Publication: Transforming Rural Non-Farm Livelihoods: The NRLM Journey
Loading...
Published
2020-03
ISSN
Date
2020-11-02
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Rural India is primarily an agri-based economy. Over-dependence on agriculture has meant declining percapita rural income which has gradually initiated a shift towards the non-farm sector. This transition from agriculture to non-farm sectors is considered an important source of economic growth. DAY-NRLM, which has been instrumental in reaching out to sixty-eight million rural poor women, witnessed a similar shift towards non-agricultural sources of income. This trend encouraged DAY-NRLM to adopt dedicated entrepreneurship promotion measures. Even though, NRLM is more than a decade old, enterprise development programmes have been initiated only in the last five years. These initiatives are expected to gain pace and momentum through National rural economic transformation project (NRETP), which aims to identify existing enterprises with growth potential and provide dedicated services to help them scale-up.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Gupta, Arshia; Nair, Vinod. 2020. Transforming Rural Non-Farm Livelihoods: The NRLM Journey. South Asia Agriculture and Rural Growth Discussion Note Series;No. 6. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34723 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Tanzania - Pilot Rural Investment Climate Assessment : Stimulating Non-Farm Microenterprise Growth(Washington, DC, 2007-06)Tanzania's Pilot Rural Investment Climate Assessment (RICA) measures the economic environment of non-farm entrepreneurs. The pilot assessment has three key objectives: it aims to better understand the rural non-farm economy in Tanzania, shed light on rural enterprise dynamics and business constraints, and reflect on areas where government policies are readily directed to help promote rural non-farm enterprise activity. The RICA is based on an analysis of a unique survey data set collected by the National Bureau o f Statistics (NBS) during January and March 2005, covering enterprises, households, and communities in all seven geographical zones of the country. Some of the main findings of the study are: 1) Rural non farm enterprises matter; 2) Tanzanian rural non farm enterprises differ from their urban counterparts; 3) Rural trade dominates; 4) Labor productivity is low; 5) Registration is associated with higher labor productivity; 6) The rate of new firm creation appears to be lower than in other African countries; 7) A minority of enterprises propels employment growth; and 8) Due to relatively rapid agricultural growth in recent years, demand exists for more rural non-farm economic activity. However, entrepreneurs are now constrained mainly from the supply-side in their response to this increased demand.Publication Poverty Decline, Agricultural Wages, and Non-Farm Employment in Rural India 1983–2004(2009-03-01)The authors analyze five rounds of National Sample Survey data covering 1983, 1987/8, 1993/4, 1999/0, and 2004/5 to explore the relationship between rural diversification and poverty. Poverty in rural India declined at a modest rate during this period. The authors provide region-level estimates that illustrate considerable geographic heterogeneity in this progress. Poverty estimates correlate well with region-level data on changes in agricultural wage rates. Agricultural labor remains the preserve of the uneducated and also to a large extent of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Although agricultural labor grew as a share of total economic activity over the first four rounds, it had fallen back to the levels observed at the beginning of the survey period by 2004. This all-India trajectory masks widely varying trends across states. During this period, the rural non-farm sector grew modestly, mainly between the last two survey rounds. Regular non-farm employment remains largely associated with education levels and social status that are rare among the poor. However, casual labor and self-employment in the non-farm sector reveal greater involvement by disadvantaged groups in 2004 than in the preceding rounds. The implication for poverty is not immediately clear - the poor may be pushed into low-return casual non-farm activities due to lack of opportunities in the agricultural sector rather than being pulled by high returns offered by the non-farm sector. Econometric estimates reveal that expansion of the non-farm sector is associated with falling poverty via two routes: a direct impact on poverty that is likely due to a pro-poor marginal incidence of non-farm employment expansion; and an indirect impact attributable to the positive effect of non-farm employment growth on agricultural wages. The analysis also confirms the important contribution to rural poverty reduction from agricultural productivity, availability of land, and consumption levels in proximate urban areas.Publication Promoting the Rural Farm and Nonfarm Businesses : Evidence from the Yemen Rural Investment Climate(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-07)This study examines the major constraints of rural business entry and performance in Yemen. The Yemen rural investment climate survey made it possible to analyze rural investment climate constraints for rural businesses. The survey was used to investigate both farm and nonfarm rural enterprises. The rural investment climate was assessed using a combination of subjective impressions related by rural entrepreneurs, and a more objective, empirical set of analyses that employed indicators to rank the constraints to "doing business" in the areas surveyed. These empirical analyses included application of the entry model, the performance model, the closure model, and the migration model. The migration model was introduced to identify how the rural investment climate variables at the community level increase migration and economic activities. Based on the assessment of the rural investment climate, this paper identifies and explains four critical areas in which the rural investment climate in Yemen can be improved: market demand, access to markets, access to finance, and the provision of business services. Because farm and nonfarm businesses often experience common or similar constraints, the climate in which they operate can often be improved with the same measures and policies. Addressing the constraints that affect rural women entrepreneurs in particular, who play a vital role in rural nonfarm enterprises, warrants clear priority as a means to generate income and employment. Security and labor issues are identified as the key such constraints that disproportionately affect women.Publication Transforming Rural Farm Livelihoods(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-03)The agriculture sector is the largest employer in India, providing direct employment to more than fifty percent of the nation’s workforce. Small and marginal farmers with landholdings of less than two hectares comprise eighty-six percent of all agricultural labour, reflecting high land fragmentation and low economies of scale. Mainstream extension and agriculture support services are not customized for these farmer segments, limiting their capacity to access improved production inputs and technology. The situation is even more complicated for women farmers who constitute nearly forty-three percent of India’s agricultural labour force. The DAY-NRLM farm livelihoods strategy evolved against this background to leverage the program’s social infrastructure of sixty-eight million households mobilized into exclusively women based self healp groups (SHGs) and higher federations, in order to deliver intensive and targeted capacity building of small farmers and streamline access to credit for farm needs. Key sub-sectors under the DAY-NRLM farm livelihoods portfolio include agriculture, livestock and non-timber Forest Produce (NTFP), supported through a combination of programs including the Mahila kisan sashaktikaran pariyojna (MKSP), National rural livelihoods project (NRLP) and Sustainable livelihoods and adaptation to climate change (SLACC). The farm livelihoods strategy under DAY-NRLM has evolved over the years from its initial focus on enhancing productivity through improved inputs and production methods, to a suite of interventions that address multiple entry points in the agriculture value chain.Publication Household Enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa : Why They Matter for Growth, Jobs, and Livelihoods(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-08)Despite 40 percent of households relying on household enterprises (non-farm enterprises operated by a single individual or with the help of family members) as an income source, household enterprises are usually ignored in low-income Sub-Saharan-African development strategies. Yet analysis of eight countries shows that although the fast growing economies generated new private non-farm wage jobs at high rates, household enterprises generated most new jobs outside agriculture. Owing to the small size of the non-farm wage job sector, this trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. This analysis of enterprises and their owners shows that although it is a heterogeneous sector within countries, there are many similarities across countries, indicating that cross-country learning is possible. For labor force participants who want to use their skills and energy to create a non-farm income source for themselves and their families, household enterprises offer a good opportunity even if they remain small. The paper finds that given household human capital and location, household enterprise earnings have the same marginal effect on consumption as private wage and salary employment. The authors argue that household enterprises should be seen as part of an integrated job and development strategy.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Digital Progress and Trends Report 2023(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-03-05)Digitalization is the transformational opportunity of our time. The digital sector has become a powerhouse of innovation, economic growth, and job creation. Value added in the IT services sector grew at 8 percent annually during 2000–22, nearly twice as fast as the global economy. Employment growth in IT services reached 7 percent annually, six times higher than total employment growth. The diffusion and adoption of digital technologies are just as critical as their invention. Digital uptake has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic, with 1.5 billion new internet users added from 2018 to 2022. The share of firms investing in digital solutions around the world has more than doubled from 2020 to 2022. Low-income countries, vulnerable populations, and small firms, however, have been falling behind, while transformative digital innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) have been accelerating in higher-income countries. Although more than 90 percent of the population in high-income countries was online in 2022, only one in four people in low-income countries used the internet, and the speed of their connection was typically only a small fraction of that in wealthier countries. As businesses in technologically advanced countries integrate generative AI into their products and services, less than half of the businesses in many low- and middle-income countries have an internet connection. The growing digital divide is exacerbating the poverty and productivity gaps between richer and poorer economies. The Digital Progress and Trends Report series will track global digitalization progress and highlight policy trends, debates, and implications for low- and middle-income countries. The series adds to the global efforts to study the progress and trends of digitalization in two main ways: · By compiling, curating, and analyzing data from diverse sources to present a comprehensive picture of digitalization in low- and middle-income countries, including in-depth analyses on understudied topics. · By developing insights on policy opportunities, challenges, and debates and reflecting the perspectives of various stakeholders and the World Bank’s operational experiences. This report, the first in the series, aims to inform evidence-based policy making and motivate action among internal and external audiences and stakeholders. The report will bring global attention to high-performing countries that have valuable experience to share as well as to areas where efforts will need to be redoubled.Publication The Container Port Performance Index 2023(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-07-18)The Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) measures the time container ships spend in port, making it an important point of reference for stakeholders in the global economy. These stakeholders include port authorities and operators, national governments, supranational organizations, development agencies, and other public and private players in trade and logistics. The index highlights where vessel time in container ports could be improved. Streamlining these processes would benefit all parties involved, including shipping lines, national governments, and consumers. This fourth edition of the CPPI relies on data from 405 container ports with at least 24 container ship port calls in the calendar year 2023. As in earlier editions of the CPPI, the ranking employs two different methodological approaches: an administrative (technical) approach and a statistical approach (using matrix factorization). Combining these two approaches ensures that the overall ranking of container ports reflects actual port performance as closely as possible while also being statistically robust. The CPPI methodology assesses the sequential steps of a container ship port call. ‘Total port hours’ refers to the total time elapsed from the moment a ship arrives at the port until the vessel leaves the berth after completing its cargo operations. The CPPI uses time as an indicator because time is very important to shipping lines, ports, and the entire logistics chain. However, time, as captured by the CPPI, is not the only way to measure port efficiency, so it does not tell the entire story of a port’s performance. Factors that can influence the time vessels spend in ports can be location-specific and under the port’s control (endogenous) or external and beyond the control of the port (exogenous). The CPPI measures time spent in container ports, strictly based on quantitative data only, which do not reveal the underlying factors or root causes of extended port times. A detailed port-specific diagnostic would be required to assess the contribution of underlying factors to the time a vessel spends in port. A very low ranking or a significant change in ranking may warrant special attention, for which the World Bank generally recommends a detailed diagnostic.Publication Business Ready 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-03)Business Ready (B-READY) is a new World Bank Group corporate flagship report that evaluates the business and investment climate worldwide. It replaces and improves upon the Doing Business project. B-READY provides a comprehensive data set and description of the factors that strengthen the private sector, not only by advancing the interests of individual firms but also by elevating the interests of workers, consumers, potential new enterprises, and the natural environment. This 2024 report introduces a new analytical framework that benchmarks economies based on three pillars: Regulatory Framework, Public Services, and Operational Efficiency. The analysis centers on 10 topics essential for private sector development that correspond to various stages of the life cycle of a firm. The report also offers insights into three cross-cutting themes that are relevant for modern economies: digital adoption, environmental sustainability, and gender. B-READY draws on a robust data collection process that includes specially tailored expert questionnaires and firm-level surveys. The 2024 report, which covers 50 economies, serves as the first in a series that will expand in geographical coverage and refine its methodology over time, supporting reform advocacy, policy guidance, and further analysis and research.Publication Global Economic Prospects, January 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-16)Global growth is expected to hold steady at 2.7 percent in 2025-26. However, the global economy appears to be settling at a low growth rate that will be insufficient to foster sustained economic development—with the possibility of further headwinds from heightened policy uncertainty and adverse trade policy shifts, geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, and climate-related natural disasters. Against this backdrop, emerging market and developing economies are set to enter the second quarter of the twenty-first century with per capita incomes on a trajectory that implies substantially slower catch-up toward advanced-economy living standards than they previously experienced. Without course corrections, most low-income countries are unlikely to graduate to middle-income status by the middle of the century. Policy action at both global and national levels is needed to foster a more favorable external environment, enhance macroeconomic stability, reduce structural constraints, address the effects of climate change, and thus accelerate long-term growth and development.Publication Global Economic Prospects, June 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-06-10)The global economy is facing another substantial headwind, emanating largely from an increase in trade tensions and heightened global policy uncertainty. For emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), the ability to boost job creation and reduce extreme poverty has declined. Key downside risks include a further escalation of trade barriers and continued policy uncertainty. These challenges are exacerbated by subdued foreign direct investment into EMDEs. Global cooperation is needed to restore a more stable international trade environment and scale up support for vulnerable countries grappling with conflict, debt burdens, and climate change. Domestic policy action is also critical to contain inflation risks and strengthen fiscal resilience. To accelerate job creation and long-term growth, structural reforms must focus on raising institutional quality, attracting private investment, and strengthening human capital and labor markets. Countries in fragile and conflict situations face daunting development challenges that will require tailored domestic policy reforms and well-coordinated multilateral support.