Caritas India programme strengthens food sufficiency for farmers in northeast India

Report highlights nine-year regional partnership helping smallholder farmers improve livelihoods, revive traditional farming systems and strengthen food security and sovereignty across seven northeastern states.

NEW DELHI (Indian Catholic News) — A nine-year regional initiative led by Caritas India and its partners has helped smallholder farmers across northeast India improve livelihoods and strengthen food sufficiency and sovereignty, according to a report documenting the programme’s community-driven impact.

The 2022 report, Nurturing Resilient Farms, highlights how a collaborative agricultural programme mobilised rural communities and church-based development organisations to strengthen sustainable farming and local food systems across seven states.

The publication presents stories from farmers and partner organisations involved in the Facilitating Agricultural Regeneration Measures (FARM) Northeast programme, which supported agricultural regeneration, collective farming efforts and climate-resilient practices.

It describes the initiative as a long-term effort to empower smallholder farmers and strengthen rural economies through community-based approaches.

Nine-year programme empowering smallholders

The report says the FARM Northeast initiative focused on building farmer collectives and strengthening agricultural livelihoods across the region.

“Facilitating Agricultural Regeneration Measures (FARM) Northeast (NE) has been a development journey in the country’s seven North-Eastern (NE) states to empower smallholder farmers,” the foreword states.

According to the document, the programme worked with communities to strengthen collective agricultural practices and increase farm-based income.

“In its nine years of operation, FARM NE has promoted smallholder collectives in order to increase their agro-based income,” the report says.

The initiative operated through partnerships with local social service organisations in states including Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur and Tripura.

The report notes that the programme relied heavily on community cooperation and existing social structures within ethnic societies in the region.

“These interventions have been made possible thanks to the collectivization of the various communities,” the foreword says.

Community-led development model

A key feature of the programme was its focus on people-led development and strengthening traditional systems already present within rural communities.

The report highlights how community participation shaped the programme’s agricultural interventions.

“Caritas India has been promoting People-Led Development (PLD) to scale up the existing systems in ethnic societies,” the foreword states.

The publication says this approach helped build on local knowledge while introducing new ideas to strengthen farming practices.

“The pre-existing PLD approach has been revived with the community through value addition in response to contemporary needs,” the report says.

According to the document, local partner organisations worked closely with farming communities to implement agricultural improvements and livelihood initiatives tailored to local conditions.

The programme also supported smallholders through training, community organisation and the promotion of sustainable farming methods.

Building food and nutritional security

Strengthening food and nutritional security was a central goal of the programme, especially as rural communities face growing environmental and economic pressures.

A message from the programme’s leadership notes the organisation’s commitment to addressing these challenges.

“Caritas India is strongly committed to working towards building food and nutritional security in the changing climate conditions,” the report states.

The FARM programme focused on improving agricultural productivity while also supporting traditional food systems and climate adaptation strategies.

“This commitment is reflected in Northeast India through its cluster programme Facilitating Agricultural Regeneration Measures (FARM) which has been concentrating on raising the living standards of smallholder farmers through agro-based and other thematic interventions,” the message says.

The programme also promoted native food systems and environmentally sustainable farming practices.

“The programme’s main focus has been building food security and sovereignty, supporting native wild food systems, and agricultural climate adaptation,” the report adds.

Supporting markets and farmer incomes

Beyond agricultural production, the initiative also worked to strengthen local markets and increase farmers’ incomes.

The programme encouraged collective marketing and promoted chemical-free agricultural products produced by smallholder farmers.

“The Rural markets have also been prioritized in order to encourage smallholders to sell their chemical-free products at prices set by themselves,” the report says.

According to the document, collective efforts in production and marketing played a key role in strengthening rural livelihoods.

“Collective actions in producing food and transporting it to market have assisted smallholders in increasing their income levels,” the message states.

The programme also addressed environmental challenges by promoting conservation initiatives at the community level.

“With the impending climate crisis in mind, Caritas India has been instrumental in promoting conservation measures at the community level through large-scale plantation measures,” the report notes.

Stories of resilience

The publication frames the programme as a reflection of the resilience and solidarity of rural communities in northeast India.

It highlights how traditional practices, community cooperation and agricultural innovation helped strengthen local food systems.

“Northeast India’s unique cultural and ethnic diversity has always captivated the rest of the world,” the foreword says.

By combining traditional knowledge with scientific approaches, the programme sought to improve agricultural systems while preserving local cultures.

“Caritas India has also attempted to improve the pre-existing agricultural system by incorporating scientific principles to strengthen such practices,” the report says.

Through its partnerships with regional organisations and farming communities, the initiative demonstrates how collective action can support food security and sustainable agriculture.

The report concludes that the experiences documented in Nurturing Resilient Farms illustrate how community-led agricultural development can strengthen livelihoods while helping farmers respond to economic and environmental challenges across northeast India.