Lemongrass

Pipla

Chirata

Chirata naturally grows in Bhutan

Major Vegetables Production Guide

 Experiences on Vegetable Production in Bhutan

MSME - Social Investment for Poverty Alleviation and Youth Employment

At the drop bottom of the social hierarchy lives the poor.  Stricken by poverty, drudgery is their way of life.  With innate desire to be prosperous they incessantly combat poverty.  Given the opportunity to exploit their hopes and aspirations, they do have the potential to excel as anyone.  What they would need is the enabling condition.  

Inclusive development is a popular slogan to alleviate poverty and unemployment.  Every developing nation is making their best effort to provide better livelihood alternatives and employment.  Successes have been achieved where the causes are understood and enabling conditions are adequately provided for a sufficient period of time with less standardization and central control.  

What is important is the level playing field for the poor and unemployed that enable them to participate effectively in the process of economic development.  Investment is justified on the ground that, both being poor and unemployed, is a lost opportunity.  To address poverty and unemployment, the developing nations are pursuing two prong strategies: (1) Vulnerability reduction, and (2) Economic inclusion.

The investment made for vulnerability reduction has positive impacts on economic inclusion of poor and unemployed youth.  The problem has been looking at the investment discretely and thereby not been able to justify adequate investment that is pre-requisite to deriving economic benefits.

Investment on up scaling the livelihood skills is irrefutably a major strategy for vulnerability reduction.  And investment is made consistently on two sets of interlinked initiatives: (1) Vocational education and training on relevant livelihood skills, and (2) Enterprise awareness and management.  

Education and skill are not always same.  Being educated may not guarantee employment but being skilled helps.  While being educated and skilled does guarantee self-help, employment and well-being.  Since youth unemployment is a lost opportunity and has spiraling negative impact on overall socio-economy, the developing countries are reforming their education system to sufficiently augment skills and in tandem bringing up technical and enterprise management skill development training in terms of priority and investment.

Having sufficient vocational training institutes and business incubation centers of relevance is a natural response to poverty and employment.  However the success of these interventions requires in depth market research and innovation for having right curriculum to instill adequate relevance.  When there is weak link of such interventions with market, the investment made goes waste.  

In most countries the initiatives have been taken to regulate the quality of Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) by the statutory authority applying Vocational Qualification Framework (VQF).  However, what is observed lacking in almost every developing country is the statutory policy on investment, which would ensure sustained progress.  

Besides skills, poor and unemployed need financial support to engage meaningfully on sustainable livelihood activities.  To poor and unemployed the lending from commercial banks is of no use.  High interest rate, fulfilling collateral requirement and risk of misfortunes prohibits from accessing to lending from commercial banks.  

In engaging with poor and unemployed needs continuous dynamism.  Standardized services and blindly replicating successful programs often undermine the potential success at the local level.  Instead a deliberate effort against the one size fit all approach is required in provision of public support and services with adequate level playing fields.  

Definitely engaging the poor and unemployed in MSME –micro, small and medium enterprise has been found encouraging in scooping them out of their state of being.  

For both, poor and unemployed, strategically the focus has to be on MSME.  The provision of vocational skills, business management training, and access to credit and market have to be interlinked, coordinated and managed.  It is evident that the degree of success is determined by the degree inter-linkages, coordination, and management.  

The credit in all its manifestations has been useful when the mode and interest rates have been incentivized.  Capital investment support and credit at affordable rate and arrangement has been the most successful tool to fix poverty and employment.  

Providing, both capital investment support and credit lending at affordable rate, through local banks with explicit policies, procedures, and conditions has been effective institutional arrangement.  

The tri-lateral mode of operation among the fund managing body, the local banks and public sector agencies responsible for poverty alleviation and employment is a common feature.  The public sector agencies are involved in the complete cycle of MSME and remain responsible for the successes.  

The financial support being made in such tri-lateral arrangement is back ended, both in case of capital investment support and for subsidy on interest rates.  For capital investment support, i.e. subsidy on capital investment, the banks releases the full amount to the client.  When the project is operational, the fund management body, upon recommendation of the promoting agency releases the subsidy/support amount to the bank concerned.  This is the credit-linked back-ended support system.  

Depending upon the size and type of support, the interest rates varies to the extent of zero interest.  Generally, for micro and small enterprises the interest and collateral free loan is given for which group lending mode is favored.  The subsidy on interest rate component is also paid to the bank by the fund managing institution as the enterprise progresses.  

The country experiences across Asia and Africa, suggests the fourth pillar of MSME is the Civil Societies Organizations (CSOs).  The CSOs have been providing excellent platform for promoting grass root level MSME initiatives.  The CSOs also have been successful in promoting groups, societies, and cooperatives, and providing advisory services on awareness creation, fund management, production and marketing initiatives.  

It needs no evidence that MSME particularly in developing nations serves as engine for poverty alleviation and employment.  It is on MSME the larger industries depend for their value addition and the synergies have been exploited with integrating MSME with large corporate as the MSME does the smaller jobs more efficiently.

After providing technical and entrepreneurship training, credit support and advisory services, there still remains the hitch of tax regimes which can derail the initiatives and investments.  The tax regimes for import of raw material or for export of finished product may render MSME not feasible.  It needs to be considered at the initial conceptual stage. 

Failure to manage success is experienced when risk factors are not sufficiently recognized.  It is necessary to consider insurance of every MSME.  It should be backed by prudential regulatory means for repayment and saving linked to earning, which indeed should be binding factor for managing risks.

Eventually, the success depends upon the level of coordination and communication among stakeholders at policy level, commitment and program management.  Definitely a coordination and monitoring mechanism have to be found converging public, corporate and private sector actors, including CSOs, and NGOs.  

Given the multifaceted nature of poverty and employment challenges, a national platform is inevitable which would require team commitment, setting of team target and pursue the path together.  Such a platform is necessary for networking, dialogue and action and it needs to be backed by national statutory policy, and legal and institutional framework.  

Dependent Origination

Lord Buddha, in his endeavour for emancipation of humanity from suffering, had the vision of Pratityasamutpada -the Dependent Origination, also called Dependent Arising.  

The Dependent Origination is the universal Law of Cause and Effect.  It explains the nature of existence, the Samsara, characterised by repeated suffering.  And it is perpetuated by interconnected chain-link of cause and effect, called Nidanas. 

By nature we seek pleasure.  We try to avoid pain and take care of ourselves first. 

Pleasure is the binding force that binds us to Samsara.  Rolling thought processes are its ever changing base and the pleasure seeking activity of ours does not stop even at death.  At death our material body dies.  But the part of us that is immaterial acquires a new form and we continue to be in the pursuit of sensual pleasure.  The process goes on endlessly, and so we suffer endlessly. 

Until we stop seeking pleasure, pain will not leave us, and until we care for others we will not be able to take care of ourselves. 

In the enlightened vision of Dependent Origination Lord Buddha realised: “When this is –the cause; that is –the effect.  With the arising of this, that arises (Assutava Sutta).”

“This is because that is.  If this is not, that is not (Pratityasamutpada Sutra).”

“That being, this comes to be; from the arising of that; this arises; that being absent; this is not; from the cessation of that, this ceases (Samutta Nikaya).”

Expounding his vision on Dependent Origination, Lord Buddha says; “Behind every phenomenon, there is a cause.  That cause is a phenomenon itself.  The very basis of phenomenal existence is interdependence, the interdependence of cause and effect.  Nothing exists entirely by itself and nothing is permanent. 

The vicious cycle of cause and effect continues ad infinitum bringing about repeated suffering.  This is Bhava Cakra, the wheel of successive becoming, the wheel of repeated suffering.  In this Bhava Cakra, the primary cause that sets the wheel in motion is ignorance.  We suffer because of our ignorance, the primary causal factor for suffering.

Further, a cause cannot come in effect without condition.  The effect arises depending upon the condition.  The severity and extent of effect is either softened or intensified by the condition in which it is expressed.  A wholesome action at present causes a wholesome effect in the future, which can also be a condition for preventing or at least moderating the negative retribution of the unwholesome action of the past.  We cannot change the cause which have been a case of past but we can change the condition at present.  The present being in our hand, we can change our fate by changing the condition doing wholesome action.”

The teaching of Lord Buddha on Dependent Origination essentially and primarily enables us to understand suffering and cessation of suffering.  It reveals the way for breaking the chain of cause and effect putting an end to the repeated suffering.

The Dependent Origination has twelve Nidanas -links of cause and effect.  The twelve Nidanas are (1) ignorance, (2) mental formation, (3) six consciousnesses, (4) name and form, (5) six spheres or bases of senses, (6) contact -coming together, (7) feeling, (8) craving, (9) clinging, (10) becoming, (11) birth, and (12) death.  The twelve Nidanas constitutes the Bhava-Cakra, the cycle of successive becoming.

Each of the twelve Nidanas successively gives rise to next link, and the cycle continues ad infinitum. 

1...From arising of ignorance arise Sankhara –the mental formation, the impulse, the formation of volition, an array of displaced mental disposition, which are the conditioning activities.

Ignorance –Avidya, implies to not knowing suffering, origin of suffering, cessation of suffering, and not knowing the way leading to cessation of suffering is ignorance. 

2...From arising of Sankhara arises Vijnana –Consciousness; the six consciousnesses of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind. 

3...From arising of Vijnana arises Nama Rupa, the name and form, the mind and body. 

The name implies to emotional aspect of our being: feeling, perception, intention, contact, and attention.  The form is the body, the aggregate of four great elements. 

4...From arising of Nama Rupa arises Sala Yatna –the six sense bases or faculties: the eyes, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

5...From arising of Sala Yatana arises Phassa –contact. 

Contact implies to coming together of the sense object, the sense faculties as medium, and the consciousnesses. 

6...From arising of Phassa arises Vedana –feeling.

7...From arising of Vedana arises Tanha –craving, the misplaced desires.

8...From arising of Tanha arises Upadana –clinging or grasping.

9...From arising of Upadana arises Bhava –becoming. 

10...From arising of Bhava arises Jati –birth. 

11...From arising of Jati arises Jaramarana, the twelfth link.

The twelfth link, the Jaramarana, involves Jara –decay, ageing or changing, Marana -death, Soka -sorrow, Parideva -lamentation, Dukkha -pain, Doe manassa -grief, and Upayasa -despair.

Upon having the perfect vision of the Dependent Origination in forward order, Lord Buddha reflected the same in reverse order and realised; “When this cause does not exist, that effect does not arise.  With the cessation of this cause, that effect cease. When this isn’t, that isn’t.  From the cessation of this comes the cessation of that (Assutava Sutta).” 

The twelve Nidanas in reverse order were envisioned as:

1...With the cessation of ignorance, the conditioning activity ceases.

2...With the cessation of conditioning activity, the consciousness ceases.

3...With the cessation of consciousness, the mind and matter cease.

4...With the cessation of mind and matter, the six spheres of senses ceases.

5...With the cessation of six spheres of senses, the contact cease.

6...With the cessation of contact, the feeling ceases.

7...With the cessation of feeling, the craving ceases.

8...With the cessation of craving, the grasping ceases.

9...With the cessation of grasping, the becoming ceases.

10...With the cessation of becoming, the birth ceases.

11...With the cessation of birth, the twelfth link, the aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair ceases. 

The root of the Dependence Origination is ignorance and its fruition is suffering.  The suffering being the universal un-satisfactory experience, every one naturally endeavours to find a way out from suffering.  It is due to ignorance -the displaced mental formation, the second link, comes into being.  These two together give rise to consciousness, the third link, which in turn give rise to name and form, the fourth link, the being of human individual.  The name and form being in existence give rise to six sense faculties, the fifth link.

The six sense faculties being activated establishes contact with sense objects, the sixth link, which in turn give rise to feeling and craving, the seventh and eighth link respectively, wanting to have certain things and avoid others. 

The craving, the eighth link, give rise to clinging, the ninth link.  With clinging being arisen there arises the becoming, the tenth link, which give rise to birth, the eleventh link.  And with birth, there comes the death, the twelfth link. 

Among the twelve Nidanas, Avidya –ignorance, the first Nidana, and Tanha -craving, the seventh Nidana are the primeval causes of suffering. 

The profundity of the Dependent Origination is in its affirmation that existence of every phenomenon is interdependent and impermanent.  It rules out that no existence is really independent and permanent.  It is a primary teaching that enables us to understand suffering and cessation of suffering.  It gives us the wisdom to destroy ignorance and let go the craving.

Metaphorically the twelve Nidanas are presented as the events of the past, present and future.  Ignorance and mental formation as past events have been assigned to the past life.  In the present the process of evolution taking place in us are the eight Nidanas: the consciousness, name and form, six senses, contact, feeling, craving, clinging and becoming.  These events are assigned to present life, which are happening in us at every present moment.  The last two Nidanas aren’t happening now but going to happen in future.  These events of future are assigned to future lives of which the state of being will be determined by the present.  It affirms how precious the present moment of our lives is.

Lord Buddha sums up the teachings on Dependent Origination by saying: “One who sees the Dependent Origination sees the Dharma.  One who sees the Dhamma sees the Dependent Origination (Majjhima Nikaya 1).

The teaching of Lord Buddha on Dependent Origination is indeed the core teaching on the deliverance from sufferings.