Designing an ideal intervention: the case of the biovillage programme
Student name: Mr Aditya Ramji
Guide: Prof Badal Mukhopadhyay
Year of completion: 2011
Host Organisation: MS Swaminathan Research Foundation
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Prof Kanchan Chopra
Abstract: Poverty has been an issue of concern and probably the greatest developmental
challenge that we face today. There is a need for an intervention which addresses
overall well-being of the rural poor in terms of income security, better health and
education. The Biovillage Programme is one such example which has to a large
extent successfully pursued „sustainable livelihoods‟ in the right spirit. The paper
brings out the linkages between skills, education and health thus forming an
argument for the need to have interventions which address all these so as to ensure
well-being. The analysis also shows the importance of health for better education
outcomes and the responsibility of the government in provision of public services
for better outcomes in terms of health and education. Using the evidence from two
other important studies on the Biovillage Programme and the author‟s own
analysis, the case for the Biovillage Programme as a decentralized development
intervention is made.
