Activities within the grant and expected impact:
The project focuses on promoting improved livelihood opportunities for 2,133 tribal and marginalised families in Deoghar district, through integrated land and water-centric development interventions. The average land holding of the Santhal tribals in this area is nearly 1.7 acres. Paddy and finger millet are the main crops in the region, with the average production of paddy being 1.8 metric tonnes per hectare. The average annual income of a typical family in the area is around Rs13,000 from all sources, with agriculture contributing 40 per cent to 60 per cent.

However, the income from rain-fed agriculture is highly vulnerable due to erratic rainfall and lack of irrigation. Consequently, fluctuating incomes and food insecurity result in migration to cities. The livelihood promotion interventions under the project focus on ensuring food security, and providing additional sources of income through increased crop productivity and allied activities.

The project covers about 40 villages, with a total population of 10,669. The activities are:

	Promotion of maize, pulse, beans, etc. mustered with water harvesting structures: Improved agriculture practices are being promoted along with crop diversification through introduction of finger millet, maize and vegetable cultivation, apart from promotion of Kharif paddy stabilisation. Irrigation support is being ensured through the construction of 50 water-harvesting structures. These measures would cover over 500 households and augment incomes by Rs5,000 per family per annum.
	Multi-tier cropping with water harvesting structures: Multi-tier cropping is being adopted; consequently, uplands would have horticulture-forestry plantation along with conservation measures, medium uplands would have improved agriculture cultivation for paddy, millet, etc. and the low lands would adopt Systems for Rice Intensification (SRI) and hybrid paddy production. These measures shall cover 2,133 households across 500 acres of land, bolstering incomes by Rs10,000 per household per annum.
	Improved paddy cultivation in low land and SRI promotion: Lowland paddy cultivation is being improved through a package of practices, along with hybrid seed support. 100 hectares are being brought under improved paddy cultivation. Efforts are being made to double the per-acre production from paddy crop. Besides enhancing food security for 2,133 households, this would result in increased income to the tune of Rs5,000 per household per annum.
	Goat rearing: Rearing of high quality breeds of goats is being promoted. Additionally, veterinary services have been introduced for reducing the mortality. This activity covers 300 households, each of which possesses three-four goats, and bolsters incomes by Rs5,000 per annum.