section b group 13

8/2/2019 Section B Group 13

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UDO ASSIGNMENT-

A CASE STUDY ON

LIVING FARMS

Submitted By-Anshul Katyayan

Krishanu Chakraborty

Group-13Sec-B PGDM-RM



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CONTENTS

1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………… ..1

1.1 An Overview………………………………………………………………………………………………..1

1.2 Vision……………………………………………………………………………………………………….....2

1.3 Mission…………………………………………………………………………………………………… ......2

2. Structure and Governance System ……………………………………………...6-11

3. HRM and HRD……………………………………………………………………………………………12-13

4. Financial Health………………………………………………………………………………………… .14

5. Strategic Issues in Development………………………………………………………………....14

6. Culture of Learning…………………………………………………………………………………….15

7. Sustainability……………………………………………………………………………………………… 16

8. Networking and Partnership……………………………………………………………………….17

9. Challenges in Community Interface……………………………………………………………..18

10. Programme Management……………………………………………………………………………18



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“A close encounter with hunger and malnutrition in tribal villages of Northern Orissa in 1998 compelled

us to search for ways & means to respond to existing scarcity of food & nutrition. Thereafter the

endeavor called 'Living Farms' started.”- Team Living Farms

1. Introduction

Living Farms is an NGO, initiated in 2005 with the mission to uphold food

sovereignty. They strongly believe that people can organize themselves to sustain their own

needs. Living farms work with indigenous communities, landless, marginal & small farmers and

consumers in Orissa, in the eastern part of India. Living Farms work to improve their access to

and control over food, farming systems and natural resources. They promote local production,

storage and consumption; prioritize local markets and the consumers' right to safe and nutritious

food. Their key strategies are sustainable agriculture and sustainable management of natural

resources. In collaboration with the local communities they try to understand their traditional

knowledge of farming, the conservation of natural resources and trade. In collaboration with

communities, Living Farms set up action research to find solutions to their local, specific

problems. Living Farms document and share information about conservation initiatives, crop

biodiversity, the impact of policies on farming communities and people‟s struggle to assert their

food sovereignty.

The various projects of Living Farms include

1. Community Food Sovereignty Project

2. Establishing an Ecological Farming Model

3. Community Managed Decentralized Food Distribution System

4. Community Charter on the Climate Crisis

5. Improving Nutritional Food Security



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Area of Intervention-

Living Farms works in the Rayagada district of Orissa mainly in Bissam-Cuttack block

which is situated 60 Kms from the Rayagada town in the lap of Niyamgiri Hills inhabited mainly

by the tribal population facing extreme backwardness in terms of access to food, education and

other basic amenities.

Map of Rayagada district showing different blocks



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Map showing areas under the intervention for food sovereignty

Food sovereignty is the main goal of Living Farms. It is the right of people to healthy and

culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and

their right to define their own food and agriculture systems. It puts those who produce, distribute

and consume food at the heart of food systems and policies rather than the demands of markets

and corporations. It defends the interests and inclusion of the next generation. This offers a

paradigm which prioritizes local and national economies and markets and empowers peasant and

farmer-driven agriculture, communities involves in the farming system and food production,

distribution and consumption based on environmental, social and economic sustainability.



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1.2 Vision

Living Farms means farms are alive i.e. the life beneath & above the soil are

alive. Living Farms envisages landless, marginal and small farmers living with dignity by

upholding their rights, the soil being reinvigorated to a living entity, the culture in agriculture

being restored and celebrated, agriculture becoming economically viable ecologically sensitive

and capable of preserving the social fabric of rural communities.

1.3 Mission

Living Farms is a non-governmental organization, initiated in 2005 with the

mission to uphold food sovereignty. We strongly believe that people can organise themselves to

sustain their own needs. We work with indigenous communities, landless, marginal & small

farmers and consumers in Orissa, in the eastern part of India. We work to improve their access

to and control over food, farming systems and natural resources. We promote local production,

storage and consumption, prioritize local markets and the consumers' right to safe and nutritious

food. Our key strategies are sustainable agriculture and sustainable management of natural

resources. In collaboration with the local communities we try to understand their traditional

knowledge of farming, the conservation of natural resources and trade. In collaboration with

communities, we set up action research to find solutions to their local, specific problems. We

document and share information about conservation initiatives, crop biodiversity, the impact of

policies on farming communities and people’s struggle to assert their food sovereignty.



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2. Structure and Governance System-

Living Farms is directed and controlled by a governing body, or a

board of directors which is also called as board of governors or board of trustees. The board has

a legal, moral, and fiduciary responsibility for the organization.

Board’s Major Responsibilities

• Acquire and protect the organization’s assets

• Make certain the organization is working to fulfill its mission

At their best, boards reflect the collective efforts of accomplished individuals who advance the

institution’s mission and long-term welfare. The board’s contribution is meant to be strategic and

the joint product of talented people. People on a board are brought together to apply their

knowledge, experience, and expertise to the major challenges facing the institution. Strategic

thinking and oversight characterize the board’s leadership role. The board organizes itself to carry

out its duties and responsibilities. To manage the day-to-day operations of Living Farms, the board

of directors appoints an executive director, sometimes called the chief of operations (CEO).

Tensions and inefficiencies result if responsibilities, authority, and working relationships of board

and staff are not clearly defined.

The executive director has many duties.

Mr. Debjit Sarangi administers and manages all day-to-day operations of the organization,

including:

• hiring and supervising staff,

• monitoring programs and finances,

• providing ongoing leadership,

• advising and reporting to the board on the NGO’s operations, and

• speaking on behalf of the organization as delegated by the chairperson/president of the board.



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The responsibility of the Board of Governors in this case is divided into three topics: board

structure, governing documents, and board functions.

BOARD STRUCTURE

Boards tend to work effectively when they are structured to carry out each unique mission of the

NGO and maximize the individual talents of board members. Dividing the board into committees is

a common mechanism for:

• Organizing the board’s work to accomplish the NGO’s mission.

• Preparing board members for making informed decisions.

• Using board members’ skills and expertise (i.e., a board member with financial experience serves

on the finance committee and one with a deep understanding of the clients’ needs serves on the

program committee).

• Providing opportunities to become involved and serve the organization.

The board structure for Living Farms is listed below.

Chairperson of the Board

•Elected by the board for a set term.

• Presides over general board meetings.

• Speaks on behalf of the organization to the public and media.

• Chairs the executive committee.

Vice Chairperson

•Succeeds the chairperson at the end of his term in office.

• Assists the chairperson and serves in his absence.

• Chairs the nominating committee.



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Standing Committees

•Described in the bylaws.

• Include the:

Executive Committee:

Board chairperson/president, vice chairperson, secretary, and treasurer. Executive committee has

authority to make certain decisions between meetings.

Finance Committee:

The treasurer chairs this committee. It provides financial oversight for the organization, advises theboard on the budget and financial affairs.

Nominating Committee:

Chaired by the Living Farms’ vice chairperson. Identifies new board members and nominates

individuals to serve as Living Farms Field officers.

Ongoing Committee

• Include a program committee, marketing committee, research committee, education committee,

etc.

• Allow the board more flexibility to conduct its business and tailor committees to fit the mission of

the organization.

Ad Hoc Committee or Task Force

• Given assignments to be completed in a specified time (fundraising or a special event).

• Disband after their task has been completed.

• Extremely productive because they have defined tasks to complete within a limited time frame.



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Advisory Committees

• Individuals with specific expertise selected as committee members. They provide the board with

information and advice to understand difficult or complex issues such as a construction project,client demographics, trends in government support, public policy debates, etc.

GOVERNING DOCUMENTS

Three documents form the basis for Living Farms’ governance: articles of incorporation, bylaws,

and the mission statement. These documents, along with the minutes of board meetings, budgets,

financial statements, and policy statements, communicate how the organization is governed,individual responsibilities, the organization’s past, and the organization’s future plans.

The article of incorporation is a legal document that is filed with the appropriate government

agency of Indian Government to register the organization as an NGO.

The items enlisted are as follows for incorporation (legal registration) of Living farms include:

• Name of the organization.

• Duration of the organization (usually perpetual).

• Purpose for which the organization is formed.

• Provision for conducting the internal affairs of the organization.

• Names and address of the incorporators.

• Address of the initial registered office and name of the initial registered agent of the organization.

• Provision for distribution of the assets of the organization on dissolution.



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BOARD FUNCTIONS

As a governing body, the board has two major responsibilities:

1. Acquires and protects the organization’s assets.

2. Makes certain the organization is working to fulfill its mission.

The following functions enable the board to carry out its responsibilities.

Planning: The board develops strategies to ensure that the mission and purpose of Living Farms

are carried out. Board members approve short- and long-range plans for the organization. They

monitor the effectiveness of the organization’s programs to see if they have met the goals and

objectives outlined in the plans.

Personnel: The board hires the organization’s chief operating officer (often called the executive

director), makes assignments to the executive director, and monitors his or her performance. It is

appropriate for the board or its personnel committee to do a formal performance appraisal of the

executive director at least annually. The board approves salary scales and job descriptions for the

other staff members who are hired by the executive director. The board approves the personnel

policies for the organization. Effective board members respect each other and support the staff.

Financial: The board approves budgets for the organization. No funds should be expended unless

the funds are included in a budget approved by the board. The board approves spending reports that

are submitted to them on a regular basis. The board is responsible for the legal and ethical actions

of its members and those of the organization. The board is responsible for procuring adequate

resources to enable Living Farms’ fulfill its mission. This includes approval of fundraising plans.

Board members are expected to participate in fundraising, and most board members are expected to

contribute to the bottom line. An exception is when clients, who may be poor, serve on the board.

Public relations: Board members are aware of all of the organization’s activities and encourage

participation in appropriate activities in the community. The board seeks opportunities to enhance

the public image of the organization. Monitoring and evaluation of programs and services:

Monitoring is the process of routinely gathering information on key aspects of a project, program,



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or organization to determine if things are proceeding as planned. Monitoring can identify problems

when they are small and easily corrected. Monitoring answers the question, “Are we on the track?”

Evaluation answers the question, “Are we on the right track?”

3. HRM & HRD

In recruiting staff, specific traits are considered to be in sync with the type of expectations and

demands Living Farms have. These include a willingness to locate and work in remote areas,

adherence to institutional norms and systems, are affordable by Living Farms and have the

ability to work in complex teams with people from diverse backgrounds, age and experience.

Plurality and diversity among staff is valued especially as this is seen as vital in generating new

ideas and in strengthening debates and discussions, as well as exchange of knowledge and

skills.

Human resource challenges before Living Farms are by no means a result of the changes in the

environment alone. Several systemic limitations contribute to the challenges in recruiting,

nurturing and retaining adequate human resources. These include low pay and lowappreciation. For most Living Farms working with a project orientation there is low priority

for investing in nurturing human resource capacities and staff security measures.

For young people joining Living Farms, there is not enough mentoring or clear career direction,

while simultaneously there is a pressure to learn and deliver. Staff is bothered by a general lack

of transparency and weak systems in most Living Farms. There are limited spaces to share

ideas and concerns, and the absence of peer groups is acutely felt. There is also limited

investment in people who have been around for long periods in the organization to counter the

sense of dissatisfaction and distancing from the vision.



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Capacity building of the staff is recognized as a critical need of NGOs. Present challenges in

this regard have to do both with the attitude of NGOs towards capacity building and the

suitability of current focus of service providers in capacity building. The study revealed that:

Staff gaining new skills and taking bigger responsibilities were reported among the

biggest benefits of training programs.

Instances of either the staff member leaving the organization or gaining little from attending the

program have also been reported.

More often Living Farms pays for training from specific project funds than own general funds.

Leadership and motivation related capacities and communication skills are the most essential

area. Inputs in specific sectors also ranks high.

Living Farms staffs listed the need for customized and context specific training

.

Cost of the programs and language constraints were cited as the key limitations with the

existing lot of capacity building services provided by various institutions.

Living Farms highlighted that there was little common between what they needed and what

was being offered. A general sense of dissatisfaction with what is presently available for

building staff capacity training and education institutions was palpable.



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4. Financial Health-

The information regarding the exact financial position of the organization

was not shared with us but based on our experience and observation during our stay with the

organization it can be said that its financial health is quite good and they are managing their

resources both effectively and efficiently. The employees are being paid regularly and the

organization also has good infrastructural facilities in terms of Office, Guest rooms, Telephones,

Internet, Two-Wheelers, Four-Wheeler etc.

5. Strategic Issues in Development

The external issues that affects the strategic decisions of Living Farms

Issues Impact

More of the poor are in low potential area.

Interventions in these areas are difficul

require long term involvement.

There are growing environmental concern.

Most of these are region based and the

Causative agents are multinationals.

The geographical distribution of poverty and

(under)development is changing.

The prioritizing of regions on basis of

Poverty and Development Index is

becoming challenging.

The share of the population in rural areas is falling.

Migration and rapid urbanization compels

rethinking of strategy.

Urbanization and rising incomes are changing the patt

demand for food.

Food sovereignty is threatened in a way

Never foreseen.

The world economy is increasingly

Globalized.

Inflow of cheap substitutes, GM Crops and

Hazardous Bio-tech interventions.

So in spite of liberalization farmers are not



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International trade expansion is not

Uniform.

getting equitable share of profit.

The internal constraints Living Farms’ behavior and affects it strategic management. The

constraints are as follows:

Service is often intangible/hard to measure

Client influence may be weak

Strong employee commitments to professions

Resource contributors intrude on internal management

Restraints on use of rewards and punishments

The various internal strategic issues pertaining to development as specified from the

organization source are as follows

Goal conflicts with rational planning: Because the organization typically lacks a single clear

cut performance criterion, divergent goals and objectives are likely, especially with multiple

sponsors.

An integrated planning process tends to shift from results to resources : Because Living

Farms tend to provide services that are hard to measure planning becomes more concerned with

resource inputs, which can be easily measured than with service which cannot.

Ambiguous objectives create opportunities for internal politics and goal

displacement: The combination of vague objectives and heavy concerns with resources allows

managers a considerable scope in their activities. Such attitude created opportunities for

politics.

Professionalization simplifies detailed planning but adds rigidity: In Living Farms

professional values and traditions can prevent the organizations from changing its conventional

behavior patterns to fit new service mission tuned to changing social needs. Goals of the

professionals and their representative bodies may not align with organizational goals.

Decentralization is complicated: The difficulty of setting objectives for an intangible service

complicates the decision making authority.



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Increased requirement for an environmental buffer role: Because of the heavy dependence

on outside sponsors a special need arises for people in buffer roles to relate to both inside and

outside organizations.

Impact on Evaluation & Control

Rewards & penalties have little or no relation to performance: When results are vague and

the judgment of success is subjective, predictable and impersonal feedback cannot be

established.

Inputs rather than outputs are heavily controlled: Because its inputs can be measured much

more easily than outputs, the not for profit organization tends to focus more on the resources

going into performance than on the performance itself.

6. Culture of Learning-

The organization follows a leaning culture in

which it has a policy to learn and understand the

community first in the area or region of its

intervention. It encourages its team members to

observe, listen and learn from the experiences of

the community members which has its unique

advantages as it helps the organization to create a

bond with the community by listening to them,

engaging them in the further development activities becomes an easy task in the future and alsoit stimulates the community to analyze their problems on their own.

Nevertheless, it makes the process of bringing a change in the area of its

intervention a bit slow but it gives a higher return in the long run by making the change

sustainable and successful.



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7. Sustanability-

Living Farms works with landless, small and marginal farmers and consumers in Orissa, India to

improve food and nutrition security, food safety

and to uphold Food sovereignty, Sustainable

agriculture and Natural Resource

Management. The organization works on the

farming systems which would sustain and

improve agriculture, improve community food

sovereignty and cause minimal damage to the

natural ecosystem and bio diversity. They feel

that farmers need to gain more control over the

production resources and managing the support

systems. They need help in dealing with risks, vulnerabilities and environmental change,

including climate change.

Sustainable agriculture is based on the principle that we must meet

the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future

generations to meet their own needs. The organization strongly

opposes the use of pesticides, herbicides and genetically modified

crops and stresses upon the need to revive the culture of using

traditional seeds for the cultivation purpose by the farmers and

conserve the receding gene pool from the nature.

The organization started remarkable and positive community seed conservation initiatives like

the “Indigenous Seeds Festival”. This colourful celebration was organised by Lok Vikash

Sangathan, a local farmers' organisation and networking partner of Living Farms.Living Farms

tries to look at the future in the areas where we are active. In the case of the Dongria Kondh they

have gone for a reintroduction of a millet based farming system.



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8. Networking & Partnership

Partnerships are intended for joint solving of problems, resource exchange,

cooperation, coordination and coalition building. The relationship among partners can be

temporary (local bodies, including government, grassroots NGO’s) or permanent. A partnership

brings together institutional capabilities and human resources in the form of skills, experiences

and ideas to tackle common problems that are often beyond the capacity of a single

organization or group of the size of Living Farms.

Living Farms for the purpose of smooth functioning and project

delivery partners with a number of pan-Indian and International organizations.

The tabulation below shows the organization and types with which Living Farms have built

over the years of functioning-

Organization

Type of

organization

Organic Farming Association of India Pan-Indian

Millet Association of India Pan-Indian

Specified Action Network- Asia Pacific International

Vasudha Pan-Indian

Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies Pan-Indian

Vrihi Pan-Indian

Navdanya Pan-Indian

International Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture

International

http://www.iccoa.org/





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9. Challenges in Community Interface-

The Living Farms faces some of very typical challenges owing to its

specificity in the area of intervention which is mainly tribal villages in the Bissam-Cuttack

block of Rayagada district in Orissa which are-

a) Location of the villages-

The tribal villages are mainly located in the remote hills without any

proper roads to reach their. Thus, the organization has to face a big hurdle every time in

terms of easy communication whenever there is issue to have a frequent visit to the

villages.

b) Low Literacy Rate-

The tribal villages have a very low literacy rate due to lack of primary

and secondary schools in the region which makes it a challenging issue for the organization

to use written forms of communication in order to inform and create interest in the

community.

c) Shortage of staff-

The biggest challenge being faced by the organization is in the form of shortage in the number of field staff which is not sufficient enough given the mammoth

challenge of working effectively on the number of projects.

10. Program Management-

The program management in Living Farms consists of five major steps:

1. Project Initiation

Initiating the project and developing the project charter with the help of community

Project governance, program management and portfolio management

Definition of roles and responsibilities of the project manager and the project sponsor

Definition of roles and responsibilities of the team



2. Project Planning – Analysis and Strategy Development

Introducing the Logical Framework

Analysis of the problem

Conducting stakeholder assessments

Developing Problem Trees

Developing Objective Trees

Conducting Alternatives Analysis

3. Project Planning – The Log Frame Matrix

Stage One – Top Down (Goal, Objectives, Outputs, Activities)

Stage Two - Work Across(Measurable Indicators and means of verification)

Stage Three – Bottom Up(Assumptions and Risks)

Benefits of risk management in project management (internal and external)

Risk management processes and tools

4. Project Planning - Scheduling

Scheduling techniques (Milestones, GANTT Charts)

Critical path method

Risk assessment and logical schedule alternatives

5. Project Monitoring and Change Control

Status reporting

Financial Monitoring

Change control

section b group 13

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