Your search found 10 records
1 Sugden, F.. 2009. Neo-liberalism, markets and class structures on the Nepali lowlands: the political economy of agrarian change. Geoforum, 40:634-644. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2009.03.010]
Agricultural sector ; Agrarian structure ; Small farms ; Surpluses ; Marketing policies ; Lowland ; Political aspects ; Economic aspects / Nepal / Terai
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047884)
In recent years, neo-liberalism has manifested itself in peripheral social formations on an ideological basis through strategies of poverty alleviation. This process is epitomized by Nepal’s donor led agrarian strategy, which constructs farmers as ‘rational entrepreneurs’ responsible for their own welfare. In the processit seeks to encourage smallholders to shift from subsistence to market oriented production. However, over 10 years since the current agrarian strategy was released, there is little evidence of commercialisation and the integration of rural populations into global or domestic markets, while subsistence production remains dominant. To understand this failure, one must examine both the contradictions inherent in neo-liberal ideologies and the rural political economy of Nepal. While the emphasis on self-help through market access can be understood to be an ideological process constitutive of the overdetermined nature of capitalist expansion, contradictions are evident in such ideologies when they are mobilised in regions dominated by non-capitalist economic systems. The depoliticizing assumptions inherent in such ideologies can serve the interests of capitalist expansion through glossing over the associated forms of class exploitation. However, a case study from Nepal’s eastern lowlands demonstrates how they also divert attention from complex non-capitalist modes of surplus appropriation in both the relations of production and circulation. Such forms of exploitation have not only obstructed the process of classical agrarian transition long envisaged in Marxian theory, but have also blocked the emergence of the particular form of rural commodity production envisaged in Nepal’s neo-liberal agrarian strategy itself.
2 Leder, S.; Sugden, F.; Raut, Manita; Ray, D.; Saikia, P. 2019. Ambivalences of collective farming: feminist political ecologies from eastern India and Nepal. International Journal of the Commons, 13(1):105-129. (Special issue: Feminist Political Ecologies of the Commons and Commoning) [doi: https://doi.org/10.18352/ijc.917]
Collective farming ; Collective action ; Resource management ; Gender relations ; Women ; Political ecology ; Tenant farmers ; Land fragmentation ; Land management ; Commons ; Water management ; Dry season ; Social aspects ; Labour ; Case studies ; Villages / India / Nepal / Eastern Gangetic Plains / West Bengal / Madhubani / Cooch Behar / Alipurduar / Saptari
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049381)
https://www.thecommonsjournal.org/articles/10.18352/ijc.917/galley/919/download/
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049381.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049381.pdf
(0.60 MB) (616 KB)
Collective farming has been suggested as a potentially useful approach for reducing inequality and transforming peasant agriculture. In collectives, farmers pool land, labor, irrigation infrastructure, agricultural inputs and harvest to overcome resource constraints and to increase their bargaining power. Employing a feminist political ecology lens, we reflect on the extent to which collective farming enables marginalized groups to engage in smallholder agriculture. We examine the establishment of 18 farmer collectives by an action research project in the Eastern Gangetic Plains, a region characterised by fragmented and small landholdings and a high rate of marginalised and landless farmers. We analyze ambivalances of collective farming practices with regard to (1) social relations across scales, (2) intersectionality and (3) emotional attachment. Our results in Saptari/ Eastern Terai in Nepal, Madhubani/Bihar, and Cooch Behar/West Bengal in India demonstrate how intra-household, group and community relations and emotional attachments to the family and neighbors mediate the redistribution of labor, land, produce and capital. We find that unequal gender relations, intersected by class, age, ethnicity and caste, are reproduced in collective action, land tenure and water management, and argue that a critical feminist perspective can support a more reflective and relational understanding of collective farming processes. Our analysis demonstrates that feminist political ecology can complement commons studies by providing meaningful insights on ambivalences around approaches such as collective farming.
3 Nicol, Alan; Abdoubaetova, A.; Wolters, A.; Kharel, A.; Murzakolova, A.; Gebreyesus, A.; Lucasenco, E.; Chen, F.; Sugden, F.; Sterly, H.; Kuznetsova, I.; Masotti, M.; Vittuari, M.; Dessalegn, Mengistu; Aderghal, M.; Phalkey, N.; Sakdapolrak, P.; Mollinga, P.; Mogilevskii, R.; Naruchaikusol, S. 2020. Between a rock and a hard place: early experience of migration challenges under the Covid-19 pandemic. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 22p. (IWMI Working Paper 195) [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2020.216]
Migration ; COVID-19 ; Pandemics ; Labour market ; Migrant labour ; Unemployment ; Livelihoods ; Health hazards ; Income ; Remittances ; Economic activities ; Poverty ; Social inequalities ; Food supply ; Households ; Rural areas ; State intervention ; Governance ; Quarantine ; Travel restrictions ; Border closures ; Policies ; Assessment ; Uncertainty / China / Ethiopia / Kyrgyzstan / Republic of Moldova / Morocco / Nepal / Thailand
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H050125)
(1.92 MB)
This working paper was produced under the European Union Horizon 2020 funded AGRUMIG project and traces the impact of Covid-19 on migration trends in seven project countries – China, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal and Thailand.
The context of global migration has changed dramatically due to the coronavirus pandemic. Both within and between countries there has been a substantial curtailment of movement. As a result of multiple lockdowns, economic activity has severely declined and labor markets have ground to a halt, with mass unemployment in industrialized economies looming on the horizon. For both migrant hosting and origin countries – some are substantially both – this poses a set of complex development challenges.
Partners of the AGRUMIG project undertook a rapid review of impacts across project countries, exploring the impacts on rural households but also identifying the persistent desire to migrate in spite of restrictions.
The context of global migration has changed dramatically due to the coronavirus pandemic. Both within and between countries there has been a substantial curtailment of movement. As a result of multiple lockdowns, economic activity has severely declined and labor markets have ground to a halt, with mass unemployment in industrialized economies looming on the horizon. For both migrant hosting and origin countries – some are substantially both – this poses a set of complex development challenges.
Partners of the AGRUMIG project undertook a rapid review of impacts across project countries, exploring the impacts on rural households but also identifying the persistent desire to migrate in spite of restrictions.
4 Gupta, S.; Kharel, A.; Sugden, F.. 2022. Migration and COVID-19 in context: labor migration and the agriculture sector in Nepal. [Policy Brief of the Migration Governance and Agricultural and Rural Change (AGRUMIG) Project]. London, UK: SOAS University of London. 8p. (AGRUMIG Policy Brief Series 5)
Migration ; Migrant labour ; Agricultural sector ; COVID-19 ; Pandemics ; Labour mobility ; Governance ; Agricultural policies ; State intervention ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Employment ; Households / Nepal
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051230)
(3.11 MB)
5 Kharel, A.; Sugden, F.; Dessalegn, Mengistu. 2023. Labor shortage and changes in land use patterns: experiences from migrant communities in Ethiopia and Nepal. [Policy Brief of the Migration Governance and Agricultural and Rural Change (AGRUMIG) Project]. London, UK: SOAS University of London. 7p. (AGRUMIG Policy Brief Series 11)
Labour shortage ; Land use change ; Migrant labour ; Migration ; Communities ; Governance ; Agriculture ; Mechanization ; Cropping patterns ; Policies ; Farmers ; Households / Ethiopia / Nepal / Bhojpur / Dhanusha / Gamo Highlands
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051760)
(760 KB)
6 Mollinga, P.; Lamba, A.; Aderghal, M.; Amzil, L.; Dessalegn, Mengistu; Masotti, M.; Murzakulova, A.; Kharel, A.; Sugden, F.; Pagogna, R.; Fengbo, C.; Jian, C. 2023. Making sense of diversity in agrarian and rural change outcomes of labor out-migration through comparative analysis: first lessons from China, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal and Thailand. [Policy Brief of the Migration Governance and Agricultural and Rural Change (AGRUMIG) Project]. London, UK: SOAS University of London. 8p. (AGRUMIG Policy Brief Series 24)
Labour ; Migration ; Migrants ; Governance ; Diversity ; Agrarian structure ; Rural development ; Policies ; Remittances ; Households ; Agriculture ; Livelihoods ; Land concentration ; Environmental factors ; Comparative analysis / China / Ethiopia / Kyrgyzstan / Republic of Moldova / Morocco / Nepal / Thailand
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052014)
(3.01 MB)
7 Lamba, A.; Sugden, F.; Aderghal, M.; Fengbo, C.; Pagogna, R.; Masotti, M.; Dessalegn, Mengistu; Murzakulova, A.; Kharel, A.; Amzil, L.; Stirba, V.; Kuznetsova, I.; Vittuari, M.; Jian, C.; Crivellaro, F.; Naruchaikusol, S.; Lucasenco, E.; Mogilevskii, R.; Mollinga, P.; Phalkey, N.; Bhattarai, S. 2023. Migration governance and agrarian and rural development: comparative lessons from China, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal and Thailand [Policy Brief of the Migration Governance and Agricultural and Rural Change (AGRUMIG) Project]. London, UK: SOAS University of London. 12p. (AGRUMIG Policy Brief Series 25)
Migration ; Governance ; Migrant labour ; Agrarian structure ; Rural development ; Policies ; Employment ; Training ; Impact assessment ; Monitoring and evaluation ; Financing ; Political aspects ; Communities / China / Ethiopia / Kyrgyzstan / Republic of Moldova / Morocco / Nepal / Thailand
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052005)
(2.28 MB)
The purpose of this policy brief is to draw together key comparative lessons on different types of migration governance interventions in the AGRUMIG project research regions and examine how they support positive feedback loops between migration and agrarian and rural development. This exploration offers stories of success and omission. Moving beyond the elusive triple-win situation on the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries, migrants themselves and the highly politicized domain of the migration-development nexus, our point of departure is that there are vital prospects for augmenting the positive impacts of migration for societies globally. This brief focuses on how migration governance interventions are potentially useful in maximizing the gains between migration and agrarian development in the sending communities in China, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal and Thailand.
8 Maharjan, S.; Sah, K. K.; Sugden, F.; Kharel, A. 2023. Migration governance and agricultural and rural change: findings from a consultation workshop in Madhesh Province of Nepal [Policy Brief of the Migration Governance and Agricultural and Rural Change (AGRUMIG) Project]. London, UK: SOAS University of London. 13p. (AGRUMIG Policy Brief Series 26)
Migration ; Governance ; Agriculture ; Rural areas ; Migrant labour ; Employment ; Farmers ; Fisheries ; Fertilizers ; Local government ; Policies ; Women / Nepal / Madhesh / Janakpurdham
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052148)
(908 KB)
In the year 2021/22 alone, over 100,000 labor permits were issued to migrant workers from Madhesh Province for employment primarily in countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Malaysia. Saudi Arabia and Qatar received the largest number of Nepali migrants from Madhesh Province with 37,822 and 36,358, respectively, in 2021/22. This brief presents key points raised and discussed at a workshop organized in Janakpur, the capital of Madhesh Province of Nepal, on July 12, 2022, on agricultural and rural changes in the context of this high rate of international labor migration from the province. The workshop provided a unique opportunity to bring together farmers, returnee migrants, academics and relevant representatives from the provincial government to generate a dialogue around the divergent outcomes of migrant labor for rural communities, and the barriers and opportunities to harness remittances to support rural development.
9 Sugden, F.; Aderghal, M.; Fengbo, C.; Jian, C.; Crivellaro, F.; Dessalegn, Mengistu; Kharel, A.; Gupta, S.; Kuznetsova, I.; Naruchaikusol, S.; Masotti, M.; Amzil, L.; Murzakulova, A.; Mogilevskii, R.; Mollinga, P.; Nigussie, Likimyelesh; Pagogna, R.; Stratan, A.; Vittuari, M. 2023. Migration and its two-way relationship with rural change: lessons from China, Ethiopia, Moldova, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco and Thailand. [Policy Brief of the Migration Governance and Agricultural and Rural Change (AGRUMIG) Project]. London, UK: SOAS University of London. 12p. (AGRUMIG Policy Brief Series 23)
Migration ; Governance ; Labour ; Rural development ; Livelihoods ; Households ; Communities ; Farmers ; Investment ; Remittances ; Policies ; Agriculture ; Gender ; Women / China / Ethiopia / Republic of Moldova / Nepal / Kyrgyzstan / Morocco / Thailand
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052213)
(6.16 MB)
The AGRUMIG project was a comparative analysis of experiences from Europe, Asia and Africa, and explored the impact of migration on the trajectory of agricultural change in rural areas. This brief reviews the findings of our seven-country study. The research focused on 19 remittance-dependent communities in seven countries: China, Ethiopia, Moldova, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco and Thailand.
10 Kharel, A.; Sugden, F.; Gupta, S. 2023. Outmigration and labor mobility issues and policies in Nepal. [Policy Brief of the Migration Governance and Agricultural and Rural Change (AGRUMIG) Project]. London, UK: SOAS University of London. 8p. (AGRUMIG Policy Brief Series 21)
Migration ; Migrant labour ; Labour mobility ; Governance ; Policies ; Household ; Livelihoods ; Remittances ; Women / Nepal
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052211)
(5.37 MB)
Nepal’s labor migration history dates back to the colonial period in India when Nepali youths were recruited in the army of the East India Company in the early 19th century, and even prior to this period, Nepali men served in the army of Shikh ruler Ranjit Singh in Punjab (included territories of present-day India and Pakistan). This was followed by seasonal and longer-term labor migration to India. In the last 30 years, migration has reached exceptionally high levels, with the new generation of labor migrants heading to the Gulf States and Malaysia, as well as other destinations such as South Korea, Japan, Poland and Romania. The 1981 Nepali census classified over 400,000 household members as ‘absentees’ (those who were away or intend to be away from home for six or more months) and this increased to about 2.2 million by 2021. The destination of migrants over these years changed considerably. While in 1980, an overwhelming majority (93%) went to India, from the 1990s onwards, this shifted to the Arabian Gulf States and Malaysia, which accounted for over 90% of migrants by the 2010s, with fewer than 10% continuing to travel to India.
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