The STEP Programme implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, aims to increase the self-reliance and autonomy of women by enhancing their productivity and enabling them to take up income generation activities. It provides training for skill up-gradation on to poor and assets less women in the traditional sectors viz. agriculture, animal husbandry, dairying, poultry, fisheries, handlooms, handicrafts, khadi and village industries, sericulture, social forestry and wasteland development.

The broad objectives of the Programme are as follows: -

· To mobilize women in small viable groups and make facilities available through training and access to credit.

· To provide training for skill upgradation.

· To enable groups of women to take up employment-cum-income generation programmes by providing backward and forward linkages.

· To provide support services for further improving training and employment conditions of women.

The Programme envisages its concurrent evaluation to assess both the sector impact of the STEP and the impact of each of the Project being implemented there under on the status of women beneficiaries. Wangjing Women and Girls Society, Wangjing, Thoubat district of Manipur was sanctioned a Duckery project under STEP by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of lndia for implementation for 700 beneficiaries through formation of 46 Self Help Groups over a period of two years at a total cost of Rs. 53.434 lakhs. The Project is being implemented in Thoubal district of Manipur. A total of 700 women beneficiaries covering, 13 villages under Thoubal District have been selected on the basis of their socio-economic condition as well as their feIt-needs. The project envisages developing the existing Duckery in the District on organized/professional lines with the objective of improving i;e economic lot of the beneficiaries and also ensuring their over-all development in the process. This was intended to be accomplished through creating awareness/providing information on the relevant aspects; provision of training for improving the relevant skills; creating the desired infrastructure/arranging for productive of credit facilities; development of forward and backward linkages; arrangement of support services - nutrition, education, legal awareness, health, child care and sanitation.

WWAGS: Organizational Profile:

WANGJING WOMEN AND GIRLS SOCIETY (WWAGS), (Rural Development Services) is an organisation formed on the 22nd Dec. 1958. The idea of existence of WWAGS came in the minds of the young and educated men and women after the 2nd World War, which affected a lot of people. A lot of people died unnaturally due to the lack of food and using open tank water for drinking purposes since they were not aware of the importance of hygiene. Seeing such conditions, some local volunteers started working in the area of development and the WWAGS also cooperated with a single mind in order to fulfill their aims, since the working was started for the people in the rural accessible areas particularly, women and girls of the weaker section of the society. The WWAGS is a non-profit making, non-political, non-religious organisation and the members having the dedicated spirit in the field of public help, sticking to secularism on true democratic ground started working. The WWAGS emphasized on the income generating programmes and social upliftment of the women and girls in the rural areas particularly the destitute and aged women. Such women are provided food, vitamins, fruits and essential commodities in cooperation with the local organisations, associations, clubs and Mahila Mandals. Regarding income generating programme, WWAGS took up programmes both in valley and hills.

The WWAGS has completed some projects like income generating programme, social forestry, AduIt Education, Health and Sanitation and benefited a large no. of women, men and girls in Thoubal and Chandel District. In the hill areas, income-generating programmes such as Piggery, Weaving, Social Forestry, Banana Plantation, Pineapple Plantation etc. were taken up so that they can meet their financial needs. With the aim of self employment, increasing employment opportunities for rural women living below poverty line by upgrading and strengthening their activities WWAGS benefited men and women in the rural areas.

In reorganization of its outstanding contribution in the field of Adult Education with the aims of literacy for all in India by 2000 A.D., WWAGS was honored with the UNESCO - National Literacy Mission (NLM) Award 1998, for outstanding contribution in the field of Adult Literacy on the 4th Feb. 1999 at New Delhi. Besides, Shri L. Suva Kumar, General Secretary of WWGAS is awarded the State Award for Best Volunteer for the year 2003-2004 by All Manipur NGOs Forum – Imphal. The WWAGS is a state level organisation and it is one of the oldest organisations in the state of Manipur. The state and central Govt. extended funds, for welfare of the society. Besides this, foreign countries also donated grant in different projects for different purposes and sectors. For the technical, management and health purposes, the WWAGS has experienced staffs so that all the concerned projects could be implemented successfully.

Scope:

Wangjing Women and Girls Society, Wangjing, Thoubal District of Manipur was sanctioned a Duckery Project under STEP by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India for implementation for 700 beneficiaries through formation of 46 Self Help Groups over a period of two years at a total cost of Rs. 53.434 lakhs. The project is being implemented in Thoubal district of Manipur. A total of 700 women beneficiaries covering 13 villages under Thoubal District have been selected on the basis of their socio-economic condition as well as their felt needs. The project envisages developing the existing Duckery in the District on organized/professional lines with the objective of improving the economic lot of the beneficiaries and also ensuring their overall development in the process. This was intended to be accomplished through creating awareness/providing information on the relevant aspects; provision of training for improving the relevant skills; creating the desired infrastructure/arranging for productive assets; availability of credit facilities; development of forward and backward linkages; arrangement of support services-nutrition, education, legal awareness, health, child care and sanitation.

Area profile:

Wangjing is a town in Thoubal district of Manipur. It is about 6 km from district headquarters and an agricuItural town in Thoubal district. It is surrounded by Heirok village in the east Tentha village in the south-west and other side by agricuItural land. Wangjing river, a rivulet flowing down from the eastern hills runs through the middle of the town serving as a natural spring. It is connected to other parts of the state by the lmphal Moreh national highway.It is the junction between Heirok and Tentha village. Wangjing has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 73%, and female literacy is 52%. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. ln Wangjing, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Economy of Wangjjng depends upon agricuItural rice and cabbage. Business is widely practiced in bazar area and it is the secondary source of income generation in their locality. lmportant livestocks found in the district are cattle, buffaloes, goats, horses and ponies, pigs, dogs, Chicks etc. Cattle accounts a little more than 82%of the total number of livestock in the district. Sheep, goats and pigs are kept mainly for their meat. Fowls and ducks are the most important Duckery found in the district.

In the primary sector, AgricuIture provides about 100 to 120 days employment to the rural poor. Scanty land holding, land fragmentation and seasonal agricuIture are not able to provide full employment to the work-force which in turn creates disguise unemployment. Duck farming can be a viable option for rural poor to overcome the issue than any other agricuIture and allied activities.

Table 1: The project area along with number of beneficiaries in each village covered

Sl. No.	Villages	No. of beneficiaries
1	Sapam Village	50
2	Waithou Village	50
3	Hawairour Village	50
4	Tentha Village	50
5	Leisangthem Village	50
6	Thambal Chingya	50
7	Keirak Village	50
8	Sekmaijin Village	50
9	Wabagai Tera Pishak	75
10	Thongam Mondum Village	50
11	Wabagai Hiranmei Village	50
12	Khoidum Lamjao Village	50
13	Komnao SC Village	75
	Total	700

Socio-Economic Profile of beneficiaries

i) Category:

The data presented about the category of the beneficiaries reveals that majority of the beneficiaries belong to OBC category (575) with SC (75) and minority (50). However, during interactions with the beneficiaries and information gathered through different sources it was observed that most of the beneficiaries are under BPL category. This is in consonance with the spirit of the STEP scheme of giving due representation to the beneficiaries belonging to down trodden/marginalized sections of society.

ii) Age groups

The majority of the beneficiaries were found to be falling under the productive age group of 26-35 years with 354 beneficiaries, 284 beneficiaries forming the age group group of 36-45, age group of 15-25 years are 42 and beneficiaries of age group 46-55 years are 20.

This pattern of age distribution of the beneficiaries is encouraging sign for the project is expected to have lasting effect on the lives of the beneficiaries who are having long years of ‘productive’ life. It also indicates the possibility of increased participation of prospective women in Duckery as a source of their income.

iii) Literacy

It is heartening to note that majority of the beneficiaries (315) have studied upto primary level and above in formal school setting. Besides, 175 beneficiaries are elementary, 140 beneficiaries have completed the High School Level and 70 were found to be intermediate. It is evident that indication of increased scope of women in economic activities is possible under the project as most of the beneficiaries are educated and are able to easily handle an income generation activity.

Activities under the Project:

l. General:

a) Implementing Agency:

The Wangjing Women and Girls Society, Wangjing, Manipur, having its head office at lndo-Myanmar Road, Wangjing of Thoubal district, Manipur is the Implementing Agency of the Project. It has been engaged in the implementation of different Central/State Govt. Schemes relating to improvement and self employment among the underprivileged and needy people of the district state.

b) Commencement of the Project:

The project consequent upon the approval by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India commenced w.e.f-27^th Febluary,2012.

c) Duration of the Project:

The project duration is two years

ll. Provision of Training/Orientation of the Beneficiaries:

As envisaged, the Implementing Agency has organized training programmes during the project period which were quite comprehensive and covered almost all the entire subjects of training in skill up-gradation, support services etc. The beneficiaries were given training/ orientation in different areas by the respective subject experts and also by the local district officials before and after giving duckling, the skill training for the capacity building of the beneficiaries had been given adequate beneficiaries by the resource persons. In order to motivate the women beneficiaries to adopt modern duckery practices through replacing the traditional and age-old practices in this regard, the beneficiaries were provided skill training/orientation in the areas like selection/ caring of ducklings, types of duck, disease control, etc. The orientation was provided by Specialists from duckery and allied sectors.

The salient points discussed during the training/ orientation programmes are as under:

· Scope of duck farming with respect of self employment generation.

· Site selection, housing for modern duckery project and concept of backyard duck farming.

· Computation of balanced feed, its importance for optimum egg, meat production.

· Care and management of day old ducklings till 8 weeks.

· Important viral diseases of ducks, their prevention, treatment and control.

· Different preparations of eggs and meat.

· Effect of light and its importance in optimum egg production.

Table 5: The various training programmes for Duckery project were given to the women beneficiaries in 13 batches at 13 villages (batchwise)

Batch

Date and Villages

No. of Beneficiaries

Total Covered

1. Batch

Sapam Village

25.04.2012 to 30.04.2012

15.05.2012 to 20.05.2012

2. Batch

Waithou Village

08.05.2012 to 13.05.2012

21.05.2012 to 26.05.2012

3. Batch

Hawairou Muslim Village

15.08.2012 to 20.08.2012

25.08.2012 to 30.08.2012

4. Batch

Khongbal Village

19.08.2012 to 24.08.2012

05.09.2012 to 10.09.2012

5. Batch

Thoubal Leisangthem

20.11.2012 to 25.11.2012

01.12.2012 to 05.12.2012

6. Batch

Keirak Village

26.11.2012 to 31.11.2012

10.12.2012 to 15.12.2012

7. Batch

Thambal Chingya

23.12.2012 to 28.11.2012

05.01.2013 to 10.01.2013

8. Batch

Wabagai Terapishak

25.03.2013 to 30.03.2013

05.04.2013 to 10.04.2013

9. Batch

Sekmaijin Awang

15.06.2013 to 20.06.2013

21.06.2013 to 26.06.2013

10. Batch

Thonga, Mondum

01.04.2013 to 05.04.2013

10.04.2013 to 15.04.2013

11. Batch

Wabgai Hiranmei

20.09.2013 to 25.04.2013

01.10.2013 to 05.10.2013

12. Batch

Khoidum Lamjao

25.09.2013 to 30.04.2013

06.10.2013 to 11.10.2013

13. Batch

Komnao SC Village

15.12.2013 to 20.12.2013

21.12.2013 to 26.12.2013

Total

700

The orientation was provided by specialists from duckery departments and allied sectors. This implementation of programmes gives a perennial source of income to the beneficiaries and is the first kind in this district. The details of the facuIties/trainers are as under:

1. Dr. Y. Yedhachandra Singh

Duckery Specialist, Department of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Govt. of Manipur

2. Dr. L. Sarat Singh

Duckery Specialist, Govt. of Manipur

3. Dr Jesmarani Devi

Duckery specialist and AquacuIture KVK (ICAR), Thoubal Manipur

4. Mr. H. Kangjamba Singh

5. Ex Minister (Veterinary)

6. Mrs.K. Binapani Devi

President, All India Women Conference Manipur Branch

7. Mr. L. Damu Singh

President, Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS)

Thoubal District, Under Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India

8. Mr. H. Bihari Singh

Retired College Lecturer and Senior Project Coordinator, WWAGS

III. Capacity Building programme:

As one of the objectives of the Project is to prepare and equip the women beneficiaries to develop cooperative cuIture through SHG formation for joint targeted action, the beneficiaries were provided orientation on various exposures of group work, formation of SHGS, training on EDPS and MDPS by the experts of different field.

The focus of the orientation was on the followings:

· Team building common efforts.

· Leadership personality development.

· Entrepreneurial competencies.

· Awareness generation on entrepreneurship and marketing promotional techniques.

a) Self Help Group Formation:

i) Number of SHGs:

The Implementing Agency has been instrumental in forming 46 Self Help Groups spanning over l3 villages of the project area. The details of SHGs with name and number of members are given with beneficiaries list.

ii) Bank Credit:

All the 46 Self Help croups (SHGS) have opened their own Bank Accounts in Manipur Rural Bank (H.O. Keishampat, lmphal) Branch, Wangjing with the provision of operation of accounts with joint signatories. They have the facility of taking loan from the bank as per decisions taken by the SHG members in their meeting for taking up additional income generating activities by the interested members.

iii) Establishing of Cooperative Societies:

With help of the Implementing Agency, the beneficiaries of the Duckery Project have formed 14 Co-operative Societies registered under the District Cooperative Registrar, Thoubal, Manipur. The members of the societies have been taken from 46 SHGS of 700 beneficiaries having Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer of their own. The Co-operative Societies are formed/ established with a focus for maximum help to the beneficiaries. The formation of the SHGS was found to have visible impact on the lives of the individual beneficiaries in particular and on the socio-economic conditions of the area(s) in general. As envisaged in Sanction order, Group Insurance of SHGS has also been done and the beneficiaries are covered under Oriental Insurance Company.

iv) Basis of Formation of the Groups:

The women belonging to marginalized sections, from far-off and inaccessible areas/villages of the District were grouped on the basis of being drawn from the same village/area. The basic knowledge of thrift and credit was provided to them by the Officials of the implementing Agency. The women showed their keen interest in regular savings and managing the common fund.

b) Sensitization/Awareness Generation programmes:

Besides duckery activities, the respondents consented that the Implementing Agency had made arrangements for providing child care through practical demonstration and orientation of the parent on nutrition and basics of child care practices. The implementing Agency was also instrumental in providing education to the women on child care, health awareness, etc. Support services to the beneficiaries are also taken care of such as: health checkups are conducted for health care, informal education imparted as a part of literacy campaign, inputs are provided on legal aspects to know their rights and privileges.

FINDINGS AND IMPACTS:

Skill Training / Provision of Support Services:

The beneficiaries confirmed that the training programmes conducted by the Agency were quite informative and fruitful in terms of their skill upgradation, capacity building and marketing support. ln this regard, it was also realized that the Experts/ Faculties involved in the trainings were well qualified and beneficial for the beneficiaries.

Marketing Support:

The beneficiaries have informed that efforts have been made by the Implementing Agency to establish linkages with bulk buyers/ traders who purchase the Duckery on higher rates and forward to different cities.As such, it was feIt that the support rendered by the Implementing Agency to ensure direct marketing by the Beneficiaries was visible.

Creating Backward and Forward Linkages:

It was observed during visits and interactions with stakeholders that efforts have been made by the Implementing Agency to create linkages (backward/ forward) which have strengthened the functioning of the Groups and have also increased their bargaining power. Further, regular customized training programmes for Duckery sector and support services have also been provided by the Implementing Agency which has, to some extent, created a network of Business Development Service Providers with the beneficiaries.

Formation of Self Help Groups:

During the field survey and discussions held with beneficiaries, it was found that the Implementing Agency has been able to establish a total of 46 SHGS and '14 cooperatives in the project area. It was also observed that the project staff is in regular touch with the Group members and also assists them in skill enhancement towards Duckery and over-all functioning of the Groups. Organizing regular meetings of the SHGs from time to time for holding interaction with the members was also borne by the responses of the respondents. However, these groups were needed to be further strengthened not only through thrift and credit but also attaining social capital in terms of village level social issues, Panchayat related activities, women empowerment etc so as to ensure Group prestige, members, self esteem as well as economic freedom of the beneficiaries.

Providing Access to Credit:

The implementing Agency is in process to tie up with Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) to ascertain credit linkages. Worthwhile efforts were felt, to have been made for dovetailing the activities of the project with other ongoing plans/schemes.

Impact of the Project:

Upon the Duckery sector in Thoubal District:

As discussed earlier, it was observed that appreciable impact was felt on the Duckery sector at the village levels and upon the lives of the beneficiaries. It had also been realized that the Duckery work done by 700 beneficiaries of the Project, had undergone an impressionable change after implementation of the Project.

Empowerment of the Beneficiaries:

The Project has infused a sense of self reliance among the beneficiaries who are now increasingly involved in taking family decisions especially those pertaining to the education and health of children and overall well-being of the family.

The awareness of the beneficiaries regarding their rights/duties, measures of preventing cruelty/ injustice, gender sensitization etc. would go a long way in empowering and making them useful members of the society

Upon the Quality control and relevant Issues:

a) Awareness Generation:

The beneficiaries are now aware about the functional and legal literacy, their rights, HIV/AIDS, team building, common efforts, benefits of household toilets, etc after the implementation of the project.

b) Quality Control:

The implementation of the Project has brought the desired awareness about advanced Duck farming. It has resulted in minimizing the expenses and increase in the income of the beneficiaries.

c) Health / Hygiene:

The respondents were found to be more aware about the health /hygiene factors, their immediate surroundings and the virtues of living a healthy/ contended life. Many of the respondents have adopted the healthy living practices like washing of hands, sanitation, personal hygiene etc

Upon the Lives of the Beneficiaries:

a) Economic Conditions:

The formation of the Self Help Groups has improved the confidence level of the beneficiaries. Majority of the beneficiaries are now selling their Ducks and Eggs in bulk which besides fetching a good price is also generally against cash payment. Joint group efforts have also helped them in identification of potential buyers as well as improvement in their bargaining capacity.

Average benefit study per beneficiary is given as below:

15 Nos. of drakes is sold at Rs 400 per drake .i.e. Rs 400 × 15 = Rs. 6000/-

20 eggs × 25 days = 500 eggs × Rs. 10 = Rs 5000

i.e. Rs. 5000 × 5 = Rs 25,000

Total Rs. 6000 + Rs.25,000 = Rs. 31, 000/-

Beneficiary gets approximately Rs.31, 000/- from the duckery project as a subsidiary income in the first year. The duck meat and eggs are of highly demand in nearby towns and hotels and other roadside dhabas. Traders have collected and purchase directly from the village at the negotiated price. The increased level of eamings has also made the women beneficiaries conscious of spending the money in a benevolent manner. With this increased income, women spend their earnings on purchase of duckery seeds, household items, education of children and some savings for future.

The Project has brought an appreciable improvement in the economic lot of the beneficiaries through increasing their total earnings per month through sale of the Duckery and connected reasons. The increased level of earnings has also made the women beneficiaries conscious of spending the money in a benevolent manner.

b) Social Conditions:

The respondents conceded that they are now more actively participating in social events/ gatherings and formation of SHGS and Cooperatives have helped them in problem solving. The creation/association of the beneficiaries with the Self Help Groups and Cooperatives has developed a sense of belongingness, self-respect, esteem and strength among the beneficiaries. They are now more aware about their surroundings and issues affecting their daily lives.

Upon the Marketing Strategies:

As mentioned earlier, majority of the Duckery produce was being sold at the local level through middlemen prior to commencement of the Project. After the Project implementation, majority of the product is now being sent directly to the Sales outlets / traders to Thoubal and Imphal District. This has been possible largely through pooling of the resources / efforts through formation of the Self Help Groups and by educating them regularly. The removal of the middlemen and somewhat assured market throughout the year, have been important changes in the area of the product marketing.

Environmental Impact:

Going by the initial feedback received from the respondents, the Project Activities and their subsequent sustenance/ continuation would have a lasting effect on the environment and sustainable development of the project area(s). The hygienic surroundings, increased level of awareness about nutritional levels, improved health standards, etc. will stand in good stead towards improving the environment.

Diversification/ Introduction to the Economic Activities:

During the course of training / orientation by the Implementing Agency, the beneficiaries were also informed about the virtues of entrepreneurship.

CONCLUSION:

The implementing agency has made utmost efforts to achieve the objectives of the project and implemented the project as per the guidelines of the STEP scheme of the Ministry of Women and Child Development. In order to provide sustenance to the newly acquired skills by the beneficiaries and enable the members of the groups to keep on practicing the same, adequate provision has been made by the implementing agency for rendering subsequent support services to Group members. The monitoring of the post-training/orientation activities of the beneficiaries is being paid greater attention. During the last phases of the project, the beneficiaries were oriented towards Entrepreneurship and thus enabled them to pursue fruitful economic activities. This would provide much needed sustenance to the increased earnings of the beneficiaries. The Self Help Groups have been developed and strengthened on the desired lines so that they do not disintegrate over a period of time. The concept of thrift .i.e. saving a certain amount with the group every month so as to ensure easy access to credit by the individual beneficiaries by different agencies based upon the individual’s credit/share and collective guarantee of the Group have been promoted so as to provide financial sustenance also to different operations. The possibility of procuring the required raw material in bulk and its distribution among individual beneficiaries have been explored by the implementing agency to get better price and to reduce the related costs. It was observed that various training activities including support services and awareness generation on different issues were covered by the implementing agency. In order to achieve the desired results of the scheme and positive impact upon the beneficiaries, each of the activity was organized separately with due publicity and venue at convenient places for the beneficiaries. It removed the anxieties/uncertainties/confusions in the minds of the beneficiaries about different activities under the project. A strong network has been created among beneficiaries so that they can jointly solve each other’s problem. They can even jointly market their products in order to compete with other competitors. This has been taken up as a part of capacity building exercise. More concrete and direct marketing assistance has been made available to the beneficiaries so as to provide them with different stable and remunerative marketing channels for getting fair price of ducks and eggs. The implementing agency has rendered all assistance for availing of credit facilities by the individual beneficiary who intend to acquire credit facility. The project activities have been periodically monitored for ensuring that these are being organized on desired lines. The implementing agency has invited government officials in the programmes and efforts have been made to ensure the flow of benefits under different Central/Stare Government’s Schemes as may be relevant to the beneficiaries besides carrying out the project activities on the desired lines. The project has already been completed by the implementing agency in the month of February 2014 as per the guidelines of the STEP scheme of the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

The author sincerely thank the officials of WWAGS, Manipur and National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development, NCR, Noida for providing the requisite data and inputs necessary for writing this case study.

REFERENCES:

1. Evaluation Report of Duckery Project of WWAGS by National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (2014)

2. Project Report of Duckery, Wangjing Women and Girls Society, (2014)

3. STEP; Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India; Available from: http://wcd.nic.in/schemes/step/step.htm

4. WWAGS details; Available from: http://www.detailsofindia.com/ngo-of-manipur/thoubal/wangjing-women-and-girls-society-wwags-21113/

Received on 23.04.2017 Modified on 01.05.2017

Asian J. Management; 2017; 8(3):516-522.

DOI: 10.5958/2321-5763.2017.00083.X

Age group (in years)	15-25	26-35	36-45	46-55	56-65	66 and above
No. of beneficiaries	42	354	284	20	---	---

Sl No.	Category						Total
Sl No.	General	OBC	SC	ST	Minority	Others	Total
1.	X	575	75	X	50	X	700

Education level	Primary	Elementary	Xth Pass	XII Pass	Graduate	Total
No of beneficiaries	315	175	140	70	X	700
%	45	25	20	10	X	100