Resource

Mandi II Agricultural Livelihoods Diaries: Demographics

Through the Walmart Foundation-funded Market Access eNabled by Digital Innovation in India Phase 2 (MANDI II) project, Grameen Foundation USA (GFUSA) and its Indian subsidiary, Grameen Foundation India (GFI) (together, Grameen), received funding to strengthen Farmer Producer Organizations (FPO) in the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and West Bengal, India. A series of monthly surveys (“diaries”) were completed with 30 FPO member households with one man and one woman from two FPOs in UP—AKPCL and Bankelal Bio Energy—resulting in 60 individuals interviewed.

Findings from the first survey (March 2024) showed higher active membership in AKPCL (37%) compared to Bankelal (23%). Almost half of men reported being an active member of an FPO while only 7 percent of women did. Among men and women who were active members, all reported participating in meetings with almost half of men and women attending a training as part of their FPO engagement. 

Only one of the two active women also reported purchasing an input, selling crops, are renting equipment. Sixty-four percent of the men reported purchasing inputs and half reported selling crops or renting equipment from the FPO. Men reported higher perceptions of cooperation and respect from FPO shareholders and board members than women, while AKPCL members showed greater group participation and more balanced respect perceptions than Bankelal members, who exhibited higher disengagement. Pest outbreaks were the most common household disaster reported, with AKPCL members also facing challenges from excess rainfall.