Fostering Resilience through Cluster-based Tribal Livelihoods: The Mission Jeevika Model

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Project Details

Category: Livelihoods
Project Title: Mission Jeevika
Department or District: ST & SC Development, Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare Department, Government of Odisha
State: Odisha
Start Date of the Project: 1st November 2019
Website: https://stsc.odisha.gov.in/

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Tribe(s) that the Project Covers: Mission Jeevika is targeted at Odisha’s Scheduled Tribe communities, comprising 62 tribes including 13 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). The intervention spans 119 Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) blocks across 22 Integrated Tribal Development Agencies (ITDAs), covering districts where tribal population is greater than 50 percent.

Keywords: Tribal Livelihoods, Cluster Development, Sustainable Agriculture

Mission Jeevika is a livelihood promotion initiative launched by the Government of Odisha under the 5T framework. The programme aims to ensure sustainable livelihood opportunities for Scheduled Tribe (ST) households by promoting land-based and non-land-based activities in planned clusters. The mission was developed and implemented by the ST & SC Development, Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare Department through the Odisha Tribal Development Society (OTDS). It leverages state and central government schemes to enhance production, create infrastructure, and ensure access to markets.

The Project

Mission Jeevika focuses on creating high-potential livelihood clusters with a minimum of 50 acres in farm-based interventions and at least 100 beneficiaries in off-farm clusters. It aims to increase household income by 30 percent through planned convergence with schemes like MGNREGS, NHM, RKVY, and BKVY. Key components include provision of quality inputs, production enhancement, irrigation development, mechanization, skill building, and market integration. Implementation is overseen by ITDA-level committees chaired by District Collectors, supported by NGOs and community resource persons.

Problems that it Intends to Solve

Tribal communities in Odisha faced persistent livelihood challenges. These included low productivity due to subsistence farming, lack of access to modern agricultural practices, inadequate infrastructure like irrigation or storage facilities, limited market access, and dependency on middlemen. As a result, farm incomes remained low, land remained underutilized, and tribal farmers had minimal resilience against shocks.

What was the Need

Given that nearly 23 percent of Odisha’s population is tribal, with most living in remote Scheduled Areas, there was a pressing need for an integrated livelihood programme. Traditional support systems had failed to address chronic poverty or bring about income security. There was a need to modernize agriculture while preserving local identities and promote self-sufficiency through cluster-based interventions.

What Hindered its Introduction

Initial obstacles included the absence of baseline data, poor inter-departmental convergence, and lack of standard operating procedures for tribal livelihood development. Institutional readiness was limited and planning mechanisms were fragmented. Community awareness about government interventions was low, and there was a lack of trust in externally designed initiatives.

Process Followed for Implementation

• The project began with stakeholder consultations at state, district, and block levels. Each ITDA identified four to five key livelihood activities with scaling potential. Perspective plans were developed for each cluster, integrating both forward and backward linkages. Budget allocations and convergence strategies were defined in advance. NGOs were engaged for field execution and capacity-building. Community resource persons were trained to deliver last-mile technical support and act as value chain agents. A formal launch was held by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha following Ministry of Tribal Affairs approval under SCA to TSS.
• The state government led the initiative through the ST & SC Development Department and OTDS. Cluster planning and monitoring was supervised by Project Level Committees chaired by District Collectors. Technical support was extended through State PMU, while convergence was coordinated through district and block-level committees.
• Field NGOs were engaged to provide on-ground handholding, facilitate capacity building, and ensure community engagement. They supported project conceptualization, training, and implementation, particularly in mobilizing women and first-generation tribal farmers.
• Tribal communities were involved from the planning stage through participatory rural appraisals. They played a role in selecting crops, monitoring progress, and forming producer groups. Local leaders and self-help groups took ownership of clusters, contributing to sustained impact.

Solutions Implemented

Mission Jeevika implemented livelihood interventions through farm and off-farm clusters with convergence funding. It established irrigation structures, promoted mechanization, ensured quality input supply, and supported marketing through platforms like ORMAS and TDCC. Skill development and technical training were offered in collaboration with OUAT and KVKs. Producer groups were registered and trained to manage collective marketing and processing.

Details of the Coverage

The programme has been implemented in 119 TSP blocks, covering more than 1.9 lakh tribal beneficiaries through 1,440 livelihood clusters. Each cluster encompasses a contiguous area to ensure scalability, efficiency, and viability. The approach has been replicated in agricultural, horticultural, livestock, and microenterprise sectors.

Innovation and Unique Features

• The programme’s key innovations include farmer-led cluster action planning, convergence-driven budgeting, and integration of digital beneficiary data with the Mo Sarkar feedback portal. Additionally, it emphasizes community collectivization, market-linked production, and post-harvest value addition. It also includes structured social audits, periodic evaluations, and participatory monitoring.
• Mission Jeevika integrates real-time monitoring, GIS-based data systems, and digitized beneficiary profiles. Training modules are tailored to tribal contexts and delivered in local languages. Cultural practices are respected, and local cropping systems are preserved even as productivity is enhanced through modern inputs.
• Tribal community members contributed to identifying viable crops and land-use patterns, designing irrigation interventions, and forming local institutions. Their insights influenced the layout of production clusters and shaped the delivery mechanisms to ensure relevance and acceptance.
• Mission Jeevika adapted by including zero-budget natural farming components, introducing women SHG-driven clusters, and incorporating resource convergence from OMBADC and DMF funding. The project also evolved from purely agrarian models to include microenterprise and livestock clusters based on feedback from initial audits.

Challenges Faced Before Implementation

• The lack of centralized beneficiary data, absence of unified planning protocols, and limited technical manpower at block levels posed significant administrative bottlenecks. There was also resistance from departments used to working in silos.
• Low awareness among tribal populations, poor trust in government schemes, and infrastructural limitations such as irrigation and road connectivity impeded planning. Many farmers had no experience with commercial cropping or collective farming.
• The state conducted stakeholder orientation workshops, baseline surveys, and capacity assessments. NGOs helped build trust, and infrastructure gaps were addressed via convergence with departments like OAIC and OLIC. SOPs were developed and widely disseminated to standardize approaches.

Challenges Faced During Implementation

• Inter-departmental fund flow delays and challenges in aligning scheme guidelines with Mission Jeevika’s holistic model affected timely implementation. Monitoring burden on existing officials was another constraint.
• Unpredictable weather patterns, pest outbreaks, and market fluctuations created external shocks. Adoption of new farming practices remained slow in certain clusters due to cultural hesitance.
• To address these, adaptive cropping patterns and diversified livelihood options were introduced. Real-time feedback loops helped flag issues early. Marketing tie-ups were strengthened through ORMAS and TDCC to reduce income shocks.

Outcomes

• Ninety-four percent of beneficiaries reported a 30 percent increase in household income. There was a 120 percent increase in area under cultivation and an 83 percent rise in irrigated land. Over 1.9 lakh tribal households benefited directly from 1440 livelihood clusters.
• The project built community confidence, enabled first-time farmers to enter formal markets, and reduced reliance on middlemen. Women’s participation increased, and farmers began experimenting with newer crops and inputs. A transformation in risk appetite and agricultural outlook was observed.
• The programme uses a robust monitoring framework comprising digitized baseline tracking, periodic cluster audits, internal assessments, and third-party evaluations by the PPOMU. Social audits are conducted to ensure community voices guide corrective action.

Beneficiaries

Mission Jeevika has directly benefited over 1.9 lakh Scheduled Tribe households across Odisha. It focuses on marginal and smallholder farmers, especially women, and includes first-time market entrants and youth entrepreneurs.

Replicability / Scalability / Sustainability

• Mission Jeevika is now a standing agenda item across state, district, and block convergence platforms and is being adopted as a template by departments such as Agriculture and Mission Shakti.
• The programme has attracted multi-source funding, including ₹120 crores from OMBADC and ₹182 crores from DMF. It has a planned expansion budget of ₹20,000 lakh, ensuring fiscal continuity.
• The model has been replicated in the IFAD-assisted OPELIP programme and will be extended to 272 model villages under SCA to TD. It is also being adapted to promote livelihoods through 8,000 women SHGs across tribal districts.

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