Win-Win for Private Service Providers & Customers
The West Champaran program is coming to a close, but the benefits it provided to the individuals involved will continue to multiply. The outstanding farmers and practitioners who were selected to be Private Service Providers (PSP) earn a living by sharing their knowledge and best practices with others. And the farmers and families they serve make sustainable improvements to their farms, small businesses and incomes.
Saroj is a PSP who regularly picks up new customers in her area after they observe how her services, advice and teaching have helped their neighbors. A good example is Phoolbadan, a daily wage earner whose family owns a small piece of land for farming and who also raises a few goats. After attending a demonstration of the services, she contacted Saroj because she wanted to improve her goats’ health in order to get a better price at market.
Saroj offered several key services that contributed to better health for the goats including de-worming, vaccination, and bloodless castration. She also taught Phoolbadan how to establish stands to hold the animals’ feed and water and build a goat house. When Phoolbadan learned that goat houses reduced mortality rates and diseases and resulted in better health and vigor of the goats, she built one. She saw that saving on treatment costs by preventing illness up front meant more money for household expenses.
Seventy-three percent of the program’s goat farmers have adopted at least three or four of these goat-rearing practices. They agree that the changes have led to better goat health, reduced mortality, faster weight gain, shinier coats, higher prices and improved profits.
And, aside from the obvious monetary benefits of having a steady income, female livestock PSPs like Saroj reported receiving respect and acknowledgement from members of their communities due to their work, which has also boosted their self-esteem. Looks like a win-win for the goat farmers and PSPs alike.
India West Champaran Program
Led by Catholic Relief Services and Local Partner Bettiah Diocesan Social Service Society