ikjl)

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7 Anjani Kumar Singh, IAS Chief Secretary, Government of Bihar MESSAGE I am pleased to know that Gender Resource Centre - Women Development Corporation has undertaken a research study 'Status Report on all Women Dairy Co-operative Societies Under COMFED - A Women Empowerment Paradigm'. This assessment study is of immense importance because it provides key information about the women empowerment through the women dairy cooperative societies in the State. It also involves deeper understanding on Women dairy cooperatives as an effective means to gender mainstreaming in rural Bihar. I am sure that this report will be extremely useful to all stakeholders concerned and help them in taking proactive measures on cooperative strengthening to utilise the resources of the farmers and realizing genuine economies of scale in the state. (Anjani Kumar Singh)

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9 Dr. N. Vijaya Lakshmi, IAS Secretary, Department of Animal and Fisheries Resources, Government of Bihar & Managing Director Women Development Corporation, Department of Social Welfare Government of Bihar MESSAGE Dairy Cooperative is an important component of organized milk market in Bihar. The main aim of the Dairy Cooperative movement in Bihar since its inception - has been to organize farmers so as to gain bargaining power to get better terms from selling milk. The network of Bihar State Co-operative Milk Producers' Federation Ltd. (COMFED) has expanded considerably since its inception in 1983 and so far lakhs of farmers both men and women have been benefited from this initiative. I am pleased to present the result of the research study 'Status Report on All Women Dairy Cooperative Societies under COMFED A Women Empowerment Paradigm' done by Gender Resource Centre (GRC), Women Development Corporation(WDC) with the support of Bihar State Co-operative Milk Producers' Federation Ltd. (COMFED). GRC has engaged four independent researchers to maintain objectivity and unbiasedness. The results have shown exciting progress on various dimensions of women empowerment. The short comings which are presented in the form of recommendations and suggestions will be addressed for greater sustainability of the All Women Dairy Cooperative Societies. Government of Bihar is committed to promote gender equality and women empowerment across every sector. This Research study reflects our commitment to empower women as economic agents and improve their ability to access market on competitive and equitable terms. I hope that this research study represents the significant contribution towards achieving the goal of gender equality and women empowerment in the State and would be useful for COMFED and Milk Unions in bringing improvements and further strengthen this special drive on creating and nurturing All Women Dairy Cooperative Societies in Bihar. (Dr. N.Vijaya Lakshmi)

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11 Smt. Shikha Srivastava, IRTS Managing Director Bihar State Milk Co-operative Federation Ltd. Government of Bihar COMFED PREFACE Women entrepreneurship has been recognized as an important source of socio-economic growth. For improving the over all standards and living conditions of the rural women, COMFED has incorporated and implemented several policy decisions like 5% participation of Women in management committees at our village society and union level; emphasis on their training and inclusion in LRP (Local Resource Person) and AI (Artificial Insemination) programmes; and forming an all women dairy cooperative societies. With these we aspire to bring them into the mainstream of dairy development by empowering them and facilitating dairying entrepreneurship. The aim of this study was to examine the growth of women entrepreneurship in dairying, improvement in the socio-economic status and empowerment through women dairy cooperative societies. Through these societies, women are witnessed emerging as leaders and taking crucial decisions on strength of their cooperative activity impacting positive changes in the lives of their children, family and themselves. I wish to offer sincere thanks to Dr. N. Vijaya Lakshmi, Chairman COMFED and Secretary, Animal & Fish Resources Department, Govt. of Bihar for her never ending support & motivation in driving the wheel of dairy development and making this study possible. I acknowledge the contribution of Gender Resource Centre. Women Development Corporation to study these women societies created under special drive and to analyse the implications and manifestations in empowerment of their participant members. I am grateful to our village cooperative societies and women members who openly shared their thoughts and stories of change. All these developments clearly demonstrate that dairying under cooperative set up carries a strong potential to establish itself as a very effective instrument of women s socio-economic empowerment in the rural areas of Bihar that would be further scaled up in the days to come. (Ms. Shikha Srivastava)

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13 Anand Madhab Principal Consultant Gender Resource Centre Women Development Corporation Department of Social Welfare Government of Bihar REFLECTIONS Empowerment does not mean giving lectures through workshops and orientation programmes or providing capacity building training only. The real empowerment comes from mobility, handling fiscal administration and independent say in decision-making process. The crux of the women empowerment depends upon how one legitimises and recognises their contribution in the development process. A large number of women workforces contribute in agriculture and animal husbandry but it goes unnoticed and unpaid. The special drive for making Women Dairy Cooperative Societies was an effort in the direction of the real women empowerment by COMFED. With this special drive it has not just created 538 Women Dairy Cooperative Societies, but has created 538 finest and most exemplary women empowerment institutions. Still we have miles to go. This study has tried to understand the impact of Women Dairy Cooperative Societies on women empowerment from social, economic and developmental perspective. It has tried to understand the challenges faced by the members of Women Dairy Cooperative Societies and their probable solutions. The formation of these societies have not only empowered their members from economic and social perspective but also mitigated the distance between the caste and religion. Apart from increasing the mobility and economic status of women, it has also provided a socio-political platform for the women in villages. The study is an eye opener for many of us. I have also learned a lot during my field visits undertaken for this study. Dr. N.Vijaya Lakshmi, I.A.S., Secretary, Animal & Fisheries Resources, Government of Bihar has not just mooted the very idea of this study but also supervised throughout the journey. This study would not have been possible without her active and positive participation. The study team of GRC is grateful for her continued support and guidance. GRC is also indebted to Ms. Shikha Shrivastava, IRTS, Managing Director, COMFED for partial financial support and facilitating the study. GRC extends its gratitude to the MD, COMFED and her team Members, specially Mr. Rajiv Verma, GM-Marketing and Mr. V.K.Pandey, Manager-MIS and other field staffs, SUDHA Mitras. GRC also extends its thanks to all Chairman, CEO and MDs of Milk Unions attached to COMFED in Bihar. GRC extend its gratitude to the study team members Senior Researchers Mr. Prateek Kumar, Mr. Subir Kumar and Researchers Mr. Vijay Kumar and Mr. Ravi Shankar. The relentless effort in coordinating the study by GRC Senior Consultant, Mr. Ashish Kumar was commendable. Mr. S.Anand, Senior Consultant-GRC, extended his valuable technical inputs to make this study a robust one. Contribution of Ms. Rashmi Rani, GRC, Technical Expert is also recognised. I am sure that the findings of this study and its recommendations will further strengthen the working of Women Dairy Cooperative Societies and path of Gender mainstreaming in Bihar. (Anand Madhab)

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15 Ashish Kumar Senior Consultant Gender Budgeting &Resource Mobilization Gender Resource Centre Women Development Corporation Department of Social Welfare Government of Bihar ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I wish to thank Dr. N. Vijaya Lakshmi, Managing Director Women Development Corporation for her never ending support to the study 'Status Report on All Women Dairy Cooperative Societies under COMFED A Women Empowerment Paradigm'. I extend my special thanks to Ms. Shikha Srivastawa, Managing Director Bihar State Co-operative Milk Producers' Federation Ltd. (COMFED) for supporting us in taking forward the study across the women dairy cooperative societies in Bihar and for the relevant and timely advice on the subject. I am extremely thankful to Mr. Anand Madhab, Principal Consultant, Gender Resource Centre, Women Development Corporation for his keen interest on the thematic which provided the opportunity to undertake the study. I am also thankful to Mr. S. Anand, Senior Consultant, Gender Resource Centre for his support and relevant advice in finalizing the study instruments and toolkits. The result of research study is structured into six chapters. The first chapter is an introduction and background regarding purpose of undertaking the study, scope and rationale with an economic/overall impact. The second chapter deals with methodology, sampling size and process covered. The third chapter reflects the findings based on primary data /information collected through the field visits. Case studies compiled during research study have been included in Chapter four. The research study learning s and community perspectives have been taken into account in chapter five followed by conclusions and recommendation including opportunities and way forward enlisted in the chapter six. This study would not have been complete without the expert inputs of the Researchers Mr. Prateek Kumar, Mr. Subir Kumar, Mr. Vijay Kumar and Mr. Ravi Shankar. Detailed discussions with Mr. V.K.Pandey, Manager-MIS and other field staffs, SUDHA Mitras were very useful in finalizing toolkits, in data collection, evidences and assimilation. I express my gratitude to them. It is hoped that the Data Fact Sheet/s and the Recommendations arising out of the study would assist the researchers and practitioners in charting out a road map for a visible impact facilitating Gender Empowerment in Bihar. (Ashish Kumar)

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17 Index Chapter 1 Introduction Background Women in Dairy Development in Bihar Context Purpose Objectives Selection and Specification of Variables 5 Chapter 2 Methodology Sampling Plan Participatory methodologies Sampling Design and Rationale Sample Size Assessment tools Study Tools Data analysis Data Quality Monitoring Timeline of the Study 11 Chapter 3 Findings Social Dimension A. Status of Sanitation: B. Clean Fuel: C. Family Support: D. Safe in coming to WDCS: E. No Discrimination: F. Opinion in family planning: G. Do you decide vote: Economic Dimension Power and Agency Dairy Production Increase in Income Access to and decision on credit Education and Training 21 Conclusions and Suggestions 22

18 3.3 Empowerment Dimension A. Participation in Community Meetings: B. Regular meetings at WDCS: C. Level of Confidence in Meetings D. Level of Confidence in Meetings with Government Officials: E. Knowledge of WDCS Rules: Financial Inclusion Chapter 4 Case Studies Case Study # 1: (Chaichak Mahila Dugdh Utpadan Samiti, Sabaur, Bhagalpur) 28 Case Study # 2: (Imansarai Mahila Dugdh Utpadan Samiti, Patori, Samastipur) 31 Case Study # 3: (Rasalpur Mahila Dugdh Utpadan Samiti, Sheikhpura) 34 Case Study # 4: (Chamatha Mahila Dugdh Utpadan Samiti, Bachhawara, Begusarai) 37 Case Study # 5 : (Madhawapur Mahila Dugdh Utpadan Samiti, Bhawanipur, Purnea) 4 Chapter 5 - Learning's and Community Perspectives Access to cash for personal and family expenses Access to Credit 44 Chapter 6 - Conclusions and Recommendations Sustaining positive impact and approach of the special drive Sustaining positive Social Impact Sustaining Positive Economic Impact Sustaining Positive Visibility, Marketing and Branding Special Training Programs to ensure quality and build capacities of the WDCS members Enhancing positive impact on village society and economy Opportunities and Way Forward 48 References 48 Annexure Annexure Annexure 3 6 Study Tool Study Tool Study Tool Some Glimpses 68 Press Clippings 69-71

19 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AI Artificial Insemination COMFED Bihar State Co-operative Milk Producers' Federation Ltd. CEO Chief Executive Officer DCS Dairy Cooperative Societies DRMU DR Milk Union, Barauni FGD Focus Group Discussion GOI Government of India GRC Gender Resource Centre IDI In-depth Interview IT Information Technology JEEViKA Bihar Rural Livelihood Project Society KDP Kosi Diary Project, Purnea Kg Kilogram LEA Lady Extension Assistants MMU Mithila Milk Union, Samastipur MDP Magadh Dairy Project, Gaya M&E Monitoring and Evaluation NCR National Capital Region NRLM National Rural Livelihood Mission OF Operation Flood SHG Self-help Group SMU Shahabad Milk Union, Ara SNF Solids-not-Fat STEP Support to Training and Employment Programme TIMUL Tirhut Milk Union, Muzaffarpur UP Uttar Pradesh VIMUL Vikramshila Milk Union, Bhagalpur VPMU Vishal Patliputra Milk Union, Patna WDC Women Development Corporation WDCS Women Dairy Cooperative Society I

20 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The study titled "Status Report on All Women Dairy Co-operative Societies Under COMFED - A Women Empowerment Paradigm" is an effort by Gender Resource Centre, Women Development Corporation, Department of Social Welfare, Government of Bihar. Bihar State Milk Cooperative Federation Limited (COMFED) provided the financial assistance for the study. The aim of the study was to ascertain the empowerment levels of the women members of the 538 women dairy cooperative societies formed as part of Special drive to increase women's participation in dairy sector and give women their due place in dairy development as a tool to bring out socioeconomic transformation. This study is different in following participatory approaches involving women, girls and other stakeholders involved in Dairying from the rural communities through women dairy cooperative societies in Bihar and a multi disciplinary study team encompassing researchers from humanities, statistics, social, Law and Management sciences in a joint assessment of the socio economic outcomes of increased women participation in dairy development. The study used the descriptive and cross sectional mixed survey methods with integration of both quantitative and qualitative approach to extract primary data from the respondents who included dairy farmers both within and outside the cooperatives and key government agencies. In the process, it also reviewed literature from secondary sources about dairy cooperatives as case studies to analyse and establish evidence around the major research question pertaining to the benefits to women in joining the women dairy cooperatives and reasons for drop outs. Study covered 1% of the sample of the 538 women dairy cooperative societies formed as part of the special drive (i.e 54 Women Dairy Cooperatives) across Bihar identified through the stratified sampling process - which would be done for selection of district, Group, block and villages across all the 8 Milk Unions in Bihar. It involved 54 focused group discussions with 1849 women - including high performing and low performing women dairy cooperative socities - spread across 9 geographically distinct divisions and 8 milk unions in Bihar. Structured personal interviews of 58 women members of the women dairy cooperative societies were conducted - as part of evidence and case studies. Observation techniques of the activities/processes of women dairy cooperative societies from the Gender Empowerment Lens and Stakeholder discussions were held to cover other evidenced based dimensions strengthening analysis of the findings. Methodology The study employed participatory methodology to administer the findings pertaining to empowerment dimensions (Social, Economic and Financial Inclusion) of the women dairy cooperative societies, because participatory practice is crucial to sustainable and people-centred development. With participatory approaches, it is the women member of the women dairy cooperative society who facilitated the discussion for change, planned their priorities, and decided to what extent the special drive to integrate women in dairy development has made progress and delivered relevant change in their lives and communities. II

21 Participatory discussions with the end beneficiary served as an effective way of building participatory learning and evidences into Women Dairy Cooperative Societies facilitating inclusive development and social change. This offered an inclusive community driven approach and a collective analysis leading to a collective action enabling evidenced based contributions to policy development. Universe The state has been divided in to 9 geographically distinct administrative divisions and 8 milk unions in Bihar and related districts, which is as depicted below: Sl. Milk Unions/Projects/Units 1 Vaishal Patliputra Milk Union (VPMU), Patna 2 DR Milk Union (DRMU), Barauni 3 4 Tirhut Milk Union (TIMUL), Muzaffarpur Mithila Milk Union (MMU), Samastipur Districts Patna, Vaishali, Nalanda, Saran and Sheikhpura Begusarai, Khagaria, Lakhisarai and part of Patna Districts Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, East Champaran, West Champran, Siwan and Gopalganj Samastipur, Darbhanga and Madhubani 5 Shahabad Milk Union (SMU), Ara Bhojpur, Buxar, Kaimur and Rohtas 6 Vikramshila Milk Union (VIMUL), Bhagalpur Bhagalpur, Munger, Banka, Jamui and part of Khagaria Districts 7 Magadh Dairy Project (MDP), Gaya Gaya, Aurangabad, Jehanabad, Arwal and Nawada 8 Kosi Dairy Project (KDP), Purnia Purnia, Katihar, Araria, Kishanganj,, Supaul and Time Frame: 2 Months, starting January 16, 218 with submission of the Report by March 31, 218. January 16 February 15, 218 Finalization of Tools, Researchers, Training, Background Study and Review of data/documents, seeking information pertaining to special drive and the details of the 538 Women Dairy Cooperative Societies and finalization of the sampling plan and Rationale. February 15 March 2, 218 Pilot Testing, Refinement of the Toolkits based on field inputs, Development of the Tour Plan, Field Work and Primary Data Collection in 1% of the study geography across the 9 administrative Divisions / 8 Milk Unions of Bihar. March 21 March 31, 218 Presentation of Observations and Key Findings, Data Entry, Analysis, Report Writing and Finalization March 31, 218 Submission of the Report III

22 Objectives of the Study: Overall Objective: To assess the socio economic outcomes of the increased women's participation in Diary Societies at COMFED, as part of the special drive undertaken by Government of Bihar during the last two years Specific Objectives with key questions: This study provides a report that assesses and describes the progress and achievements, gaps, challenges and opportunities of the increased women participation through the 538 Women Dairy Societies at COMFED by focusing on socio economic outcomes. The specific questions for each area were derived through the following components: a) Assess the program and outcomes, related impacts and potential for scale in line with the strategic focus (Short Term and Long Term). b) Assess the Effectiveness, Strengths, Challenges and Weakness of the Initiative while working towards achieving the objectives c) Assess the quality of the M&E processes to measure results d) Do Special Drives to increase women's participation in Dairy Cooperatives Contribute to Women's Inclusive Development? Findings The study employed participatory methodology to administer the findings pertaining to empowerment dimensions (Social, Economic, Empowerment and Financial Inclusion) of the women dairy cooperative societies. The initiative has shown impacting outcomes in the journey. The cooperative societies collect milk from farmers for the Bihar State Milk Co-Operative Federation Ltd (COMFED), which sells its dairy items under the Sudha brand. COMFED and its affiliated milk union provide the necessary organizational and marketing assistance and handholding support for functioning of women dairy cooperative societies such as procurement, processing and marketing of milk to ensure continuous supply of milk to provide remunerative return to the women members of the women dairy cooperative societies. This is in addition to other veterinary services support, cattle feed, artificial insemination and providing insurance facilities to the women members in the rural areas and empowering them. To look at the specific numbers, in , 78 new all-women cooperative societies were formed. In , the number jumped to 538 and in this fiscal year till February, 437 such societies have been formed. Social Dimension a) Status of Sanitation: While probing the question of status of sanitation, the research team observed that despite efforts from several other Government and non Government agencies, the issue of sanitation has still not reached the centre stage. Only 42 % of the respondents had toilets while, 58% had not. b) Clean Fuel: Evidences suggest that 53% of the respondents had gas connection, while 47% had not. Health concerns and benefits was one of the obvious reasons for an increased uptake. c) Family Support: It has often been considered that looking after the cattle has been the domain IV

23 of women only. Out of 897 women interacted, 756 accepted that their male counterpart supported them in their dairy activity. 84% women got support from their families. Only 17% women had to work all by themselves. d) Feeling Safe in coming to Women Dairy Cooperative Society for Dairying activities: Mobility is one of the pertinent indicators depicting empowerment. Purdah system being so widely prevalent in rural Bihar, it was difficult to assume that women will cross their boundary and come for some economic activity by themselves. 79% of the respondents felt safe in coming to the WDCS. Only 21% said that coming to WDCS was not safe. Some of the respondents came from as far as 5 km daily. 66% of the women brought milk to the collection centre by themselves. Women Dairy Cooperative Societies has greatly increased the mobility of women and has also provided a platform for community interaction e) No Discrimination: Across all the 54 Women Societies visited and among all the 897 respondents, no case of any social discrimination was observed. Women of all castes and class interacted comfortably and amicably in the women dairy cooperative societies. f) Opinion in family planning: Social empowerment and economic strength reflect on other personal aspects too. It has long been an unfortunate practice that women had no say in family size. On being asked whether their opinion is valued in family planning or not, 69% of the respondents said that their opinion is valued. Only 31% said that the family size is decided by husband and mother in law and that they have no say. g) Do you decide to vote?: Right to vote is an important aspect of empowerment in any democratic setup. Women, being associated to Women Dairy Cooperative Societies, have been exposed to the outside world and now, they know their rights better than before. 9% of the women exercise their voting right by themselves. Only 1% do not go out to cast votes. Most of them asserted that the preference of whom to vote is decided in consultation with the family. Community deciding the vote was minimal. Economic Dimension Women in Bihar have an important role in the economic and social development of diary societies, but they are often denied equal opportunities because of socially embedded gender inequalities. This study looked at the potential of dairy cooperatives for women's economic empowerment. The results of the study indicate that there are economic benefits for women participating in dairy cooperatives. Evidences suggested that income from dairying was found to be relatively more important to landless, small and marginal rural households. Hence women dairy cooperatives provided an opportunity to tackle rural poverty. Due to limited or lack of knowledge about the credit schemes by the bank and/or government, Poor households are restricted in their access to credit. This makes them avoid taking the risk of a future investment as they fear that in case of loss of an animal and failure to repay loans, they would become more vulnerable. Probing suggested that only 17% of the women dairy cooperative members had access to or taken some kind of loans. In addition to economic gains in terms of cash income which Rs. 7.5 per litre (post the association with the women dairy cooperative societies; prior to association, they used to sell the Rs. 25 per litre on an average), there are nutritional benefits for member households due to higher milk availability per capita. Evidences further suggested that women are more likely to spend extra income on nutrition and family maintenance. V

24 a) Power and Agency: By interviewing 897 women members of different DCS across all the 8 Unions in Bihar, economic empowerment has been assessed in terms of increase in income, access to cash, knowledge of credit, access to credit, knowledge of husband's income, confidence in financial transactions and aspiration for economic autonomy. The study used a before-after approach to ascertain that the claim that the annual dairy income has almost 25% after joining the Women Dairy Cooperative Societies and that more than 7% of the interviewed women had access to cash thanks to Women Dairy Cooperative Societies membership. b) On average, cooperative members keep 12% of the total milk for own use. This finding indicates nutritional benefits for households with women DCS membership. c) Access to and decision on credit: More than 152 women DCS members of the 897 interviewed (17%) confirmed that they have loans from at least one source and have a better access to credits. Other purposes for taking loans include education of children, purchase of land or the marriage of daughters. d) 312 women DCS members out of 897 interviewed (37%) confirmed that they participate in Women Dairy Cooperative Society meetings and put their concerns, voice and opinions. Village women were found to be more comfortable and vocal in the Women Dairy Cooperative Societies and feel that they have a greater chance of being heard in the same. Empowerment Dimension a) Participation in Community Meetings: Attachment with Women Dairy Cooperative Societies has definitely strengthened them financially and has, thereby, improved their status in the family, their role in community activities are still limited. Evidences suggest that only 35% of women participated In community meetings while 65% stayed away from it. Women still give priority to their place in the family. b) Regular meetings at Women Dairy Cooperative Societies: While the influence of men on the working of Women Dairy Cooperative Societies cannot be ruled out, a few of the Societies were found to be in total control of men only. However, in most cases, women were seen actively running the society and were fully aware of the working of it. 56% women participated in these meetings, 44% could not do so for one reason or the other. c) Level of Confidence in Meetings: : The women of Women Dairy Cooperative Societies gather at a point twice every day, away from their families. This provides them with an opportunity to express themselves in their own way. This has tremendously improved both their confidence and their level of communication. 62% of the women were found confident in communicating their views. Only 38% lacked confidence. d) Level of Confidence in Meetings with Government Officials: Government officials are still held very high in rural areas and set aside women, even men fumble in easily communicating with them. In response, 57% of the women asserted positively while 43% of the women members agreed that they did not feel confident in talking to the Government officials. e) Knowledge of Women Dairy Cooperative Societies Rules: As most of the members of Women Dairy Cooperative Societies are small farmers and cattle owners, their primary focus is to get right measurement of milk and timely payment. They are satisfied as most of the Societies are providing accurate measurement and timely payment. Once, these two criteria were met, the women members did not care for the rest. Consequently, it was found in our observation that VI

25 most of the women members did not know the rules and regulations of women dairy cooperative societies. Only 28% of the members knew about the rules and regulations of WDCS. 72% were ignorant. Financial Inclusion a) Exploring from the economic dimensions of women membership in a DCS at the household level; the study further probed into the details of Financial Literacy, Knowledge of the Financial Support schemes, access to and control over credit were the key areas to understand the empowerment indicators of the financial inclusion outcomes of the special drive. b) Regarding the knowledge of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana that aims to ensure access to financial services in an affordable manner and having a bank account. 99% of the women members of the WDCS confirmed having a bank account and are aware of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. However, in a good number of the Women Diary Cooperative Societies visited, transactions are being done in Cash in an informal credit system. c) Only 17% of the women dairy cooperative members had access to or taken some kind of loans and repay the same in time. Conclusions and Recommendations Evidences suggest that the special Drive towards increasing women's participation in Bihar through Women Dairy Cooperative Societies (WDCS) is effective and opportune in many ways. It brings clear benefits for women, children and the family. It has proved effective in promoting financial inclusion and facilitating a socio economic empowerment witnessing an increased participation of women in dairy cooperative societies. This has brought in an environment that provides access to social support and changing gender roles and attitudes. The basic principle of women diary cooperative societies is to work together for the mutual benefit and not for individual benefit. This study was aimed to understand the socio-economic status of women members in the WDCS formed as part of the special drive. From this study it is clear that there has been an increase in the socio economic status of the members. There has been a proportionate increase in cash and much is utilized in providing education to the child, which is another indicator of social status, Some of the Major recommendations arising from our study are detailed below. Effort is required to sustain the positive impact and approach of the special drive aimed towards increasing participation of women in the dairy development sector facilitating social empowerment addressing the issues of exclusion and inclusive development. There is a felt need to make the Women Dairy Cooperative Societies beneficiaries aware of the COMFED products through a public awareness campaign. This would make make people more aware of the potential of women dairy cooperatives and for their current contribution both in social and economic terms in dairy development sector in Bihar. Loan and insurance to be made easily accessible to the beneficiaries through the Women Dairy Cooperative Societies. Medical assistance / services of Medical Doctors to be provided periodically to build in confidence and momentum. VII

26 Speedy phasing out of centrifugal machines. This is because, other private dairy/milk collectors are very much active to get more Milk since they use electronic machine that displays digitally the FAT and SNF to buy in the confidence of the women DCS members. In Women Dairy Cooperative Societies, women found them empowered, as they are authorised to make their own decisions in meetings held outside the home. Income from WDCs enabled the women to make most household expenditures without being dependent on their husbands. Being disciplined in the Women Dairy Cooperative Societies has also brought in visible changes in the lives of women members; as the environment in the Women Dairy Cooperative Societies inspires them to bring more of these qualities in themselves and in the lives of their children. Evidences revealed that women dairy co-operative societies brought positive changes in the lives of its members and their family. Their communication skills and decision-making role improved with the economic empowerment. Economic empowerment enabled them to shun their inhibition and share their views openly in the family and in meetings. From the respondents it is clear that only 222 women members out of 897 interviewed (25%) owned TV and Refrigerator. 28% of the women member had a pucca house. From the analysis drawn, it can be concluded that nearly 8% of the respondents are happy with the dairy business as it provides them with a dedicated source of income. 84% of the women members received support from their family members in this activity. Findings revealed that major problem faced by women dairy members was lack of provision of loans and access to credit. Felt need therefore is to explore more and strengthen the financial inclusion services / indicators to facilitate multidimensional growth of dairy farming on a large scale. Improved MIS and Standard operating procedure may help facilitator to get immediate feedback (ie; periodical meeting, usage of machine for pricing, timely payment and ensuring bonus) on a real-time basis. As the participation of women in women dairy cooperative activities is high; therefore continuous training camps/course for skill development of women engaged in dairying is the felt need that may be organized at village level. The initiative should also strategize to engage husbands from a facilitation support dimension. Clearly, while men must be reached, felt need is to explore / consider different platforms for reaching husbands, for example, through pre-existing dairy groups at the village level etc for cross learning and sharing. From the Empowerment Dimension, the Women Dairy Cooperative Societies members need to be oriented on the Rights, Accesses, and entitlements. Our experience showed that not all women Dairy Cooperative Societies meet regularly to discuss business and social issues as is expected of them. In order to effectively strengthen the Women Dairy Cooperative Societies as per the vision plan, this needs to be strengthened, meetings held regularly, and the capacity of members to effectively control their accounts enhanced. VIII

27 CHAPTER PLAN The First two chapters titled INTRODUCTION and METHODOLOGY respectively covers the background of the Socio- economic Status Report on All Women Dairy Co-operative Societies Under COMFED - A Women Empowerment Paradigm" noting the special role that the women in Dairy Societies of Bihar have played in dairy development. The first chapter defines the introduction and background regarding purpose of undertaking the study, scope and rationale with an economic/overall impact. Second Chapter deals with METHODOLOGY, sampling size and process covered. Third chapter reflects the FINDINGS based on primary data /information collected through the field visits. CASE STUDIES compiled during research study have been included in Chapter Four. The research study learning s and community perspectives have been taken into account in Chapter Five followed by CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS including opportunities and way forward enlisted in the Chapter Six. COMFED Field Staff of Kosi Dairy with the study team X

28 Chapter 1 - Introduction 1.1 Background Dairy Cooperatives are an important component of organized milk markets in India. The main aim of the Dairy Cooperative movement in Bihar since its inception - has been to organize farmers so as to gain bargaining power to extract better terms of trade from downstream purchasers. Organizing smallholder producers and pooling their produce and provision of critical inputs has been the cornerstone of cooperative marketing to exploit the resources of the farmers and realizing genuine economies of scale. Evidences suggest that in low resource settings, Women dairy cooperatives are effective means to empower rural women. The network of Bihar State Co-operative Milk Producers' Federation Ltd. (COMFED) has expanded considerably since its inception in 1983 as the implementing agency of Operational Flood (OF) programme of dairy development on Anand pattern in Bihar. So far thousands of rural women have benefited from this initiative. Till the end of programme in March 1997, there were five district level Milk Producers' Cooperative Unions covering eighteen districts of Bihar. The dairy development work continued and at present there are eight district level milk unions covering thirty three districts of Bihar. COMFED develops the districts first, in terms of dairy development coupled with capacity development of milk producers to shoulder broader responsibilities and then hands over the entire operations to the representatives democratically elected by the milk producers. COMFED is serving the consumers of Jharkhand also and there are three dairies at Jamshedpur, Ranchi and Bokaro. These dairies are serving a good number of towns and cities of Jharkhand in Ranchi, East & West Singhbhum, Hazaribagh, Gumla, Khunti, Palamu, Lohardaga, Bokaro, Dhanbad, Giridih etc. Sudha Milk and some products are now available in Delhi/NCR region and Uttarakhand also apart from a number of towns and cities of U.P. and West Bengal. The Farmer's Training Centre provides training to milk producers and society functionaries in various aspects of dairying, clean milk production, society operation, artificial insemination etc. COMFED is presently registered under Multi-State Co-operative Society Act, 22. Policy decisions are taken by the Board of Directors consisting of the following Unions: Sl. Milk Unions/Projects/Units 1 Vaishal Patliputra Milk Union (VPMU), Patna 2 DR Milk Union (DRMU), Barauni Tirhut Milk Union (TIMUL), Muzaffarpur Mithila Milk Union (MMU), Samastipur Districts Patna, Vaishali, Nalanda, Saran and Sheikhpura Begusarai, Khagaria, Lakhisarai and part of Patna Districts Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, East Champaran, West Champran, Siwan and Gopalganj Samastipur, Darbhanga and Madhubani Shahabad Milk Union (SMU), Ara Bhojpur, Buxar, Kaimur and Rohtas 1

29 Sl. Milk Unions/Projects/Units Districts 6 Vikramshila Milk Union (VIMUL), Bhagalpur Bhagalpur, Munger, Banka, Jamui and part of Khagaria Districts 7 Magadh Dairy Project (MDP), Gaya Gaya, Aurangabad, Jehanabad, Arwal and Nawada 8 Kosi Dairy Project (KDP), Purnia Purnia, Katihar, Araria, Kishanganj,, Supaul and One of the unique features related to animal husbandry scenario in Bihar is the prominent role of women in dairying. Women play pivotal role in domesticating animals and more especially almost all activities in dairying are performed by women in Bihar. About 7 per cent of workforce in the animal husbandry sector comprises of women. Dairying, thus, has been considered as one of the most appropriate enterprises suitable for them in villages with a strong potential to make significant positive changes in the socio-economic profile of rural women. 1.2 Women in Dairy Development in Bihar Dairying is an occupation that supports the livelihood of many women, especially the rural community in Bihar. Almost 7 per cent of the dairy farmers are small / marginal farmers, who own only one or two cattle. Families depend on livestock to some extent or completely, form a relatively large proportion in Bihar considering that around 89% of the population living in the rural areas. Women play an important role in animal husbandry. They contribute more than men as approximately 85 per cent of them are involved in dairying. Evidences highlight that women play a significant role in dairy activities mainly in collecting fodder, watering, feeding animals, grazing, cleaning as well as collecting dung, rearing of calves, milking, bathing, taking care of sick animals, and cleaning cattle sheds. They also have a close bondage with animals as they consider them as part of their family. Women are more knowledgeable about behaviour, characteristics and health aspect of these cattle. Milch animal is an economic resource of a family. However, possession of dairy animals means not only more increased income, it also means status, being busy and occupied, food and nutritional security, and an opportunity to take some control over one's own life. The women have a greater control over this resource, compared to other resources like land in the village. The ownership of this asset increases the confidence and self-worth of women thereby, leading to empowerment. It opens up to them an occupation within the village itself that generates more value both economically and socially. This profession can be handled successfully even with low literacy skills. By raising incomes, an apparently simple single commodity project can have multiple beneficial effects, including nutrition, education (especially of girls), and job creation, and bring rural transformation. Study findings suggest that special drive towards increasing women's participation in Bihar through Women Dairy Cooperative Societies (WDCS) brings clear benefits for women and children, for those families who own or have been able to purchase a milch animal, it has been a boon. Rearing milch animals gives a new life to the vulnerable households who are deprived of 2

30 other resources for prosperity. It offers the only alternative for many women in the families in villages, as they are mostly unskilled and less educated. Introduction of better yielding breeds has also helped families to venture into this enterprise. Agricultural labour, the predominant work of the people in rural areas, is being gradually strengthened by dairying, especially in case of women. The limitations of agricultural job impel the women to think of an alternative and dairying is the one that provides a range of opportunities. Substantial contribution by ordinary women members in Women Dairy Cooperative Societies has played a major role in ushering the special drive. Dairying is more of a woman's job in rural areas in Bihar. Evidences suggest that women have a predominant role in the management of cattle. Thus, as part of the economic empowerment dimension, the study also looked into the distribution of benefits from the cattle women rear and their contribution to poverty alleviation at household level. 1.3 Context During FY , Bihar State Government launched a special drive to increase women's participation in dairy development and give women their due place in dairy development as a tool to bring out social-economic transformation. Through this initiative, 538 women dairy cooperative societies (WDCS) were formed at village level involving women members and during FY (Up to February) 437 exclusive women Dairy Cooperative Societies were formed with the point of view that women dairy cooperative societies (WDCS) would provide a source of additional income and an organized platform to seek support to personal, social and other grievances. Necessary financial help have been provided to the societies / individual members by various agencies for purchase of crossbred animals and other dairy related activities. Women Cooperatives were envisaged as the nucleus for multifarious activities concerning women development, empowerment and economic well being. The two tier structure i.e. societies and unions were thus, conceived to act as a powerful medium not only to implement a number of poverty alleviation and awareness generation initiatives but also to carry out suitable messages to its members in addition to benefiting them economically, building capacities enabling them to learn by inferences and training them in scientific management of milch animals. The initiative has shown impacting outcomes in the journey. The cooperative societies collect milk from farmers for the Bihar State Milk Co-Operative Federation Ltd (COMFED), which sells its dairy items under the Sudha brand. COMFED and its affiliated milk unions provide the necessary organizational and marketing assistance and handholding support for functioning of women dairy cooperative societies such as procurement, processing and marketing of milk to ensure continuous supply of milk and to provide remunerative return to the producers. This is in addition to other veterinary services support, cattle feed, artificial insemination and providing insurance facilities (in Barauni Dairy only) to the women members in the rural areas and empowering them. Over last two years, the initiative witnessed an increased percentage of women's participation in dairy cooperative societies to 18.5% in this FY (216 17). The bar is further moving on a positive trend earmarking a growth rate of 19% in the first six months of this FY To 3

31 look at the specific numbers, in , 78 new all-women cooperative societies were formed. In , the number jumped to 538 and in this fiscal year till February, 437 such societies have been formed. During this period, milk procured by Cooperatives has also increased considerably. In this success of dairy cooperatives, women in Bihar demarcate significant contribution. To put up in a nutshell, of the 21,226 cooperative societies that collect milk (till September 217), 2,366 or 11.5 per cent are all-women. Union / Project wise per Dairy Cooperative Society wise milk procurement rate is as depicted: A great challenge in evaluating the outcomes of social development interventions has been to measure any long term changes occurring after an initiative has rolled out for some time for example, the changes that the women in the Dairy Cooperative Society experienced at the local level due to the special drive initiative in subsequent years or so. The study captured evidences for measuring outcome to determine more broadly whether the initiative has had its desired effects on individuals, households, and institutions and whether those effects can be attributed to the special drive. In assessing outcomes, the use of anchor indicators a short list of impact indicators based on objective, quantifiable, and evidence based primary data has been referred. For example, anchors such as level of malnutrition, Members' income and household assets provided a base around which qualitative information has been generated through the lens of its contribution to gender equality that potentially brought changes in the lives of women, might be replicated and/or scaled up. 1.4 Purpose The initiative studied the effects on women empowerment through 538 women dairy cooperative societies formed as part of the Special drive to increase women's participation in dairy development and give women their due place - as a tool to bring out socio-economic transformation. This was ascertained by studying the empowerment levels of members. In the process, borrowing measurements from the women's Study Team Meeting at GRC on to finalise the details 4

32 empowerment context were studied; in addition to discriminating membership and nonmembership status in single-gender versus mixed-gender cooperatives. Gendered power structures within the community and the household limit economic benefits for women was another dimension of study in addition to reverse effects on the economic empowerment of female cooperative members. 1.5 Objectives Overall Objective: To assess the socio economic outcomes of the increased women's participation in Diary Societies at COMFED, as part of the special drive undertaken by Government of Bihar during the last two years Specific Objectives with key questions: This study provides a report that assesses and describes the progress and achievements, gaps, challenges and opportunities of the increased women participation through the 538 Women Dairy Societies at COMFED by focusing on socio economic outcomes. The specific questions for each area were derived through the following components: a) Assess the program and outcomes, related impacts and potential for scale in line with the strategic focus (Short Term and Long Term). b) Assess the Effectiveness, Strengths, Challenges and Weakness of the Initiative while working towards achieving the objectives c) Assess the quality of the M&E processes to measure results d) Do Special Drives to increase women's participation in Dairy Cooperatives Contribute to Women's Inclusive Development? 1.6 Selection and Specification of Variables In the study, the dependent variable such as gross income from dairying and the explanatory variables such as the education score of the women earner, age of respondent, number of dairy cattle, cost of green fodder fed per day, cost of dry fodder fed per day, cost of concentrate fed per day and value of labour per animal per day has been studied to arrive at the socio economic outcomes of the initiative in respect to the provided inputs. The study was cross sectional and entailed a combination of qualitative as well as quantitative techniques to collect and collate data. It employed both Individual and focus group discussions. The parameters in the study tool constituted a set of questions to explore the socio economic outcomes of the increased women's participation in Diary Societies at COMFED, as part of the special drive undertaken by Government of Bihar since FY The construct of the questions was balanced with both positive and negative directions to prevent similar responses. This was across the following dimensions: Social, Empowerment, Economic and Financial Dimension. The composite score of all questions decided the level of empowerment across each parameter and dimensions. 5

33 In regards, the following key indicators studied across the 4 dimensions included: Social Dimension Gas Connection Toilet Family Support Safe in coming to Women Dairy Cooperative Societies Any Discrimination Opinion in Family Planning Decision to Vote Empowerment Dimension Self Bringing milk to Women Dairy Cooperative Societies Participation in community meetings Regular meetings at Women Dairy Cooperative Societies Confident at meetings Confident in meeting with Government officials Awareness about the rules and entitlements of Women Dairy Cooperative Societies Economic Dimension Increase in Income Family Support Annual Earning Increase in Assets and Expenditure Role of Women Dairy Cooperative Societies in economic enhancement in the family Role in financial decision making Financial Inclusion Bank Account Self Operation of the Bank Account Have taken Loan Timely Repayment The assessment of empowerment of women on various parameters would be helpful in formulation of future training programmes covering the areas wherein the women beneficiaries had low techno-know-how and low human development skills. The findings emerging out of present study would provide an insight to the implementing agency i.e. state level federation of milk producers and milk plant officials about the extent of change and level of empowerment created by women dairy cooperatives on quality of life of women beneficiaries and its impact on their families and communities. 6

34 Chapter 2 Methodology 2.1 Sampling Plan As part of the special drive of the Bihar State Government to increase women's participation in dairy development and give women their due place in dairy development launched during FY , 538 women dairy cooperative societies were formed at village level involving women members with the point of view that women dairy cooperative societies would provide a source of additional income and an organized platform to seek personal, social and other grievances. Through this initiative, necessary financial help have been provided to the societies / individual members by various agencies for purchase of crossbred animals and other dairy related activities. The two tier structure i.e. societies and unions were thus conceived to act as a powerful medium not only to implement a number of poverty alleviation and awareness generation initiatives but also to carry out suitable messages to its members in addition to benefitting them economically, building capacities enabling them to learn by inferences and training them in scientific management of milch animals. The study used the descriptive and cross sectional mixed survey methods with integration of both quantitative and qualitative approach to extract primary data from the respondents who included dairy farmers both within and outside the cooperatives and key government agencies. In the process, it also reviewed literature from secondary sources about dairy cooperatives as case studies to analyse and establish evidence around the major research question pertaining to the benefits to women in joining the women dairy cooperatives and reasons for drop outs. 2.2 Participatory methodologies The study employed participatory methodology to administer the findings pertaining to empowerment dimensions (Social, Economic and Financial Inclusion) of the women dairy cooperative societies, because participatory practice is crucial to sustainable and people-centred development. Here the process of engagement was as important as the outcomes; because the aim of the Researchers was to shift the power of development professionals to the women member of the women dairy cooperative society the intended beneficiaries of the intervention. With participatory approach, it is these women member of the women dairy cooperative society who facilitated the discussion for change, planned their priorities, and decided to what extent the special drive to integrate women in dairy development has made progress and delivered relevant change. As part of the study, we engaged with Women Dairy Cooperative Societies to study and understand the perceptions and aspirations as agents of change. This stands important, as it provides evidences to ensure that the interventions pertaining to special drive are relevant, appropriate and inclusive. It is increasingly relevant for Women Dairy Cooperative Societies working in the dairy development sector, as they shift towards a more people-centred way of developing, delivering and assessing their projects and programmes of work. 7

35 Traditionally, project 'beneficiaries' have rarely been included in researching issues, finding solutions, designing indicators or measuring change. This approach has provided a way of changing this, offering an inclusive community driven approach to cooperative society development. Participatory discussions with the end beneficiary also served as an effective way of building participatory learning into Women Dairy Cooperative Societies facilitating inclusive development and social change. Also, collective analysis provides participatory evidences which leads to collective action at the grassroots and enable evidence based contributions to policy development. 2.3 Sampling Design and Rationale Study covered 1% of the sample of the 538 women dairy cooperative societies formed as part of the special drive (i.e 54 Women Dairy Cooperatives) across Bihar identified through the stratified sampling process. Sampling rationale of the 54 dairy cooperative societies for the study was as follows: All the 538 DCSs were divided into 9 administrative divisions of Bihar so as to give equal representation to all demographic zones. Procurement (Kg/Day) was kept as the criterion for the selection of DCS. For the least performing DCs, a benchmark of 25 kg/day procurement was taken. From each division three best performing WDCS were identified from each division. However, if all the three best were found in the same district, the best of other districts were also considered in the same division. Similarly, the three least performing Women Dairy Cooperative Societies were identified from each division. Here also, if all the three least performing Women Dairy Cooperative Societies were found in the same district, the least performing of other districts were also considered in the same division. Among the least performing Women Dairy Cooperative Societies with same procurement, DCS with higher number of members were taken as it was directly proportional in making the per capita procurement lowest. Similarly, among the best performing Women Dairy Cooperative Societies with same procurement, DCS with lower number of members were taken as it was directly proportional in making the per capita procurement highest. Further, in order to gain an in-depth understanding about internal and external dynamics surrounding the Women Dairy Cooperatives, the following research procedures were adopted: Focus group discussions. In-depth interviews. Participant observations. 8

36 2.4 Sample Size Particulars Number Per Team Total Sample GRC led 2 Teams of Researchers were formed comprising of 2 Members each to collect data and facilitate the study in 1% sample size of the Women Dairy Cooperative Societies. FGD 25 5 FGD of high performing and low performing women Dairy Cooperative was done jointly as a team 4 4 Total 54 In-depth Interviews (IDIs) 1 Member from each of the 5 Dairy Cooperative Societies for evidence and case studies In-depth Interviews (IDI) of 2 Member from each of the 4 high performing and low performing women Dairy Cooperative was done jointly as a team Total 58 Observation Observation of the activities / Processes of Women Dairy Cooperative from the Gender Empowerment Lens Total Assessment Tools This study was cross sectional and entailed a combination of the qualitative as well as quantitative techniques while collecting and collating data. It would employ both Individual and focus group discussions. The parameters in the study tool constituted sets of questions to explore the socio economic outcomes of the increased women's participation in Diary Societies at COMFED, as part of the special drive undertaken by Government of Bihar during the last two years. Gender Resource Centre, Women Development Corporation finalized two study teams, each consisting of two members. Each study team was led by a senior Researcher supported by field investigator. Prior to the fieldwork, The GRC-WDC conducted a thorough orientation of the Researchers in Patna for 2-3 days, where all instruments were field tested before commencing the data and information collection work. This training focussed on human subject issues, interviewing techniques, observation techniques, recording of findings, etc. The training also involved mock interviews with feedback, field-testing and pilot interviews in Patna and Vaishali, and modification of the discussion guides on the basis of feedback from the pilot interviews. As the skills of the Researchers are highly instrumental in the quality of the overall research findings, a great deal of emphasis was placed on this overall screening and training. 9

37 2.6 Study Tools Focus Group Discussions (FGDs): FGD guideline were developed and implemented to identify barriers to change and provide opinions and beliefs about key issues pertaining to socio economic growth, empowerment and development - in their communities and geography. Women members in the WDCS need to feel safe to express their opinions and beliefs freely, and a key challenge was to ensure adequate participation from all members in the group. Each FGD probed into the detail and lasted for up to two hours. In-depth Interviews (IDIs): While FGDs were useful for eliciting information through social interaction and discussion, indepth interview guide was developed to gather key insights about the members in the women Dairy Cooperatives and the people they serve (their clients etc.). Researchers probed deeply into topics on which the women members as interviewees carried deep insights. Participatory Discussion with Members of Women Dairy Cooperative Society 2.7 Data analysis The quantitative information has been analyzed to explore the association between the level of performance, motivation and empowerment along with related predictors/indicators at different levels to establish correlation. The qualitative data has been transcribed verbatim and translated to English by the researchers themselves who conducted the interviews. These translations have 1

38 been further verified in the local language. The analysis of the findings is both inductive and deductive and relevant themes have been indexed under the individual, socio economic empowerment and community-level aspects. They have been further classified as the enabling and the de-motivating factors. The qualitative findings have been triangulated with the study findings confining to the conceptual framework of the study. 2.8 Data Quality Monitoring To facilitate data quality, Gender Resource Centre had put in place relevant quality mechanism at different levels i.e. field, data processing, finalization of tables etc. At the field level, an elaborate scrutiny plan with well delineated responsibilities of Researchers and Lead focal point was closely monitored by GRC. However, to check on the quality of fieldwork, Senior Professionals at Gender Resource Centre Women Development Corporation also undertook field inspections (spot checks and back checks) on a sample basis. 2.9 Timeline of the Study 2 Months, starting January 16, 218 with submission of the Report by March 31, 218. January 16 February 15, 218 Finalization of Tools, Researchers, Training, Background Study and Review of data/documents, seeking information pertaining to special drive and the details of the 538 Women Dairy Cooperative Societies and finalization of the sampling plan and Rationale. February 15 March 2, 218 Pilot Testing, Refinement of the Toolkits based on field inputs, Development of the Tour Plan, Field Work and Primary Data Collection in 1% of the study geography across the 9 administrative Divisions / 8 Milk Unions of Bihar. March 21 March 31, 218 Presentation of Observations and Key Findings, Data Entry, Analysis, Report Writing and Finalization March 31, 218 Submission of the Report 11

39 Chapter 3 Findings The study aimed to investigate the impact of Special Drive towards women dairy cooperative societies in the empowerment of women in Bihar, under which 538 women dairy cooperative societies have been formed. The study covered 1% of the sample ie 54 dairy cooperative societies, equal to 1849 women members across all the 8 milk union sites. Data has been collected by pretested interview schedules developed for a detailed study on the perceptions of women members about dairying. The table below presents select data from the socio-economic dimension and empowerment dimension of the women dairy cooperatives. Achievements of Special Drive to integrate women in dairy development through Women Dairy Cooperative Societies. Indicator Details Year started 216 No. of Women Dairy Cooperative Societies operating in different milk unions formed as part of special drive 538 Total Numbers of women involved in dairy cooperatives as part of special drive % WDCS covered as sample in the study 54 Total number of women as part of women Dairy Cooperative Societies studied 1849 No. of Artificial Insemination done FY (in Lakhs) Social Dimension Every initiative has a social dimension to itself. Formation of Women Dairy Cooperative Societies was no exception. This initiative promoted the women to come out of their houses, interact with other women, absorb new ideas and thereby, change themselves into new and better women. Their social concerns are more focused and sharper now. As observed by one participant in pkbzpd efgyk] Hkkxyiqj] ÞifjorZu gks jgk gs] eqg esa tqcku vk;h gsß Women are more vocal now in airing their views and, interestingly, they are being heard too A. Status of Sanitation: While probing the question of status of sanitation, the research team observed that despite efforts from several other Government and non Government agencies, the issue of sanitation has still not reached the center stage. Fig 1 shows that only 42 % of the respondents had toilets while, 58% had not. No. 58% Yes 42% The research team came across only two villages, Lagunia, Supaul and Bairagi Tola, Gopalganj, out of 54 visited, where 1% toilet was Do you have toilet? Figure 1 12

40 found. As observed by one respondent in beku~ ljk, efgyk nqx/k mriknu lfefr] lelrhiqj & Þeu dh etcwjh gs] blhfy, ugha gks ik jgk gsß- It is not a matter of finances. It is a matter of behavior change as Maina Devi from Tuniyahi Mahila, got a toilet constructed from the earnings from milk B. Clean Fuel: This can be attributed to the parallel run Central Government Yes - 53% scheme, Ujjwala Yojana, the women were found more inclined towards using gas as a domestic fuel than the traditional ones. Health concerns and benefits was one of the obvious reasons for an increased uptake. Fig 2 shows that 53% of the respondents had gas connection, while 47% had not. Many of No - 47% them informed that they had applied for one and were waiting for the same. Only Bulbul Kumari of Pipra Khurd, Supaul bought gas connection from open market from the earnings from milk. Do you have Gas Connection? Figure 2 Still dependence on the conventional rural fuel is huge. Widespread use of dried cow dung cakes could be easily seen owing to easier availability of cow dung C. Family Support: It has often been considered that looking after the cattle has been the domain of women only. Out of 897 women interacted, 756 accepted that their male counterpart supported them in their dairy activity. 84% women got support from their families. Fig 3 shows that only 17% women had to work all by themselves. This clearly indicates that men have realized the economic importance of dairy activity and are positively acknowledging the role of women. They are coming forward in support No 16% Yes 84% Does your family support in your dairy activity? Figure 3 13

41 3.1.4 D. Safe in coming to WDCS: Mobility is one of the pertinent indicators depicting empowerment. Purdah system being so widely prevalent in rural Bihar, it was difficult to assume that women will cross their boundary and come for some economic activity by themselves. As observed by one woman in beku~ ljk, efgyk Yes - 79% No - 21% nqx/k mriknu lfefr] lelrhiqj & Þckgj fudyus ls fnekx vkxs c<+rk gsß- Fig 4 shows that 79% of the respondents felt safe in coming to the WDCS. Do you feel safe in coming to WDCS? Figure 4 Only 21% said that coming to WDCS was not safe. Some of the respondents came from as far as 5 km daily. Mr. R.K. Singh, CEO, Kosi Project observed, Þlfefr gh,dek=,slh txg gs tgk lqcg 'kke efgyk,a tqvrh gsß Fig 5 shows that 66% of the women brought milk to the collection centre by themselves. In only 34% cases, some other member of the family did so. The WDCS has greatly increased the mobility of women and has also provided a platform for community interaction Yes - 66% No - 34% Do you bring milk to WDCS by yourself? Figure E. No Discrimination: In interaction, Mr. Om Prakash Rai, Managing Director, Kosi Milk Union said, Women believe in casteless and classless social order more than men. It was found true by our research team. Across all the 54 Women Societies visited and across all the 897 respondents, there was no case of any social discrimination observed. Women of all castes and class interacted comfortably and amicably. No- 1% Do you feel any discrimination in Women Dairy Cooperative Societies? Figure 6 14

42 Fig 6 shows the happy social order that the women have among themselves and that we can aspire for society at large. Ms. Soni Devi, a Mukhiya of Banka district rightly observed, ßnw/k dh dksbz tkr ugha gksrh gsß3.1.6 F. Opinion in family planning: Social empowerment and economic strength reflect on other personal aspects too. It has long been an unfortunate Yes - 69% practice that women had no say in family size. On being asked whether their opinion is valued in family planning No - 31% or not, one respondent in teqvk efgyk] ckadk]ßvc rks le; cny x;k gsß- She was right. Fig 7 shows that as much as 69% of the respondents said that their opinion is valued. Only 31% said that the family size is decided by husband and mother in law and that they have no say. Is your opinion valued in Family Planning? The worse was in Chaichak, Bhagalpur, where only Figure 7 1% of the respondents asserted that they had a say in family planning G. Do you decide vote: Right to vote is an important aspect of empowerment in any democratic setup. Women, being associated to Women Dairy Cooperative Societies, have been exposed to the outside world and now, they know their rights better than before. Fig 8 shows that 9% of the women exercise their voting right by themselves. One woman observed in Only 1% do not go out to cast votes. Most of them asserted that the preference of whom to vote is decided in consultation with the family. Community deciding the vote was minimal Yes 9% No 1% Do you decide your vote? Figure 8 15

43 3.2 Economic Dimension Women in Bihar have an important role in the economic and social development of dairy societies, but they are often denied equal opportunities because of socially embedded gender inequalities. This study looked at the potential of dairy cooperatives for women's economic empowerment. The results of the study indicate that there are economic benefits for women participating in dairy cooperatives. Looking from the Economic Dimension, women dairy cooperatives are clearly beneficial to their members. Member households shift from traditional to more intensive dairy production systems. Buffalos and local cows that were earlier fed on pasture and field residuals are being slowly replaced by crossbreed cows, fed additionally with concentrated feed stuff. Dairying is slowly turning form a subsistence activity to a more market-oriented business and is becoming more important for the household economy on the whole. Evidences suggested that income from dairying was found to be relatively more important to landless, small and marginal rural households. Hence women dairy cooperatives provided an opportunity to tackle rural poverty. On the other hand, households that owned more land kept more dairy animals and benefitted more from DCS in absolute terms because of the availability of fodder from their own fields. However, intensifying dairy production placed a felt need of greater investments that often made access to credits a precondition for participating in dairy cooperatives. Due to limited or lack of knowledge about the credit schemes by the bank and/or government, Poor households are restricted in their access to credit. This makes them avoid Secretary of Women DCS, Ramchandrapur (Bachhwara) maintaining Computerised Record taking the risk of a future investment as they fear that in case of loss of an animal and failure to repay loans, they would become more vulnerable. Probing suggested that only 17% of the women dairy cooperative members had access to or taken some kind of loans. In addition to economic gains in terms of cash income which Rs. 7.5 per litre, prior to association, they used to sell the Rs. 25 per litre on an average, but after the formation of Cooperatives the average rate per litre milk is Rs There are nutritional benefits for member households due to higher milk availability per capita. Evidences further suggested that women are more likely to spend extra income on nutrition and family maintenance. Hence it is possible to co-relate that women who are in charge of dairying probably keep a higher amount of milk for family consumption. In other words, an increase in women's autonomy in the 16

44 sale of milk and the use of income may result in increased nutritional status of the family and children. However, the increase of milk availability may not translate into equal benefits for male and female household members. Even where the nutritional status of the family may undergo a change for the better, that of women and female children may be slight because of the gender differentiation in access to milk and milk products Power and Agency It was hypothesized that economic gains for women eventually translates into greater gender equality within the household and women's improved agency in intra-household decisionmaking. But, looking it the dimensions of productive decisions and control over income as well as access to and control over resources, this hypothesis has been subject to negotiation. When dairying converts from a side-activity, focused on subsistence needs, into a real market activity and economic opportunity, men tend to increase their participation in this traditionally female task. On the one hand, this development may be a chance to renegotiate gender-based roles and work distributions within the household. Considering the control over income, the economic gains from dairy cooperative membership does not translate into increased income control for women. In fact, the levels of control over dairy income are lower for cooperative members. This is because of two major reasons: a) Women's traditional role prevents them from market activities outside the household and hence from receiving payments at the cooperative. These social norms, based on the concept of female as belonging to the inside. Evidences suggested that this is changing with women members in the women dairy cooperative societies, but to have it as an universal attire, this would take some more time; as it was observed that men/male members still receive the payments for milk in many cases. b) The increasing economic importance of dairying through a cooperative leads to higher male involvement. It was observed that in most cases when dairying has started taking shape from a subsistence-oriented to a market oriented activity, male members from the family generally started taking more control over this activity. One of the major factors observed that prevented women cooperative members from taking full control over dairy activities and incomes generated is their socially restricted access to the formal market, an issue prevalent all over Bihar. Regarding the access to and control over assets, there are no visible improvements for cooperative members. It will take time to change the existing patterns of ownership and inheritance. There is an inverse correlation between household economic status on the one hand and women's labour force participation and their proportional contribution to total family income on the other. As a social norm, Women who have very few life choices appear to be more likely than others to challenge the social norms of purdah (seclusion) regarding visits to the marketplace, traditionally an exclusively male domain. By interviewing 897 women members of different DCS across all the 8 Unions in Bihar, economic empowerment has been assessed in terms of increase in income, access to cash, knowledge of credit, access to credit, knowledge of husband's income, confidence in financial 17

45 transactions and aspiration for economic autonomy. The study used a before-after approach to ascertain that the claim that the annual dairy income has increased by almost 25% after joining the Women Dairy Cooperative Societies and that more than 7% of the interviewed women had access to cash. Thanks to Women Dairy Cooperative Societies membership. Evidences suggest that the women dairy cooperatives are playing a vital role by creating employment opportunities for women, access to income and access to credit. Women Dairy Cooperative Societies are also assisting women members in providing increased nourishment to their children in addition to quality education which is a sure march towards economic empowerment of women. Women in dairy cooperative societies receive payments made by the cooperative and have better access to information provided by the cooperative. The importance of dairy income to the rural household becomes also clear by the fact that it is used mostly to meet current expenses for basic needs, such as nutrition, education and health care. Dairying is a source of regular cash inflow, received daily, weekly or at least fortnightly. Women who can afford it, also keep savings, mostly through women self-help groups. Respondents further use the income from dairying for child's education, crop production, marriage functions or for personal expenses. Even though cooperative members keep a smaller share of the milk produced for home consumption, they obtain a higher amount of milk per person in absolute terms. On average, cooperative members keep 12% of the total milk for own use. This finding indicates nutritional benefits for households with DCS membership The most important benefits perceived by cooperative members are the supply of concentrated feed stuff, the provision of free or low-priced veterinary service, and a higher price paid. The perception of a higher price may be related to the government subsidy or the bonus payment in the end of each year. Respondents however stated that they face problems in the cooperative, such as an increased workload, strict quality controls. At Bhagalpur, they mentioned delay in Payment as one of the limiting reasons. 8% of the women members interviewed stated that their economic situation has improved since they entered the women dairy cooperative as part of the special drive. Their daily routine has become more updated and punctual Dairy Production More than 8% of the respondents (Women DCS members) stated that they are more empowered to take production decisions in dairy farming, which relates to management of feed and fodder of dairy animals Increase in Income Evidences suggest that on an average the women dairy cooperative members received a proportionate increase of Rs. 7.5/= in per litre cost on milk sale across all the eight unions. This is a significant progress given the backwardness of the region, absence of viable alternative livelihood options in the study area compounded by low set of skills in rural women. 18

46 Graphical illustrations below reflect an increase in Rupees per litre of milk post the association with Women Dairy Cooperative Society and sale to COMFED across the 8 Unions. Deshratna Dr. Rajendra Pd.mlk production Cooperative Union ltd. Bikramshila milk production Cooperative ltd. Bhagalpur Kosi Dairy Project,Purnia Kosi milk production Cooperative Union ltd. Tirhut milk production Cooperative union ltd., Muzaffarpur Sahabad milk production Cooperative union ltd.,ara 19

47 Vaishal Patliputra milk production Cooperative union limited Data reflects an increase in Rupees per litre of milk post the association with Women Dairy Cooperative Society Access to and decision on credit More than 152 women DCS members of the 897 interviewed (17%) confirmed that they have loans from at least one source and have a better access to credits. Other purposes for taking loans include education of children, purchase of land or the marriage of daughters. In the sample, it was observed that women who are cooperative members have notably higher levels of empowerment regarding leadership and access to and control over credits. In the studied area, empowerment and leadership was measured in terms of group participation which is clearly related to women's access to credit, because the most wide-spread self help groups are Jeevika's that provide loans to its members. 312 women DCS members out of 897 interviewed (37%) confirmed that they participate in WDCS meetings and put their concerns, voice and opinions. 35% Participate in WDCS Meetings Do Not Participate in WDCSMeetings 65% 2

48 Majority of the women dairy cooperative members reside in villages with functioning women Jeevika self help groups and hence carry a strong possibility to participate and access credits. Probably there are some synergetic effects between these two groups. Women who have access to credit through Jeevika may purchase livestock on their own and join a cooperative; and women who increase their income through a dairy cooperative may keep savings in a Jeevika group. At the same time the communication and exchange among women may increase their confidence to involve in other kinds of social and economic organizations. Evidences suggest that a wider change in patterns of household decision-making can only be expected if there is social interaction among women groups. The empowerment effects become more striking with higher intensity of group interaction and with an increasing duration of membership. Also, channelizing the loans through WDCS and combined with more investment in social intermediation, one may witness substantial shifts in decision making patterns which would emerge. Thus, the findings and personal interactions with the women groups support the hypothesis that cooperative membership provides opportunities for women to participate in organizations at the village level and increase their access to and control over credit and empowerment. Village women were found to be more comfortable and vocal in the Women Dairy Cooperative Societies and feel that they have a greater chance of being heard in the same Education and Training Successful management of a women dairy cooperative society clearly requires a lot of skills and time resources. In the WDCS studied, many women lack education and have never received training from the cooperative society and/or COMFED. In many cases, the Secretary has received little more dairy education than other group members, which further creates confusion for the group in turn. It was noted that maintenance and keeping accounts becomes an additional burden, a task which the Secretary at few of the locations is ill-equipped to perform. Moreover, women in the WDCS take over leadership roles within the cooperative in the beginning as proxies for their male relatives and due to their higher status within the village. From the analysis and discussion of the empirical results, the felt need thus is to explicitly tackle gender relations within women dairy cooperatives and in the wider community, if women empowerment is to be achieved. The provision of independent income for women alone till date has not proved to be sufficient to facilitate broader changes in gender relations that are based on social norms and societal construct. At the same time, where women dairy cooperative societies working is Interaction with Women DCS members at Mushari Tola, Ujiarpur, Samastipur 21

49 creating a significant impact on the gender inequalities constraining women's ability to earn and control income; they require more explicit attention. The mere introduction of women cooperative society production does not appear in itself to lead to any greater changes in women's position, even though it provides a regular income. Issues such as women's access to resources, their freedom of movement outside the home and their burden of unpaid domestic work, still is pre-dominant and requires systemic strategic redress. Although the women members may not be aware of all the possible options, ultimately they themselves are likely to be the best judges of how this might be done. Conclusions and Suggestions Just as the women members in dairy cooperatives are invaluable to the dairy sector, the COMFED is playing a vital role by creating employment opportunities for women, access to income and access to credit. This is a sure march towards economic empowerment of women. With increased focus on women's participation in dairy cooperative societies (DCS) and Dairy development; Women Dairy cooperatives carries immense potential to empower rural women, provide independent incomes for poor rural women enhancing the well-being of the whole family, gradually changing patriarchal norms. The prevailing barriers are in the form of patriarchal values, rural conservative society, dominant husband or male family members who take control of the opportunities and benefits of dairying, inadequate margin money and low literacy of women. Suggestions to enhance active participation and economic empowerment of women in dairy sector include: 1. Prioritization of gender mainstreaming at all levels from policies, projects to people; 2. Continued support and special incentives for women; 3. Increase margin money to fully cover the purchase of quality breed of cattle; 4. Redesign male-sensitization programs to include more effective gender sensitive modules, participatory methodology and follow up in the capacity building strategies and training sessions. 5. Adopt best practices and appropriate technology like direct transfer of payments to bank accounts of members through ECS which can discourage male interference and dominance of husband. It can also ensure women's financial inclusion; increase women's opportunities for financial transactions; 6. Further strengthen transparency, accountability and democratic principles of dairy cooperative societies as enshrined in the vision and the mission goals. Cascading effect of women empowerment is immense as it traverses beyond self, home, communities, dairy cooperatives to empower socio-cultural, economic, political, legal, ecological values, processes and institutions. 7. Insights on its dynamics and Gender dimensions through reflection, research, training and action are invaluable. 22

50 3.3 Empowerment Dimension Change in socio economic status leads to wide changes in lifestyle and outlook. The formation of Women Dairy Cooperative Societies has led to the betterment of the socio economic condition of women. This has empowered them in different other ways too. As observed by one respondent in bekniqj efgyk nqx/k mriknu lfefr] csxqljk;] Þgeyksx rks vc vius eqf[k;k gs?kj dsß- This shows a sea change in the mindset of women A. Participation in Community Meetings: Attachment with Women Dairy Cooperative Societies has definitely strengthened them financially and has, thereby, improved their status in the family, their role in community activities are still limited. They either don't like to or are not allowed to participate in community meetings like Gram Sabha. These still remain the domain of men largely. However, women are also making gradual inroads. Fig 9 indicates that only 35% of women participated In community meetings while 65% stayed away from it. Women still give priority to their place in the family B. Regular meetings at Women Dairy Cooperative Societies: Yes 35% No 65% Do you participate in community meetings? Figure 9 While the influence of men on the working of Women Dairy Cooperative Societies cannot be ruled out, a few of the Societies were found to be in total control of men only. However, in most cases, women were seen actively running the society and were fully aware of the working of it. Regular meetings were held and the records were kept properly. Members also participated in these meetings. Fig 1 shows the participation of women in meetings. 56% participated in these meetings, 44% could not do so for one reason or the other. Yes - 56% No - 44% Do you attend regular meetings at WDCS? Figure 1 23

51 3.3.3 C. Level of Confidence in Meetings The women of Women Dairy Cooperative Societies gather at a point twice every day, away from their families. This provides them with an opportunity to express themselves in their own way. This has tremendously improved both their confidence and their level of communication. The regular meetings of Jeevika has also contributed greatly. As Fig 11 shows 62% of the women were found confident in communicating their views. Only 38% lacked confidence Yes 38% No 62% Are you confident in these meetings? Figure D. Level of Confidence in Meetings with Government Officials: Government officials are still held very high in rural areas and set aside women, even men fumble in easily communicating with them. Naturally, the confidence level of the women of Women Dairy Cooperative Societies too, slightly dropped when asked whether they felt confident in talking to the Government Officials. Fig 12 shows that while 57% asserted positively, 43% agreed that they did not feel confident in talking to the Government officials No 57% Yes 43% Are you confident in meeting with the Government Officials? Figure 12 24

52 3.3.5 E. Knowledge of Women Dairy Cooperative Societies Rules: As most of the members of Women Dairy Cooperative Societies are small farmers and cattle owners, their primary focus is to get right measurement of milk and timely Yes - 72% payment. They are satisfied as most of the Societies are providing accurate measurement and timely payment. No - 28% Once, these two criteria were met, the women members did not care for the rest. Consequently, it was found in our observation that most of the women members did not know the rules and regulations of Women Dairy Cooperative Societies. Fig 13 shows that only 28% of the members knew Do you know WDCS Rules? Figure 13 about the rules and regulations of Women Dairy Cooperative Societies. 72% were ignorant. 3.4 Financial Inclusion Financial Inclusion is the process of ensuring access to financial services and timely and adequate credit where needed by vulnerable groups such as weaker sections and low income groups at an affordable cost. Financial Inclusion is both a crucial link and a substantial first step towards achieving inclusive growth alleviating poverty. It ensures access of the Women Dairy Cooperative Society Members to financial services and adequate credit where needed by vulnerable groups such as weaker sections and low income group at an affordable cost. To put up in a nutshell, Financial Inclusion is important as it negotiates with the following: High transactions costs of borrowers High transactions costs of savers High transactions costs of banks High risk cost Inappropriate products and benefits the women dairy cooperative societies, socially excluded groups amongst others. Financial Inclusion Services include: Savings Credit Insurance Facilities Remittance and Financial Advisory Services etc. Exploring from the economic dimensions of women membership in a DCS at the household level; the study further probed into the details of Financial Literacy, Knowledge of the Financial Support schemes, access to and control over credit were the key areas to understand the empowerment indicators of the financial inclusion outcomes of the special drive. 25

53 Regarding the knowledge of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana that aims to ensure access to financial services in an affordable manner and having a bank account. 99% of the women members of the WDCS confirmed having a bank account and are aware of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. However, in a good number of the Women Diary Cooperative Societies visited, transactions are being done in Cash in an informal credit system. % of WDCS Members who have Bank Account and Self Operate 99% 1% % of WDCS Members who do not have Bank Account Evidences thus suggest that these payments may be routed through banks as this would save the women dairy cooperative members from exploitation by moneylenders in the informal credit system and they would benefit from a range of financial products such as insurance and pensions. More so, the initiative would also assist in improving the practice related to payment to the producers, as payments can be directly credited to bank accounts. Due to limited or lack of knowledge about the credit schemes by the bank and/or government, Poor households are restricted in their access to credit. This makes them avoid taking the risk of a future investment as they fear that in case of loss of an animal and failure to repay loans, they would become more vulnerable. Probing suggested that only 17% of the women dairy cooperative members had access to or taken some kind of loans and repay the same in time. The Graphical illustration below depicts the same: 1% % of WDCS Members who have taken Loan and Repay in Time % of WDCS Members who do not have taken any Loan 17% 26

54 To provide greater opportunities to the women through the WDCS, discussions and empirical evidences suggest that more number of women members needs to be enrolled in the existing Dairy Cooperative Societies as this would improve their socio economic status and would assist them in taking higher leadership roles. Financial assistance and subsidy for undertaking activities to increase participation of women at all level of dairy cooperatives may be sought through various Government schemes, such as National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP), Dairy Development Programs etc. Also, the corrective measures like ensuring testing of milk at village level through upgraded technology will strengthen the milk collection system by more fairness and transparent manner at Village WDCS: Automatic weighing of the milk, testing of the milk quality i.e. Fat%, SNF% and other relevant content in the milk. Print out of the acknowledgement slip to milk producers for quantity of milk poured, Fat%, SNF% and total payment of the milk. Storage of the complete customer details including name, mobile, bank and processing of the timely milk payment. Real time online data transfer to the server of the main dairy plant without loss of data Customized rate chart can be configured To eliminate conventional methods of paper works in milk procurement process Upgraded technology also ensures to send customized SMS to WDCS with required details such as FAT, SNF, Quantity, and Rate etc would build in confidence, a sense of ownership/association and increased stake in the Dairy Development Matters in the community. Evidences further suggest the following measures for promoting financial inclusion: Information Technology (IT) solution for WDCS members to sync all financial information and have real time information to promote financial inclusion Credit counselling and financial education for WDCS members Empowered Women DCS members 27

55 Chapter 4 Case Studies Case Study # 1: (Chaichak Mahila Dugdh Utpadan Samiti, Sabaur, Bhagalpur) Women Dairy Cooperative Society (Women Dairy Cooperative Society) Profile: Name of Women Cooperative Society Date of Formation Number of Members Name of Union District Block : : : : : : Chaichak Mahila 3/11/216 VIMUL Bhagalpur Sabour Location: Located on the link road Sabour, Bhagalpur Names of Office Bearers President Secretary : : Rani Devi Parwati Devi Status of Women Dairy Cooperative Society : The Women Dairy Cooperative Society is active. Men have significant control. Main Occupation / Allied Activity / Livelihood of Women Dairy Cooperative Society Members: In most cases, the Women Dairy Cooperative Society members are dependent on Milk production, agriculture being their allied activity Current Institution building process: Members are fully aware of milk FAT testing. Records of membership, daily procurement, payment etc is maintained. Meeting of the governing Body is held regularly Current Procurement Capacity: Lit/day Linkages with Service Providers: Jeevika is active in this village. We found that 2 out of 2 present members were associated with Jeevika and 4 of them were availing loan from Jeevika. All Members had bank accounts and all of them operated by themselves. Main Activities being conducted in the Women Dairy Cooperative Society: The Women Dairy Cooperative Society is concerned with milk procurement primarily but is also providing extension services to the Union in terms of selling cattle feed, Veterinary medicines etc. It also has a Chilling Plant which is closed for now. Social Empowerment and Behaviour Change Promotion Activities: No such activity is conducted by the Women Dairy Cooperative Society for its members. Entitlement and Access of Socio Economic Services and Rights: Social : While 9 of the 2 members present had toilet, 6 had gas connection. 4 had TV. Most of the members were found to be outspoken and communicating their views comfortably. All the members 28

56 asserted that they exercise their voting rights by themselves. No kind of discrimination was found among members. Economic: The income has increased by Rs. 12/- per litre due to right measurement and right price in Women Dairy Cooperative Society. 16 out of 2 women earned Rs. 5/- and above per month from dairy activity. All of them have Pucca house. Their awareness about the importance of education has increased. Average expenditure on education per family was Rs. 1-2/Interactive Discussions with Women Dairy Cooperative Society members and Community Link Volunteer What motivated them towards collective coordinated efforts - This provides them assured market, right measurement and price of milk and timely payment How do the members support Women Dairy Cooperative Society in o Milk Procurement No such initiative o Improving Service Coverage and Entitlements - No such initiative What are their immediate long term plans Most of the members are small cattle owners and are concerned with their immediate needs Best Practices about the women who has facilitating overall empowerment process. Name : Ms. Sheela Devi (Class VIII) Age 38 Social Empowerment Decision making: o In the Family: o Choice on Family Size by consultation. o Decision on seeking a personal career / entrepreneurship no such vision found o Decision to move out for marketing to address the self/family requirements. - No o Decision on Children's Education Yes, Women are consulted o Decision on right age of girl child's marriage - consulted o Decision of Diet Diversity to tackle nutrition security consulted o In the Women Dairy Cooperative Society: o Accessibility to Collection Centre Safely - Yes o To ensure procurement of milk (Weight, FAT) - Yes o Ownership on Cash payable by WDCS - Yes o Decision making on the Cash in regards spending the money. - Consulted 29

57 o In the Society: o Confidence built during interactions with members in the community - Yes o Value of opinions in the community.- The women were not found to be taking part in Gram sabha meetings o Confidence in dealing with the government officials / outsiders / WDCS officers (without hesitation). - Partial Economic Empowerment o In the household o Fulfillment of basic needs - Consulted o Banking Literacy o o o o Self withdrawal of money from Bank - Yes Self use of ATM - Yes Confident interactions with Bank Officials- Yes Enquiry in the bank/ financial institutions / government officials for increase in income of self and family. - No o Increase in investment and assets (with respect to wealth ranking post Women Dairy Cooperative Society membership) Got her daughter married. Supports education of children. The economic and social empowerment of women Dairy Cooperative Society members has been realized in the form of a steady and secure flow of income, as they have full control over their resources and are no longer exploited by middlemen. Women DCS members assert their position as contributors to the development of the dairy industry, and subsequently to the economy.

58 Case Study # 2: (Imansarai Mahila Dugdh Utpadan Samiti, Patori, Samastipur) Women Dairy Cooperative Society Profile: Name of WDCS : Imansarai Mahila Date of Formation : Number of Members : 49 Name of Union : MMU District : Samastipur Block : Patori Date of Visit : Location: Located on the main road. Names of Office Bearers President Secretary : : Parwati Devi Pramita Devi Status of Women Dairy Cooperative Society :The WDC is active and very participative. Main Occupation / Allied Activity / Livelihood of Women Dairy Cooperative Society Members: In most cases, the Women Dairy Cooperative Society members are dependent on Milk production, agriculture being their allied activity Current Institution building process: Members are fully aware of milk FAT testing. Records of membership, daily procurement, payment etc is maintained. Meeting of the governing Body is held regularly Current Procurement Capacity : 28 Lit/day Linkages with Service Providers : Jeevika is active in this village. We found that 13 out of 13 present members were associated with Jeevika. All Members had bank accounts and All of them operated by themselves. Main Activities being conducted in the Women Dairy Cooperative Society: The WDC is concerned with milk procurement primarily but is also providing extension services to the Union in terms of selling cattle feed, Veterinary medicines etc Social Empowerment and Behaviour Change Promotion Activities: No such activity is conducted by the Women Dairy Cooperative Society for its members. Entitlement and Access of Socio Economic Services and Rights: Social : While 4 out of 13 members present had toilets, 5 had gas connection. 3 had TV. The members were very participative and were communicating their views comfortably. All the members asserted that they exercise their voting rights by themselves and by their own conscience. No kind of discrimination was found among members. 31

59 Economic: The income has increased by Rs. 7.5/- per litre due to right measurement and right price in Women Dairy Cooperative. Average earning is Rs. /- per month from dairy activity. 1 of them have Pucca house. Their awareness about the importance of education has increased. Average expenditure on education per family was Rs. 2/-. Interactive Discussions with Women Dairy Cooperative Society members and Community Link Volunteer What motivated them towards collective coordinated efforts - This provides them assured market, right measurement and price of milk and timely payment How do the members support Women Dairy Cooperative Society in o Milk Procurement No such initiative o Improving Service Coverage and Entitlements - No such initiative What are their immediate long term plans Most of the members are small cattle owners and are concerned with their immediate needs Best Practices about the women who has facilitating overall empowerment process. Name : Sunita Devi ( Class V) Age 45 Social Empowerment Decision making: o In the Family: o Choice on Family Size by consultation o Decision on seeking a personal career / entrepreneurship no such vision found o Decision to move out for marketing to address the self/family requirements. - No o Decision on Children's Education Yes, Women are consulted o Decision on right age of girl child's marriage - consulted o Decision of Diet Diversity to tackle nutrition security consulted o In the Women Dairy Cooperative Society: o Accessibility to Collection Centre Safely - Yes o To ensure procurement of milk (Weight, FAT) - Yes o Ownership on Cash payable by Women Dairy Cooperative Society - Yes o Decision making on the Cash in regards spending the money. - Consulted o In the Society: o Confidence built during interactions with members in the community - Yes o Value of opinions in the community.- The women were not found to be taking part in Gram sabha meetings 32

60 o Confidence in dealing with the government officials / outsiders / Women Dairy Cooperative Society officers (without hesitation). - Yes Economic Empowerment In the household o Fulfillment of basic needs - Consulted Banking Literacy o Self withdrawal of money from Bank - Yes o Self use of ATM - Yes o Confident interactions with Bank Officials- Yes o Enquiry in the bank/ financial institutions / government officials for increase in income of self and family. - No o Increase in investment and assets (with respect to wealth ranking post Women Dairy Cooperative Society membership) - No 33

61 Case Study # 3: (Rasalpur Mahila Dugdh Utpadan Samiti, Sheikhpura) Women Dairy Cooperative Society Profile: Name of WDCS : Rasalpur Mhila Date of Formation : 23/12/216 Number of Members : 26 Name of Union : VPMU District : Shekhpura Block : Shekhpura Location: Located on link road. Half Km walk. Names of Office Bearers President : Rima Devi Secretary : Soni Devi Status of Women Dairy Cooperative Society :The Women Dairy Cooperative Society is active. Main Occupation / Allied Activity / Livelihood of Women Dairy Cooperative Society Members: In most cases, the Women Dairy Cooperative members are dependent on Milk production, agriculture being their allied activity Current Institution building process: Members are fully aware of milk FAT testing. Records of membership, daily procurement, payment etc is maintained. Meeting of the governing Body held regularly. Record kept properly. Current Procurement Capacity : 1 Litre/day Linkages with Service Providers : Jeevika is active in this village. All of the 8 present members had bank accounts and all of them operated by themselves. Main Activities being conducted in the Women Dairy Cooperative Society: The Women Dairy Cooperative is concerned with milk procurement primarily but is also providing extension services to the Union in terms of selling cattle feed, Veterinary medicines etc. Social Empowerment and Behaviour Change Promotion Activities: No such activity is conducted by the Women Dairy Cooperative for its members. Entitlement and Access of Socio Economic Services and Rights: Social : While all of the 8 members present had toilet, all of them had gas connection. 7 members had TV. All the members were found to be communicating their views comfortably. All the members asserted that they exercise their voting rights by themselves. However the vote is decided by family/husband. No kind of discrimination was found amongst members. Economic: The income has increased by Rs. 17/- per litre due to right measurement and right price in Women Dairy Cooperative Society. All the women earned Rs. 5/- and above per month from dairy activity. All of them have Pucca houses. Their awareness about the importance of education has increased. Average expenditure on education per family was Rs. /34

62 Interactive Discussions with Women Dairy Cooperative Society members and Community Link Volunteer What motivated them towards collective coordinated efforts - This provides them assured market, right measurement and price of milk and timely payment How do the members support Women Dairy Cooperative Society in o Milk Procurement No such initiative o Improving Service Coverage and Entitlements - No such initiative What are their immediate long term plans Most of the members are small cattle owners and are concerned with their immediate needs Best Practices about the women who has facilitating overall empowerment process. Name : Rima Devi (Literate) Age 45 Social Empowerment Decision making: o In the Family: o Choice on Family Size consultation. o Decision on seeking a personal career / entrepreneurship No o Decision to move out for marketing to address the self/family requirements. - No o Decision on Children's Education Yes o Decision on right age of girl child's marriage Consulted o Decision of Diet Diversity to tackle nutrition security consulted o In the Women Dairy Cooperative Society: o Accessibility to Collection Centre Safely - Yes o To ensure procurement of milk (Weight, FAT) - Yes o Ownership on Cash payable by Women Dairy Cooperative Society - Yes o Decision making on the Cash in regards spending the money. - Consulted o In the Society: o Confidence built during interactions with members in the community Yes o Value of opinions in the community.- The women were not found to be taking part in Gram sabha meetings o Confidence in dealing with the government officials / outsiders / Women Dairy Cooperative Society officers (without hesitation). - No 35

63 Economic Empowerment In the household o Fulfillment of basic needs - Consulted Banking Literacy o Self withdrawal of money from Bank - Yes o Self use of ATM - No o Confident interactions with Bank Officials- No o Enquiry in the bank/ financial institutions / government officials for increase in income of self and family. - No o Increase in investment and assets (with respect to wealth ranking post Women Dairy Cooperative Society membership) Bought 2 buffalos house being constructed. Dunikiya Mahila DCS 36

64 Case Study # 4: (Chamatha Mahila Dugdh Utpadan Samiti, Bachhawara, Begusarai) Women Dairy Cooperative Society Profile: Name of WDCS : Chamatha Mhila Date of Formation : 12/12/216 Number of Members : 5 Name of Union : DRMU District : Begusarai Block : Bachhawara Location: Located on the main road Names of Office Bearers President Secretary : : Soni Devi Roopam Devi Status of Women Dairy Cooperative : The Women Dairy Cooperative is active Main Occupation / Allied Activity / Livelihood of Women Dairy Cooperative Society Members: In most cases, the Women Dairy Cooperative Society members are dependent on Milk production, agriculture being their allied activity Current Institution building process: Members are fully aware of milk FAT testing. Records of membership, daily procurement, payment etc is maintained. Meeting of the governing Body is held regularly but only attendance is maintained. Details of meetings, prior information etc were not found Current Procurement Capacity : 45 Lit/day Linkages with Service Providers : Jeevika is active in this village. We found that 7 out of 28 present members were associated with Jeevika. 25 Members had bank accounts and 2 of them operated by themselves. Only 3 members had no bank account our of 28 present Main Activities being conducted in the Women Dairy Cooperative Society: The Women Dairy Cooperative is concerned with milk procurement primarily but is also providing extension services to the Union in terms of selling cattle feed, Veterinary medicines etc Social Empowerment and Behaviour Change Promotion Activities: No such activity is conducted by the Women Dairy Cooperative for its members. Entitlement and Access of Socio Economic Services and Rights: Social : While 2 out of 28 members present had toilets, 12 had gas connection. Interestingly only one had TV. The 7 women members associated with Jeevika were found to be more outspoken, others were also found communicating their views comfortably. All the members asserted that they exercise their voting rights by themselves and by their own conscience. No kind of discrimination was found among members. 37

65 Economic: The income has increased by Rs. 5/- to Rs. 7/- per litre due to right measurement and right price in Women Dairy Cooperative. 1 out of 28 women earned Rs. 5/- and above per month from dairy activity. 9 of them have Pucca house. Their awareness about the importance of education has increased. Average expenditure on education per family was Rs. 2 5/Interactive Discussions with Women Dairy Cooperative Society members and Community Link Volunteer What motivated them towards collective coordinated efforts - This provides them assured market, right measurement and price of milk and timely payment How do the members support Women Dairy Cooperative Society in o Milk Procurement No such initiative o Improving Service Coverage and Entitlements - No such initiative What are their immediate long term plans Most of the members are small cattle owners and are concerned with their immediate needs Best Practices about the women who has facilitating overall empowerment process. Name: Babita Devi (Uneducated) Age 25 Social Empowerment Decision making: o In the Family: o Choice on Family Size by consultation o Decision on seeking a personal career / entrepreneurship no such vision found o Decision to move out for marketing to address the self/family requirements. No o Decision on Children's Education Yes, Women are consulted o Decision on right age of girl child's marriage - consulted o Decision of Diet Diversity to tackle nutrition security - consulted o In the Women Dairy Cooperative Society: o Accessibility to collection centre safely - Yes o To ensure procurement of milk (Weight, FAT) - Yes o Ownership on cash payable by Women Dairy Cooperative Society - Yes o Decision making on the cash in regards spending the money - Consulted 38

66 o In the Society: o Confidence built during interactions with members in the community - Yes o Value of opinions in the community.- The women were not found to be taking part in Gram sabha meetings o Confidence in dealing with the government officials / outsiders / Women Dairy Cooperative Society officers (without hesitation). - Yes Economic Empowerment In the household o Fulfillment of basic needs - Consulted Banking Literacy o Self withdrawal of money from Bank - Yes o Self use of ATM - Yes o Confident interactions with Bank Officials- Yes o Enquiry in the bank/ financial institutions / government officials for increase in income of self and family. - No o Increase in investment and assets (with respect to wealth ranking post Women Dairy Cooperative Society membership) Supports the education of the children. 39

67 Case Study # 5 : (Madhawapur Mahila Dugdh Utpadan Samiti, Bhawanipur, Purnea) Women Dairy Cooperative Society Profile: Name of WDCS : Madhawapur Mahila Date of Formation : Number of Members : 33 Name of Union : Kosi Project District : Purnea Block : Bhawanipur Date of Visit : Location: Located on link road. Names of Office Bearers President Secretary : : Neelam Devi Ruby Devi Status of Women Dairy Cooperative: The Women Dairy Cooperative is active. 7 Non members depositing milk here. Main Occupation / Allied Activity / Livelihood of Women Dairy Cooperative Society Members: In most cases, the Women Dairy Cooperative members are dependent on Milk production, agriculture being their allied activity Current Institution building process: Members are fully aware of milk FAT testing. Records of membership, daily procurement, payment etc is maintained. Meeting of the governing Body is held regularly. Record Kept properly. Current Procurement Capacity : 5 Litre/day Linkages with Service Providers : Jeevika is active in this village. All the 21 present members had bank accounts and all of them operated by themselves. 3 of them availing loan from Jeevika. Main Activities being conducted in the Women Dairy Cooperative Society: The Women Dairy Cooperative is concerned with milk procurement primarily but is also providing extension services to the Union in terms of selling cattle feed, Veterinary medicines etc. Social Empowerment and Behaviour Change Promotion Activities: No such activity is conducted by the Women Dairy Cooperative for its members. Entitlement and Access of Socio Economic Services and Rights: Social : While 13 of the 21 members present had toilet, 9 had gas connection. 7 had TV. Half of the members were found to be communicating their views comfortably. All the members asserted that they exercise their voting rights by themselves. No kind of discrimination was found among members. 4

68 Economic: The income has increased by Rs. 12/- per liter due to right measurement and right price in Women Dairy Cooperative. 1 Woman earned Rs. 5/- and above per month from dairy activity. 7 of them have Pucca house. Their awareness about the importance of education has increased. Average expenditure on education per family was Rs. 2/Interactive Discussions with Women Dairy Cooperative Society members and Community Link Volunteer What motivated them towards collective coordinated efforts - This provides them assured market, right measurement and price of milk and timely payment How do the members support Women Dairy Cooperative Society in o Milk Procurement No such initiative o Improving Service Coverage and Entitlements - No such initiative What are their immediate long term plans Most of the members are small cattle owners and are concerned with their immediate needs Best Practices about the women who has facilitating overall empowerment process. Name : Ruby Kumari (B.A.) Age 26 Social Empowerment Decision making: o In the Family: o Choice on Family Size consultation. o Decision on seeking a personal career / enterprenuership wants Sudha Outlet o Decision to move out for marketing to address the self/family requirements. - No o Decision on Children's Education Child is small o Decision on right age of girl child's marriage NA o Decision of Diet Diversity to tackle nutrition security consulted o In the Women Dairy Cooperative Society: o Accessibility to Collection Centre Safely - Yes o To ensure procurement of milk (Weight, FAT) - Yes o Ownership on Cash payable by Women Dairy Cooperative Society- Yes o Decision making on the Cash in regards spending the money. - Consulted o In the Society: o Confidence built during interactions with members in the community Yes o Value of opinions in the community.- The women were not found to be taking part in Gram sabha meetings 41

69 o Confidence in dealing with the government officials / outsiders / Women Dairy Cooperative Society officers (without hesitation). - Yes Economic Empowerment In the household o Fulfillment of basic needs - Consulted Banking Literacy o Self withdrawal of money from Bank - Yes o Self use of ATM - Yes o Confident interactions with Bank Officials- Yes o Enquiry in the bank/ financial institutions / government officials for increase in income of self and family. - No o Increase in investment and assets (with respect to wealth ranking post Women Dairy Cooperative Society membership) Gives money to her husband for refilling fuel/petrol in two wheeler. Shankarpur Sabour Women DCS member bringing milk by boat from far of area Veterinary doctor with cattle 42

70 Chapter 5 - Learning's and Community Perspectives Despite the best efforts towards behaviour and attitude change, wide and deeply entrenched gender disparities in terms of power, resources, and attitudes about male entitlement and female submissiveness persist in Bihar. In recognition of the need to reverse gender disparities, Bihar Government instituted numerous policies, laws, and programmes intended to empower women and include them to the mainstream of development. One such effort was the Special Drive aimed at giving women due share in the Dairy Development Process - as they are integral to Dairying. Women Dairy Cooperative Societies, as economic enterprises, play a meaningful role in uplifting the socio-economic conditions of their members and their local communities. The system of formation of women DCS is similar to that of other DCS. Difference lies in the objective that only women can be member of these DCS and all activities right from cattle rearing (animal husbandry), milking, vending milk to the DCS, record keeping of the DCS, sample collection from the women dairy farmers members milk supply, Fat and SNF measurement, payment to members are done by women members themselves. Women in the DCS are also encouraged to learn artificial insemination and other technical inputs. Regular training is organized to train all women members on all spheres of Animal Husbandry. From the start of the special drive in FY 216 till date, 538 women dairy cooperative societies with a total membership of women. Skill/leadership development, awareness generation about women and child development, nutrition and hygiene, legal right of women through different training programmes are the major components of the project apart from other activities of dairy/ economic development. As we all understand, empowerment is a multidimensional construct and a complex, conditional process. Study thus, measured the empowerment of the Women Dairy Cooperative Society women members across the following dimensions: social dimension, economic dimension, empowerment dimension, and Financial Inclusion. It realized that Women dairy cooperative societies are good mechanisms for pooling women`s resources, offering them advantages of economies of scale to raise their standard of living. Evidence suggested that Cooperative membership changed women's capacity to make strategic choices in their lives and increased their self-esteem and decision-making capabilities. Women found an important contribution to a better life through the network they could establish with other cooperative members, who share the same issues. The study explored the role of cooperatives in Bihar to identify their potential as economic agents of change; leading to economic independence, promoting social inclusion, and ultimately contributing to women`s empowerment by giving them the ability to make strategic choices in their lives. 5.1 Access to cash for personal and family expenses Access to employment is expected to provide access to income which in turn is expected to provide the much needed economic self-reliance of which cash-in-hand for personal and family expenses is a basic indicator. 43

71 Respondents who indicated that they had cash-in-hand for personal and family expenses were 45 percent. During focus group discussions, they expressed that they had come a long way from the earlier state of helplessness, dependence and worthlessness to the present state of acquiring the ability to have some cash-in-hand for family and personal expenses. This is an indicator showing economic empowerment made possible through dairy cooperatives. 5.2 Access to Credit In spite of many positive changes brought about by the women's Self-Help Group movement, access to credit for women is still not on par with men. For rural women with high rates of illiteracy, low skills set, social inhibitions and low self-confidence access to credit is still a Herculean task; and for poor rural women due to apparent economic disadvantages all the above odds multiply in magnitude making access to credit even more difficult. In such a backdrop, access to credit available to 53.1 percent of women in the study sample indicates progress towards economic advancement. Patriarchal socialization of girl children and women reinforces the notion that they are not good with numbers, counting, mathematics and financial transactions. As a result very often women themselves set their minds to believe in low numerical capabilities. A breakthrough in this stereotype notion can set them on an empowering journey. Confidence in financial transaction as one of the indicators of economic empowerment process has been witnessed. After joining the Women Dairy Cooperative Society their exposure to finances, financial matters and transactions has increased which has given a big boost to their confidence. Women in Dairy Cooperative Societies are moving forward to achieve socio economic empowerment with more than 6 percent of respondents' clearly achieving increase in income. This highlights the role and potential of women dairy cooperatives in women empowerment, poverty alleviation, economic progress and rural development. Mushhari Tola Ujiyarpur Ram Chandrapur Bachwara 44

72 Chapter 6 - Conclusions and Recommendations Evidences suggest that the special Drive towards increasing women's participation in Bihar through Women Dairy Cooperative Societies is effective and opportune in many ways. It brings clear benefits for women, children and the family. It has proved effective in promoting financial inclusion and facilitating a socio economic empowerment witnessing an increased participation of women in dairy cooperative societies. This has brought in an environment that provides access to social support and changing gender roles and attitudes. The basic principle of women diary cooperative societies is to work together for the mutual benefit and not for individual benefit. This study was aimed to understand the socio-economic status of women members in the Women Dairy Cooperative Society formed as part of the special drive. From this study it is clear that there has been an increase in the socio economic status of the members. There has been a proportionate increase in cash and much is utilized in providing education to the child, which is another indicator of social empowerment, Recommendations arising from our experience in implementing the programme are detailed below. 6.1 Sustaining positive impact and approach of the special drive Massive drive is the felt need to make the Women Dairy Cooperative Societies beneficiaries aware of the COMFED products. Training and Exposure visit to facilitate cross learning from Gender perspective and leadership development in women. Convergent Action plan (Government and Cooperative) to be developed in a participatory manner. Innovative approaches by incentivizing Women Dairy Cooperative Societies should be encouraged for increased coverage. Need based Outlets to be expanded at the community/regional level. Loan and insurance to be made easily accessible to the beneficiaries through the Women Dairy Cooperative Societies. Medical assistance / services of Medical Doctors to be provided periodically to build in confidence and momentum. Ensuring timely availability of by products (cattle feed, sudha minerals, seeds of fodder, medicines etc) Lady Extension Assistants (LEA) / Mahila Sudha Mitra may be employed at a large scale to have better penetration among women. A task that Sudha Mitras may find difficult. 45

73 Wide scale Artificial Insemination (AI) intervention is the felt need to improve cattle breed. This may be promoted and scaled up converging through Gavya Vikas Yojana. Speedy phasing out of centrifugal machines. This is because, other private dairy/milk collectors are very much active to get more Milk since they use electronic machine that displays digitally the FAT and SNF to buy in the confidence of the women DCS members. Better medical facilities can be provided by aligning the doctors of Animal, Fisheries Resource Dept. with COMFED. 6.2 Sustaining positive Social Impact Special drive to increase women's participation in dairy development has paved the way for social empowerment addressing the issues of exclusion and inclusion. In the lives of the women members of the 538 Women Dairy Cooperative Societies, it has created a visible positive change. Evidences suggest that Women Dairy Cooperative Societies has bypassed the constraints of the village power structure, as milk production does not require land but labour which the poor and women from the bottom two quintiles have amply. Further, special drive through women DCS has also assisted in bringing widespread change in eradicating the problems of poverty, malnourishment and unemployment. In Women Dairy Cooperative Societies, women found themselves empowered, as they are authorised to make their own decisions in meetings held outside the home. Income from Women Dairy Cooperative Societies enabled the women to make most household expenditures without being dependent on their husbands. Being disciplined in the Women Dairy Cooperative Societies has also brought in visible changes in the lives of women members; as the environment in the Women Dairy Cooperative Societies inspires them to bring more of these qualities in themselves and in the lives of their children. 6.3 Sustaining Positive Economic Impact Evidences revealed that women dairy co-operative societies brought positive changes in the lives of its members and their family. Their communication skills and decision-making role improved with the economic empowerment. Economic empowerment enabled them to shun their inhibition and share their views openly in the family and in meetings. As far as economic status of respondents is concerned, majority of them have a regular source of income, post the association with COMFED as Women Dairy Cooperative Societies member. From the respondents it is clear that only 222 women members out of 897 interviewed (25%) owned TV and Refrigerator. 28% of the women member had a pucca house. From the analysis drawn, it can be concluded that nearly 8% of the respondents are happy with the dairy business as it provides them with a dedicated source of income. 84% of the women members received support from their family members in this activity. Further study concludes that though the socio-economic status of the Women Diary Cooperative Members is found to be satisfactory but the members of the society were not happy with the 46

74 veterinary services provided by societies to take care the cattle's health etc. Similarly services in the form of extension services need strengthening. Sudha Mitra's role to be redefined with more number of Women Sudha Mitra to be included in the team. Micro-insurance needs to be built on to existing women dairy cooperatives in order to cut down on the risks women cooperative members face in their everyday lives. Findings revealed that major problem faced by women dairy members was lack of provision of loans and access to credit. Felt need therefore is to explore more and strengthen the financial inclusion services / indicators to facilitate multidimensional growth of dairy farming on a large scale. Enhance women's access to credit for consumption and production, by strengthening of existing financial backward and forward linkages focusing on poor. Most of the women are having access to the Bank account but operate with the support of the bankers and local / family members 6.4 Sustaining Positive Visibility, Marketing and Branding There is a need for a public awareness campaign to make people more aware of the potential of women dairy cooperatives and for their current contribution both in social and economic terms in dairy development sector in Bihar. There is a need for information to be made available in the form of basic statistics on the cooperative sector. Uniformity in Branding in entire project site. Region specific IEC to be developed and made available Improved MIS and Standard operating procedure may help facilitator to get immediate feedback (ie; periodical meeting, usage of machine for pricing, timely payment and ensuring bonus) on a real-time basis. IEC can take important role in enhancing the knowledge and awareness on cooperative and even Sudha dairy product as they were found unaware about the product and coverage. 6.5 Special Training Programs to ensure quality and build capacities of the WDCS members. As the participation of women in women dairy cooperative activities is high; therefore continuous training camps/course for skill development of women engaged in dairying is the felt need that may be organized at village level. It was observed that lack of trained extension personnel to extend handhold services was the major problem faced by majority of the women members. Therefore, it is suggested that there should be adequate number of extension personnel and training courses should be organized regularly for them. More and more training opportunities will provide them greater exposure both in terms better milk production techniques and larger awareness of the world around. 47

75 From the Empowerment Dimension, the Women Dairy Cooperative Societies members need to be oriented on the Rights, Accesses, and entitlements. 6.6 Enhancing positive impact on village society and economy. Bihar Government needs to develop a strategy for helping women led dairy cooperatives, as part of its wider poverty reduction and Manav Vikas Mission strategies, safeguarding rural services, and promoting local economies. It was found that there was improvement in financial position and personal development of members but there is need to promote participation of members in development work and in social activities of the village to facilitate Gender Equity. 6.7 Opportunities and Way Forward Our experience showed that not all women Dairy Cooperative Societies meet regularly to discuss business and social issues as is expected of them. In order to effectively strengthen the Women Dairy Cooperative Societies as per the vision plan, this needs to be strengthened, meetings held regularly, and the capacity of members to effectively control their accounts enhanced. Many Women Dairy Cooperative Societies members are poorly educated; numeracy and literacy are limited, and there is a lack of confidence and skills in public speaking and in organising and leading meetings and other public events among SHG leaders. It is important that initiatives and drives recognise these challenges and include a literacy and numeracy skills component as part of capacity building efforts, and, at the same time, provide continuous hand holding and supportive supervision to Women Dairy Cooperative Societies members, particularly for those in leadership positions, in order to build their facilitation skills and their ability to empower other members of their Dairy Cooperative Societies and community. The initiative should also strategize to engage husbands from a facilitation support dimension. Clearly, while men must be reached, felt need is to explore / consider different platforms for reaching husbands, for example, through pre-existing dairy groups at the village level etc for cross learning and sharing. Dedicated project management team may be institutionalized at district level to support Women Dairy Cooperative Societies function on a mission mode process (planning, execution, monitoring, evaluation, training and handholding etc). References 1. Annual Report, Bihar State Milk Dairy Cooperative Federation Limited, Patna. 2. Annual report of Mithila Milk Union, Annual report of Tirhut Milk Union, Annual report of Baruni Milk union. 3. Impact of Women Dairy Co-operative Societies on Income and Employment of Women in Begusarai District of Bihar, 216, Agricultural Economics Research Review, Binita Kumari and Ravinder Malhotra 4. NDDB (National Dairy Development Board) (218) Retrieved from 48

76 5. COMFED (Bihar State Milk Co-Operative Federation Ltd.) (218) Retrieved from and dairyknowledge.in/link/bihar-state-milk-co-operative-federation-ltdcomfed-sudha. 6. The Impact of Dairy Cooperative on Women Empowerment, Sarker Manish and Hideki Tanaka, Graduate School of Biosphere Science, Hiroshima University Japan 7. Socio-Economic Status of Milk Producers of Primary Milk Societies: A Case Study; Suraj M. Popker and Guntur Anjana Raju 8. Managing dairy co-operatives in India, Koli, P. A. (21). Serials Publications, New Delhi. 9. Role Of Milk Cooperatives In Village Development Of Karnataka State; Mr. Sreenivasaiah.K. and Dr. J.A. Arul Chellakumar, Journal of Business and Management (August 216) 1. Measuring the impact of climate change on Indian agriculture. World Bank Technical Paper No. 42, World Bank, Washington DC, p Dairing as asustainable Occupation Rajith kumar southern economist, Women Entrepreneurship and Milk Cooperatives in India, M. Prabhakaran 13. Dairy Cooperatives and Empowerment of Women, Sheela K. S. and Dr. A Ramegowda, Development Research on Bihar, A Compendium, Alakh N Sharma, Amrita Datta and Joyita Ghose, Animal and Fisheries Resources Department, Government of Bihar - Road Map, Milk Marketing Chains in Bihar: Implications for Dairy Farmers and Traders, Kumar Anjani 17. Women s Empowerment and Nutrition: An Evidence Review, Mara van den Bold, Agnes R. Quisumbing, Stuart Gillespie, IFPRI Livestock and Livelihoods - Challenges and Opportunities for Asia in the Emerging Market Environment, NDDB India, Vinod Ahuja 19. Opportunities And Challenges in The Indian Dairy Industry fileupload/ DataBank/ /issue9td-6.pdf. 2. Bennett, L. (1993): Women, Poverty and Productivity in India. Economic Development Institute of The World Bank. 21. Cunningham, K. (29): Rural and Urban Linkages. Operation Flood s Role in India s Dairy Development. International Food Policy Research Institute. Discussion Paper Bardhan, P., Bowles, S. (ed.): Inequality, Cooperation, and environmental sustainability. Princeton University Press. 23. Pandolfelli, L., Meinzen-Dick, R., Dohrn, S. (28): Introduction. Gender and collective action: motivations, effectiveness and impact. Journal of International Development 2: Okali, C. (211): Searching for new pathways towards achieving gender equity. Beyond Boserup and Women?s role in economic development. ESA Working Paper No. 11-9, FAO 25. Malhotra, Anju, Schuler Ruth, Sidney and Boender, Carol.(22). Measuring women s empowerment as a variable in international development. Background paper prepared for the World Bank workshop on poverty and gender: New perspectives. Retrieved from resources.worldbank.org/intgender/resources/malhotraschulerboender.pdf. 26. ICA.(213). Blueprint for cooperative decade. Retrieved from publications/ blueprint-co-operative-decade. 49

77 Annexure 1 Profile of the Study Team Anand Madhab Anand Madhab is a recipient of "1 Most Impactful CSR Leaders (Global Listing)" award presented by World CSR Congress 216. He is a post graduate in Social Sciences and has also done Masters in Business Administration. A Media and Communication Specialist, he carries an experience of working with various media houses like Sunday Mail, The Pioneer, The Times of India, Jagran Prakashan Limited, Aj etc. He has been associated with different mass media, multimedia and social marketing campaigns with organizations like The World Bank, UN agencies, World Diabetes Foundation, INGOs, Corporate and governments. Some of the projects, led by him, like on Women Empowerment, Women Health, Tuberculosis and Diabetes Management In the course of his professional juarney, he has successfully steered Jagran Pehel- CSR division of Jagran Prakashan Ltd, as Chief Executive Officer. As an Associate Vice President of Jagran Group he has accomplished many innovative marketing projects, which are exemplary. He has been the mastermind behind various coffee table books and other media projects beyond print. Mr. Ashish Kumar: Ashish Kumar has done his Masters in Business Administration and is an alumnus of Delhi University. He brings with himself an experience of over 18 years in planning and managing public health programmes and technical cooperation activities with national and international agencies viz, the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Bihar and Government of Jharkhand; Department of Administrative Reforms (DARPG), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India for promotion of Good Governance Initiatives across the nation; Care India; Lupin Laboratory CSR / Government of Madhya Pradesh for the World Bank Supported District Poverty Initiatives Project (DPIP). His skills include multi-sector project management, communications, Public Private Partnerships, research, documentation and analysis, liaison and development. Some of the Key Projects Handled Include: USAID India - Urban Health initiative to strengthen National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) in Bihar. World Bank Project on Capacity Building for Good Governance by Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India BMGF - Urban Health Initiative (UHI) / Futures Group International to strengthen Public Private Partnership for Family Planning in Uttar Pradesh. Dept. of Health, Government of Jharkhand - Development of the Urban Health and City Plans of 7 cities in Jharkhand. Care India Madhya Pradesh, Integrated Nutrition and Health Project. World Bank - Livelihood Initiative Programme, Madhya Pradesh. 5

78 Social Behaviour Change Campaign around promotion of Hygiene and Toilet Use to strengthen Swachh Bharat Mission Team Swachh / Unicef India. Mr. Prateek Kumar: He is a MSW from Allahabad Agricultural Institute, Allahabad with an MA from LLM University, Darbhanga. He is currently providing oversight to the initiative - "Go Rurall" in Patna. Since 27, the agency provides 36 degree rural communication solutions in Bihar & Jharkhand to large corporate houses such as Hero Motocorp, Jindal Steel, Dalmia Cement, Airtel, Tata Motors etc. In the capacity of the COO, he heads a team of over 6 people assigned with different jobs. The job includes concept development, presentation of concept to the client, implementation and reporting. Mr. Subir Kumar: Subir Kumar is a Post Graduate in Rural Development from Xavier Institute of Social Services, Ranchi with over 23 years of experience in the development as well as corporate sector. He is also an alumnus of the World Bank Institute and has been trained on Poverty Reduction, Reproductive Health and Health Sector Reform. During his professional journey, he worked with organizations like ASSEFA, CARE-India, Institute of Forest Productivity, TNS-Mode, Department of Health and Family welfare, Govt. of Jharkhand. He is Innovative with proven ability to establish public private partnership model in health sector to achieve social betterment/ development. Program Exposure : Maternal and Child Health and also has good understanding of the various Govt. programs of Department of Social welfare, establishing integrated partnership project in Health department, Disaster Management, Program Monitoring, Perspective Planning and Development (NRHM and NREGA) Mr. Vijay Kumar: Vijay Kumar carries an experience of more than 18 years in development sector brings expertise in service delivery programs, managing and leading multi-disciplinary team, developing context specific concept note, staffs management, documentation, Monitoring and evaluation, problem solving & decision-making. In his professional journey, he has been involved into taking family planning services across 11 districts in Bihar, targeting the poor in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Program Exposure: community led initiatives on women empowerment; Reproductive, Maternal, New born child and Adolescence health, Disaster Risk Reduction. Mr. Ravi Shankar: Ravi Shankar is a Ph.D Research Scholar from Patna University and brings with himself an experience of more than 15 years in the development sector. He is also an MSW and carries great analytical skills. He did his Masters in Population Studies from IIPS, Mumbai with his skills strengthened in Monitoring and Evaluation. 51

79 52 Name of Women DCS Gadhiya Mahila DUSS Roska Koska Mahila DUSS Chikni Mahila DUSS Laxmipur Bhitta Mahila DUSS Madhawapur Mahila DUSS Bhittha Mahila DUSS Nipaniya Mahila DUSS Satkodariya Araji Khalsa Mahila DUSS Babhani Mahila DUSS Line Basti Mahila DUSS Mohaniya Mahila DUSS Madhuwan Mahila DUSS Beltari Mahila DUSS Vishanpur Mahila Saur Mahila Baldahi Mahila Kharka Talwa Mahila Barhsher Mahila Aini Mahila Aran Mahila Chandika Jamhara Gangaura Bihra Mohanpur Mahila Samharkhurd Mahila Pastpar Mahila Kabailachak Mahila Golma Mahila Tilathi Mahila Kahra Mahila Samharkala Gaji Paita Devkal Mahila Lagma Mahila Balthi Mahila Gandaul Raipura Mahila Naharvar Mahila Afajalpur Noniya Chikni Barsam Gadhiya Roska Koskagarh Chikni Vishhariya Goth Madhwapur Bikhana Nipania Satkodariya Babhani Maranga Mohania Madhwan Rupauli Vishanpur Saur Musharniya Baldahi Kharka Talwa Barhsher Aini Aran Jamhara Gangaura Bihra Mohanpur Samharkhurd Pastpar Kabailachak Golma Tilathi Kahra Samharkala Gaji Paita Devkal Lagma Balthi Gandaul Raipura Naharvar Afajalpur Noniya Chikni Barsam Name Of Village K. Nagar K. Nagar Dhamdaha Barhara Kothi Bhawanipur Rupauli Barhara Kothi K. Nagar Dagurwa Purnea Purb Banmankhi Banmankhi Banmankhi Satarkataiya Saurbazar Salkhua Navhatta Satarkataiya S. Bakhtiyarpur Satarkataiya Sonbarsa Satarkataiya S. Bakhtiyarpur Salkhua Patarghat Saurbazar Patarghat S. Bakhtiyarpur Kahra Salkhua Sonbarsa Banma Ithari S. Bakhtiyarpur S. Bakhtiyarpur Satarkataiya S. Bakhtiyarpur Mahishi Banama Ithari Mahishi Saurbazar Name of Block Purnea Purnea Purnea Purnea Purnea Purnea Purnea Purnea Purnea Purnea Purnea Purnea Purnea Name of District Total Procurment Pourers Members (Kg/Day) List of 538 Woman Dairy Cooperative Societies Formed Under COMFED In S.No. Annexure 2

80 53 Name Of Village Dumari Supaul Shankarthua Ara Sarauni Auriyaramauti Bargaon Araji Muradpur Chandryan Mahisraho Teghra Ekadh Nagar Sahgaura Dhabauli Mangvar Jalsima Sahsaili Thuthi Oriya Sahuriya Brahi Dumra Sugma Chakbharo Bargaon Kabirpur Chainpur Srauni Khurd Paita Tiri Maanganj Parsahi Gudiya Bhura Pipra Khurd Makhanpatti Laguniya Chandragadh Gidrahi Rajgaon Orahi Basavanpatti Harari Name of Women DCS Dumari Supaul Mahila Shankarthua Ara Mahila Sarauni Mahila Auriya Ramauti M. Bargaon Araji Muradpur M. Chandryan M. Mahisraho M. Teghra M. Ekadh M. Nagar M. Sahgaura Pastpar M. Dhabauli Purvi M. Mangvar Mahila Jalsima Bhada Mahila Sahsaili Thuthi Mahila Oriya M. Sahuriya M. Brahi M. Dumra M. Sugma M. Chakbharo M. Bargaon Sabela Mahila Kabirpur M. Chainpur M. Srauni Khurd Paita M. Tiri Mahila Datua Mahila Parsahi Bathava Bhura Pipra Makhanpatti Laguniya Chandragadh Gidrahi Rajgaon Orahi Basavanpatti M. Harari M. S.No Mahishi Mahishi Mahishi Mahishi Navhatta Bargaon Araji Navhatta nva Mahishi Mahishi Navhatta Mahishi Patarghat Patarghat Sonbarsa Sonbarsa Salkhua Navhatta Banma Ithari Sonbarsa Sonbarsa Banma Ithari S. Bakhtiyarpur Sonbarsa Salkhua Kahra Mahishi Sonbarsa Saurbazar Triveniganj Triveniganj Triveniganj Triveniganj Saraygadh Supaul Nirmali Marauna Supaul Triveniganj Saraygadh Bhaptiyahi Radhopur Marauna Name of Block Supaul Supaul Supaul Supaul Supaul Supaul Supaul Supaul Supaul Supaul Supaul Supaul Supaul Name of District Total Procurment Pourers Members (Kg/Day) List of 538 Woman Dairy Cooperative Societies Formed Under COMFED In

81 54 Name Of Village Haripur Mahisardar Parsarma Matkuriya Pilvaha Karahaya Akhaa Madanpur Bahadursingh Chakla Shishvapatti Tilakpur Kursandi Khusrupatti Ratanpatti Joravarganj Murho Rajni Milik Kevatgama Jhitkiya Bhavanipur Jhalari Sikarhatti Phulaut Jhalari Sonbarsa Vishariya Sripur Chakla Pitambar Bargaon Shishvapatti Goth Sripur Rauta Hathiaundha Tuniyahi Sahugadh Gauripur Patori Maheshua Chausar Jirva Raibhir Chaura Belari Dhurgaon Name of Women DCS Haripur M. Mahisardar Chakla M. Baliyaspatti M. Matkuriya M. Pilvaha M. Karahaya Akhaa Madanpur Bahadursingh Chakla Shishvapatti Tilakpur Kursandi Khusrupatti Ratanpatti Joravarganj Murho Dukhraj Rajni Milik Kevatgama Jhitkiya Hari Bhavanipur Bhelvahi Sikarhatti Sapni Mushari Tola Jhalari Mahila Sonbarsa Mahila Anandpura Vishariya Sripur Basa Chakla Pitambar Bargaon Mahila Shishvapatti Goth Sripur Rauta Hathiaundha Mahila Tuniyahi Mahila Sahugadh Gauripur Patori Chausar Jirva Raibhir Brahmottar Belari Dhurgaon S.No Nirmali Kishanpur Supaul Triveniganj Triveniganj Kishanpur Alamnagar Gwalpara Alamnagar Puraini Murliganj Murliganj Kumarkhand Murliganj Kumarkhand Gwalpara Kumarkhand Gwalpara Kumarkhand Chausa Gwalpara Alamnagar Udakishunganj Chausa Gwalpara Alamnagar Gwalpara Kumarkhand Bihariganj Singhesvar Singhesvar Shankarpur Shankarpur Kumarkhand Name of Block Supaul Supaul Supaul Supaul Supaul Supaul Name of District Total Procurment Pourers Members (Kg/Day) List of 538 Woman Dairy Cooperative Societies Formed Under COMFED In

82 55 Name Of Village Bakhri Batauna Bhdaul Kumarkhand Parmanandpur Pokhram Abhiyatola Sukhasan Bhathandhi Dhanahra Gajharwa Pipra Parsain Khartari Bokane Khurd Sahila Rampur Chak Bara Fatehpur Khajuria Dubey Batraha Ganesh Dumar Rajpur Semarawna Chaube Parsa Bairagi Tola Tola Jhakhra Sarea Khas Bikaur Bardahan Dhanauti Adamanpur Rampur Reghaipur Pathanpur Pakri Milki Madhwapur Sherpur Bindwal Ushuri Chintamanpur Dhanauti Kamalpur Bithraul Khaira Azam Name of Women DCS Bakhri Batauna Bhdaul Kumarkhand Parmanandpur Pokhram Abhiyatola Sukhasan M. Bhathandi Mahila Dhanhara Mahila Gajhara Mahila Hanuman Nagar Mahila Lalbegiya Mahila Bokane Khurd Mahila Pachgachhiya Jivika Chakbara Mahila Fatehpur Mahila Khajuriya Mauje Mahi Ganga Sagar Mahila Ganesh Dumra Mahila Rajpur Banwatol Mahi Semrauna Mahila Chaube Parsha Mahila Bairagitola Mahila Baluhat Mahila Sereya Mahila Bikaur Mahila Baradaha Mahila Dhanauti Mahila Rakauli Mahila Rampur Mahila Ragharpura Mahila Pathanpura Mahila Pakari Mahila Milki Madhawapur Mahila Sherpur Mahila Bindwal Mahila Usari Mahila Chintaman pur Mahila Dhanauti Mahila Kamalpur Mahila Khaira Azam Mahila S.No Kumarkhand Murliganj Murliganj Chausa Singhesvar Sakra Runisaidpur Bathnaha Sonbarsa Chiraia Patahi Bochaha Chakia(Pipra) Paroo Barauli Phulwaria Phulwaria Phulwaria Phulwaria Phulwaria Phulwaria Nautan Paharpur Ziradei Ziradei Hasanpura Raghunathpur Siswan Sursand Sursand Hasanpura Daraundha Daraundha Hussainganj Maharajganj Mehsi Baruraj (Motipu Baruraj (Motipu Baikunthpur Name of Block Muzaffarpur Sitamarhi Sitamarhi Sitamarhi EAST Champaran EAST CHAMPARAN Muzaffarpur East Champaran Muzaffarpur Gopalganj Gopalganj Gopalganj Gopalganj Gopalganj Gopalganj Gopalganj Pashchim Champaran East Champaran Siwan Siwan Siwan Siwan Siwan Sitamarhi Sitamarhi Siwan Siwan Siwan Siwan Siwan Purba Champaran Muzaffarpur Muzaffarpur Gopalganj Name of District Total Procurment Pourers Members (Kg/Day) List of 538 Woman Dairy Cooperative Societies Formed Under COMFED In

83 56 Name Of Village Dhodhila DUDHAIL CHANDAULI IMANSARAI PANCHOBH MADHOPUR BHUAL KHANUMA CHAINPUR SHIVRAM SARHAD MADHO CHAKJOHRA GOPALI PACHMA BIRNAMA MAHISAUT BUNIYADPUR BATHAI MATIAUR RAMPUR AVA BABKKARPUR PAUNAD DASHRATHPATTI BAZIDPUR AJRAKBE BASUDEOPUR Manjgayi Shampur Dhaka Madhva Khairpur Govindpur Benibaak Manjhgaya Jamua Saitadih Nagel Visvaspur Pavaidih Devdar Bavan Korama Laugai Jadulkher Nagardih Jamaiyachak Sidhaun Gangati Name of Women DCS Diuliya Mahila Dudhail Chandauli Imansarai Panchobh Madhopur Bhual Khanuma Chainpur Shiv Ram Sarhad Madho Chakjohra Gopali Pachma Mushhari Tola Mahisaut Buniyadpur Bathai Matiaur Rampur Ava Babkkarpur Paunoud Dashrathpatti Bazidpur Ajrabe Basudeopur Manjgai Mahila Shampur Dhaka Madhva Mahila Khairpur Mahila Lakshmantola Benibaak Manjhgaya Mahila Jamua Mahila Saitadih Mahila Nagel Mahila Visvaspur Mahila Pavaidih Devdar Mahila Bavan Korama Mahila Chaudharitola Mahila Jadulkher Mahila Nagardih Mahila Jamaiyachak Mahila Sidhaun Mahila Gangati Mahila S.No Katiya BENIPATTI HANUMANNAGAR PATORI HANUMANNAGAR KALYANPUR SHIVAJINAGAR MOHANPUR SHIVAJINAGAR PATORI M.NAGAR KEOTI UJIARPUR KUSHESHWARSTHAN PURVI SHIVAJINAGAR TARDIH MOHANPUR HARLAKHI TAJPUR JALE BAHADURPUR MANIGACHHI BAHADURPUR Shubhganj Shubhganj Belhar Navgachiya Pirpainti Jhajha Belhar Belhar Belhar Belhar Amarpur Amarpur Dhoraiya Rajaun Amarpur Amarpur Phallidumar Shubhganj Barahat Dhoraiya Name of Block Gopalganj Madhuwani Darbhanga Samastipur Darbhanga Samastipur Samastipur Samastipur Samastipur Samastipur Samastipur Darbhanga Samastipur Darbhanga Samastipur Darbhanga Samastipur Madhuwani Samastipur Darbhanga Darbhanga Darbhanga Darbhanga Banka Banka Banka Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Jamui Banka Banka Banka Banka Banka Banka Banka Banka Banka Banka Banka Banka Banka Banka Name of District Total Procurment Pourers Members (Kg/Day) List of 538 Woman Dairy Cooperative Societies Formed Under COMFED In

84 57 Name Of Village Kaithpur Makser Lakha Kunjalagadhi Dumariya Gajanda Tardih Olapur Jageshwarpur Makaranpur Jaytipur Lagma Madhuban Diyara Kairiya Gangarampur Channo Khajuriya Lailakh Kurpat Shankarpur Ibrahimpur Chaichak English Chichraun Fajilpur Harwa Tardiha Shayampur Bishanpur Balachak Bhagwanpur Sikandar Bikrampur Budhighat Chakayam Chamtha Emadpur Bakhtiyarpur Fazilpur Matihani Mohanpur Nipaniya Nirpur Prash Gularia Rani Name of Women DCS Kaithpur Mahila Makser Mahila Lakha Mahila Kunjalagadhi Mahila Dumariya Mahila Gajanda Mahila Tardih Mahila Olapur Mahila Jageshwarpur Mahila Makaranpur Raitola Jaytipur Lagma Mahila Madhuban Diyara Kairiya Mahila Gangarampur Mahila Channo Mahila Khajuriya Lailakh Mamlakha Kurpat Purani Shankarpur Bari Ibrahimpur Chaichak English Chichraun Fajilpur Harwa Mahila Tardiha Mahila Shayampur Mahila Chamtha Bishanpur Mahila Balachak Mahila Bhagwanpur Sikander Mahial Bikrampur Mahila Budhighat Mahila Chakayam Mahial Chamtha Mahila Emadpur Mahila Krisnanagar Mahila Maa Janaki Mahila Matihani Kharaj Mahila Mohanpur Mahila Nipaniya Pachimi Mahila Nirpur Mahila Prash Gularia Mahila Purbi Tola Rani Mahila S.No Barahat Dhoraiya Shubhganj Belhar Rajaun Barahat Amarpur Pirpainti Kahalgaon Pirpainti Kahalgaon Kahalgaon Pirpainti Kahalgaon Sanhola Kahalgaon Sanhola Sabaur Sabaur Sabaur Sabaur Sabaur Sultanganj Jagdishpur Jagdishpur Jagdishpur Sultanganj Bachhwara Balia Teghra Chairia Bariyarpur Alauli Bhagwanpur Bachhwara Gadhpura Mansi Birpur Chhourahi Chairia Bariyarpur Teghra Nawkothi Alauli Bachhwara Name of Block Banka Banka Banka Banka Banka Banka Banka Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Begusarai Begusarai Begusarai Begusarai Khagaria Begusarai Begusarai Begusarai Khagaria Begusarai Begusarai Begusarai Begusarai Begusarai Khagaria Begusarai Name of District Total Procurment Pourers Members (Kg/Day) List of 538 Woman Dairy Cooperative Societies Formed Under COMFED In

85 58 Name of Women DCS Purbi Tola Rani Mahila Ramchandra Pur Mahila Ramuniya Mahila Thatha Mahila Turkiya Mahila M Dhaturi Tola M Krishna Nagar M Gareia M. Noniya Bigha M. Kapsiyawan M. Bhavdas Bigha M. Huraree purvi M. Phulvariya purvi M. Akalganj M. Ugawan M. Rasalpur M. Bataura M. Rajura M. Chhabilatika M. Dhari M. Akbarbigha M. Mirzapur M. Beniganj M. Bhadeli M. Lohrajbigha M. Nayamat Sahtha M. Ramnagar M. Azimabad M. Saropur M. Koni M. Salempur M. Kosdihrara M. Ghoradei M. Harnahi M. Garha M. Jiwakrai ke Tola M. Chaktola M. Bariswan M. Pathar M. Budhadih M. Karmi Dera M. Dharouli S.No Rani Ramchandrapur Ramuniya Thatha Turkiya Dhaturi Tola Krishna Nagar Gaureria Noniya Bigha Kapsiyawan Bhavdas Bigha Huraree Phulvariya Akalganj Ugawan Rasalpur Bataura Rajura Chhabilatika Dhari Akbarbigha Mirzapur Beniganj Bhadeli Lohrajbigha Nayamat sahtha Ramnagar Azimabad Saropur KONI Salempur Koshdihra Ghoradei Harnahi Garha Jiwakrai Ke Dera Chak Tola Bariswan Pathar Budhadih Karmi Dera Dharouli Name Of Village Bachhwara Bachhwara Khagaria Chairia Bariyarpur Dandari Murli Chapra Murli Chapra Murli Chapra Hilsa Hilsa Hilsa Hilsa Hilsa Ekangarsari Sarmera Shekhpura Ghatkusuba Barbigha Barbigha Chewara Shekhopursarai Barbigha Barbigha Shekhopursarai Asthawan Bhagwanpur Lalganj Agiaon Charpokhri Sahar Koilwar Sandesh Ara Sadar Jagdishpur Udwantnagar Barhara Piro Shahpur Garhani Rajpur Ithari Bhrampur Name of Block Begusarai Begusarai Khagaria Begusarai Begusarai Balia Balia Balia Nalanda Nalanda Nalanda Nalanda Nalanda Nalanda Nalanda Shekhpura Shekhpura Shekhpura Shekhpura Shekhpura Shekhpura Shekhpura Shekhpura Shekhpura Nalanda VAISHALI VAISHALI Bhojpur Bhojpur Bhojpur Bhojpur Bhojpur Bhojpur Bhojpur Bhojpur Bhojpur Bhojpur Bhojpur Bhojpur Buxer Buxer Buxer Name of District Total Procurment Pourers Members (Kg/Day) List of 538 Woman Dairy Cooperative Societies Formed Under COMFED In

86 59 Name of Women DCS M. Bijhour M. Gope Bharouli M. Koransarai M.Baradih M. Bhavdathi M. Parnahi M. Raghunathpur M. Tetarhar M. Tiyara M. Milki M.Nonsari M. Bilaspur M.Parariya M. Dumra M. Chatar M. Kamdhenwa M. Konki M. Mohani M. Gara M. Tiwaripur M. Majhauli M. Kuddi M. Rampur M. Gayanpura M. Bahadurpur M. Chatar M.Kosiyar M. Gangadhar M. Sikraul M Baradih M.Rojhai M. Semri M. Chitaurkhar M. Prandihra M.Usra M.Isharpura M. Purshottampur M. Matiyari M. Gamhariya M.Tarhani M.Dhanadhih M.Marchi M.Kishunpura M.Baudha M.Khanethi S.No Bijour Gope Bharouli Koransaarai Baradih Bhavdathi Parnahi Raghunathpur Tetarhar Tiyara Milki Nonsari Bilaspur Parariya Dumra Chatar Kamdhenwa Konki Mohani Gara Tiwaripur Majhauli Kuddi Rampur Gayanpura Bahadurpur Chatar Kosiyar GANGADHAR Sikraul BARADIH Rojhai Semri CHITAURKHAR Prandihra Usra Isharpura Purshottampur MATIYARI GAMHARIYA Tarhani Dhanadhih Marchi Kishunpura Baudha Khanethi Name Of Village Ithari Simri Dumrao Brahampur Semri Bharampur Bharampur Nawanagar Rajpur Chausa Nokha Dinara Dinara Dinara kochas Dawath Shivsagar Bikramganj Kochas Kochas Sanjhauli Chand Bhabhua Jagdishpur Garhani Barhara Sahar Jagdishpur shivsagar Kargahar shivsagar shivsagar Nasriganj Kargahar Nawanagar Kochas Nuaon Ramgarh Rampur Bhabhua Kudra Bhagwanpur Bhabhua Nuaon Ramgarh Name of Block Buxer Buxer Buxer Buxer Buxer Buxer Buxer Buxer Buxer Buxer Rohtas Rohtas Rohtas Rohtas Rohtas Rohtas Rohtas Rohtas Rohtas Rohtas Rohtas Kaimur Kaimur Bhojpur Bhojpur Bhojpur Bhojpur Bhojpur Rohtas Rohtas Rohtas Rohtas Rohtas Rohtas Rohtas Rohtas Kaimur Kaimur Kaimur Kaimur Kaimur Kaimur Kaimur Kaimur Kaimur Name of District Total Procurment Pourers Members (Kg/Day) List of 538 Woman Dairy Cooperative Societies Formed Under COMFED In

87 Annexure 3 List of the 54 Woman Dairy Co-operative Societies Studied as Sample 1 Barauni Chamtha Mahila Begusarai Deshratna Dr. Rajendra Pd.mlk production Cooperative Union ltd. Total Member in Samiti 7 2 Barauni Ramchandrapur Mahila Begusarai Deshratna Dr. Rajendra Pd.mlk production Cooperative Union ltd Barauni Emadpuir Mahila Begusarai Deshratna Dr. Rajendra Pd.mlk production Cooperative Union ltd Barauni Turkiya Mahila Begusarai Deshratna Dr. Rajendra Pd.mlk production Cooperative Union ltd Samastipur Imansarai Mahila Samastipur Mithila milk production cooperative union ltd Samastipur Mushahari Tola Samastipur Mithila milk production cooperative union ltd Samastipur Madhopur Bhual Samastipur Mithila milk production cooperative union ltd Samastipur Paunad Darbhanga Mithila milk production cooperative union ltd Samastipur Dashrathpatti Darbhanga Mithila milk production cooperative union ltd. 4 1 Samastipur Dudhali Madhubani Mithila milk production cooperative union ltd Bhagalpur Chaichak Bhagalpur Bikramshila milk production Cooperative ltd. Bhagalpur 12 Bhagalpur Purani Shankarpur Bhagalpur Bikramshila milk production Cooperative ltd. Bhagalpur 13 Bhagalpur Faijalpur Bhagalpur Bikramshila milk production Cooperative ltd. Bhagalpur 4 14 Bhagalpur Channo Mahila Bhagalpur Bikramshila milk production Cooperative ltd. Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Olapur Mahila Bhagalpur Bikramshila milk production Cooperative ltd. Bhagalpur 16 Bhagalpur Jamua Mahila Bhagalpur Bikramshila milk production Cooperative ltd. Bhagalpur Purnia Laxmipur Bhitta Mahila Duss Purnia Kosi Dairy Project,Purnia Purnia Nipania Mahila DUSS Purnia Kosi Dairy Project,Purnia Purnia Chikni Mahila DUSS Purnia Kosi Dairy Project,Purnia 37 2 Purnia Madhopur Mahila DUSS Purnia Kosi Dairy Project,Purnia Purnia Satorkatia Araji Khalsa Mahila DUSS Purnia Kosi Dairy Project,Purnia Purnia Mohania Mahila DUSS Purnia Kosi Dairy Project,Purnia Supoul Kabila Chak Mahila Kosi milk production Cooperative Union ltd Supoul Vishanpur Mahila Kosi milk production Cooperative Union ltd Supoul Madanpur Madhapura Kosi milk production Cooperative Union ltd Supoul Tunhayi Mahila Madhapura Kosi milk production Cooperative Union ltd Supoul Pipra Khurd Mahila Supoul Kosi milk production Cooperative Union ltd. 28 Supoul Lagunia Mahila Supoul Kosi milk production Cooperative Union ltd. 29 Patna Rasalpur Sekhpura Vaishal Patliputra milk production Cooperative union ltd. 26 Patna Beniganj Sekhpura Vaishal Patliputra milk production Cooperative union ltd Patna Mahila Khajrama Nalanda Vaishal Patliputra milk production Cooperative union ltd Patna Mahila Manharpur Patna Vaishal Patliputra milk production Cooperative union ltd Bhojpur Mahila Bahadurpur Bhojpur Sahabad milk production Cooperative union ltd.,ara Patna Mahila Kawaibarala Vaishali Vaishal Patliputra milk production Cooperative union ltd Patna Mahila Shahdei Vaishali Vaishal Patliputra milk production Cooperative union ltd Patna Mahila Madhaul khurd Vaishali Vaishal Patliputra milk production Cooperative union ltd Muzaffarpur Bhathandi Mahila Muzaffarpur Tirhut milk production Cooperative union ltd.,muzaffarpur Muzaffarpur Gajharwa Mahila Sitamarhi Tirhut milk production Cooperative union ltd.,muzaffarpur Muzaffarpur Ganga Mahila East Champaran Tirhut milk production Cooperative union ltd.,muzaffarpur 12 4 Patna M.Usti Saran Vaishal Patliputra milk production Cooperative union ltd Patna M.Chaturbhuj Saran Vaishal Patliputra milk production Cooperative union ltd Saran Pakri Mahila Siwan Tirhut milk production Cooperative union ltd.,muzaffarpur Saran Mahila Sherpur Siwan Tirhut milk production Cooperative union ltd.,muzaffarpur Saran Bairagi Tola Mahila Gopalganj Tirhut milk production Cooperative union ltd.,muzaffarpur Saran Chaube Parsa Mahila Gopalganj Tirhut milk production Cooperative union ltd.,muzaffarpur Gaya Laxman pur Bathe Arwal Magadh milk production Cooperative union ltd.,gaya Gaya Mahila Kudrasin Arwal Magadh milk production Cooperative union ltd.,gaya Gaya Narma Mahila Durg Jahanabad Magadh milk production Cooperative union ltd.,gaya Gaya Mahila Hathvawan Gaya Magadh milk production Cooperative union ltd.,gaya 46 5 Patna Mahila painapur Patna Vaishal Patliputra milk production Cooperative union ltd Gaya Mahila Dhamkawa Gaya Magadh milk production Cooperative union ltd.,gaya 8 52 Gaya Mahila Prema Aurangabad Magadh milk production Cooperative union ltd.,gaya Bhojpur Mahila Pranai Buxar Sahabad milk production Cooperative union ltd.,ara Bhojpur Mahila Bilaspur Rohtas Sahabad milk production Cooperative union ltd.,ara 21 Sl. Name of Division Name of WDC District Name of Union 6

88 स म जक Study Tool 1 म हल द ध सहक र स म तय म म हल ओ क भ ग द र क स म जक आ थक लए अ ययन न वल (Individual In-depth Interview) 1 य तगत ज नक र I न म II प त / पत क न म iv घर म सद य क स य V धम VI उ VII ज त VIII श IX द ध स म त क न म जसस जड़ ह X वव हक थ त XII ब. प. एल क ड ध रक XIII ब च क स य और श क णक य यत ह य नह तर पर पत I ग व II प च यत III ल क IV जल V म ब इल स य VI लड म क 61 भ व क आकलन करन क

89 २ सद य क आ थक थ त क ज नक र स म त म जड़न स पहल I य आपक घर म श च लय ह II य आपक घर म ग स च ह ह III आपक व षक कम ई कतन ह IV घर म कतन ल ग कम त ह V घर म ट व ह VI अपन ग य य भस ह य द न और कतन VII य आपक अपन बक अक उ ट ह X य ख त क स च लन आप वय करत ह य आपन कभ बक क कमच र स, दध उ प दन बढ न क लए बक क य जन ओ क ब र म ज नक र ल ह XI घर म व त य नणय क न ल त ह XII आपक प स घर म क न क न स इल XIII आपक घर म क न स व हन ह XIV आपन बक स ल न लय ह य नह XV नक य ह य आप समय पर अपन ऋण चक त ह XVII आपक प स अपन घर ह? - प क य म क XVIII आपक प स सच ई य य जम न ह य नह XIX घर क कल खच य ह XX श पर खच कतन ह त ह XXI कस न डट क ड ह य नह 3 द ध स म त क सद य क ज नक र I स म त क न म II स म त क पत IV आप स म त म VI सबस अ धक पस कम न व ल सद य क न म VII द ध क त दन कतन दध द त ह पर सद य क म टग ह त ह 62 स म त म जड़न क ब द

90 4 द ध स म त स जड़न क ब द और पहल क आ थक थ त स म त म जड़न स पहल I आय म व II प रव र खशह ल हआ य नह III IV प रव र क आ थक उ न त म द ध उ प दन स म त क कतन य गद न ह आपक कसन स म त स जड़न क सल ह दय VI स म त तक द ध क न ल ज त ह VII घर स स म त क दर VIII क IX दध ज त ह स म त म आपक ब त सन X स म त क स चव, अ य XI स म त क XII आपक डर स समय पर भगत न मलत ह XIII आपक दध क सह द म मलत ह? XIV स म त स जड़न स पहल आय क स धन स म त म जड़न क ब द हई त कतन कतन ह तक दध ल ज न क स धन व र क ई य ह क स थ मलत ह नग मल ह य नह य थ म हल क स म जक सश तकरण क थ त 5 I य आपक स म य म हल अ धक र क ज नक र ह ii य आप ल ग क ब च म अ छ स ब ल प त ह iii iv य आप स मद क म भ ग ल त ह - जस म सभ, व ड सभ, यक बठ दध क य स म जक उ थ न क लए बठ क य उ प दन स म त क बठ अ य य आप इन बठ क म ल ग क ब च म पर आ म व व स स अपन ब त रख प त ह v य आपक सरक र अ धक र य स म त क अ य सद य स ब त करन म हच कच हट ह त ह vi य आपक स थ अ य सद य स अलग भ द भ व कय ज त ह vii viii ix x व ट द न क लए क न नणय ल त ह य प रव र नय जन स ब धत नणय ल न म आपक ए म यत ह क नह य आपक स म त क व र दए गए अ धक र / ल भ क ज नक र ह य नह अगर क ई सझ व ह त बत ए. स म त क सद य क ह त र य अग ठ क नश न सव क क ह त र 63

91 स म जक आ थक सव ण Study Tool 2 म हल द ध सहक र स म तय म म हल ओ क भ ग द र क स म जक आ थक अ ययन न वल भ व क आकलन करन क लए (FGD) स म त क न म: तथ : १ सद य क आ थक थ त क ज नक र I य आपक घर म श च लय ह II य आपक घर म ग स च ह ह III आपक व षक कम ई कतन ह IV घर म ट व ह V आपक प स दध VI Upto 5, 5-1, 1 and above पशओ क स य कल एव अलग-अलग बत ए य आपक अपन बक अक उ ट ह VII ख त क स च लन क न करत ह VIII घर म व त य नणय क न ल त ह IX आपन बक स ल न लय ह अगर ह त X कतन य आप समय पर अपन ऋण चक त ह XI बक क कमच र क यवह र क स थ XII आपक प स अपन घर ह? - प क य म क XIII XIV 2 द ध ग य, भस, बकर आ द श पर खच कतन ह त ह य आप स म त म त दन दध द त ह स म त स जड़न क ब द और पहल क थ त I आय म व II III प रव र क आ थक उ न त म द ध उ प दन स म त क कतन य गद न ह प रव र क ल ग क कतन सहय ग मलत ह IV स म त तक द ध क न ल ज त ह V घर स स म त क दर VI य क फ ड क अ त र त क ई अ य य त / एजस आपस य ग व स दध ल त ह य द ह त कन क रण स और कतन VII VIII य स म त हई त कतन म हल कतन ह व र पश च क सक क यव थ कर ई ज त ह 64 वय, प रव र क अ य सद य, अ य

92 म हल क स म जक सश तकरण क थ त 3 I य आप स मद क म भ ग ल त ह - जस म सभ, व ड सभ, यक बठ द ध उ प दक स म त क बठ क य स म जक उ थ न क लए बठ क य अ य II य आपक स म त म नय मत बठ क आय जत ह त ह ; अगर ह त ह त स ल भर म कतन? III IV V VI VII VIII य आप इन बठ क म ल ग क ब च म पर आ म व व स स अपन ब त रख प त ह य आप स म त तक दध त महसस ल ज न म अपन आप क सर करत ह? अगर नह त य? य आपक सरक र अ धक र य स म त क अ य सद य स ब त करन म हच कच हट ह त ह य आपक स थ अ य सद य स अलग भ द भ व कय ज त ह, अगर ह त य? य प रव र नय जन स ब धत नणय ल न म आपक ए म यत ह क नह य आपक स म त क व र दए गए अ धक र / ल भ क ज नक र ह य नह IX व ट द न क लए क न नणय ल त ह X अगर क ई सझ व ह त बत ए. 65

93 Pointers for Discussion in FGD Study Tool 3 स म त क न म : १ सद य क आ थक थ त क ज नक र I य आपक घर म श च लय ह II य आपक घर म ग स च ह ह III आपक व षक कम ई कतन ह IV घर म ट व ह V आपक प स दध पश क स य क ल एव अलग-अलग बत ए VI य आपक अपन बक अक उ ट ह VII ख त क स लन क न करत ह VIII घर म व य नणय क न ल त ह IX आपन बक स ल न लय ह अगर ह त कतन X य आप समय पर अपन ऋण च क त ह XI बक क कमच र क वह र क स थ XII आपक प स अपन घर ह? - प य म क XIII श पर खच कतन ह त ह XIV य आप स म त म त दन दध दत ह 2 द ध स म त स ज ड़न क ब द और पहल क थ त I आय म व ई त कतन II प रव र क आ थक उ म द ध उ प दन स म त क कतन य गद न ह III प रव र क ल ग क कतन सहय ग मलत ह IV स म त तक द ध क न ल ज त ह V घर स स म त क दर कतन ह VI य क फ ड क अ त र क ई अ य / एजस आपस य ग व स दध ल त ह VII य द ह त कन क रण स और कतन VIII स म त म दध दन व ल ग र सद य क स य 3 I II म हल क स म जक सश करण क थ त य आप स म द यक ब ठक म भ ग ल त ह - ज स म सभ, व ड सभ, द ध उ प दक स म त क ब ठक य स म जक उ थ न क लए ब ठक य अ य य आपक स म त म नय मत ब ठक आय जत ह त ह ; अगर ह त ह त स ल भर म कतन? 66

94 III IV V य आप इन ब ठक म ल ग क ब च म प र आ म व स स अपन ब त रख प त ह य आप स म त तक दध ल ज न म अपन आप क स र त महस स करत ह? अगर नह त य? य आपक सरक र अ धक र य स म त क अ य सद य स ब त करन म हच कच हट ह त ह VI य आपक स थ अ य सद य स अलग भ द भ व कय ज त ह, अगर ह त य? VII य प रव र नय जन स ब धत नणय ल न म आपक ए यत ह क नह VIII य आपक स म त क र दए गए अ धक र / ल भ क ज नक र ह य नह IX व ट दन क लए क न नणय ल त ह 67

95 Some Glimpses In depth interview with Women DCS Member FGD with women dairy co-operative society Discussion with MD VIMUL at Krishi Mela, Sabour Cattles Interaction with Darbhanga dairy team Dunikiya Women DCS 68

96 Press Clippings 69

97 7

98 71