Caring Capitals for Poor Farmers
In 2009-10 Jerry also worked with farmers in the Vidharba, Dhule and Jalgaon area of Maharashtra in partnership with NABARD, Agriculture Finance Corporation, Bhagini Nivedita Gramin Vigyan Niketan (BNGVN), LetzDream foundation and iCONGO. Jerry worked closely with all the oganisations and more so with the farmers of Maharashtra. He held consulting workshops with the farmers, listened to their ideas & insights carefully, learned their vision & strategic plans and then with counsel from the farmers Jerry co-created a vision & farming strategy model called ‘Caring Capital’ which redefined Micro-Finance. Through ‘Caring Capital’ farmers in the worst farmer suicide belt were given loans ranging from 1-5 lakhs at 3% interest p.a. for the first-time along with finance & life skills and other support.
The farmers returned loans within 3 years and the ‘Caring Capital’ model co-created in alignment & consultation with farmers has been replicated in several other places by NABARD and AFC. Nileema and Jerry were nominated for the Magsaysay award in 2011 for their Caring Capital model. Nileema accepted the award. Jerry declined the award as he follows a strict no awards policy since he feels there is much more to do and not enough has been done. Over the past 15 year, the ‘Caring Capital’ model has become a boon for farmers and has benefited several poor and marginalized farmers like Sattarsingh whose story is shred here. Jerry feels rewarded every time he hears stories of farmers getting empowered to earn their livelihood and live a life of dignity. Read the compelling story.
"Yeh tumhare baap ki kheti nahi, mere baap ki hai!"- Sattarsingh, a tribal farmer of Malda village (Nundburder district, Maharashtra, India) kept Rs. 15,000 (320 $) in the hands of the local money - lender and said "yeh tumhare baap ki kheti nahin, mere baap ki hai"(this farm is my father’s ancestral property, not yours). First time in his life he could look into the eyes of the money-lender that had usurped his land 45 years ago. It seems hope and confidence had intoxicated him. Almost every farmer in the maximum farmer suicide region of India is a hostage of illegal money-lending. Sattarsingh too had taken a loan of Rs. 15,000 against his land at a whopping 36% interest. Since last 45 years he has been longing to till his land, hoping for the day when he would not have to go to Gujarat to work as a daily wage earner, leaving his family behind. Every farmer in these villages of Maharashtra go to Gujarat, mostly to cut sugarcane in the fields. The more fortunate ones get to grow vegetables in their fields once a year. Families have lost lands, farmers have been asked to sell their women and many have committed suicide to escape the cycle of debt. Every year over 2500 Indian farmers commit suicide after being pushed into debt through crop failures. The loans are a few hundred dollars but a source of shame when they cannot be repaid and often the interest rates are as high as 5% per month. The BBC news reports that more than 300,000 farmers have committed suicide in India since 1997.
On one hand, banks shy away from lending to the poor given the high risk and transaction cost, and the lack of information and collateral; and on the other hand, farmers turn to moneylenders as there is less formality and the loans are doled are quickly. Jerry says “When i met these tribal farmers I realised none of them had got the farm transferred from their ancestors in their name simply because they did not have money to pay for the registration of the land. They need to borrow every crop season to invest in agriculture and the loan is paid off after harvest, leaving them with little savings. This pushes them into the vicious cycle of debt.” A new initiative was launched in this region through a partnership between iCONGO, BNGVN, AFC, NABARD and LetzDream Foundation called Caring Capital. Through the pilot project, 1500 farmers in the region were given loan of up to Rs. 5,00,000 at interest rate of 3%. Today, after 16 years of its launch in 2009, the ‘Caring Capital’ program has impacted millions of farmers. Sattarsingh is one of the beneficiaries of the project. When he got Rs 150,000 through Caring Capital, he went straight to the money - lender and said "take your money and give me my land back". Obviously, the money - lender could not believe it and refused to return the land as he has assumed the land would forever remain as his property. Being an indebted poor farmer, Sattarsingh never had the courage to look into the eyes of the money - lender. But today, he was empowered to demand his land back and said "yeh tumhare baap ki kheti nahin, mere baap ki hai" Today he got his land back and he is already dreaming of growing vegetables in his farm so that he never has to go migrate again to make a living!
