granite-globalisation and trade policy · abbreviations & acronyms ... acknowledgements are due...

Globalisation and Trade PolicyThe GRANITE Advocacy

Experience in Four Indian States

Globalisation and Trade PolicyThe GRANITE AdvocacyExperience in Four Indian States

Published by

CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics & EnvironmentD-217, Bhaskar Marg, Bani ParkJaipur 302 016, IndiaEmail: [email protected]: www.cuts-international.org/www.cuts-citee.org

With the support of

Researched and written byJayati Srivastava*

Citation: CUTS (2007)Globalisation and Trade PolicyThe GRANITE Advocacy Experience in Four Indian States,CUTS CITEE, Jaipur

© CUTS International, 2007

Printed by: Jaipur Printers P. Ltd., Jaipur 302 001

ISBN 978-81-8257-086-3

* Associate Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

#0708 SUGGESTED CONTRIBUTION Rs.100/US$15

The Netherlands

Table of Contents

Preface ................................................................................................... iAcknowledgements .................................................................................... iiiAbbreviations & Acronyms ...................................................................... iv

Introduction ................................................................................................ 1

Section 1: Advocacy Practices/Tools ....................................................... 17Outreach Meetings ............................................................................... 17Workshops Targeting State Level Officials.......................................... 19Media Workshops ................................................................................ 19National Seminars and Workshops ...................................................... 20Memorandum ....................................................................................... 20E-Group and E-List .............................................................................. 21Publications.......................................................................................... 21

Section 2: Advocacy Practices at the Grassroots ................................... 25KARNATAKA .................................................................................... 25

Outreach Meetings ........................................................................ 25Awareness Generation ........................................................... 25Ascertaining Perceptions ....................................................... 26

Publications ................................................................................... 26Actual Impact on Stakeholders ..................................................... 27

Marketing Avenues ................................................................. 27Participation and Influence in Public Policy ......................... 27Media ..................................................................................... 28Networking and Capacity Building of Grassroots CSOs ....... 28

Lessons Learnt .............................................................................. 29

RAJASTHAN ..................................................................................... 30Outreach Meetings ........................................................................ 30

Awareness Generation ........................................................... 30Ascertaining Perceptions ....................................................... 30



Lessons Learnt .............................................................................. 36

UTTAR PRADESH............................................................................ 36Outreach Meetings ........................................................................ 37




Lessons Learnt .............................................................................. 44

WEST BENGAL ................................................................................ 45Outreach Meetings ........................................................................ 45




Lessons Learnt .............................................................................. 50

Section 3: Overall Assessments of Advocacy Practices/Tools ............... 53

Conclusions................................................................................................ 57

Endnotes ................................................................................................ 59

Annexures ................................................................................................ 65

Preface

The process of globalisation has affected the entire spectrum of socio-eco-nomic activities in India. More specifically, policy shifts arrived through changesin the global regimes, such as the establishment of the World Trade Organisa-tion (WTO) and implementation of its agreements, have significantly impactedupon the agriculture and textile sectors, which employ large sections of theIndian population. And yet, there is a complete absence of adequate channelsof communication between the grassroots’ concerns and needs and the policy-making processes.

The Indian civil society movement is still at an initial stage to make effectiveits interventions on matters relating to globalisation, economic governanceand their impact on the livelihoods of the poor, particularly the marginalisedand women. Often the result of interventions carried out by groups havinglittle/no/distorted knowledge was that while the intention was good, its effectswere not so good for the lives of the poor.

Knowing that issues relating to trade and globalisation (particularly in thecontext of a new and emerging international economic order) are complex andhave profound implication and impact on people’s livelihoods, the projectentitled Grassroots Reachout & Networking in India on Trade & Economics(GRANITE) has been successfully implemented by CUTS Centre forInternational Trade, Economics & Environment (CUTS CITEE) in eight statesof India with support from the Royal Norwegian Embassy, New Delhi andOxfam Novib, The Netherlands.

The overarching goal of the GRANITE project is to empower people at thegrassroots to deal with the challenges of globalisation and also create enablingenvironment for utilising the opportunities brought about by the newinternational economic order.

Globalisation and Trade Policy u i

It is being implemented by developing the capacity and comprehensiveness ofstate-based civil society organisations (CSOs) on issues relating to globalisation(with WTO, its agreements and their implementation as a manifestation ofglobalisation) and how they are affecting economic governance in India(including its political and social ramifications).

The key to the success of GRANITE in India is advocacy with local-level(grassroots) stakeholders by the GRANITE partners in respective states.GRANITE partners have used specific tools to help local stakeholdersempowered on issues of globalisation and international trade. Towardsaddressing the pertinent issues of accountability and transparency of theadvocacy practices, the present study is aimed at ascertaining which advocacytools are most efficient at the grassroots.

The focus of this study is on four of the eight Indian states: Karnataka, Rajasthan,Uttar Pradesh (UP) and West Bengal, covered under the GRANITE initiative.It is conducted under the Oxfam International’s project entitled KnowledgeInfrastructure with and between Counterparts (KIC). Oxfam Novib, TheNetherlands, leads the KIC initiative.

The study documents advocacy practices with local-level stakeholders(government officials, farmers/farmer organisations, NGOs, media persons)on issues relating to globalisation and trade. Useful tools for advocacy arecategorising them as what works and what not. Thus, they are context-specificand in no way can be taken as any kind of generalisation.

I thank all who were associated with this project in various capacity and hopethat this study will help a whole range of stakeholders in sharing knowledgeand getting their experiences onto a larger platform for creating a better spacefor the civil society to intervene on economic issues affecting people’slivelihoods.

Jaipur Bipul ChatterjeeApril 2007 Deputy Executive Director

ii u Globalisation and Trade Policy

Acknowledgements

This study is the product of an extensive collaboration with GRANITE projectpartners, the research team, the targeted stakeholders, Oxfam Novib’s KICteam, and the CUTS staff involved in the GRANITE project.Acknowledgements are due to all and the development partner: Oxfam Novib,The Netherlands whose support made it possible. It is difficult to list all thenames but some need special mention.

Project PartnersKarnataka: Consumer Research, Education & Awareness Trust, BangaloreRajasthan: CUTS Centre for Consumer Action, Research & Training, JaipurUttar Pradesh: Network for Entrepreneurship & Economic Development,LucknowWest Bengal: CUTS Calcutta Resource Centre, Kolkata

Research TeamPatibandla Srikant, Research Scholar, Institute for Social and EconomicChange (ISEC), Bangalore, KarnatakaSunil Ray, Professor and Director, Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur,RajasthanYogesh Bandhu Arya, ICSSR Doctoral Fellow, Giri Institute of DevelopmentStudies, Lucknow, Uttar PradeshIndranil Bose, Head of the Department of Political Science, St. Xavier’sCollege, Kolkata, West Bengal

Globalisation and Trade Policy u iii

Abbreviations & Acronyms

ADG Assistant Director General

APEDA Agricultural Products Export DevelopmentAuthority

BBAM Balia Bio-Agro Mission

CBO Community Building Organisation

CEO Chief Executive Officer

CEPT Consumer Education and Protection Trust

CLHS Consumer Legal Help Society

CPC Consumer Protection Council

CREAT Consumer Research, Education and AwarenessTrust

CSO(s) Civil Society Organisation(s)

CUTS International Consumer Unity and Trust Society International

CUTS CART Consumer Unity and Trust Society Centre forConsumer Action, Research and Training

CUTS CITEE Consumer Unity and Trust Society Centre forInternational Trade, Economics & Environment

CUTS CRC Consumer Unity and Trust Society CalcuttaResource Centre

DIPS Durgapur Indira Pragati Society

E-discussion Electronic Discussion

E-Group/List Electronic Group/List

GMOs Genetically Modified Organisms

iv u Globalisation and Trade Policy

GRANITE Grassroots Reachout and Networking in India onTrade and Economics

GSDP Gross State Domestic Product

HYV High Yielding Variety

IBD International Business Division

ICT Information and Communication Technology

ISTC Inter State Trade Council

ITC Indian Tobacco Company

MCT Margshree Charitable Trust

MCX Multi Commodity Exchange of India

MNC Multinational Corporation

NAMA Non Agriculture Market Access

NCDEX National Commodity and Derivative Exchange ofIndia

NCU National Coordinating Unit

NEED Network for Entrepreneurship and EconomicDevelopment

NEEDS Navodaya Educational and EnvironmentDevelopment Services

NGO(s) Non Governmental Organisation(s)

NTPC National Trade Policy Council

PRIs Panchayati Raj Institutions

SHGs Self-help Groups

SRG State Reference Group

STPC State Trade Policy Council

UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade andDevelopment

UPCAR Uttar Pradesh Council for Agricultural Research

WTO World Trade Organisation

Globalisation and Trade Policy u v

Globalisation and Trade Policy u 1

Introduction

The process of globalisation has affected the entire spectrum of socio-economicactivities in India. More specifically, policy shifts arrived at the global regimes,such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO) have significantly impacted uponthe agriculture and textile sectors, which employ large sections of the Indianpopulation. And yet, there is a complete absence of adequate channels ofcommunication between the grassroots’ needs and the global policy-makingprocesses. Given this context, trade policy advocacy assumes great importance,as a means of bridging the gap between the local and the global and hencecontribute to the project of democratisation.

Advocacy literally means verbal support, pleading or arguing in favour of acause, idea or policy. It is “a planned and organised set of actions to effectivelyinfluence public policies and to get them implemented in a way that wouldempower the marginalised. In a liberal democratic culture, it uses the instrumentsof democracy and adopts non-violent and constitutional means. From thepeople-centred perspective, the purpose of advocacy is to advance social andeconomic justice, human rights, public interest and to make the governanceaccountable and transparent. [It is] perceived as a value-driven political process…because it seeks to question and change existing unequal power relations infavour of the socially, politically and economically marginalised sections”.1

Within the right-based approach to development, advocacy has been definedas “an organised political process that involves the co-ordinated efforts of peopleto change policies, practices, ideas and values that perpetuate inequality,prejudice and exclusion”.2

The agency through which advocacy is largely operationalised – both at thenational and global level – is the civil society organisations (CSOs) or non-government organisations (NGOs). Traditionally, NGOs served as pressuregroups, primarily carrying out advisory and advocacy roles, chiefly within thestructures of the governments of a nation state. Their influence, particularlythose of the transnational NGOs, which have grown exponentially since 1990s,

2 u Globalisation and Trade Policy

gradually extended to the international arena and to the intergovernmentalorganisations.

The decade of 1990s thus was marked by an invigorated CSOs/NGOs’ activismthrough advocacy, both at national and transnational level, which to a largeextent, was facilitated by the ease of communication and interconnectednessas a result of globalisation. In addition, rapid and fundamental changes - socio-economic and political – in human lives under globalisation and theaccompanied liberalisation process, changed the way one looked at the state,governance structures, politics and the markets. The resulting impact alsocreated new categories of haves and have-nots, wherein the marginalised groupsbecame the target of CSOs’ activism that sought to bring about changes intheir lives through grassroots advocacy.

Depending on the specific context, such advocacy efforts focus on changingthe way policies are made or demand changes in specific policies and laws; ortheir enforcement and implementation. It may, sometimes, also focus onincreasing people’s awareness of the existing policies, creating alternativeavenues for livelihood and participation and enhancing empowerment.

Today, advocacy has become an important component of policy-makingprocess. Many CSOs devote considerable resources to advocacy work in orderto bring about a change in the institutions of governance, as well as society atlarge. Advocacy can occur at multiple levels, engaging with local, nationaland international policy-making process during some or all phases of publicpolicy making – agenda setting; formulation of policies; enactment of policies;implementation; monitoring; and enforcement. It is mostly targeted atinstitutions of governance or government officials and/or donor agencies, butit may also be directed towards people, or a group of people, if it is aimed atchanging their attitudes or perceptions about certain social prejudices, such ascaste, patriarchy, etc.

It involves some, all or a combination of some of the following five activities:

• resisting unequal power relations, both at private and public levels;

• engaging with institutions of governance to empower the marginalised;

• creating and using ‘spaces’ within the system, in order to change it;

• strategising the use of knowledge, skills and opportunities, to influencepublic policies; and

• bridging the micro-level activism and macro level policy initiatives.3

In each of these cases, advocacy is aimed at changing attitudes and perceptionsand hence has a normative connotation to it. Theoretically, therefore, advocacy


is “related to one of the higher ideals of the NGO world: the search for justice.At a more prosaic level, advocacy is simply a tool or set of tools – mechanismby which NGOs try to push their own concerns on to the agendas of others”.4

Hence, the effectiveness of advocacy is an important concern, which, giventhe multiple complex policy process, is often difficult to quantify or assess.Yet, the effectiveness of an advocacy practice/tool addresses the core issues ofaccountability and transparency of the practice itself. Hence “advocacy, likeany area of NGO activity, should live or die by its usefulness to the poor”.5

Towards addressing these pertinent issues of accountability and transparencyof the advocacy practices, the study is aimed at ascertaining which advocacytools are most efficient at the grassroots, as a part of the project beingimplemented in eight states under the umbrella of the Grassroots Reachoutand Networking in India on Trade and Economics (GRANITE).6 This projectis supported by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi and Oxfam Novib,The Netherlands.

The overarching goal of GRANITE project is to empower people at thegrassroots to deal with the challenges of globalisation and also create enablingenvironment for utilising the opportunities brought about by the free traderegime under the WTO. More specific objectives of the GRANITE projectare: (1) to improve the knowledge of the stakeholders about the changes broughtabout by the WTO regime in the context of globalisation; (2) to ascertain theirperceptions about the globalisation and its impact on their livelihood concerns,in order to develop structured mechanisms, to feed the grassroots demandsinto the policy domain; (3) to make trade policy more transparent, accountableand participatory; (4) to sensitise the media on trade and globalisation issuesand also use media as an important medium of communication in trade policyadvocacy; (5) to familiarise both farmers and textile workers with moderntechnology and alternative and better marketing avenues; and (6) to networkwith and enhance capacity building of partners and grassroots CSOs.

The advocacy so undertaken was done within the right-based frameworkemanating from the development literature, which is considered more effectiveand sustainable. It promises higher levels of empowerment, ownership andfree, meaningful and active participation, by putting beneficiaries in charge ofdevelopment and, most important of all, enhanced accountability, by identifyingspecific duties and duty-bearers, local ownership and participation in thedevelopment process. “In this way, development moves from the realm ofcharity to that of obligation, making it easier to monitor progress”.7


The focus of this study is on four of the eight Indian states: Karnataka, Rajasthan,Uttar Pradesh (UP) and West Bengal, covered under the GRANITE initiative.This study was funded by Oxfam International’s project entitled KnowledgeInfrastructure with and between Counterparts (KIC). The KIC project is ledby Oxfam Novib, based in The Netherlands.8 Oxfam Novib has started theKIC project in an effort to promote and support knowledge exchange projects.It provides small seed funds to Oxfam counterparts to enable them to reflecton their practical experiences, document them, and share them with others.KIC means fast access to shared knowledge on promising practices that canreduce poverty and empower people. It stimulates organisations to documentpractices and facilitates communities of practice. The KIC project also hasdeveloped a portal to enable all the Oxfam counterparts to actively share theirknowledge online. KIC, therefore, aims to improve the performance of Oxfam’scounterparts (and others), in terms of quality, effectiveness and efficiency ofthe activities, by facilitating knowledge sharing.

Socio-Economic Profile of the Four StatesThe four states – Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and West Bengal –chosen under the study are quite diverse, both in terms of geography anddemographic profile, as also their levels of socio-economic development. Table1 gives a snapshot of the Human Development Index (HDI) of these four statesas also the changes in their position on the HDI index between 1981 and 2001.As evident from the data, the State of Rajasthan has improved its HDI rankconsistently since 1981, while the HDI rank of West Bengal has remainedconstant, at number eight. The HDI rank for Karnataka declined to numberseven in 1991 and remained so in 2001, while in the case of UP, it improvedfrom 1991 to settle at number 13, the same as in the year 1981.

Table 1: Human Development Index for Four Indian State Since 1981

State 1981 1981 1991 1991 2001 2001Value Rank Value Rank Value Rank

Karnataka 0.346 6 0.412 7 0.478 7

Rajasthan 0.256 12 0.347 11 0.424 9

Uttar Pradesh 0.255 13 0.314 14 0.388 13

West Bengal 0.305 8 0.404 8 0.472 8

India 0.302 - 0.381 - 0.472 -

Source: National Human Development Report 2001, New Delhi: Planning Commission,Government of India, March 2002, pp 25.


The next section briefly outlines the background and the socio-economic profileof the four Indian states under the study.

KarnatakaLocated in the southwest part ofIndia, Karnataka has a land areaof 1,91,791 sq km, with apopulation of 5,28,50,562 and apopulation density of 275 per sqkm, spread over 27 districts. Thesex ratio, according to the 2001Census, was 965. Literacy rate is66.6 percent, with 76.1 percentmen and 56.9 percent womenbeing literate (Table 2).9 Ruralliteracy rate is 59.33 percent andurban a good 86.66 percent. Thegender dimension of literacy, bothin rural and urban areas, isskewed against women. In therural areas, only 48.01 percentwomen are literate, as comparedto 70.45 percent men, while, inurban areas, 86.66 percent men are literate, as compared to 74.12 percentwomen. The gender gap in literacy rates of women in urban and rural area is,however, not very wide.

Table 2: Distribution of Population, Sex Ratio, Density, DecadalGrowth Rate and Literacy Rate in Karnataka, 2001

* Females per 1,000 malesSource: Census of India 2001- Primary Census Abstract, Office of the RegistrarGeneral, New Delhi

52,850,562 26,898,918 25,951,644 965 275 17.25 33.98 66.02 66.6 76.1 56.9

Total Population

Persons Males Females

Sex

Ratio

*

Den

sity

(per

sq.

km

)

Dec

adal

Gro

wth

Rat

e Population (%)

Urb

an

Rur

al

Pers

ons

Mal

es

Fem

ales

Source: http://w

ww

.censusindia.net/

Literacy (%)


The work participation rate in Karnataka in 2001 was 44.5 percent. The workparticipation for men was 56.6 percent and for women a very low i.e. 32 percent.The rural rate of employment is 49.1 percent and the urban rate is 35.7 percent.About 55.7 percent of the people are dependent on agriculture for employment,of which the proportion of cultivators and agricultural labourers is 29.2 percent26.5 percent, respectively (Table 3).

Table 3: Work Participation Rate and Percentage of WorkersEmployed in Different Activities in Karnataka

Percentage

Work Cultivators Agricultural Household OtherParticipation Labourers Industry Workers

Rate Workers

Persons 44.5 29.2 26.5 4.1 40.2

Males 56.6 31.7 17.2 2.7 48.4

Females 32.0 24.7 43.4 6.7 25.2

Source: Census of India 2001- Primary Census Abstract, Office of the RegistrarGeneral, New Delhi

The gross state domestic product (GSDP) for the year 2003-2004 was Rs1,30,127 crore, (US$30.8bn) while the per capita income was Rs 18,041(US$4.2bn).10 The state has a diverse population, in terms of geography, culture,economy, etc. Nearly 71 percent of the population is directly or indirectlydependent upon agricultural activities, while agriculture contributes about 49percent to the state’s economy.

Karnataka can be divided into 10 agro-climatic zones, based on soil types,rainfall distribution and crops grown. Geographically, the southern part ofKarnataka has better irrigation facilities and also more fertile soil, leading tobetter agricultural outputs. On the other hand, the northern part of Karnatakais largely a dry area, with poor implementation of land reforms due to whichagricultural activity has been adversely affected. Such diversity has resulted inhuge income and economic gaps between the two regions, making southernKarnataka economically more vibrant.


RajasthanSituated in the north-western part of India,Rajasthan has an area of3,42,239 sq km, with apopulation of 56,507,188.The population density ofRajasthan is 165 personsper sq km,11 distributedover 32 districts and 237blocks.12 The sex ratio inRajasthan is 921. Overallliteracy rate in Rajasthan is60.4 percent, with maleliteracy rate at 75.7 percentand female literacy rate atpoor 43.9 percent (Table 4).

The work participation rate in Rajasthan is 42.1 percent (Male: 50 percent,Female: 33.5 percent). Rural employment rate is 45.94 percent (Male: 50.82percent and Female: 40.70 percent), whereas urban employment rate is at apoor 29.56 percent (Male: 47.64 percent and women at an abysmal 9.24percent).13

Source: http://www.censusindia.net/

Table 4: Distribution of Population, Sex Ratio, Density, DecadalGrowth Rate and Literacy Rate in Rajasthan, 2001


56,507,188 29,420,011 27,087,177 921 165 28.33 23.38 76.62 60.4 75.7 43.9

Total Population


Sex

Ratio

*

Den

sity

(per

sq.

km

)

Dec

adal

Gro

wth

Rat

e

Urb

an

Rur

al

Pers

ons

Mal

es

Fem

ales

Population (%) Literacy (%)


The proportion of workers employed in agriculture (as cultivators andagricultural labourers) in Rajasthan is about 66 percent (Male: 55.3 percentFemale: 83.3 percent). Hidden within these average figures is the fact that amuch greater proportion of women are employed as agricultural labourers,whereas a larger proportion of men in agriculture are employed as cultivators(Table 5).

Table 5: Distribution of Work Participation

Percentage


Rate Workers

Persons 42.1 55.3 10.6 2.9 31.2

Males 50.0 48.1 7.2 2.9 41.9

Females 33.5 67.0 16.2 2.8 14.0


The economy of Rajasthan is primarily agricultural. The per capita income forthe year 2003-2004 was Rs 11,986, while the GSDP was Rs 1,05,009 crore(US$25.5 bn).14 The textile industry also plays an important role in Rajasthan’seconomy and provides employment to 63,123 workers, as per the 1999-2000figures. 15

Uttar PradeshUttar Pradesh is the mostpopulous state of India.According to the 2001Census, its population wasa little over 166 million(166,197,921), constituting16.4 percent of thecountry’s population and avery high populationdensity of 689 per sq km.The sex ratio stands at 898.Literacy rate of UP is 56.3percent (68.8 percent malesand 42.2 percent females).

Source: http://w

ww

.censusindia.net/


The all-India urban-rural divide gets replicated in UP as well, with higherliteracy in urban areas at 71 percent compared to 54 percent in rural areas(Table 6).

Table 6: Distribution of Population, Sex Ratio, Density, DecadalGrowth Rate and Literacy Rate in Uttar Pradesh, 2001


166,197,921 87,565,369 78,632,552 898 689 25.80 20.78 79.22 56.3 68.8 42.2

Total Population


Sex

Ratio

*

Den

sity

(per

sq.

km

)

Dec

adal

Gro

wth

Rat

e

Urb

an

Rur

al

Pers

ons

Mal

es

Fem

ales

Table 7: Work Participation Rate and Percentage of WorkersEmployed in Different Activities in Uttar Pradesh

Percentage


Rate Workers

Persons 32.5 41.1 24.8 5.6 28.5

Males 46.8 42.7 20.1 4.7 32.5

Females 16.5 36.1 39.6 8.3 16.0


UP can be divided into four economic regions, namely, eastern, western, centraland Bundelkhand. The eastern and western regions are comparatively large,with 27 and 26 districts, respectively, while the central and Bundelkhand regionshave 10 and seven districts, respectively, making it a total of 70 districts.

UP is a landlocked state with an economy that is primarily agrarian, with 79.19percent of its population residing in rural areas. UP is among the most backward

The work participation rate in UP was 32.5 percent (Males: 46.8 percent andFemales: 16.5 percent), with majority of workers employed as cultivators (41.1percent) and agricultural labourers (24.8 percent) (Table 7).



states in India, with high levels of poverty and low levels of social and economicdevelopment.

The industrialisation pattern in the state is highly skewed. The western regionof the state accounts for most of the industries of the state. In 2002-03, 32percent of state’s GSDP came from agriculture, 22 percent from industry, ofwhich merely 11 percent came from manufacturing, and 41 percent fromservices. Per capita income for the year 2003-2004 was Rs 9,721 (third-lowestin the country), while the GSDP stood at Rs 2,15,181 crore (US$51bn).

Agriculture provides livelihood to nearly 72.20 percent of its population.Agricultural activities vary significantly across the state, depending on thelocal geographical and agro-climatic conditions. Along with agriculture andrelated activities, textile is another sector in which millions of people,particularly women, are directly or indirectly employed. This sector is largelyunorganised, making artisans and workers susceptible to exploitation.

West BengalThe state of West Bengal is locatedin the eastern part of the country,with a population of 80,176,197 inan area of 88,752 sq km, makingits population density 904. In fact,West Bengal ranks as one of thesmallest states of India, but withone of the largest populationsdistributed over 18 districts and341 blocks.16

Literacy rate in West Bengal was68.6 percent, with male literacy at77 percent and female literacy at59.6 percent. Sex ratio is 934(Table 8).

Work Participation Rate is 36.8percent (Males: 54 percent;Females: 18.3 percent). People gainfully employed in rural areas are 37.93percent (Males: 54.30 percent and Females: 20.70 percent). Correspondingrates for urban areas are 33.82 percent (Males: 54.07 percent and Females:11.13 percent).17 Nearly 44.2 percent of the workers are employed in


agricultural activities as cultivators and agricultural labourers.18 The workparticipation rate for women is considerably lower, at 18.3 percent, while formales it is 54 percent (Table 9).

Table 9: Work Participation Rate and Percentage of WorkersEmployed in Different Activities in West Bengal

Percentage


Rate Workers

Persons 36.8 19.2 25.0 7.4 48.5

Males 54.0 20.8 22.7 4.1 52.4

Females 18.3 14.1 32.2 17.7 36.1


Table 8 : Distribution of Population, Sex Ratio, Density, DecadalGrowth Rate and Literacy Rate in West Bengal, 2001


80,176,197 41,465,985 38,710,212 934 904 17.84 28.03 71.97 68.6 77.0 59.6

Total Population


Sex

Ratio

*

Den

sity

(per

sq.

km

)

Dec

adal

Gro

wth

Rat

e

Urb

an

Rur

al

Pers

ons

Mal

es

Fem

ales

The per capita income in West Bengal for the year 2003-2004 was Rs 16,072and the GSDP was Rs 1,86,429 crore (US$44.2bn). Agriculture plays animportant role in West Bengal’s economy, contributing 25.2 percent to thestate GDP in the year 2001-2002. The total cultivable land in West Bengal is5,832,940 hectares, while the net and gross cropped areas stand at 5,471,707hectares and 9,545,363 hectares, respectively.19

The textiles and clothing (T&C) industry in West Bengal, especially hosieryand readymade garment units are largely made up of small-scale industriesand, on an average, employ six or less workers per unit.20 The handloom sectoris also significant, with 3.50 lakh units employing 6.6 lakh people. There are



2,203 handloom co-operative societies, which employ 1.8 lakh workers. Thetotal production of the state in the handloom sector is 679 million metres. Theitems produced in the handloom sector include traditional sarees, such asBaluchari, Tangail, Jamdani, Dhaniakhali, Begumpuri, Santipuri and Korialsarees, traditional dhotis and dhotis of coarse to medium counts, lungis, gamcha,towel, napkin, gauze and bandage materials and exportable fabrics such asscarves, stoles, dress materials, furnishing fabrics, etc.21

Partner OrganisationsIn each of the four states under the scope of this study, the GRANITE projectwas implemented in partnership with the following state-level organisations:• Consumer Research, Education and Awareness Trust (CREAT),22

Bangalore, in Karnataka;• CUTS Centre for Consumer Action, Research and Training (CUTS

CART),23 Jaipur, in Rajasthan;• Network for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (NEED),24

Lucknow, in Uttar Pradesh; and• CUTS Calcutta Resource Centre (CUTS CRC),25 Kolkata, West Bengal.

These partner organisations have a track record of pursuing action-orientedresearch at the grassroots. Many of them have long association of workingwith CUTS on consumer issues. In partnership with GRANITE and with thehelp of technical inputs from CUTS International, these CSOs further engagedwith other grassroots non-governmental and community-based organisations(CBOs) in their respective states to assist in the capacity building of thegrassroots organisations, in order to better comprehend the issues of trade andglobalisation and their impact on livelihoods. In addition, the GRANITEpartners were involved in advocating the need for a proactive policy responsewith regard to the impact of the process of globalisation and WTO. TheGRANITE team was also involved in sensitising the local media about theimpact of globalisation on the livelihood concerns and using them as a conduitto create awareness and information dissemination.

BudgetThe total budget of the GRANITE project was Rs 14.33 million (US$342,972)for a two-year period. Of this, 26 percent of the budget was spent towardspersonnel costs i.e. Rs 3.72 million (US$89,033) and about 69 percent i.e.9.89 million, approximately (US$236,704)) towards direct costs includingproject activities, audit, evaluation and purchase of computers. Overheadsincluded Rs 0.72 million (US$17,232) accounted for five percent of the totalbudget.


Of the main advocacy events, the national seminars accounted for 14 percentof the total budget, while the proportion of the budget for the state-levelworkshops was 11 percent. The media workshops accounted for 7.5 percentand training seminars 6.4 percent of the total budget. Bulk of the budget underthe sub-head advocacy, networking and representation (Rs 750,000 out of Rs980,000) was spent on travel costs for participation in the WTO Hong KongMinisterial Conference, which constituted 5.23 percent of the total budget.The budget allocated to the National Co-ordinating Unit (NCU), i.e., CUTSInternational/GRANITE was 44 percent (Rs 6.36 million approximately(US$152,218), while state level partners were allocated 56 percent (Rs onemillion each (US$23,933)) of the total (see Annex I for the detailed budget).

MethodologyThe overall objective of the study is to ascertain which advocacy practices andtools are better suited to address the requirements of the local level stakeholderson issues relating to globalisation and trade. For this purpose, advocacy practiceshave been documented through the case studies methodology. Suchdocumentation of advocacy practices was done in four states – Karnataka,Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal – by four different independentresearchers.26 This was done within the overall framework of comparativeresearch design in order to arrive at comparable success and non-success storiesof advocacy practices and tools. However, given the diverse socio-economicand political conditions in these four states, the context-specific dimensions ofadvocacy practices were also given due importance.

Practice in this context means an experience, a specific intervention strategy,activity or process of an organisation or a group of organisations to achievesocial change. The practice may be policy advocacy, poverty eradication, anagricultural technique or an educational method or international coalitionbuilding. 27

Under the field area covered by the project, in each of the case studies,qualitative field interviews were conducted in select villages and districts withdifferent stakeholders, including farmers, textile workers, traders’ associations,grassroots level CSOs and NGOs, government representatives, journalists, etc.,to ascertain the effectiveness of trade policy advocacy and to identify the good,bad and innovative practices.


The success of individual advocacy practice, as well as advocacy tool, wasdeemed contingent on it meeting one or more of the following criteria:1. Creating awareness amongst stakeholders about WTO, trade and

globalisation. The stakeholders included both farmers and textile workers,as well as government officials, journalists and CSOs and NGOs andfarmers’ associations and trade unions;

2. Ascertaining their perceptions on livelihood concerns impacted byglobalisation;

3. Influencing trade policy-making both at the state and union levels;4. Ensuring whether it has affected people’s livelihood in a positive manner,

especially in terms of generating alternative marketing avenues for farmersand textile workers; and

5. Ascertaining capacity building of partner organisations and other CSOsand grassroots networking.

Based on these criteria, good, bad and innovative practices were identified. Agood practice is the one in which there is reasonable, quantitative and qualitativeevidence to show that it works to address a specific programme or projectobjective and shows the potential for replication. An innovative practice is theone in which there is yet inconclusive evidence of its effectiveness, but it lookspromising. Bad practices are the ones where learning from failures andadaptations were needed to achieve the desired objectives.28 Such evaluationwas, therefore, contingent upon the actual outcome of advocacy, i.e., its capacity(partial capacity or incapacity) to fulfil its intended goal, however defined.

The inception workshop in Jaipur in September 2006, and the subsequent followup state-level meetings held at Bangalore, Karnataka; Jaipur, Rajasthan;Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh; and, Kolkata, West Bengal in November 2006,discussed the respective case studies in order to garner grassroots feedback.

LimitationsThe major limitation of the study is the area of four states (and within them alimited number of select districts) covered under the project. Besides, theadvocacy practices operated within the framework of globalisation and WTOrather than confronting or challenging them. The focus was not on buildingcounter-hegemonic challenges to the WTO in the context of globalisation, butto provide alternatives to people to deal with the challenges of globalisationand in the process augment their livelihood choices.


It must also be underlined that the target group for advocacy practices was notjust policy-makers but multiple stakeholders, including farmers, villagers, textileworkers, weavers, CSOs and journalists as well. While the ultimate objectiveof the project was to make trade policy more transparent, accountable andparticipatory, advocacy as a whole in this case was viewed as a process, amodest attempt to re-write the discourse of trade policy-making in the country.It is, therefore, considered a step-wise process, where awareness generation;eliciting people’s perception on livelihood concerns in the context of WTOand globalisation; sensitising the media; capacity building and networking withpartner organisation are seen as important structured and meaningfulinterventions into the trade policy making.


a


Section 1

Advocacy Practices/Tools

This section discusses the various advocacy practices and tools adopted byGRANITE and its state partners across all states. For detailed information anddescription of various advocacy tools and mechanisms of their implementation,please see Annex II.

Outreach MeetingsThe outreach meetings were aimed at information dissemination or informationgathering and also to serve as a platform for sharing experiences and generatingideas on issues relating to globalisation and WTO. Each partner organisationwas mandated to conduct a minimum of five outreach meetings (three in thefirst year and two in the second year of the project) in their respective states.Participants in such meetings included farmers, including marginal farmers,crafts persons, artisans, weavers and local handicraft artisans, aanganwadiworkers, CSO representatives, members of grassroots organisations, sarpanchs,village heads, community heads, media persons and relevant state governmentofficials, etc. Seven such outreach meetings were held in Rajasthan, UttarPradesh and West Bengal and five in the case of Karnataka (Table 10).

During the outreach meetings special attention was paid to target women’sparticipation. The percentage figure in Table 10 denotes women’s participationin various outreach meetings. As evident, the percentage of women’sparticipation in various outreach meetings varied between 0 to 81 percent indifferent states’. Amongst the four states, UP, followed by Rajasthan, has faredwell in terms of number of women’s participation, which is due to specialattention aimed at encouraging women’s participation.


*Note: The figures in bracket denote number of participants and the percentagefigures in brackets denote percentage of women participants in the outreach meetings.Source: GRANITE website at http://www.cuts-citee.org/GRANITE/index.htmSee reports and activity sections.

Table 10: List of Outreach Meetings Organised byGRANITE State Partners*

State

Karnataka

Rajasthan

UttarPradesh

WestBengal

I

ShimogaAugust 10,2005(39)(W: 56 %)Theme:Agriculture

ChitorgarhSeptember14 , 2005(50)(W: 50 %)Theme:Agriculture

SitapurJuly 26,2005(261)(W: 65 %)Theme:Agriculture& Textiles

South 24ParganasJune 15,2005(90)(W: 3 %)Theme:Agriculture

II

HaveriSeptember02, 2005(48)(W: 23 % )Theme:Agriculture

BhilwaraSeptember15, 2005(40) ( W: 25%)Theme:Textiles andHandlooms

LucknowSeptember12, 2005(350)(W: 70 %)Theme:Agriculture &Textiles

Nadia(Shantipur)July 22, 2005(30) (W: 40%)Theme:Textiles

III

MandyaJanuary 17,2005(90)(W: 81 %)Theme:Agriculture

SawaiMadhopur(Surwal)September22 , 2005(45) (W: 33%)Theme:Agriculture

PratapgarhSeptember30, 2005(250)(W: 80 %)Theme:Agriculture& Textiles

Nadia(Balia)August 07,2005(122)(W: 34 %)Theme:Agriculture/Textiles

IV

ShimogaJuly 31,2006(74)(W: 5 %)Theme:Agriculture

SawaiMadhopur(Bonli)September22 , 2005(35)(W: 46 %)Theme:Handloomsandhandicrafts

JhansiOctober29, 2005(175)(W:60 %)Theme:Agriculture& Textiles

MurshidabadAugust 10,2005(122) (W:34 %)Theme:Agriculture/Textiles

V

SirsiAugust 18,2006(36)(W: 17 %)Theme:Agriculture

JaloreSeptember28, 2005(110)(W: 73 %)Theme:Handloomsandhandicrafts

GorakhpurNovember07, 2005(110)(W:80 %)Theme:Agriculture& Textiles

NorthDinajpur(Islampur)August 26,2005(122)(W: 34 %)Theme:Agriculture/Textiles

VI

-

BharatpurAugust 25,2006(30)(W: 33 %)Theme:Agriculture

ShahjahanpurJune 15,2006(125)(W:55 %)Theme:Agriculture& Textiles

MaldaJune 27,2006(25)(W: 8 %)Theme:Agriculture

VI

-

BarmerAugust27, 2006(40)(W: 50 %)Theme:TextilesandHandlooms

LucknowJune 19,2006(160)(W: 70 %)Theme:Agriculture& Textiles

Purulia September07, 2006(24)(W: 0%)Theme:Agriculture


Workshops Targeting State Level OfficialsThe objective of such workshops was to broaden outreach activities and enhancenetworking with state level government officials. It was held annually for theduration of the project (2005-06). Several State Reference Group (SRG)members were identified in these workshops. Formation of SRG expected toserve as a sounding board and quality check on the project output. The SRGwas designed to include elected members of parliament, legislative assembly/council, local government; officials from key ministries, e.g. commerce andindustries, agriculture, finance, rural development; government agencies andquasi-governmental bodies relevant to trade and economic issues;representatives of farmers organisations; small and medium sized enterprises(SMEs); chambers of commerce; academia; experts, especially economistsand lawyers and research institutions; media persons; and relevant CSOs.

In Uttar Pradesh, such workshop was held at Lucknow on May 16-17, 2006; inRajasthan at Jaipur on December 21, 2005; and in West Bengal at Kolkata onSeptember 12, 2005. In Karnataka, it was held at Bangalore in June 2006.

Advocacy Workshop at the State Level for State Trade Policy Councils (STPCs)and at the National Level for National Trade Policy Council (NTPC)

The objective of such workshops, held in the second year of the project wasthe formation of STPCs at the State level and NTPC at the National level.Participants in these workshops included State and Central Government officialsand other stakeholder groups.

Subsequently, in April 2005, an advisory NTPC consisting of relevant ministriesfrom the Central as well as the State Governments was set up by the Governmentof India. The formation of STPCs, however, was subsequently dropped, sincetheir proposed mandate and activities were seen to be duplicating the effortsof the existing (even though dysfunctional) WTO Cells in various states.29

Media WorkshopsAimed at achieving the twin objectives of information dissemination,information sharing and orientation/sensitisation of the media on trade policyand globalisation issues and their relationship with economic developmentand governance, media workshops were held annually in every state coveredunder the project. The goal of such half-day workshops was to providecomprehensive training to media persons from the English and local languagepress, as also from the alternative media on issues of globalisation and theWTO. It was hoped that the media so sensitised would devote more coverage


to economic issues, which would create an enabling environment, throughraising awareness levels about the WTO and globalisation issues.

The media workshop in Rajasthan was held at Jaipur on October 06, 2005; inUttar Pradesh at Lucknow on December 08, 2005; in Karnataka at Bangaloreon December 24, 2005; and, in West Bengal at Kolkata on March 01, 2006.Differing levels of implementation and impact across four states is reflected inthe varying degree of participation in these media workshops (Table 11).

Table 11: State Level Media Workshops

Date & Location No. of Participants

Karnataka December 2005 Bangalore 50

Rajasthan October 2005 Jaipur 45

West Bengal March 2006 Kolkata 39

Uttar Pradesh December 2005 90 & 56(2 meetings) Lucknow

Source: SV Divvaakar & Pankaj Agrawal, Draft Report of the Evaluation ofGrassroots Reach out and Networking in India on Trade and Economics(GRANITE), mimeo, New Delhi: Ace Global Private Ltd, November 2006, pp. 33.

National Seminars and WorkshopsThe national seminars and workshops were aimed at ensuring better targetingand wider outreach and networking and consolidating the findings of all thestate partners and undertake advocacy at the national level for the formation ofNTPC.

One national seminar was held in each of the two years of the project inNovember 2005 and December 2006. Participants included policy makers atthe national and state levels, national and local media persons, project teamsfrom all the state partners and targeted stakeholders from all the states. Thefirst national seminar was organised in Jaipur on November 13-14, 2005. Thesecond national seminar on Globalisation and India: Voices from the Groundwas organised in Lucknow on December 18-19, 2006.

MemorandumIn each state, GRANITE partner organisations wrote letters to the respectiveChief Ministers urging them to write to the Union Trade Minister for theeffective implementation and working of the WTO Cell and the ISTC.


E-Group and E-ListTo facilitate constant interaction and exchange of information amongst personsrelated to the GRANITE project, a dynamic E-List was created. This listincluded NCU & State Partners (nodal person and programme co-ordinator),project-relevant State and Central Government officials, CSOs/CBOs,grassroots groups, key persons, such as representatives from media, academia,research institutions, donor agencies, Project Advisory Committee and, SRGs,etc.

Besides, a closed E-Group ([email protected]) consisting ofGRANITE project members (comprising of NCU), State Partners (NodalPerson and Programme Co-ordinator) and key persons from the NCU andstate partners was created to allow active sharing of information among all itsmembers by providing multi-way communication.

However, excessive reliance on Internet in a country, which has a skewedcomputer infrastructure, yielded little results, both because of low levels ofliteracy, as also due to poor connectivity in small towns and villages.

PublicationsFor the purpose of information dissemination and awareness generation ontrade and globalisation issues, the project targeted to publish at least four briefingpapers and eight newsletters, which it has been able to accomplish, albeit at asmaller scale.

Gram GadarThe existing CUTS periodical, Gram Gadar has also been used for informationdissemination.

GRANITE Newsletter (Making Things Happen)This newsletter deals with various livelihood issues. Table 12 lists the numberof issues published as well as the number of copies distributed amongst variousstakeholders, a figure that falls much short of the envisaged target.30

Note: The NCU has published eight newsletters in English but the state partnershave brought out only 3 to 5 issues. In Rajasthan, CUTS had dual responsibilityof NCU as well as the state partner (CUTS CART). While CUTS CITEE haspublished eight newsletters in English, CUTS CART has not brought out anyseparate newsletters in Hindi.


This quarterly newsletter, entitled Making Things Happen, brought out by theCUTS CITEE (NCU), Jaipur in English, is sent to every state partner, whogets it translated into the local language and uses two additional pages of thenewsletter for the local content.

Briefing PapersSix briefing papers on crucial livelihood issues have been published, whichare:

• Reforms in Food Corporation of India: Case of Wheat Imports (GRANITE:No. 1/2006);

• National Agriculture Policy – A Critical Evaluation (GRANITE: No. 2/2006);

• Review of National Textile Policy 2000: Short on Prognosis and Far Shortof Results (GRANITE: No. 3/2006);

• Functioning of WTO Cells in India — A Critique (GRANITE: No. 4/2006);

• Draft National Policy for Farmers – A Critique (GRANITE: No. 5/2006);and

• Learning through GRANITE (GRANITE: No.1/2007)

In this context, it may be pointed out that the scaling down of some of theadvocacy goals may be due to the underutilisation of the budget under variousheads, by both the NCU and state-level partners. For instance, the distributionof newsletters, briefing papers and research documents has been below thetarget. Similarly, most of the state partners were not able to completely utilisethe budgets for workshops, media workshops and printing/distribution of

Table 12: Status of GRANITE Newsletter

Language No. of Issues No. of CopiesPublished Distributed

NCU(by CUTS CITEE) English 8 1000 each

Karnataka Kannada 5 500 each

Rajasthan Hindi - -

Uttar Pradesh Hindi 7 500 each

West Bengal Bengali 3 500 each

Source: SV Divvaakar & Pankaj Agrawal, Draft Report of the Evaluation of GrassrootsReachout and Networking in India on Trade and Economics (GRANITE), mimeo,New Delhi: Ace Global Private Ltd, November 2006, pp. 46.


dissemination and advocacy documents. This could be either due tomismanagement or lack of planning or due to lack of capacity to utilise thefunds (especially among the state level partners).

The next section discusses some of these aspects while evaluating differentadvocacy practices in the four states.


a


Section 2

Advocacy Practicesat the Grassroots

As discussed above, a variety or a combination of different advocacy toolswere used with respect to different stakeholders. Also, in order to addressspecific issues/stakeholders, certain innovations and adaptations were madein these advocacy tools at the grassroots.

The following section attempts to examine the impact of advocacy practiceson various stakeholders, in terms of their effectiveness in each of the fourstates covered under the study. While some amount of overlapping is inevitable,first two sub-sections analyse the effectiveness of various advocacy tools, whilethe following sub-section elaborates on the actual impact of such advocacypractices on various stakeholders. The fourth sub-section elaborates on the‘Lessons Learnt’, specifically in the context of learning from the limitationsand failures of advocacy practices, and offers some suggestions aimed atcharting a course for a more effective and sustainable advocacy practices.

KARNATAKA 31

(1) Outreach Meetings

(a) Awareness GenerationIn Karnataka, in terms of improving stakeholders’ knowledge about the impactof the WTO regime in the context of globalisation, the outreach meetings provedto be extremely useful. Through a lively and open debate on the pros and consof the WTO, farmers learnt new dimensions of the WTO. In Sagar taluqspecifically, knowledge about WTO issues improved substantially amongstthe stakeholders, as a result of outreach meetings and other aligned activitiesof the project.


It assisted farmers in grasping the impact of WTO on agriculture and alsomade them aware of the new opportunities, such as genetically modifiedorganisms (GMOs), organic farming, food security, etc.32

These meetings expanded the understanding of the WTO in a balancedmanner.33 It provided opportunities of improving networking amongst farmers,which further helped reduce confusion and misgivings about the WTO. As aresult, rather than protesting against the WTO, which often led to law andorder problems, many farmers co-ordinated efforts to collectively bring theirdemands to the policy domain, thereby influencing governments to respond totheir requirements and/or negotiate at the WTO on their behalf.34

(b) Ascertaining PerceptionsThe outreach meetings also proved very useful, in terms of assessing grassroots’livelihood concerns in the context of globalisation. In Karnataka’s farmercommunity, there was a general sense of opposition to the WTO against theinclusion of agriculture in the trade regime ever since its inclusion in the DunkelDraft in 1992, and farmers continue to oppose the WTO policies on agriculture.The WTO policies, they feel, would jeopardise the traditional farming systemin India and would adversely affect the farmers. Contract corporate farming,according to some, would be disastrous for small and marginal farmers. Somefarmers underlined that high yielding varieties (HYV) seeds are not suitablefor Indian agriculture.35

The withdrawal of subsidies and insurance (such as for fire and pest infectiontowards sugarcane crop) and the introduction of new tariffs attributed to theWTO regime, according to some farmers, have aggravated the adverseconditions within agriculture, leading them to ask for India’s withdrawal fromthe WTO.36

In terms of immediate grassroots requirements, it was felt that farmers mosturgently require infrastructure for direct marketing avenues down, to thepanchayat levels. In addition, latest technological tools, improving access tolarger agricultural markets and options for micro-credit, through farmers’ co-operatives, was also underlined, including the initiatives and infrastructurefacilities to encourage organic farming.

(2) PublicationsNewsletters, pamphlets and newspaper articles in regional languages helped alot in information dissemination about the WTO and its impact. The state levelpartner organisations as well as other CSOs such as Consumer Forum, Sagar,


especially played a greater role in translating such literature in Kannada fordistribution. Of special mention is the kannada language glossary of about 200basic economic terms with reference to the WTO being published by CREAT.However, since many farmers are illiterate, the leaflets and publications hadlimited impact on information dissemination for this group of stakeholders.For state-level government officials, media persons, CSOs, etc., they provedto be more useful.

(3) Actual Impact on Stakeholders

(a) Marketing AvenuesThrough advocacy at outreach meetings, farmers acquired knowledge aboutexternal markets. Also, since traders also participated in such meetings, it helpedin reducing the gap between traders and farmers. In terms of providingalternative marketing avenues, the advocacy practices have little to report inKarnataka.

(b) Participation and Influence in Public PolicyThe outreach meetings as well as other state-level meetings provided animportant avenue to farmers to interact with government agencies, officials,media representatives, NGO representatives, farmers, etc., and exchange viewswith them on WTO and globalisation. The freedom of expression anddemocratic ethos in these meetings assisted farmers in expressing theirviewpoints. This made farmers confident in dealing with government officialson issues related to agriculture. Hence, advocacy done through outreachmeetings facilitated in bridging the gap between the policy makers andstakeholders.

As a result of sustained advocacy, some structural changes were made in thetrade policy-making process. For example, the WTO Cell of the Governmentof Karnataka was revived to specifically focus on agriculture, apart from otherissues. As a spin off, it also led to the rejuvenation of the WTO Task Force onAgriculture of the Karnataka government.

However, in the absence of any legal and institutional mechanism for enforcingtransparency in the trade policy-making, the access to policy domains isconditional on the goodwill of the officers whose frequent transfers oftenjeopardise the cause pursued meticulously for months and years. The need forpermanent state-level group trained in the WTO issues to assist partnerorganisations in carrying out outreach programmes at the local level wasunderlined.


The overall impact on actual trade policy–making, however, is dismal. CREATlobbied for STPC, but in the face of unfavourable response from thegovernment, it turned out to be a non-starter.

(c) MediaThe media workshops held at Bangalore proved to be disappointing, due tothe absence of participation from the mainstream media. This was partly dueto the fact that the mainstream urban media was alive to the WTO andglobalisation issues and did not feel any need for undertaking such a trainingexercise. In the rural areas, it was noted that very few journalists work oneconomic issues, specifically due to budgetary constraints.

To address this problem, CREAT, in a slightly modified strategy, targeted agroup of local freelance journalists/columnist and working journalists, who,after necessary training, were encouraged to write articles on WTO andagriculture in local language. This resulted in over 25 articles in Kannada inthe two-year period, including a full-length article on the National Seminar inLucknow in a leading Kannada daily. CREAT also involved the KarnatakaMedia Academy, with limited success, and also engaged with establishing anEconomic Writers’ Forum.

(d) Networking and Capacity Building of Grassroots CSOsThe involvement of local level CSOs provided avenues for upward linkages,as many local level activists got to know of GRANITE and its activities, throughCREAT, and, in the process, expanded the sphere of their activities. Hence,some cross-cutting upward and downward linkages and networks wereestablished.

For example, CREAT collaborated with the Consumer Education and ProtectionTrust (CEPT)37 to implement the GRANITE project through organising fourworkshops in Sagar taluq. The process has helped build membership strengthof CEPT, which has grown from 159 members to 1500 members, especiallyfarmers in large numbers. Some farmers also joined the initiative, throughother like-minded CSOs, such as Sagar Consumer Forum, thus facilitatingnetworking both amongst farmers as well as CSOs. The project, apart fromempowering the farmers, has also improved the capacity of sister CSOs onWTO issues.

Similarly, Consumer Protection Council (CPC) in Sirsi district, through itsinvolvement with CREAT, learnt of both the opportunities as well as thechallenges generated by the opening of trade under the WTO. Instead of its


traditional opposition to the WTO, CPC is now focussing on utilising theopportunities so generated for farmers’ benefit.38

CPC conducted two workshops, in each of which 35 farmers participated, apartfrom other stakeholders, to disseminate information about the WTO. Sincethen, more and more farmers are approaching CPC for information on a numberof issues. The GRANITE initiative has also assisted CPC to expand its agendato include economic and trade policy issues.

In a similar case, in the Haveri region (where Monsanto conducted experimentsfor genetically modified seeds), the Navodaya Educational and EnvironmentDevelopment Services (NEEDS)39 got involved with the project and learntabout WTO and its impact on agriculture. Such advocacy changed its attitudevis-à-vis the WTO, by dispelling a number of myths.40 In addition to its existingagenda, it also got involved with creating awareness about organic farming,local seeds and the use of bio-technology, for the benefit of the poor.

Similarly, Kadekol Jalanyana Sangha41 expanded its activities to also includeawareness generation amongst farmers about organic manure and organicfarming, as also built watershed infrastructure. CREAT – the state levelGRANITE partner – itself moved beyond the realm of consumer issues, tomuch broader horizons that included trade policy advocacy, globalisation, WTOissues, etc.

(4) Lessons Learnt• In order to have a widespread impact, the scope of outreach meetings must

be expanded at the district level to the taluq, village and panchayat levels.• Also, advocacy tools would work, in the long term, only if follow-up

meetings with the farmers, in co-ordination with the panchayats, are heldat regular intervals.

• With respect to media advocacy, certain innovative measures, such astargeting freelance journalists, may yield dividends, in terms of better mediacoverage, of globalisation and livelihood issues.

• Illiteracy often acted as the most important hindrance to the effectivenessof advocacy tools and, hence, the use of audio-visual medium forinformation dissemination is required for more effective advocacy.

• For a holistic trade policy advocacy, the scope of advocacy must expand toinclude issues such as BT cotton, genetically modified seeds, organicfarming, farmers’ suicide, etc.

• Trade policy advocacy must be seen as part of the larger struggle to makepublic policy more participatory and transparent. Hence, it must join hands


with other advocacy campaigns, such as the right to information, right toeducation, etc.

RAJASTHAN


(a) Awareness GenerationIn Rajasthan, group discussions at the outreach meetings served the purposeof eliciting the perceptions of farmers and artisans on WTO and globalisationissues and also making them aware of the costs and benefits of the WTO regimeand its impact on their lives.

The villagers also learnt of the possible link between the WTO and povertyalleviation, as a result of the opening of international markets (and, hence,better prices for their agricultural produce) and the expansion of employmentopportunities. As a result of such advocacy, there is a marked improvement inthe interest on WTO matters among villagers and also a desire for networking,to accrue the benefits of the new policy regime under the WTO as well asliberalisation policies of India.

(b) Ascertaining PerceptionsDuring outreach meeting in Surwal village in Sawai Madhopur district, farmersexpressed concerns about the low prices received for their produce. It wasnoted that the prices they fetch for their produce do not even cover the cost ofcultivation, driving them into indebtedness. The support price fixed by thegovernment for different crops, according to them was insufficient and gaveno incentives to generate surplus. Uncertainty about irrigation and fluctuationsin the markets further aggravates their vulnerability and dependence onmoneylenders. The WTO, felt many, is an additional source of their deprivation.The opportunities opened, as a result of international companies, in terms ofgetting better prices and seeds, contract farming, etc., were met with fear andapprehension. Many farmers believed that that using improved seeds andfertilisers would impact on soil fertility and productivity. Improved seeds, itwas apprehended, would not be able to sustain their livestock. The moneyfrom land, if leased under contract farming, according to many, would not besufficient to sustain their livelihood and may, finally, need to be mortgaged,which was against their interests. Also, the fear of losing independence, interms of choosing the crop they wish to grow, due to the requirements of themultinational companies, was quite pronounced.

The outreach meetings also highlighted the absence of any surveillance andquality control mechanism on seeds. As a result, often low quality seeds were


sold under the same brand name. The improved variety of seeds, it was noted,reduced soil fertility in the subsequent crop year.

The distribution mechanism of fertilisers through the co-operative society wasfound wanting in quality standards, not to mention the procedural difficultiesrelated to there access and availability remained another .

In another outreach meeting at Arniya Joshi in Chittorgarh district, farmersexpressed similar concerns about the low prices fetched by their products, butappeared less apprehensive about the improved seeds sold by internationalcompanies. They reported its usages for the past few years and a markedimprovement in crop productivity and, hence, were ready to pay higher pricesfor these seeds. The demand for seeds sold by government companies, as aconsequence, declined substantially. However, the fallout of using improvedseed is the high usage of chemical fertilisers, which erodes soil fertility, in thelong run. Despite Osman Khan, Agriculture Extension Officer’s efforts toconvince them otherwise and efforts to popularise organic fertilisers, the farmerswere keen on their immediate survival, through improving crop productivity.The issue of agricultural sustainability was, hence, highlighted since it isimperative to seek a proper combination of the organic and inorganic fertilisers.

The low prices, according to the farmers, were due to lack of competition anddistortions in the market perpetuated by the commission agents. Commissionagents, located in different places, including the adjoining state of MadhyaPradesh form cartel and fix the prices, beyond which nobody is prepared topurchase his or her crops. Such a traditional chain of buying crops fromproducers through their middlemen has continued for ages. Hence, even ifmodern technological application, with high irrigation intensity agriculturalproduction rises to a desirable level, the major share of the value-addition willgo to the middlemen and the commission agents, it was apprehended.

The problem of middlemen was also reported in the case of textile workers. Ofparticular relevance is the unavailability of short-term credit for the purchaseof raw material and meeting daily requirements, which provides stability andfinancial security to the household of the poor weaver. In the absence of anymicro-credit facility by the banks, as well as the absence of self-help groups(SHGs), the money is often supplied by the middlemen, who also bring themarket right to their doorstep, at zero transaction costs. It has been observedthat weavers, who no longer continued their contact with the middlemen hadto face closure of their units. The same was not true for those who weredependent on middlemen and traders, despite it being a trap that breedsimpoverishment and perpetuates dependency.


It was, therefore, felt that the producer-level institution should beinstitutionalised on a priority basis, as the absence of such an institutionperpetuates the intermediary system and pushes the small producers to theinformal system of exchange, which is exploitative. The producers’ association/institution so developed should keep farmers, especially small farmers, informedabout the prices of their produces and new technology which can promoteproduction and enhance their ability to export their produces to the internationalmarket. In this context, chaupal (village meeting) could further be developedas a village-level institution and, subsequently, replicated at every level.

The need for the availability of credit was also highlighted, without which freetrade would deliver little benefits. Also, greater emphasis was placed ondeveloping strategies for extricating the small weavers from the clutches ofthe middlemen system, so that they do not continue to depend on the sameexploitative system for their survival.

(2) PublicationsTwo regular publications proved to be of great significance – both at the microand macro levels. At the micro level, Khuli Khirkian Khule Darwaje (in Hindi)was useful for information dissemination. The English version of it is OpenWindows and Open Doors and Making Things Happen (see page 23) iwasreported to be an effective advocacy tool for the stakeholders at the macro-level.


(a) Marketing AvenuesThe outreach meetings also made farmers aware about the opportunitiesavailable to them to sell their product to private companies directly, instead ofselling them to the local markets or commission agents. Farmers were veryeager to find direct marketing channel through which they could sell theirproduce and get better returns.

It was noted that the procurement of agriculture produce through a privatecompany, the Indian Tobacco Company (ITC Limited) and its umbrellaorganisation International Business Division (IBD), which has been givenlicence to engage in agricultural trade consequent to the new policies ofgovernment) has proved to be successful. IBD has developed a well-connectednetwork of marketing channel in the villages, through chaupals42, which hashelped the farmers a lot. Farmers do not have to come all the way to the mandiand waste the entire day for receiving the payment, but are paid for theirproduces in their villages. Apart from receiving payment on the same day,


farmers’ produce is weighed through scientific means, which reduces thechances of losses in this transaction.

The parallel marketing channel provided by the ITC (IBD) demonstrates thatit is possible to break the oligopolistic control over agricultural produce marketonly if competition is infused into the system of marketing. Hence, such mustefforts be replicated and expanded and such an endeavour must be supplementedby better credit delivery system, especially for the small and marginal farmers.

The only disadvantage of IBD is that it engages in purchasing agriculturalproduces twice a year only. So, if the farmers intend to sell at any other time,then they have to go to the local mandi (market) to sell their produces, wherethey incur losses due to faulty processes. Despite the fact that traders haveconsiderable demand for farmers’ produce, the latter are paid much less, asthey pay heavy transaction cost to the traders, in the form of interest, etc. Sothe farmers lose out at multiple levels, which is another reason for the declinein farmers’ net gain from agricultural trade.

Also, small and medium farmers are not able to use the IBD system. Althoughmany of them are aware of the alternative marketing system provided by theITC, through chaupal, they are forced to sell their produce to the traders locatedin the mandi. The main reason for this is their economic vulnerability. Theyborrow money from the traders for input costs, such as fertilisers, seeds andalso for their children’s marriage, and are forced to sell their produce to thesame trader.

However, the positive change that has taken place is that the traders are nowchasing the farmers for their produce. This is mainly because, increasingly, alarge number of farmers prefer to sell their produces to the ITC, leading to adecline in the volume of sales at the mandis and a corresponding decline in thevolume of trade surplus. The Traders’ Association has brought this ‘problem’to the notice of the government through a memorandum to the Chief Ministerof the state.

On a positive note, from the point of view of traders, the Traders Associations43

noted that agricultural market is now more open and regionally integrated,with little differences in agricultural commodity prices between differentmarkets, whether located in Rajasthan, Mumbai or Chennai. Due to continuousflow of information between the markets, through: (1) National Commodityand Derivative Exchange of India (NCDEX); and (2) Multi CommodityExchange of India (MCX), full information about price fluctuation of each


agricultural commodity in the national and international markets is availableon a daily basis. Accordingly, they decide where to sell their purchased produceinside the country.

The idea of having competitive gain was initially ingrained in the minds of thefarmers by CUTS CART, the GRANITE partner in Rajasthan. The advocacyprogramme initiated has certainly borne fruits for a large number of farmers,who have been able to come out of the grip of the commission agents and themiddlemen system.

The advocacy had demonstration effects on other farmers, whom the GRANITEpartner never contacted. It is also true in other cases, such as that of smalltextile manufacturers.

The case in point is Bhilwara colony in Kolipara Mohalla in Bhilwara district(which is the largest textile production centres in the country). Here, advocacywas done through a resource person trained by CUTS CART that stayed inregular contact with the weavers and explained to them the advantage of workingin an open market, such as opportunities for exports, which could enhancetheir income.

Some women workers, in particular, confessed that they were unable tocomprehend the messages that the outreach meetings tried to convey, but couldfathom the fact that they were deprived in some ways and, if conduciveatmosphere was created, they would benefit, in terms of being able to exercisetheir choice to change the design of their produces and export their productsoutside the state and the country.

Primarily, as a result of advocacy, weavers could identify their potential to aconsiderable extent. Earlier, middlemen and the commission agents grabbedthe opportunities created by the new textile regime under the WTO, but oncethe outreach meeting took place and the contact persons were trained, thescenario began to change accordingly for the textile workers. Those whounderstood the message became inquisitive about the WTO and attempted todiscard what the middlemen around them had created for centuries.

(b) Participation and Influence in Public PolicyThe main task of advocacy focused on strengthening the ISTC in order tobring about synergy between the policies adopted by the State and the UnionGovernment’s policies. The need to strengthen the WTO Cell in the states wasalso considered important, in order to represent the states’ concerns in the


ISTC apart from engaging the Chief Minister with ongoing advocacy.The advocacy practices here again failed to make much headway. The ChiefMinister responded positively to the initiative taken by the GRANITE partner,but her concern was mostly confined to the official communication. In practice,no worthwhile step was taken to activate the WTO Cell at the state level, whichsince its formation in 2003 has not been functioning in a desirable manner.There is little effort to involve state-level inputs into the policy-makingmechanisms. No worthwhile contact is made between the Centre and the Statefor better functioning of the Cell at the state level. Some of the limited activitiesof the WTO Cell at the state level include a report on the ‘Implication of WTOon textile sector in Rajasthan’. Although comments were received from theCentre, initiative is yet to be taken up by the state government to publish it.The WTO Cell at the state level has put forward its views on bound rates andcompetition to the Centre. However, there has been no response from the Centretill date.

The Union Government seems to be oblivious of the fact about its counterpartat the state level and the State Government has taken no initiative to revitalisethe WTO Cell. The activities performed by the WTO Cell are routinely ignored.While all decisions made at the Centre are communicated to the StateGovernment, the former has not outlined the activities to be taken up by theWTO Cell at the state level, which, in turn, is not empowered to take anydecision independent of the Centre. Certain committees on mineral, agro-processing, etc., have became defunct, due to lack of funds. Although budgetaryprovision was made, money was never disbursed. The WTO Cells arecripplingly under-staffed, with only one management personnel while others,who are attached with this cell perform other tasks.44

(c) MediaThe Media Workshops turned out to be important in highlighting the role thatmedia must play in information dissemination as well as in making interventionin the policy domain, through highlighting people’s perspectives on trade policy.However, advocacy practices with media bore little fruits. Both the awarenessand interest of media on WTO issues is rather low, which explains less thanadequate coverage given to such issues in the press.

(d) Networking and Capacity Building of Grassroots CSOsCUTS CART has established a huge network of grassroots CSOs and involvedthis network widely for the GRANITE activities. Resource materials in locallanguage were distributed to these CSOs, for better understanding of issueslike WTO and globalisation. Some of these organisations were also invited to


participate in the state-level workshops, national seminars and mediaworkshops.

Grassroots CSOs, such as the Consumer Legal Help Society (CLHS) in SawaiMadhopur, Sankalp in Jalore, Dhara Sansthan (Society for Development HealthHygiene and Rural Action) in Barmer and Sahyog Sansthan in Bharatpur, wereespecially involved as partners in organising outreach meetings. Apart fromthese organisations, other CSOs and local activists were given more informationon the related subject for dissemination.

(4) Lessons Learnt• Demonstration effect of advocacy is more important than the narratives.

For people to know more about the new trading opportunities, some of thesuccess stories need to be told to the villagers, through other methods ofinformation dissemination, such as illustrations, so that they can learn fromthe experiences of others. This would also encourage them to become moreenterprising, with respect to the production and marketing of theiragricultural output/produce.

• The advocacy strategy pursued by the GRANITE partners, with respect tomedia, needs to be re-oriented for better outreach. For this purpose, meetingsand seminars need to be organised at the village level, with the local media,in local language.

• A more intensive advocacy with weavers’ association and spinning millowners is required to create a positive and fruitful partnership between theworkers and owners.

UTTAR PRADESHVarious advocacy practices had been adopted by NEED, the GRANITE partnerin the state with local stakeholders, which included specific tools, such asoutreach meetings, newsletters, representation to government officials, writingin the media and involving local level policy makers and other stakeholders inorganising state-level workshops, media workshops, etc.

In addition, in order to execute the project in an effective manner, NEED formeda state-level ‘Think-Tank’, or SRG, which included some small/mediumfarmers; women related to chikankari45 and zardozi46; economists from theIndian Institute of Management, Lucknow; Giri Institute of DevelopmentStudies, Lucknow; Lucknow University; journalists and media personnel;Resident Director of PHD Chamber of Commerce; and, government officialsrelated to state policies.


However, given the voluntary nature of the SRG initiative, the experts showedreluctance to actively participate in its working. Some provisions ofremuneration for its members, or at least a provision for travelling costs wouldperhaps alleviate this situation.


(a) Awareness GenerationThe outreach meetings were instrumental in creating awareness about theimplications of globalisation on livelihood concerns. They were quite effectivein making people aware of their economic rights and use the power of knowledgefor the betterment of their lives. For instance, at an outreach meeting inChandranagar (Jhansi), organised in partnership with a local NGO MargshreeCharitable Trust (MCT), on October 29, 2005, the question of minimum wageof casual labourers was raised, which was not an issue directly targeted by theGRANITE. However, given GRANITE’s endeavour to inform the people abouttheir rights and practices for well-being, the labourers were informed aboutthe applicability of minimum wages to the casual workers.

Armed with such information, when Ram Lal, a casual labour at a nearby brickkiln, approached his employer for better remuneration, his employer abusedhim, threatened to beat him up and expelled him from work. Subsequently,during the peak season, Ram Lal and other labourers collectively refused towork for lower wages. Since during the peak season, owner of the kiln was notin position to shut down his kiln even for a day, he was forced to raise thewages. Information disseminated through the outreach meeting, therefore, ledto a significant betterment of their lives.

(b) Ascertaining PerceptionsThe outreach meetings were successful, in terms of assessing people’sperception of the impact of globalisation. At one outreach meeting, it wasfound that farmers were aware of the competitive weakness of Indian agriculture,in terms of quality, yield, wages, input prices, as well as market prices of crops,etc.

It was felt that not much has been done in the area of trade and economics.Moreover, development work in agriculture and textile sectors, till now, hasbeen limited to technology upgradation, dissemination of information aboutnew varieties and methods of cultivation, etc., which has not been able toimprove the situation in these sectors.47


It was underlined that the local co-operatives do not function effectively, thusmaking farmers dependent on traders for procuring inputs which are not onlyexpensive but also of inferior and spurious quality. 48

Government’s apathy towards the plight of the farmers was particularlyhighlighted. Lack of infrastructural facilities, such as timely irrigation facilitiesand poor conditions of village roads, was particularly mentioned which createsproblems for the farmers on daily basis and worse during the rainy season inbringing inputs and carrying their produce to the market/mandis.49

The most important concern that emerged from almost all the outreach meetingswas the issue of poor remuneration for their produce, due to the absence of anyalternative marketing avenues, aptly surmised in the statement: Utchit damnahin milta apna saaman betche kahaan? (We do not get proper value for ourcrops. Where do we sell our produce?).50

(2) PublicationsThe impact of publications and learning manuals was positive in awarenessgeneration. A four-pages biannual newsletter entitled Vishwa Hat Mein HumKahan, in Hindi and a newsletter Women for Change, Chulhe se Chaupalproved to be quite effective for knowledge enhancement of differentstakeholders, including SRGs, government offices, Panchayati Raj institutions(PRIs), self-help groups, farmers, interest groups, academia, etc. In addition,four booklets, i.e., ABC of WTO, Agreement on Agriculture, Agreement onTextile and Clothing and Briefing Notes on NAMA have been translated intothe local dialect for better outreach. Two papers on intellectual property rights(IPRs) and geographical indications were also published, which were accordeddue attention by the government officials, as well as other partner organisations.However, given the limited financial resources, its distribution was limited.


(a) Marketing AvenuesFarmers at the outreach meetings were made aware of the option to sell theirproducts directly to get better prices. This led to a landmark case of creatingan alternative avenue of marketing in the case of mangoes and chikan craft.

(i) MangoAt one of the outreach meetings, the presence of brokers at the local mandiswas highlighted, which was attributed to the bureaucratic apathy and corruption.As a result, it was reported, “farmers and other producer groups get at least Rs.400-800 less than the price of mangoes in the wholesale market”.51


Lack of unity and co-operation amongst farmers perpetuated such malpracticesof the middlemen and brokers. To address this problem, the experts present atthe outreach meeting asked mango farmers to get in touch with the Office ofthe Fruits and Horticulture Board of Uttar Pradesh and Agricultural Importsand Exports Corporation in Hardoi district, which subsequently directed themto the Agricultural Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) officeat Kanpur. At APEDA, a senior officer explained to them the lengthy andarduous process for mango export, which was almost impossible for such smallfarmers.52

After returning from Kanpur, Manish, a mango farmer formed a producer groupalong with some other farmers and with the assistance of the GRANITE team,contacted the Fruits and Horticulture Board’s office. After repeated requestsand much persuasion, the officials agreed to open a counter for mangoprocurement and export it to other countries. However, once they brought theirproduce to the counter, since mango growers did not have any training onexport requirements,53 almost 85-90 percent of their mango was rejected forexport procurement, owing to inferior quality. They were, thus, forced to selltheir products to the local middlemen at lower than the normal prices.

Undeterred, Manish continued to pursue the matter. Later, the DevelopmentManager of NEED and the GRANITE co-ordinator, along with a state levelagricultural officer, visited Kakori and explained to them the route of directmarketing, particularly through wholesale market and Kisan Call Centre, asalso for seeking information on prevailing market prices.

Since then, the producer group, led by Manish, collect the prices of differentmarkets, i.e., Azadpur (Delhi), Hapur, Varanasi and Gorakhpur, etc., by makinga free call to the Kisan Calling Centre at Krishi Bhawan, Lucknow. They alsocollected mangoes from producer groups and, after sorting, grading and packingthe mangoes, hired a full dala (full-size truck in local language) and sent it toarhatia (broker) at Azadpur mandi in Delhi, where they got Rs. 120 per peti(box of 10 Kg.) against the previous price of Rs 65 to 75 per peti.

They also got Rs. 110 to 120 even for their second-grade mangoes, by sendingthem to other mandis in Varanasi and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. Now, theyare planning to directly contact the exporter of the Azadpur mandi, so thatthey can obtain fair remuneration for their produce. They are gatheringinformation from the Assistant Director General (ADG) of Uttar PradeshCouncil for Agricultural Research (UPCAR) to plant turmeric in the sparespace between the mango trees in their farms. The power of knowledge and


awareness, generated through advocacy, has made them more prosperous andalso opened avenues for better utilisation of their land.

(ii) Chikan PatentingThe textile sector in UP, specifically chikan, zardozi and handloom work,provides employment to a large number of artisans in rural areas, particularlywomen. However, since the nature of these works is mostly unorganised, theseartisans continue to be exploited. At a daylong grassroots outreach meetingorganised in Mahmoodabad, on July 26, 2005 attended by 250 persons, problemof middlemen in chikankari work and lack of adequate remuneration washighlighted.

The case of Leelawati, who took to chikan embroidery in order to support herfamily, was particularly relevant in highlighting the problem of the middlemenprevalent in chikan work. It was noted that, despite hard work, Leelawati wasgetting subsistence returns for her work, because she was dependent on themiddlemen for orders and also for selling her chikan products. The middlemen,who were bringing work orders were taking a major part of the profit and sowere the traders. She did not have either the bargaining power or any opportunityto upgrade her skills and produce high quality marketable products or undertakedirect marketing, to survive the competition.

This experience was not unique to Leelawati, as thousands of women engagedin chikan craft, zardozi and other handloom works are facing similar problems.These women are mostly exploited by the mediators, who bring them workfrom the adjoining cities of Lucknow and Sitapur.

Producer groups present at the meeting, particularly women, raised theirconcerns about the need for linkages with fair trade buyers and other markets.They advocated the need for direct and immediate action.54 The agony of craftworkers was expressed at all subsequent outreach meetings in Kakori, Bakshika Talab (Lucknow) and Campeerganj (Gorakhpur).

At one such outreach meeting in Kakori, Lucknow some stakeholders raisedthe issue of their economic rights and one legal expert talked about pursuinglegal rights of chikan workers. Subsequently, at a capacity building workshopfor government officials, on May 15-16, 2006, some experts and resourcepersons suggested targeted initiatives aimed at patenting of indigenousknowledge and crafts of UP, in order to provide a legal basis for the recognitionand proper remuneration of the rural artisans.


To pursue the matter, Anil K Singh, the CEO of NEED, contacted the relevantgovernment officials, including the Ministry of Textiles and the Director-General, Handicrafts. After much effort, he was able to persuade them to theimportance of chikan patenting for alleviating these artisans’ distress. NEEDhas since been appointed the nodal agency, not only for chikan patenting butalso for patenting of chanderi silk,55 Banarasi sari,56 desahari mangoes57 andamla murabba. Now, NEED is working on fulfilling the proceduralrequirements for patenting these items.

Neither NEED nor GRANITE team had ever expected such far-reachingoutcome from a small initiative at the outreach meeting and capacity buildingworkshop, but it has been made possible by the perseverance of producer groupsand other stakeholders at the grassroots level.

Such successful outcomes in UP were due to internalising the value ofGRANITE mission into the core values of the state partner, i.e. NEED. Thisincluded orientation of not only GRANITE’s small team but also the entirefamily of NEED towards seeking collective co-operation for GRANITEachievement and also dovetailing the goals of the GRANITE with the existingmission of the parent organisation.

(b) Participation and Influence in Public PolicyThe advocacy with respect to government officials, policy makers andpoliticians was done at multiple levels. At the top level, GRANITE and NEED’sdelegation contacted the Chief Minister and the Agriculture Minister throughdepartment officials, with some pro-poor concerns and suggestions forincorporatiion into the State Agriculture Policy. The initial response from theconcerned department was encouraging, but the progress was very slow.

Establishment of STPC for the direct participation of rural poor farmers andcrafts-persons, especially women, in the agriculture and textile sector was amongthe main objectives of this project. Towards that end, on behalf of thestakeholders and GRANITE team, NEED directly wrote a letter to the ChiefMinister, through concerned government officials.

After much persuasion, brainstorming sessions and sustained representations,the government officials agreed to reinstate the WTO Cell58 in Uttar Pradesh.Government officials, including the Chief Secretary N C Bajpai, and theAgriculture Minister were very supportive of reactivating the WTO Cell. Asmentioned by N C Bajpai, “we must be self-dependant in terms of food grainsand other essential commodities. To monitor the state’s interest, there must be


State Trade Policy Council and that the formation of any such body should bedone with support and consultation of NGOs. I am agreed to the suggestion ofopening of a WTO Cell in the state and any such Cell should not be entrustedto the government machinery alone; rather it should be managed by professionalNGOs or other private organisations. Our department would always extendthe fullest support to the wonderful endeavours being made by GRANITE andNEED”.59

However, not much headway has been made to this effect. In case of formationof STPC, official response was positive, but it is yet to materialise.

It must also be noted that the advocacy tool of signature campaign sent togovernment officers was routinely ignored, as they were used to suchrepresentations. On the other hand, when a delegation of the GRANITE teamwent to the Chief Minister’s office with some concrete policy suggestions tobe incorporated into the State Agriculture Policy, it was given due hearing.Some of these suggestions are also likely to find their way into the StateAgriculture Policy.60 The participation and influence in the public policydomain, in this case, therefore, turned out to be relatively successful.

(c) MediaKeeping in view the importance and the role of the media, local and vernacularmedia was invited at every grassroots outreach meetings. Besides, twoworkshops were exclusively organised for the media persons. In the firstworkshop, media persons were informed about the project objectives, WTO,trade and globalisation issues and their relevance and importance to the commonpeople. Arif Rizvi, News Editor, Lucknow Doordarshan, himself proposed atthe inception workshop that keeping in view the importance of this project,Doordarshan and other print and electronic media must be informed about theproject activities from time to time. He also assured that Doordarshan, Lucknowwould certainly cover the project activities, especially those at the grassrootslevel. The second workshop-cum-press conference was organised after theWTO Hong Kong Ministerial Meeting where media correspondents wereinformed about the new developments. Relevant literature and other supportingmaterials regarding these issues were also distributed to the media houses.

Beside this, all media houses (print and electronic) were called in an exhaustivecapacity building and awareness workshop at the Uttar Pradesh Council ofAgricultural Research, in which two experts, Abhijeet Das, UNCTAD, NewDelhi, and Pranav Kumar, CUTS International, Jaipur, addressed their querieson these issues.


Apart from such intensive Media Workshops, NEED team routinely metjournalist and personally explained to them the challenges and the need ofpro-poor-driven perspectives and encouraged them to visit the villages andNEED offices.

Overall, thus, the response from all media houses was very positive. Almostall leading media houses, both print and electronic media, provided adequatespace to GRANITE activities in UP.

One reason for relatively successful outcome from the media in UP was due tothe participation in the media workshops of other stakeholders from the villages,including women weavers, mango growers, etc., who shared their trade andlivelihood issues with the media persons. This enabled journalists to gain afirst hand knowledge of the linkage of globalisation to the livelihoods of poorersections in the state and sensitised them to their concerns and pressing needs.

(d) Networking and Capacity Building of Grassroots CSOsNearly 192 CSOs in Uttar Pradesh are partnering with NEED in differentcapacities but out of these, 64 CSOs were involved with GRANITE activitiesin some capacity during this period.

Some of these organisations did not have supporting literature and material forawareness generation and other capacity building activities, which weredistributed to them in the local dialect of Hindi, to ensure better outreach.Such literature, including booklets and newsletters, contained information aboutthe WTO issues and also real and hypothetical case studies on livelihoodconcerns.

NEED team in UP worked with these organisations in two capacities. First,these organisations were routinely invited to Lucknow at the media workshops,capacity building and training programmes and other related events fororientation and capacity building. Second, GRANITE team collaborated withthem for organising grassroots outreach meetings in different parts of the state.In all these meetings, collaborating organisation of the area was invited toexpress their views and concerns on trade and economic issues.

The initial response from these organisations was not very encouraging. Manyof these organisations had limited resources and, hence, were constrained bytheir project objectives. They did wish to engage with trade and economicissues unless adequate project grants were extended. Limited exposure to theseissues and limited resources were the other major constraints to achieving the


GRANITE’s objective of networking and capacity building effectively withother grassroots CSOs.

The local CSOs, who eventually got involved with the network, assisted in themobilisation of local people, government officials and media to the outreachmeetings. They were also instrumental in spreading awareness about trade,globalisation and WTO issues. In the process, their own understanding andcapacity on these issues got enhanced.

The capacity of the state-level partner organisation, NEED, itself was enhanceddue to the GRANITE initiative. For instance, NEED got involved with thepatenting of chikan work and many other products about which it had noknowledge.

(4) Lessons Learnt• For making profound changes in people’s lives, both in terms of space and

time, advocacy practices require implementation across the state.• The nodal agency at the state level should be strengthened, both for directing

and monitoring the implication of trade and economic issues, on the onehand, and working with the grassroots CSOs for capacity building andinformation dissemination, on the other.

• Also, for initiatives such as capacity building programmes (which requireknowledge of experts) and distribution of publications on a wider scale,additional and regular financial assistance is required for their efficientfunctioning.

• Also, given the lower literacy levels, some other advocacy tools, such asnukkar natak (street plays), wall writings, yatra (awareness march) may beutilised, as it is easier to attract the common peoples through these means,compared with, for example, publications or seminars.

• In case of media, bringing journalists and people face to face sensitisesthem to the issues more effectively. In other words, sharing many actualand vibrant stories, cases events with journalists facilitates better mediacoverage and information dissemination through media.


WEST BENGAL


(a) Awareness GenerationThe outreach meetings were quite effective in getting farmers (though initiallyguarded) interested in the concept of globalisation and its consequences andimpact on their livelihood. The outreach meetings provided a much-neededforum where farmers could ventilate their grievances and it was probably thefirst time that such an initiative to ascertain their problems and perceptionswas taken. The response from farmers was very positive, as they expressed thedesire to have more such interactive sessions in future in order to mitigate lackof awareness about WTO issues.

A local NGO – Balia Bio-Agro Mission (BBAM)61 – was involved in organisingthe outreach meeting. The BBAM alongside pursued parallel educationcentres62 to promote literacy among the rural poor and initiate them into basicskills like newspaper reading, elementary writing, including learning to signtheir names for bank transactions and other official work. It also aimed atpromoting the importance of bio-farming, as a result of which farmers are nowmore aware about the importance and advantages of organic farming and waysto restore the fertility of the soil and home remedies for chronic disorders.

In addition, processions with placard using local transport were used to sensitisethe people about globalisation, as also spread awareness about organic farmingand products. This tool was particularly effective for women, as they often donot find time to attend outreach meetings. Farmers are now more aware of theimpact of HYV and GM seeds on soil fertility. Consumers, in a limited sense,have also been sensitised to consume seasonal vegetables, which need lowerfertiliser and chemical inputs. This needs to be supplemented and reinforcedwith relevant published materials.

As far as the textile sector was concerned, advocacy was done primarily in theFulia Township, Shantipur, which is a weaver-concentrated area withapproximately 42,000 looms operating in the region and engaging about 95,000people in weaving and allied activities producing tangail sarees, lungis, brocadework, cotton as well as silk items like scarves and stoles.63

The outreach meetings through in-depth interviews and focused groupdiscussions with the weavers’ community (30, including 13 women) at theFulia Tangail Shari Bayan Silpa Samabay Samiti Ltd, a Weavers’ Co-operativeOrganisation, provided a forum for discussing the problems, challenges andopportunities arising out of globalisation.


(b) Ascertaining PerceptionsLack of adequate marketing facilities and lack of any individual insurancescheme in agriculture was regarded as the chief concern by the farmers. Farmersalso expressed their apprehension about the Seed Bill, which, according tothem, caters to the interests of the multinational corporations (MNCs). Whatfarmers seem to resent most is the loss of freedom to keep their own seeds forsubsequent cropping. Besides, although hybrid and HYV seeds have improvedthe production, the overall input costs for farmers have gone up not only becauseof the cost differential between the indigenous and hybrid seeds (e.g., hybridpaddy seeds costs about a Rs 100 against Rs 8 for indigenous seeds for thesame quantity) but also because production with hybrid seeds requires highirrigation and fertiliser use, as also the use of insecticides and pesticides. Therise in production cost due to the use of HYV seeds does not lead to anyproportionate increase in income and yet its use is increasing because farmerswho use indigenous seeds often do not get good prices for their produce, ascompared to the HYV crop in the market.

Concerns were also expressed about the poor availability of information oncertification procedures and certificates required for exporting organic products.The need for targeted information dissemination efforts aimed at consumers,to make them aware of the importance of organic products and seasonal crops,was also underlined. This was partially guided by the belief that, if the demandfor HYV declines, it would automatically discourage the use of fertilisers andchemicals.

It was also felt that information about indigenous methods of agriculture shouldbe preserved as well as popularised. Knowledge of indigenous varieties (RadhaTilak, Chamormoni, Gobindo Bhog, Kerala Sundari), such as those developedby the Agricultural Training Centre at Fulia, needs to be circulated andimplemented on a wide scale.

The most important issue that emerged was the lack of agricultural insuranceand bank loans. Even when bank loans are available, they are mostly accessibleto rich farmers. Besides, loans are not available to farmers at an individuallevel. Farmers can avail insurance facilities only if the entire mouza or villageis adversely affected in a particular situation. Also, it has been seen that almostevery year insurance companies change the list of crops that are eligible toreceive insurance.

In the case of textile workers, similar problems were reported. Textile workersnoted a dip in demand for their products for the past three years due to a


change in consumption patterns. For instance, American and Italian consumersdemand simple designs, which are less expensive. The onset of power-loomproduction and threat from Chinese silks has induced a decisive drop in thedemand for silk tangail, which is a specialty of Fulia. For instance, in Nabadwip(a co-operative haat) during 1995-96, a single day transactions from the saleof lungis and sarees would be in the range of Rs 1.5-2 crore (US$359,006-478,674) which has now come down to only Rs 50-60 thousand (US$1,196-1,436).

Apart from a drop in demand in the export markets, weavers are also facing adecline in the domestic markets as well. The weavers at Fulia have traditionallybeen accustomed to weaving intricate and complicated designs, which are labourintensive. The advent of the power loom constitutes a veritable threat to theweaving community, as the power loom can make simple and utilitarian items,such as sarees and lungis, at affordable prices in much less time. Another casein point is the fact that one metre of silk cloth with intricate self-design inBengal takes a weaver an entire day to weave it, with all the weaving facilities.In China, on the other hand, thousands of yards of the same fabric is beingchurned out in a single day, in a factory equipped with a hundred power looms,operated through computers, by only two persons.64

Lack of financial support was also been highlighted. In Fulia, 90 percent of theweavers are outside the co-operative fold. Those within the co-operative foldare, however, only marginally better off, in the sense that they are able to avoidfalling into the clutches of the moneylender, or mahajan. But, co-operativesare heavily dependent on the Government for subsidies and, if government’said is withdrawn these co-operative societies would sink.

Insurance coverage is available only to those within the co-operative fold. Asin the agricultural sector, weavers can get credit or bank loans only againstsecurities. Ultimately, the weavers, at an individual level, have to find theirown contacts and negotiate their own deals, mostly without any insurance coveror security.

As far as textile sector is concerned, there are series of problems with theexisting marketing mechanism domestically done by the cooperative while theDirectorate of Handlooms initiates export. The State Government run emporia,such as Manjusha, Tantiya and Tantusree were created with the objective ofbailing out the weavers from intermediaries, but these organisations havebecome almost defunct, due to incessant politicisation. Delay in paymentthrough co-operatives causes problems for the weavers and hurls them back


into the clutches of the moneylender. Weavers, therefore, are becoming scepticalabout the efficacy of the co-operatives and feel that the benefits have notpercolated to the lower strata and only the members of the co-operatives havegained from this system.

Eighty percent of Fulia sarees are sold in Burrabazar (Kolkata), where pricesof sarees are decided, mostly at rates that are disproportionate to the weavers’investment and labour. Besides, supply of raw materials is also controlled almostentirely (80 percent) by Burrabazar. A related problem is the escalating pricesof raw materials.

Financial stress often compels the weavers to succumb to the bargaining powerof the Burrabazar businessmen and settle deals at prices unfair to them, whichhas also taken its toll on the living standards of the weavers at Fulia. Theoverall situation was well surmised in the following statement: “people fromthe public sector are inefficient, and efficient people from the private sectorturn into mahajans”.65

It is felt that geographical indications can be especially beneficial for the weaversand people associated with tant and handicrafts need to be sensitised on this.Overall, for the peasants as well as the weavers, knowledge of better marketfacilities is the most pressing requirement.

(2) PublicationsPamphlets, brochures and newsletters have proved to be effective advocacytools for select groups of stakeholders. Briefing papers and newsletters, MakingThings Happen and Safal Prayas (in Bengali), published by CUTS regularly,have been useful in information dissemination. Many stakeholders alsocontribute regularly to relevant publications and journals. For instance, a weaver,Haripada Basak, frequently publishes articles, such as ‘Nadiar Tantsilpa’(Handloom industry of Nadia) and ‘Je ache shirshe’ (he who is at the top), inthe district journal - Nadia Jela Parichiti. Similarly, Abdur Rejjak, a weaverfrom Murshidabad, published his article in Safal Prayas. Publications of theirown writings have enthused the grassroots stakeholders and have also succeededin projecting some of the major problems being encountered by the weavers.These initiatives have been complemented by local print media newspaper,Sabuj Sona.



(a) Marketing AvenuesThe peasants, by and large, do have adequate knowledge about the alternativemarketing avenues. GRANITE partner’s advocacy made some inroads intocreating that awareness, as they are now eager to find direct marketing channelthrough which they can sell their produce and increase their profit throughvalue-addition in their produce. Advocacy, therefore, has mitigated, if notabolished, the role of brokers, agents and intermediaries and has benefited theproducers and crafts-persons. As a direct follow-up of the enthusiasm generatedby the outreach meeting, the BBAM organised a programme, called AgriculturalWorkshop-cum-mela, from December 30, 2006 to January 01, 2007, at whichCUTS was invited to put up a stall and enhance the process of informationdissemination.

Aside from the project, since 2005 under an initiative taken by the Governmentof West Bengal to export vegetables to Dubai, Norway, England and the MiddleEast, the farmers in Balia are getting better prices for their vegetable producethough the same is not applicable for paddy or cereals. Information disseminatedthrough various advocacy tools sensitises them to the alternative marketingchannels.

(b) Participation and Influence in Public PolicyThe gap between government and farmers remains strong despite advocacy tothe contrary. Many farmers mentioned that they have never met local agriculturalextension officer, who, according to them should be more accessible to providethem technical assistance and guidance. The lack of transparency of thepanchayat is also quite pronounced, leading to an overall disenchantment withall levels of government machinery.

Government policies are often made without regard to local realities. Despitehuge investments and allocations by the Central Government in the area ofhandloom and textiles, there is gross under utilisation of funds and, naturally,no commensurate improvement in the plight of the weavers in Bengal can benoticed. A case in point is a scheme launched by the DevelopmentCommissioner, Handlooms, New Delhi, in 2000, which stipulated recruitmentof the services of foreign designers as one of the conditions for availing thescheme. Since individual weavers could not establish such contract, five orseven local designers had to be involved to launch the scheme.


Very often, weavers are expected to furnish clarifications about utilisation offunds and such exercises invariably involve expenditure, in terms of speedmoney at the DC’s office.

To conduct specific activities, such as awareness generation of local levelstakeholders on the impact of the WTO regime on livelihoods, a WTO Cellhad been envisaged. However, such a cell has been conspicuous by its absencein West Bengal. Despite considerable effort, not much progress has been made,due to bureaucratic inertia. More importantly, without the ruling party’s support(despite making headway at the bureaucratic or ministerial levels), nothinggets operationalised.

There is also widespread apathy among the people towards public policy. TheLeft Front government that has been in power in West Bengal for the last threedecades or more has established itself as a pro-poor government and peopletend to assume that whatever the government does will safeguard the interestsof the poor.

(c) MediaThe media has not been adequately sensitised to highlight the plight of thetextile workers, especially the audio media. Despite repeated requests, radiochannels do not broadcast any news related to textile, even though the textilesector employs the largest number of people, after agriculture.66 Through theGRANITE initiative, a district-level journalist network has been established.In addition, a local newspaper, Sabuj Sona (green gold), has been instrumentalin highlighting peoples’ concerns in the age of globalisation.

(d) Networking and Capacity Building of Grassroots CSOsThe advocacy initiatives have involved certain local NGOs into the network.Of particular relevance are the BBAM and Development ResearchCommunication and Services Centre,67 based in Kolkata. These NGOs havecomplemented GRANITE advocacy through literacy campaigns, preparationand distribution of literature. Swanirvar, another CSO active in the field ofeconomic advocacy, and other local level NGOs working on textile sector,such as Durgapur Indira Pragati Society (DIPS), have got involved in thenetwork.

(4) Lessons Learnt• Outreach meetings needs to be organised more regularly, at least once every

year, so that farmers are assured of a regular platform to articulate theirproblems.


• For a larger and deeper reach of advocacy, involvement of Panchayati RajInstitutions (PRIs) is both essential and desirable.

• Given the success of the outreach meetings, their scope can be expanded toinclude an alternative marketing mechanism – as a platform for interactionbetween buyers and sellers, to minimise, if not eliminate, the machinationsof intermediaries.

• In order to be effective, advocacy practices must give due credence tospecific requirements of various stakeholders. For example, farmers shouldnot be treated as one homogeneous category and special emphasis shouldbe given to small farmers.

• Given the small inroads into the policy-making circles, other channels,such as the party machinery, may be utilised for an effective advocacy, incombination with other advocacy tools.

• The need for a WTO Cell can be highlighted through state-level thematicseminars, involving ministers of fisheries, small-scale and cottage industriesand agriculture, apart from other stakeholders, academia and organisationslike Krishak Sabha, Paschim Bango Bigyan Mancho, etc.

• Making a case for a WTO Cell in the state can also be assisted byhighlighting the role played by such a cell in other states.

• Advocacy practices in future can also work towards strengthening the co-ordination among stakeholders in rural agricultural and textile sectors.

• In order to overcome the problem of illiteracy, the audio medium like radiomust be used for better and effective outreach.


a


Section 3

Overall Assessments ofAdvocacy Practices/Tools

As discussed above, various tools of advocacy – both stand-alone and incombinations – were used to achieve the desired objectives vis-à-vis differentstakeholders. Table 13 lists the major stakeholders targeted by the study andthe different advocacy practices used during the course of the project in fourstates. Given the diversity of stakeholders, as also the objectives of advocacyin each case, the utility or the success of each of the advocacy practices ortools was deemed contingent on meeting the desired goals as envisaged.Therefore, depending upon the target stakeholders, the same tools of advocacyproved to be either a good, bad or innovative practice (see methodology). Forinstance, outreach meetings were successful in fulfilling the three objectives,with respect to villagers including farmers and textile workers, but it did notwork as effectively in the case of State Government officials. Similarly,distribution of publication material did not deliver the desired results, whenaimed at farmers and villagers, given the low literacy levels, but, with respectto media, it worked well enough (in combination with other tools) to be classifiedas innovative practice.

Comparatively speaking, the outreach meting, as an advocacy tool, has workedeffectively in almost all states in meeting all the three objectives that it set outto do.68 In terms of its role in spreading awareness about alternative marketingavenues, the case of mango farmers and chikankari workers in UP can beregarded as most successful. In other state, the stakeholders were made awareof the marketing avenues, but the actual implementation could not meet thesame level of success. This was because NEED utilised the existing community-driven groups and other organisations, including formal institutions such asvillage panchayats, in addition to undertaking adequate follow-up action.


The experience with the media in four states was also a mixed bag of successand failures. In general, no media houses had a dedicated set of expertcorrespondents on issues of trade, globalisation and WTO issues. As a result,in various media workshops and other outreach meetings, a differentcorrespondent was present, which often wiped out the possible impact of earlierefforts of advocacy.

It was also felt that it is important to have a villager, particularly a woman, toexplain things to the journalists, as it gives a human face to a story and generatesbetter coverage, as substantiated by the experience in UP.

While media as a whole was positively inclined to report on grassroots matters,the experience in UP was more positive, followed by West Bengal. In the caseof Rajasthan, the media was routinely informed of the issues and developmentsrelated to the WTO, but general public’s lack of interest explains little or lowpriority to covering such issues by the local media. Similarly, in Karnataka,media persons, particularly from urban centres, showed little interest in suchissues, which explains the low levels of attendance in the media workshops.As an alternative, training freelance journalists brought some successes, interms of coverage in Karnataka. Overall, advocacy with media worked wellin generating awareness about globalisation and WTO issues, but it did nottranslate into adequate coverage of these issues in the local press. This waspartially due to low-marketing value attached to such ‘mundane’ issues, asalso limited space available in the daily newspapers for business and economicnews except the business dailies.

Similarly, networking and capacity building with grassroots CSOs was moresuccessful in Karnataka, followed by UP and West Bengal, as well as Rajasthan.Overall, the project was successful in expanding the scope of grassroots CSOs’activities to include the WTO and globalisation issues and also contributing tothe capacity building at the grassroots. However, the long-term sustainabilityof such capacity building, as well as networking beyond the life of the project,is open to debate, given the financial dependence of some of these organisationson the GRANITE project. For instance, GRANITE contributed a substantial45-50 percent to the total budget of CREAT in Karnataka; 30 percent in relationto CUTS CART and 24 percent in the case of CUTS CRC. NEED, on the otherhand, is least dependent (about 10 percent) on the GRANITE project.The influence and impact in trade policymaking was found to be least successfulin most states, with isolated instances of an actual policy intervention beingachieved. In the case of UP, based on specific policy suggestions, under thetitle The Wakeup Call, some significant grassroots interventions are likely to


Table 13: An Overview of Advocacy Practices

* The focus on generating alternative marketing avenues, to a large extent, emanated from thefeedback received from the farmers, artisans and producers at some of the outreach meetings. InUP, it was found to be most effective. In the case of Karnataka and Rajasthan, advocacy madethem aware of the existing alternatives, away from the moneylenders, but no actual marketingchannels were instituted. In West Bengal, some direct marketing channels are being attempted.

** In the case of Karnataka and UP, advocacy was instrumental in making certain policyinterventions, but concrete changes and sustainability of such pro-poor policy changes are yet tobe implemented.

*** In the case of Karnataka, it was very effective followed by UP and West Bengal. In Rajasthan,grassroots networking with other CSOs was especially reported in organising outreach meetingsand information dissemination.

Stakeholders

Villagersincludingfarmers andtextile workers

StateGovernmentofficials/minsters, etc.

Media

GrassrootsCSOs

Purpose of Advocacy

(1) Improve their knowledge aboutthe changes brought about by theWTO regime in the context ofglobalisation;(2) Ascertain their perceptions aboutglobalisation and its impact on theirlivelihood concerns in order to feedthe grassroots demands into thepolicy domain;(3) Create alternative marketingavenues*

(1) Making trade policy making moretransparent and accountable; (2)creating structural spaces forgrassroots inputs into the policydomain;(3) Specific policy interventions

(1) To sensitise the media abouteconomic impacts of WTO policies inthe context of globalisation; (2) usemedia as a medium to disseminateinformation

(1) Build the capacity of grassrootsCSOs on economic dimensions ofglobalisation and WTO; (2) Create anetwork of CSOs at the grassrootswhich informed by the debate onWTO would carry the processforward

Main Tool(s) forAdvocacy

Outreach meetings;placard processions;distribution ofpublication material inlocal language

State-level workshops/seminars; distribution ofpublications;memorandum; personalcontacts andpersuasions based onconcrete policysuggestions

Media Workshops/seminars; distributionof publication material

Workshops/ seminars;involving them inorganising outreachmeetings & distributionof publication material

Evaluation inTerms ofOutcomes

(1) Goodpractice

(2) Goodpractice(3) Innovativepractice

(1) Bad practice(2) Bad practice(3) Innovativepractice**

(1) Innovativepractice(2) innovativepractice

(1) InnovativePractice** *(2) InnovativePractice ***


be made in the state’s agriculture policy. Also, in Karnataka, the WTO Cellwas reactivated after concerted advocacy to this effect. Also, at the all-Indialevel, intensive advocacy done by CUTS and project partners, to involve statesin the process of national trade policy, prompted government of India to settingup an ISTC in April 2005, although it is yet to start functioning effectively.

One of the main reasons for ‘failure’ or ‘bad advocacy practice’ vis-à-vis policy-makers perhaps is the centralised trade policy-making apparatus, as well asoverall lack of accountability. In this context, the WTO Cells were envisagedto foster interactive process of discussion between the Central and StateGovernment/UT officials on all WTO issues and also analyse the impact ofWTO agreements (opportunities and challenges) in their respective states. Inthis sense, they are meant to eventually break the monopoly of the CentralGovernment in trade policy-making and make trade policy decentralised. Whilethis has not been achieved, some scholars, such as Rob Jenkins, havedocumented that they have been successful in changing the nature of bilateralrelations between individual states and the Central Government by dismantlinginformational monopolies of the Central Government. Also, as more stateshave established WTO-oriented bureaucratic entities, the networking amongthem has grown, creating greater countervailing power vis a vis the centralagencies. However, in most of the states, such cells are at a nascent stage.Though the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, isperiodically consulting the state governments on India’s negotiating stand onWTO issues, they are not in a position to proactively provide inputs duringnegotiations and also at the implementation stage.

Hence, to make trade policy-making decentralised, the GRANITE partnersadvocated the need to make WTO’s cells effective, wherever they exist, andalso create where they are conspicuous by their absence.

Overall, transparency and accountability sought in the public policy process,including trade policy, despite targeted advocacy, has proved to be leastsuccessful. Apart from institutional structural obstacles, this may also be dueto an absence of concrete policy suggestions, which should be addressed on apriority basis by any advocacy targeted at making pro-poor policy changes.


Conclusions

Based on the above discussion, it can be surmised that in order to make ameaningful intervention in the lives of the people at the grassroots, the contextualspecificity of the advocacy practice is of crucial importance.

Besides, different advocacy tools are effective on different types of stakeholders,such as farmers/weavers, consumers, politicians and policy makers. Forinstance, outreach meetings were the most effective tool for people at thegrassroots, because it provided people a platform to interact and raise theirissues and concerns, while capacity building and training workshop, as alsopublications, were found effective for media representatives and partner CSOs.In the case of government officials and policy makers, a multi-prongedapproach, including personal pursuance, memorandum, capacity building andtraining workshops, specific publications, delegations, signature campaigns,etc., were regarded as useful advocacy tools.

In other words, given the abysmal record of advocacy with the governmentmachinery, it is necessary to devise some other forms or a combination ofpersuasions, such as protest marches, memoranda and signature campaigns,etc., or working through the party apparatus or farmer’s organisation to makeeffective inroads into the policy-making process.

Besides, appropriateness of the medium of communication, especially the useof local language and idioms is crucial to the success of an advocacy practice.Needless to say that the language used should be simple, lucid and easilycomprehensible.

Further, the contextual specificity is crucial to the success of the advocacypractice. For example, publications, especially the ones in local languages,were quite successful in information dissemination. The E-discussion group,


on the other hand, because of poor ICT infrastructure at the grass roots, couldnot deliver much result. Also, publication tool worked successfully with thejournalists and policy-makers but not with the illiterate farmers and textileworkers.

Another very significant message that comes out of these case studies is thefact that the question of adequate financial allocation to a particular advocacyactivity is but one of the many factors contributing to its success. For instance,despite a modest budget of Rs 5000 for each outreach meeting, the success interms of the outcomes was phenomenal.69 The media and state level workshopson the other hand despite more than adequate budget allocations, turned out tobe relatively less successful.70

The sustainability of the gains of such advocacy practice is critically dependenton the continued availability of support mechanism for the stakeholders. Forinstance, continued information dissemination is important for stakeholders todeal with the dynamic trade regime under the WTO. Also, the area underadvocacy needs to be expanded for wider outreach and effectiveness.

In charting the future course of advocacy practices, one also needs to underlinethe message emanating from all the four case studies, which is to combine theRight to Information and Right to Education with other advocacy tools anduse them as a formidable mechanism for advocating pro-poor changes at allthe levels of public policy. To that extent, the message rhymes with the opinionof VeneKlasen and Miller who argue that “although a key advocacy goal is tocreate opportunities for citizens’ groups to be directly engaged in policyprocesses, engagement does not always impact policy decisions in the end. Itis easy to believe that access to policy makers will translate into influence, butin practice this is rarely true”.71 They argue that the influence of CSOs in thepolicy-making domain is more if they claim the space, rather than being invited.Advocacy helps people to claim this space and in the process they becomemore aware of the causes that generate their poverty and exclusion. Claimingand creating such space in the policy domain should be the priority of anyadvocacy practice in future.


Endnotes

1 NCAS, Public Advocacy in the Indian Context, Pune: National Centre for AdvocacyStudies, available at http://www.ncasindia.org/public/AdvocacyPerspective/AdvocacyPerspectiveArticle.aspx?CatId=70

2 Lisa VeneKlasen and Valerie Miller, A New Weave of Power, People and Politics: TheAction Guide for Advocacy and Citizen Participation, Rugby, Warwickshire: ITDGPublishing, 2006, p 22.

3 NCAS, Public Advocacy in the Indian Context, op.cit.4 Alan Whaites, ‘NGOs Disaster and Advocacy: Caught Between the Prophet and the

Shepherd Boy’ in Deborah Eade and Ernst Ligteringen, ed., Debating Development:NGOs and the Future, London: Oxfam GB, 2001, p 308.

5 Ibid., pp 313-314.6 CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics & Environment (CUTS-CITEE) has

undertaken a two-year (2005-2006) project titled Grassroots Reachout & Networking inIndia on Trade & Economics. The project is supported by the Royal Norwegian Embassy,New Delhi and Oxfam Novib, The Netherlands. The project with a prime focus onagriculture and textile & clothing (the two key livelihood sectors for a large section of thepopulation) is being implemented in eight states, viz. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, inpartnership with the following grassroots civil society organisations (CSOs):• Andhra Pradesh: Consumer Guidance Society, Vijayawada• Karnataka: Consumer Research, Education and Awareness Trust, Bangalore• Maharastra: Samarthan, Mumbai• Orissa: Centre for Youth and Social Development, Bhubaneswar• Rajasthan: CUTS Centre for Consumer Action, Research & Training, Jaipur• Tamil Nadu: Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group, Chennai• Uttar Pradesh: Network for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, Lucknow• West Bengal: CUTS Calcutta Resource Centre, Calcutta

7 UNHCHR, Rights-based Approaches: How do Rights-based Approaches Differ and whatis the Value Added? at http://www.unhchr.ch/development/approaches-07.html

8 See www.oxfamkic.org for details of the KIC initiative.9 Census of India 2001- Primary Census Abstract, New Delhi: Office of the Registrar

General, n.d.10 http://www.Indiastat.com11 Census of India 2001, op. cit.12 State-wise number of District/ DRDAs and Blocks in India at http://www.Indiastat.com13 Census of India 2001, op. cit.14 http://www.Indiastat.com15 Ibid.16 State-wise number of District/ DRDAs and Blocks in India at: http://www.Indiastat.com


17 Census of India 2001, op. cit.18 Ibid.19 Department of Agriculture, Government of West Bengal, as on 5 May 2005.20 According to NSS figures quoted by Rajat Acharyya, Professor of Economics, Jadhavpur

University and Joysri Acharyya, Lecturer in Economics, Lady Brabourne College,University of Calcutta, February 12, 2005.

21 Department of C&SSI, Government of West Bengal, as on 21March 2005.22 CREAT was established in December 1993 and was registered as a public charitable trust

in July 1994. The objectives of CREAT include enhancing the voice of the consumers,educating them and securing fulfilment of consumer rights. CREAT is a member ofCentral Consumer Protection Council, Working Group on Misleading Advertisements andWorking Group on Food Safety. It is also a member of Zonal Advisory Board of LIC ofIndia. CREAT is recognised as a consumer NGO by TRAI. It is involved in several issuesmore important being Right to Information, consumer participation in power sectorreforms, consumer education and patients rights. Recently, it has started to work onfarmers’ rights. CREAT has established Karnataka’s first consumer information centre atBangalore. CREAT is managed by a board of three trustees and an Executive Committee.

23 CUTS Centre for Consumer Action, Research & Training (CUTS CART) at Jaipur workstowards enabling people, especially women and other disadvantaged groups of society, toassert their rights so that they can achieve the right to basic needs and sustainabledevelopment, through a strong consumer movement. CUTS was founded in the year 1984,with the mandate of pursuing the cause of common consumers. With the growth of theorganisation, the responsibility of moving forward with the inherited agenda of CUTS washanded over to the CART. The programmes of the Centre are primarily aimed atgenerating awareness, creating a more responsible society and encouraging changes at thepolicy level, by advocating with the government machinery and sensitising it to its issuesof concern to the common man. The Centre has spearheaded several campaigns andpioneered consumer empowerment. It has created and trained over 1200 activists andhelped establish over 300 independent groups in Rajasthan and elsewhere. Its mission isto enable people, particularly the poor and the marginalised to achieve their rights to basicneeds and sustainable development through a strong consumer movement. CUTS CARThas a 12-member Advisory Committee consisting of eminent personalities from variousfields of work. Professor V S Vyas, a well-known Economist and Professor Emeritus ofInstitute of Development Studies, Jaipur (IDSJ) is the Chairman of the AdvisoryCommittee.

24 Network of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (NEED) is a voluntarydevelopment organisation established in the middle of 1995 to become a network ofpeople-driven development models. NEED began with an experiential learning idea ofempowering the women and children for their dignity and rights. In addition to workingdirectly at the grassroots in about 600 villages spread in 7 districts of UP and facilitatingabout 1250 SHGs, NEED also networks with about 300 voluntary and developmentorganisations spread in 12 Indian States. The broad vision of NEED is ‘People ‘CentredDevelopment’, with a special focus particularly on women and children. NEEDcontinuously endeavours to excel as a centre of excellence for women’s self-reliance.The mission is to create an impact upon the lives of deprived citizens of society,particularly women and children, enabling them to maximise their human resourcepotential and change their lives with significant emphasis on their livelihoods and positivechange in socio-economic, political, environmental and cultural spheres. NEED ismanaged by an international Advisory Council and a 7-member Governing Board, whichincludes women from the grassroots.

25 CUTS Calcutta Resource Centre (CUTS CRC) became operational in the year 1987. Itstarted working in the area of consumer protection. In 1991, it started working on trade,


economics and environment. Later on, a specialised centre, entitled CUTS Centre forInternational Trade, Economics & Environment (CUTS CITEE) was launched toundertake this work. Meanwhile, a network ‘South Asia Watch on Trade Economics andEnvironment’ (SAWTEE) was launched jointly with other NGOs in South Asia with aview to strengthen the work on capacity building, policy research and advocacy in theregional bloc. In the later part of 1997 when CITEE moved to Jaipur, the dimensions ofthe Calcutta centre was changed and it started reviving Safety Watch activities, whichinvolved consumer safety. A new round of activities on sustainable production andconsumption were started at the Centre. A host of projects on environmentalsustainability, atmospheric issues were taken up during 1999 to 2002. In 2001, once againthe trade-related activities were reintroduced. A cluster of programmes on grassrootseconomic development was also undertaken during this period. The centre’s mission is towork in association with other centres to ensure consumer sovereignty and economicequality within and across borders.

26 The author wishes to deeply acknowledge the empirical fieldwork done by the followingscholars in four states:• Karnataka: Mr. Patibandla Srikant, Research Scholar, Institute for Social and

Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore, Karnataka.• Rajsatahn: Prof. Sunil Ray, Professor and Director, Institute of Development Studies,

Jaipur, Rajasthan.• Uttar Pradesh: Mr. Yogesh Bandhu Arya, ICSSR Doctoral Fellow, Giri Institute of

Development Studies, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.• West Bengal: Mr. Indranil Bose, Head of the Department of Political Science, St.

Xavier’s College, Kolkata, West Bengal.27 See http://www.oxfamkic.org28 Instructions for Documenting Practices, See http://www.oxfamkic.org29 S V Divvaakar and Pankaj Agrawal, Report of the Evaluation of Grassroots Reach out

and Networking in India on Trade and Economics (GRANITE), mimeo, New Delhi: AceGlobal Private Ltd, January 2007, pp. 10-11.

30 The goal was to produce a total of 10,000 copies (1000 each in six regional languages,2000 in English and 2000 in Hindi). However, the actual number of issues published aswell as their distribution was below the targets. See S V Divvaakar and Pankaj Agarwal,2007, op. cit., p 54.

31 Advocacy in Karnataka mainly focussed on agriculture with lower emphasis on textilesdespite the fact that 90 percent of Indian silk comes from Karnataka and the silk industryas a whole is facing threat as a result of dumping of Chinese silk.

32 Kempa Raju, farmer, Ahok Nagar, Bhadravati taluk, Shimoga district in Karnataka.33 Mallesh Gowdar, farmer and a member of KRRS.34 K T Gangadhar, farmer and founder member of Sugar Cane Growers Association and

Karnataka State Farmers’ Association (KRRS).35 Ibid.36 Theerthappa, farmer, Bhadravaty taluq, Shimoga district.37 CEPT was started in 1990 with 150 members. The main objective of CEPT is to bring

awareness amongst consumers and assist them in solving their grievances.38 Chakrapani, Member, Consumer Forum, Sagar.39 An NGO established in 1992 working in the field of rural development and environmental

protection covering 150 villages and five taluqs. Its activities are aimed at improvingfinancial conditions of poor people, women and other marginalised class through self helpgroups.

40 K N Venkata Giri, Secretary Consumers’ Forum, Sagar.


41 An unregistered organisation started in 2003, with its focus on rural development throughcreating awareness among farmers. It works in rehabilitating tanks, local seeds andorganic farming.

42 There are 40 chaupals (a particular place where villagers regularly meet informally)spread over Dausa district. Each chaupal has three villages attached to it. In eachchaupal, there is one co-ordinator and two sub-co-ordinators who are entrusted withseveral tasks. These include (1) informing the villagers about the ongoing market priceslearnt through computers (2) persuading the villagers to sell their produce throughchaupals (3) providing facilities such as crop insurance, credit card through the StateBank of India and other facilities such as fertiliser, improved seeds, pesticides, etc. asrequired by the villagers. These villages-based chaupals have direct connection with thechief co-coordinator who is located at mandi.

43 These views were elicited in a face to face meeting with traders’ associations at DausaKrishi Upaj Mandi.

44 Officer-in-charge of the WTO Cell at the state level.45 Chikan is a unique craft involving delicate and artistic hand embroidery in a variety of

textile fabrics like muslin, siIk, chiffon, organza, doriya and organdie. There are 36 typesof stitches used in chikan work of which murri, bakhia, jali, tepchi, tappa, dhum, kataoare widely used to produce exquisite designs.

46 Zardozi is an ancient Persian embroidery form (Zar in Persian means gold and Dozi isembroidery). Zari embroidery is done with a crochet hook using the metallic thread (goldand silver traditionally but now copper with gold or silver polish or the silk thread) andappears like chain stitch. Zari elements like coiled wire, dabka, tilla , beads, etc are usedto create the motifs. The most prevalent zardozi embroidery is a combination of dabkaa, atightly wound spiral metal, Kora, a heavier and darker dabkaa, a square sided dabkaathat is wiry and erratic in appearance, sitaaras, round sequins, glass and plastic beads andkasab, silver or gold-plated silver thread.

47 Irshad Hasan Khan, mango farmer, Hardoi district.48 Onkar Nath, farmer, Palia Khurd village.49 Rani ji, President of a self-help group in Ludhasa.50 Man Singh and Kastori, Pathwara-Khairapur, Chandranagar, Jhansi51 Manish Dube, mango farmer, Hardoi district.52 In order to export their products directly, they were required to form a registered producer

group with designated office bearers including President, Secretary and Treasurer. Otherrequirements included opening of five bank accounts in five different nationalised banksand one with Reserve Bank of India for foreign exchanges and also registration for thestate sales and trade tax. In rural India where opening even one bank account is an ardourstask, five accounts were nothing more than a mirage for these small and medium farmers.

53 There is strict quality control and some basic requirement to export any perishablecommodity. For mango, besides the quality, variety and size it is also necessary that it isplucked very carefully with a small twig so that it can sustain freshness for a longer time.

54 Ashma Jahan, a chikan worker of Nathupur village, Mahmoodabad, Sitapur district. Sheis also heading a cluster of chikan workers as President.

55 A handicraft of knitting on silk sarees in Bundelkhand region.56 An handicraft of embroidery work on silk sarees in Eastern UP, especially in Varanasi.57 A special variety of mangoes famous for their sweetness and downy pulp.58 The WTO Cell in Uttar Pradesh was already in existence under Uttar Pradesh Council of

Agriculture Research (UPCAR) before implementation of GRANITE but it was notfunctional except for performing some customary formalities like publication of anewsletter, etc. The main objective of the WTO Cell was to disseminate information andimplications of WTO on state economy and also suggest policy changes for the benefits ofthe poor farmers and other producers.


59 G B Patnayak, IAS, Principal Secretary, Agriculture, Government of UP.60 NEED drafted Wake Up Call which included certain policy suggestions for the agriculture

sector of UP and submitted it to the state government. The agricultural policy is yet to bepublished but based on NEED’s discussion with the policy makers, it has been indicatedthat substantial sections of Wake Up Call has been incorporated into the agriculture policyof UP. These include the following:1. A complete restructuring of the agriculture department has been undertaken to

increase the productivity and the proportionate value addition advantage to actualfarmers/growers particularly women has been envisaged in the agricultural policy.Also issues of soil conservation, water conservation, plant protection and agriculture,diversification and extension has been given due importance in the state agriculturepolicy.

2. The suggestions of NEED that mahila mitra kisan (women friendly farmer) should bepromoted in order to ensure that the advantages must percolate down to the villagefarmers/women were incorporated with special emphasis paid to increasing women’sparticipation.

3. The policy also focuses on minimising the role of middlemen by promoting directlinkages of farm produce from village market.

4. The agriculture policy also focuses on promoting agriculture based industries,development of value added products by the farmers and creating linkages betweenproducers, particularly rural women groups and markers within a fair tradeframework.

5. It is also proposed that the village level market would be promoted as also the role ofwomen participation in agriculture marketing.

6. Policy also focuses on developing and promoting post harvest management systemincluding food processing, grading and packaging facilities.

7. The policy has given special emphasis on promoting co-operative farming.8. The agriculture policy envisages several schemes for water-logged zones and

increasing as well as retaining fertility of soil.9. The demand of NEED about social security including natural and social protection

measures (like crop insurance, weather insurance, livestock) is also included in theagriculture policy as contingency plans.

10. Development of rural infrastructural facilities has been given due attention.11. The demand for the establishment of the horticultural zone by concentrating one

particular crop like guava, aanwala, mangoes and spices etc. has been incorporatedunder the section Promotion of Horticulture for Upliftment of the Poor.

12. The agriculture policy also pays special mention to strengthen organic farming,animal husbandry dairy and allied activities.

13. The emphasis on renewable sources of energy has also been incorporated.14. To ensure regular availability of high variety seeds at rural areas, the policy envisages

special emphasis on promoting and establishing seed bank unit.15. State policy has included human resources development as one of the major areas of

policy concern.16. The policy lays special emphasis on promoting entrepreneurs in agriculture sector so

that more jobs could be created.61 BBAM is primarily engaged in promotion of techniques of bio-farming among the local

farmers. The BBAM promotes the use of organic mechanisms among the farmers inproducing agricultural goods. The organisation is active in Nadia and has been expandingthe domain of its activities in the adjacent district of North 24-Parganas.

62 First such education centre was established in Krishnapur, North 24 Parganas in June2005 with a target group of 12 women and 4 men. The second centre was established inOctober 2006 at Jagannathpur in Nadia district with a target population of 29 women.


63 In 1985-86, weavers started exporting expensive, and intricate designs on silk, tassar,motka, munga, etc. to Japan. Export in general was facilitated by training facilities invegetable dye, particularly blue dye or indigo, at Madras, initiated through theHandicrafts and Handlooms Export Corporation. The Weavers Service Centre,Government of India and the Indian Institute of Jute Industries Research Association alsoprovided training facilities to Fulia weavers in vegetable and chemical colour, allcontributing to export promotion.

64 Haripada Basak of Fulia Tandail Shari Bayan Silpa Samabay Samiti Ltd. His weaverfriend visited China sometime in 1992-93 as part of a team of Indian weavers on a seven-day trip to get exposure to silk weaving in China.

65 Haripada Basak of Fulia Tandail Shari Bayan Silpa Samabay Samiti Ltd.66 Ibid.67 The Services Centre encourages use of select varieties of locally adapted crops, harvesting

and use of rain water and production as well as application of organic and biologicalfertilisers. The aim is to diversify cropping and integrate fish/ poultry/goatery/horticultural production etc. so that an average family can meet its basic food need fromabout 300-350 sq. meter of land without polluting soil and water and without gettingtrapped in debts. Such literature includes a variety of subjects all of which have asignificant bearing on the livelihood and lifestyles of the peasant folk. The subjectsinclude: house remedies for common diseases, ways to deal with chronic ailmentsincluding water borne diseases, market gardening, insecticides and pesticides,environmental protection and conservation. In all this, the endeavour is to inform andmotivate farmers to stop using pesticides, become healthy and feel confident to try outnew ideas that increase economic efficiency and reduce social conflicts andenvironmental degradation.

68 In the long run however, some time-frame needs to be kept in mind to judge the success orotherwise of a particular advocacy practice or tool. For example, some practice mayappear to suggest a positive, perhaps overwhelming response – as with outreach meetingsin most of the states. But such tools may lose their credibility in the long run unlesstangible benefits emanate for the stakeholders concerned.

69 Although some state partners found the budget inadequate, others (CUTS CART, NEEDand CUTS CRC) were able to convene 7 meetings in three states) within the givenbudgets, by adopting cost effective tools of focus group discussions and in-depthinterviews with stakeholders and most importantly by involving local level CSOs.

70 S V Divvaakar and Pankaj Agrawal, 2007, op. cit., p 51.71 Lisa VeneKlasen and Valerie Miller, A New Weave of Power, People and Politics: The

Action Guide for Advocacy and Citizen Participation, Rugby, Warwickshire: ITDG

Publishing, 2006, p 208.


Item Amount (in Rupees)

NCU State Partners Total

Personnel Costs* 720,000 3,000,000 3,720,000

Programme Costs

Training Seminars (2) 920,000 920,000

Field Research 350,000 350,000

Printing and distribution of Research document670,000 80,000 750,000

Outreach Meetings 200,000 200,000

National Seminars (2) + Project Launchmeetings at state level 1,200,000 800,000 2,000,000

Media Workshops 260,000 800,000 1,060,000

State Level Workshops 1,600,000 1,600,000

Advocacy, representation and networking 978,000 978,000including costs of travel and activities relatedto the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference

Printing and distribution of Newsletters 80,000 320,000 400,000

Printing and distribution of Briefing Papers 40,000 160,000 200,000

Printing and distribution ofAdvocacy document 670,000 80,000 750,000

Printing and distribution of Training Manual 75,000 75,000

Evaluation 200,000 200,000

Audit Fees 10,000 10,000

Purchase of Computers & Software 400,000 400,000

Sub-total: Programme Costs 5,453,000 4,440,000 9,893,000

Overheads (including travel) 192,000 528,000 720,000

Total Budget 6,365,000 7,968,000 14,333,000

*Includes Project Coordinator, Project Assistant, Programme Coordinator (1 in eachstate), Nodal Persons (1 in each state, except Rajasthan and West Bengal).

Note: The budget is for all the eight states under the GRANITE project.

Source: CUTS-GRANITE, 2007.

Annex 1

Budget Allocations for Different Advocacy Activities in EightStates under the GRANITE Project


a


Annex II1. Outreach MeetingsOutreach meeting were meant to provide a forum for exchange of ideas andexperiences on trade-related issues at the grassroots. They served the twinpurpose of information dissemination about the WTO and related issues andalso information gathering related to people’s perception on trade as well asnon-trade issues.

Where Was It Held?The outreach meetings were held in different districts/villages of the states andaimed to cover the entire state, in addition to the consideration of adequaterepresentation to both agriculture and textile sector as, well as the availabilityof the vulnerable group in the area selected. Sometimes, budgetary constraintsdictated the choice of the venue of outreach meetings.

Once selected, the choice of the venue under the selected area was left at thediscretion of the local CSO. Normally, panchayat halls, community halls, housesof the sarpanches or village leaders, etc., were chosen for conducting thesemeetings. A total of five meetings were held in each state, three in the first yearand two in the second year.

How Were They Organised?Once the area for the outreach meeting was selected, the local organisation,with adequate network and the support of civil society in the area, was contactedand provided with the financial support and necessary information for organisingthese meetings. This included explaining the purpose of the meeting, targetaudience, the agenda for the meeting, time duration and resource material tobe distributed at the meting. Some guidelines were also provided to the localCSO regarding the method and the topics of discussion. Other organisationalarrangements were left to local organisation. One or two representatives fromthe GRANITE partner organisation attended these meetings.

DurationThe meetings were of either a half-a-day or one-day duration and were held indifferent parts of each state.

How Big Were They?A total of five meetings were held in each state, three in the first year and twoin the second year. CSO representatives, media persons, key state governmentofficials, members of grassroots organisations, Panchayati Raj Institutions,


village heads, community heads, aanganwadi workers, etc., participated in thesemeetings. On an average, 60 to 70 participants attended each of these outreachmeeting.

How Did the Organisation Ensure That People Come?All GRANITE partners have developed a good network of CSOs, consistingof farmers, journalists, women groups, SHGs, consumer organisations, humanrights groups, research associations, etc., at the local level. Also, the localorganisations assigned the task of organising these meetings have good contactswith the grassroots stakeholders, villagers, farmers and weavers, which ensuredthat the relevant and vulnerable groups attend these meetings.

Was It Advertised?These meetings were not advertised in newspapers or radio, but were propagatedthrough local networkers among the stakeholders.

2. State-level WorkshopsThe objective of the workshops targeted at the state-level officials was to ensurebetter targeting, wider outreach and networking with the policy makers. Theseincluded elected representatives of parliament, legislative assembly/council,local government; officials from key ministries, e.g., commerce and industries,agriculture, finance, rural development; government agencies and quasi-governmental bodies relevant to trade and economic issues; representatives offarmers organisations, SMEs, chambers of commerce, etc; academia and otherexperts, specially economists and lawyers and research institutions; mediapersons; and key civil society organisations.

Where Were They Held?State-level workshops were mostly held in the state capital in the conferencehall of a research institution, university or government organisation. Besidesthe availability of these places, the venue was selected on the basis of linkagesbetween these institutions and the GRANITE partners, to ensure that resourcepersons from these institutions also participate in the workshop.

How Were They Organised?Most of the organisations planned the state-level workshops independently,although they involved local NGOs, groups, colleges and universities inorganising these workshops. The planning included the selection of the dateand the venue of the conference as well as preparing the agenda of the meeting,identifying the chief guest, speakers and resource persons and the preparationof a backgrounder and the list of the invitees to the event. The agenda includeda session on the WTO, globalisation and economic reforms, etc., and also


panel and open group discussions. The reports and recommendations of theseworkshops were documented (also in local language), which were used asadvocacy materials, subsequently.

DurationThe state-level workshops were normally held for a day.

How Big Were They?A total of two meetings were held in each state. Out of these, the secondworkshop was sector-specific, i.e., either on agriculture or textile. On an average,the participants in these meetings varied from 70 to 100 people.

How Did the Organisation Ensure That the People Come?Systematic follow up and networking ensured the attendance of the relevantpeople in the workshop.

Was It Advertised?No public announcement/advertisement often leads to unconcerned people’sparticipation. However, the event is publicised by inviting the media and sendingthem press releases.

3. Media WorkshopsMedia workshops were organised to provide comprehensive training to mediapersons from the English and local language press and also from alternativemedia on issues of globalisation and the WTO and their relationship witheconomic development and governance. The purpose was to garner widercoverage of these issues in the media, so that common people on the streets arebetter informed about their implications on their lives.

Where Were They Held?Media workshops were generally held in the state capital of the GRANITEpartner state, at the press club of the city, conference hall of any university orresearch institution, the choice was that of the state partner.

How Were They Organised?The media workshops were organised in a similar way as the state-levelworkshops.

DurationThe media workshop was organised for half-a-day to one-day.


How Big Were They? One workshop was held in each of the two years of the project. On an average,30-50 people attended these workshops.

How Did the Organisation Ensure That People Come? Key and project-relevant media persons from the local press, alternative mediaand the national media attended these workshops, the presence of whom wasensured through invitations, follow-ups and networking.Was It Advertised?No.

4. National SeminarsOne national seminar was organised in each of the two years of the project.Policy makers at the national level, media persons from the national media,project team from all the state partners, targeted stakeholder groups from allstate partners attended this seminar, to ensure better targeting and wider outreachand networking, as also to consolidate the findings of all the state partners andundertake advocacy at national level.

Where Was It Held?It was held in one of the state capitals under the GRANITE project.

How Were They Organised?These were organised both with/without associating with the GRANITE partnerorganisation as the co-organiser. The rest of the preparation and organisationwas similar to organising the state-level workshops.

DurationIt was normally held for one to two days.

How Big Were They?On an average, the number of participants was 80 to 100.

How Did the Organisation Ensure That People Come? Systematic follow up and networking ensured the attendance of the relevantpeople in the workshop.

Was It Advertised?No. However, the event was publicised in the media, by inviting the media andsending them press releases.

granite-globalisation and trade policy · abbreviations & acronyms ... acknowledgements are due...

Documents