Your search found 16 records
1 Ellahi, M. 2004. Poverty issues and policies for its alleviation: a need to redirect the focus of planning strategies. In Jehangir, Waqar A.; Hussain, Intizar (Eds.). Poverty reduction through improved agricultural water management. Proceedings of the Workshop on Pro-poor Intervention Strategies in Irrigated Agriculture in Asia, Islamabad, Pakistan, 23-24 April 2003. Lahore, Pakistan: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). pp.205-219.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 631.7.3 G730 JEH Record No: H043770)
A pragmatic approach towards poverty alleviation in Pakistan was adopted in 1960s with Dr. Mahboob-ul-Haq’s notion that ‘take care of GNP and it will take care of poverty itself’. A reversal of this philosophy was advocated by the Haq school of thought in 1980s addressing poverty as core issue in development lanning. The new millennium is marked by a two-pronged policy, through the I-PRSP, to combat poverty and revive economic growth. The first policy package emphasized a boost in agriculture by combining inputs, services, infrastructural development and institutional support. The improved seeds, fertilizers and plant protection materials increased manifold, while irrigation water increased more than two-fold along with a massive ractorization. The second policy package, inter alia, enjoyed a shift over to value added commodities through textile industry. It appears that the process of technical breakthrough was not tailored in accordance with a wide range of factors operating in the international scenario. More precisely, pricing signals of the international market were not responded to by adjustment in output. Pakistan has a turnover of about US$ 20 billion (Rs. 1200 billion) in international trade. Thus, focus of this study is to describe over time impacts of international prices on the domestic ones. It also aims to analyze the effects of sectoral support and domestic policies on crop production, domestic economy and general welfare. In January 1982, one US dollar was worth Rs. 9.91, which climbed up to Rs. 67 per US dollar till September 11, 2001 with a u-turn to a current level of Rs. 58 per US dollar. Since then, the export prices in US dollar have shown a declining trend. Hence, the year 1981-82 being on the borderline of policy changes is a reference point for this study. The major crops, such as wheat, cotton, rice and sugarcane, account for about two-third of agricultural output and a major share of Pakistan’s international trade. In view of time and space limitations, scope of the study is narrowed down to these crops and labor wages. The analysis demonstrated that a heavy reliance on traditional commodities pushed export prices down due to pouring excessive supplies into export market. Hence, it is recommended that export/production of traditional commodities should be adjusted and accompanied by a shift over to non-traditional ones.
2 Senaratna Sellamuttu, Sonali; Aida, T.; Kasahara, R.; Sawada, Y.; Wijerathna, D. 2013. How access to irrigation influences poverty and livelihoods: a case study from Sri Lanka. Impact assessment of infrastructure projects on poverty reduction. Tokyo, Japan: Japan International Cooperation Agency Research Institute (JICA-RI). 45p. (JICA-RI Working Paper 59)
Poverty ; Indicators ; Living standards ; Impact assessment ; Qualitative analysis ; Households ; Income ; Case studies ; Irrigation systems ; Investment ; Rice ; Irrigated farming ; Rainfed farming ; Remuneration ; Models / Sri Lanka / Walawe Left Bank Irrigation System
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H045795)
http://jica-ri.jica.go.jp/publication/assets/JICA-RI_WP_No.59_2013.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H045795.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H045795.pdf
(0.63 MB) (684.2 KB)
This study combines a livelihoods approach with a regression approach to quantify the effectiveness of irrigation infrastructure investment on improving people’s livelihood strategies. Using a unique data set based on households in southern Sri Lanka, and a natural experimental setting, we estimate from a two stage income regression model to show that irrigation access has a positive effect on income through livelihood choices. We also show through qualitative approaches that factors not linked to irrigation infrastructure may contribute to changes in livelihood portfolios. In addition, we highlight factors that result in certain households being unable to move out of poverty despite access to the improved irrigation infrastructure.
3 Senaratna Sellamuttu, Sonali; Aida, T.; Kasahara, R.; Sawada, Y.; Wijerathna, D. 2014. How access to irrigation influences poverty and livelihoods: a case study from Sri Lanka. Journal of Development Studies, Special Issue on Agricultural Development. 50(5):748-768. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2013.841887]
Poverty ; Indicators ; Living standards ; Impact assessment ; Qualitative analysis ; Households ; Income ; Case studies ; Irrigation systems ; Investment ; Rice ; Irrigated farming ; Rainfed farming ; Remuneration ; Models / Sri Lanka / Walawe Left Bank Irrigation System
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046937)
This study combines a livelihoods approach with a regression approach to quantify the effectiveness of irrigation infrastructure investment on improving people’s livelihood strategies. Using a unique dataset based on households in southern Sri Lanka, and a natural experimental setting, we estimate from a two-stage income regression model to show that irrigation access has a positive effect on income through livelihood choices. We also show through qualitative approaches that factors not linked to irrigation infrastructure may contribute to changes in livelihood portfolios. In addition, we highlight factors that result in certain households being unable to move out of poverty despite access to the improved irrigation infrastructure.
4 Manasboonphempool, A.; Milan, Florence M.; Zeller, M. 2015. Transaction costs of farmers’ participation in forest management: policy implications of payments for environmental services schemes in Vietnam. Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics, 116(2):199-211.
Forest management ; Forest plantations ; Farmer participation ; Environmental services ; Remuneration ; Households ; Transaction costs ; Highlands ; Gender ; Labour costs ; Developed countries ; Land tenure ; Community forestry / Vietnam
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047505)
http://www.jarts.info/index.php/jarts/article/download/2015092949079/856
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H047505.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H047505.pdf
(0.19 MB)
Recent research on payments for environmental services (PES) has observed that high transaction costs (TCs) are incurred through the implementation of PES schemes and farmer participation. TCs incurred by households are considered to be an obstacle to the participation in and efficiency of PES policies. This study aims to understand transactions related to previous forest plantation programmes and to estimate the actual TCs incurred by farmers who participated in these programmes in a mountainous area of northwestern Vietnam. In addition, this study examines determinants of households’ TCs to test the hypothesis of whether the amount of TCs varies according to household characteristics. Results show that average TCs are not likely to be a constraint for participation since they are about 200,000 VND (USD 10) per household per contract, which is equivalent to one person’s average earnings for about two days of labour. However, TCs amount to more than one-third of the programmes’ benefits, which is relatively high compared to PES programmes in developed countries. This implies that rather than aiming to reduce TCs, an appropriate agenda for policy improvement is to balance the level of TCs with PES programme benefits to enhance the overall attractiveness of afforestation programmes for smallholder farmers. Regression analysis reveals that education, gender and perception towards PES programmes have significant effects on the magnitude of TCs. The analyses also points out the importance of local conditions on the level of TCs, with some unexpected results.
5 Employers' Federation of Ceylon (EFC); Jayasinghe, C. (Ed.) 2016. Employment in terms of the Shop and Office Employees’ Act. 2nd ed. Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka: Employers' Federation of Ceylon (EFC). 61p. (Employers' Federation of Ceylon Monograph 17)
Legal aspects ; Labour legislation ; Regulations ; Shops ; Office ; Working conditions ; Labour contracts ; Working hours ; Remuneration ; Female labour ; Maternity ; Holidays ; Health protection ; Safety at work ; Human resources management ; Record keeping ; Delinquent behaviour / Sri Lanka
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: 344.01 G744 EMP Record No: H047706)
(0.42 MB)
6 Wise, R. D.; Veltmeyer, H. 2016. Agrarian change, migration and development. Black Point, NS, Canada: Fernwood Publishing. 146p. (Agrarian Change and Peasant Studies Series 6)
Agrarian reform ; Labour mobility ; Migrant labour ; Rural urban migration ; Children ; International division of labour ; Income ; Remuneration ; Labour market ; Gender ; Political aspects ; Economic development ; Capitalism ; Rural poverty ; Social impact ; Institutions / USA / Mexico
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: 331.12791 G000 WIS Record No: H047707)
(0.39 MB)
7 Pande, S.; Savenije, H. H. G. 2016. A sociohydrological model for smallholder farmers in Maharashtra, India. Water Resources Research, 52(3):1923-1947. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/2015WR017841]
Smallholders ; Farmers ; Social aspects ; Hydrology ; Models ; Water storage ; Capital allocation ; Income ; Living standards ; Labour costs ; Remuneration ; Expenditure ; Agricultural prices ; Cotton ; Sugarcane ; Soil fertility ; Fertilizer application ; Irrigation ; Livestock production ; Grasslands ; Fodder / India / Maharashtra / Marathwada
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047760)
(1.81 MB)
We present a sociohydrological model that can help us to better understand the system dynamics of a smallholder farmer. It couples the dynamics of the six main assets of a typical smallholder farmer: water storage capacity, capital, livestock, soil fertility, grazing access, and labor. The hydroclimatic variability, which is a main driver and source of uncertainty of the smallholder system, is accounted for at subannual scale. The model incorporates rule-based adaptation mechanisms of smallholders (for example, adjusting expenditures on food and fertilizers and selling livestocks) when farmers face adverse sociohydrological conditions, such as low annual rainfall, occurrence of dry spells, or variability of input or commodity prices. We have applied the model to analyze the sociohydrology of a cash crop producing smallholder in Maharashtra, India, in a semisynthetic case study setting. Of late, this region has witnessed many suicides of farmers who could not extricate themselves out of the debt trap. These farmers lacked irrigation and were susceptible to fluctuating commodity prices and climatic variability. We studied the sensitivity of a smallholder’s capital, an indicator of smallholder well-being, to two types of cash crops (cotton and sugarcane), water storage capacity, availability of irrigation, initial capital that a smallholder starts with, prevalent wage rates, and access to grazing. We found that (i) smallholders with low water storage capacities and no irrigation are most susceptible to distress, (ii) a smallholder’s well-being is low at low wage rates, (iii) wage rate is more important than absolution of debt, (iv) well-being is sensitive to water storage capacity up to a certain level, and (v) well-being increases with increasing area available for livestock grazing. Our results indicate that government intervention to absolve the debt of farmers or to invest in local storage to buffer rainfall variability may not be enough. In addition, alternative sources of income may need to be provided, for instance by ensuring minimum wages or by providing more access to grazing areas.
8 Sugden, Fraser; Saikia, Panchali; Maskey-Amatya, Niki; Pokharel, Paras. 2016. Gender, agricultural investment and productivity in an era of out-migration. In Bharati, Luna; Sharma, Bharat R.; Smakhtin, Vladimir (Eds.). The Ganges River Basin: status and challenges in water, environment and livelihoods. Oxon, UK: Routledge - Earthscan. pp.273-293. (Earthscan Series on Major River Basins of the World)
Agricultural production ; Gender ; Labour allocation ; Migrant labour ; Male labour ; Women farmers ; Empowerment ; Agricultural practices ; Investment ; Productivity ; Irrigation ; Land ownership ; Tenant farmers ; Villages ; Demography ; Socioeconomic environment ; Remuneration ; Households ; Living standards ; Case studies / Nepal / India / Bangladesh / Ganges Basin / Dhanusha / Saptari / Madhubani
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H047819)
9 Bharati, Luna; Sharma, Bharat R.; Smakhtin, Vladimir. (Eds.) 2016. The Ganges River Basin: status and challenges in water, environment and livelihoods. Oxon, UK: Routledge - Earthscan. 327p. (Earthscan Series on Major River Basins of the World)
River basin management ; Water resources ; Groundwater management ; Groundwater recharge ; Groundwater table ; Aquifers ; Surface water ; International waters ; International cooperation ; Sustainable agriculture ; Agricultural production ; Water use ; Agricultural practices ; Intensification ; Investment ; Water policy ; Climate change ; Flooding ; Drought ; Forecasting ; Water productivity ; Energy resources ; Water power ; Water accounting ; Irrigated land ; Water demand ; Environmental flows ; Ecosystem services ; Freshwater ; Species ; Biodiversity conservation ; Hydrometeorology ; Models ; Hydrogeology ; Groundwater pollution ; Arsenic ; Contamination ; Water quality ; Food chains ; Public health ; Waste water treatment plants ; Institutional development ; Water governance ; Socioeconomic environment ; Living standards ; Rural poverty ; Equity ; Land ownership ; Gender ; Migrant labour ; Women farmers ; Remuneration ; Villages ; Highlands ; Deltas ; Riparian zones / India / Nepal / Bangladesh / Ganges River Basin / Himalayan Region / Gangetic Plains / Bihar / West Bengal
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H047808)
(0.41 MB)
10 Sugden, Fraser. 2017. A mode of production flux: the transformation and reproduction of rural class relations in lowland Nepal and North Bihar. Dialectical Anthropology, 41(2):129-161. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10624-016-9436-3]
Agricultural production ; Climate change ; Cultivated land ; Lowland ; Landowners ; Agrarian structure ; Tenant farmers ; Labour ; Living standards ; Political aspects ; Capitalism ; Feudalism ; Colonialism ; Rural communities ; Households ; Social aspects ; History ; Caste systems ; Migration ; Economic situation ; Indebtedness ; Farm income ; Remuneration / Nepal / India / North Bihar / Tarai / Eastern Gangetic Plains / Madhesh / Mithilanchal / Madhubani / Dhanusha / Morang / Purnea / Sunsari
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047834)
(2.24 MB)
The Eastern Gangetic Plains of South Asia represents a peripheral region far from the centers of global capitalist production, and this is all the more apparent in Mithilanchal, a cultural domain spanning the Nepal/Bihar border. The agrarian structure can be considered ‘semi-feudal’ in character, dominated by landlordism and usury, and backed up by political and ideological processes. Paradoxically, Mithilanchal is also deeply integrated into the global capitalist market and represents a surplus labor pool for the urban centers of Western India as well as the Persian Gulf in a classic articulation between pre-capitalist and capitalist modes of production. A review of the changes in the agrarian structure over recent decades in the context of globalisation, out-migration and climate stress, shows that while landlordism remains entrenched, the relationship between the marginal and tenant farmer majority and the landed classes has changed, with the breakdown of ideological ties and reduced dependence on single landlords. The paper thus ends on a positive note, as the contemporary juncture represents an opportune moment for new avenues of political mobilization among the peasantry.
11 Shah, Tushaar. 2018. Promoting solar power as a remunerative crop. In Kant, A (Ed). The path ahead –transformative ideas for India. New Delhi: Rupa Publications. pp.108-124.
Solar energy ; Remuneration ; Pumping ; Farmers ; Irrigation systems ; Cooperatives ; Water conservation ; Groundwater management ; Groundwater depletion ; Economic aspects / India
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048930)
12 Belton, B.; Filipski, M. 2019. Rural transformation in central Myanmar: by how much, and for whom? Journal of Rural Studies, 67:166-176. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.02.012]
Rural areas ; Transformation ; Agricultural mechanization ; Living standards ; Household income ; Remittances ; Remuneration ; Migration ; Agrarian structure ; Labour ; Land ownership ; Arid zones / Myanmar / Mandalay / Magway / Sagaing
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049134)
(1.42 MB)
Rural Southeast Asia is undergoing a series profound changes, often referred to as ‘rural transformation’, but recent research is divided as to whether rural transformation is underway in Myanmar. This paper addresses two empirical questions. (1) Is rural transformation taking place in Myanmar? (2) How has rural transformation affected the welfare of rural households in Myanmar's Central Dry Zone? We find evidence of significant rural transformation happening in the Dry Zone. The following features stand out: First, there has been a shift in relative economic status and power between landholders and the landless, in favor of the latter. This rebalancing has occurred mainly due to rising rural wages linked to rapid migration to urban areas. Second, widespread agricultural mechanization has taken place over the same period as migration. However, despite generating some labor savings for farm households, the labor productivity boosting effects of farm machinery appear to have produced insufficient gains to offset the effects of rural wage increases. Third, migration appears to offer the prospect of greater social and economic mobility to landless and marginal farm households. For all groups of households, including the landless, remittance incomes have more than offset income earning opportunities lost in agriculture due to mechanization. Fourth, landownership patterns, gender relations, and the extent of agricultural commercialization all appear largely unaffected by these changes.
13 International Social Science Council (ISSC); Institute of Development Studies (IDS); UNESCO. 2016. World social science report 2016: challenging inequalities: pathways to a just world. Paris, France: UNESCO; International Social Science Council (ISSC). 359p.
Social sciences ; Gender equality ; Equity ; Sustainable Development Goals ; Economic growth ; Income distribution ; Remuneration ; Labour market ; Taxes ; Legal rights ; Natural resources ; Water availability ; Climate change ; Social classes ; Middle classes ; Racial discrimination ; Refugees ; Indigenous peoples ; Socioeconomic environment ; Poverty ; Public health ; Ebolavirus ; Social policies ; Strategies ; Education ; Publications ; Political aspects ; Institutions ; Conflicts ; Corruption / Africa South of Sahara / Russian Federation / USA / Latin America / Europe / Arab countries / South Africa / China / India / Brazil / Peru / Lebanon / Syrian Arab Republic / Egypt
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049212)
(7.50 MB) (7.50 MB)
14 Verma, Shilp; Shah, Tushaar. 2018. Beyond digging and filling holes: maximizing the net positive impact of MGNREGA [Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act]. In Bhattarai, M.; Viswanathan, P. K.; Mishra, R. N.; Bantilan, C. (Eds.). Employment guarantee programme and dynamics of rural transformation in India: challenges and opportunities. Singapore: Springer. pp.103-130. (India Studies in Business and Economics) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6262-9_4]
Development programmes ; Water resources ; Assets ; Labour market ; Remuneration ; Migration ; Gender ; Women's participation ; Farmers ; Attitudes ; Rural poverty ; Case studies ; Villages / India / Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act / Bihar / Gujarat / Kerala / Rajasthan
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049507)
(6.23 MB)
15 Suhardiman, Diana; Rigg, J.; Bandur, M.; Marschke, M.; Miller, M. A.; Pheuangsavanh, N.; Sayatham, M.; Taylor, D. 2021. On the coattails of globalization: migration, migrants and COVID-19 in Asia. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 47(1):88-109. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2020.1844561]
Migration ; Migrants ; Migrant labour ; Labour mobility ; COVID-19 ; Pandemics ; Sustainable livelihoods ; Globalization ; Working conditions ; Unemployment ; Remuneration ; Uncertainty ; Social aspects ; Economic aspects ; Households / Asia / Bangladesh / India / Lao People's Democratic Republic / Myanmar / Singapore / Thailand / China
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050115)
(1.73 MB)
Positioning migrants as quintessential globalisation subjects, this paper reveals how the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the ambivalent positioning of migration as a pathway for human development. Drawing on interviews with international and domestic labour migrants from Bangladesh, India, Laos and Myanmar working in Laos, Myanmar, China, Singapore and Thailand, the paper explores the vulnerabilities, challenges and opportunities that have come with migration and how these have been reconfigured as the pandemic has progressed, disproportionately heightening migrants’ exposure to the virus and their socioeconomic precarity. Through their personal stories, the paper provides insights into the evolving livelihood pathways of migrant workers during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, their (changing) views of migration as a route to progress, and tentatively sets out how ruptures caused by the pandemic may lead to a re-thinking of livelihood pathways for such men and women and their families.
16 Sugden, Fraser; Nigussie, Likimyelesh; Debevec, Liza; Nijbroek, R. 2022. Migration, environmental change and agrarian transition in upland regions: learning from Ethiopia, Kenya and Nepal. Journal of Peasant Studies, 49(5):1101-1131. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2021.1894552]
Migration ; Agrarian structure ; Labour mobility ; Remittances ; Income ; Remuneration ; Capitalism ; Peasantry ; Agriculture ; Investment ; Farmers ; Landlessness ; Tenants ; Livelihoods ; Women ; Decision making ; Highlands ; Communities / Ethiopia / Kenya / Nepal / Tigray / Chirkhuwa Valley / Gatanga / Muragua / Embahasti / Raya Azebo / Kimalung / Gufagaon / Sanrang / Aaptari / Bhadare
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050498)
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03066150.2021.1894552
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050498.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050498.pdf
(3.52 MB) (3.52 MB)
This paper analyses the relationship between cyclical labour migration and agrarian transition in the uplands of Nepal, Ethiopia and Kenya. It shows that while migration decision-making is linked to expanding capitalist markets, it is mediated by local cultural, political and ecological changes. In turn, cyclical migration goes on to shape the trajectory of change within agriculture. The dual dependence on both migrant income and agriculture within these upland communities often translates into an intensifying work burden on the land, and rising profits for capitalism. However, on some occasions this income can support increased productivity and accumulation within agriculture – although this depends on both the agro-ecological context and the local agrarian structure.
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