Andhra Pradesh, India

The linkage between a poor entitlement base and low HFS is nowhere more evident than in the case of Andhra Pradesh. With a single livelihood option, that is, the subsistence base, households and women become vulnerable owing to macro-policies dealing with the environment and land. The end result has been a diminishing traditional resource base, and this has led to wage work as a coping mechanism. Subject to fluctuation and dependent on booms in the cash crop economy, expanding public works or employment guarantee schemes, wage work is at most only an ‘interim’ strategy for employment.

In the case of Andhra Pradesh, the problems converging on caste, class and gender are obvious. Caste has several implications for access and entitlement. As in Nepal, the higher the caste, the greater the access and entitlement to land. For historical reasons, scheduled tribes face considerable discrimination, which is reflected in the poor level of human capital development, especially among women. Mainly living in isolated areas, poor women have an entitlement base (education, housing, water, fuel, toilets and access to social claims) that has been poor. Women have a very low asset base and no customary rights to land. Compounding this problem is the additional constraint involved in the fact that women are denied traditional access to their resource base (land and forest), particularly as the forest supplies them with food, income and medicines. Consequently, HFS is precarious in Andhra Pradesh.

Furthermore, with the emergence of the market economy, cash crops have been adopted in preference to subsistence crops or the land has been taken over by commercial plantations. In the absence of effective marketing and prices, the focus on cash crops means that the gains are ending up mainly with the moneylenders or the middlemen, especially because of organized bargaining. Moreover, cash income has led to greater alcoholism in these areas, which has implications for HFS.

Because of the deteriorating food supply from forests and land and the poor cash incomes for buying food, the situation of women has deteriorated. The nutrition and energy stress caused by the need to collect food and fuel wood has increased. Indebtedness, reliance on poor-quality food, a shift away from preferred foods, low food intake during lean periods, starvation, the underselling of products, the sale of fuel wood, and debt are some means of coping with the need for HFS.

Within this situation, the project beneficiaries have relied heavily for survival on the public distribution system and wage employment.

The lessons learned

In terms of the major programme strategies, the following observations can be made. The bias in favour of cash crops has reduced food consumption and increased women’s time constraints. The loss of control and of decision-making power by women in the productive process is very visible. The thrift and credit groups (TCGs) are very limited, and the grain banks, though relevant, can replace the public distribution system (PDS) in some ways only. The check dams are available only in a few areas, but have had a good impact where they are available. The Girijn Cooperative Corporation (GCC) has not been effective in the collection of minor forest produce or in the provision of credit during crises. The major problem is the poor organizational and mobilization strategies among tribal groups, particularly in the area of efforts to strengthen local community institutions (for example, TCGs) and other community development strategies. Wherever TCGs have undertaken the schemes in a holistic manner, women, households and the community have all benefited.

The experience garnered through the Andhra Pradesh project, however, illustrates that HFS is a multifaceted construct that cannot be ensured merely by relying on sustainable macro-level production and the PDS. Two issues of relevance here are that (i) the PDS may not be accessible for the poorest in terms of economic distance (affordability) and, (ii) where implemented, the distortions in the PDS implementing system (corruption, physical accessibility) may render it ineffective in providing food security. While the Andhra Pradesh project reflects these problems, significantly it also provides examples of sustainable strategies, such as the grain bank that can act as a substitute for the PDS when the PDS is ineffective. The strength of the grain bank system is that it is community based, self-regulatory and, most important, sustainable. The need for outside inputs is lowest with this strategy, which in effect relies on harnessing local resources to strengthen food security.

Likewise, the creation of infrastructure such as roads, dams and communication networks enhances the food security status of families in the long run. This is achieved by improving access to markets (both for selling and for buying food-related produce), ensuring better irrigation facilities and providing wage employment during lean seasons. In the Andhra Pradesh project, while infrastructure has undoubtedly improved, the pace of this change and the quality of the infrastructure have not met requirements.

The problem has been at the implementation level, where there is an absence of self-regulating, community-based local networks. The government’s welfare approach (prevalent in the project) needs to be replaced by a more participatory, locally active approach (TCG), as in the case of the Tamil Nadu project. The involvement of local initiatives in project implementation would undoubtedly make the project more effective and sustainable in the long run.

In terms of sustainable production, the movement towards horticulture is a sound strategy, but it must be complemented by alternative income-generating options in the short run. While the introduction of local microenterprises is a very plausible and needed strategy, the idea of strengthening local agriculture is very relevant, especially because most of the farming practised by tribals is organic. The shift to cash crops in the short term should not be overrated since it affects the immediate food security situation of the poorest (owing to the decrease in subsistence production), and, very important, it affects the biodiversity of the agriculture system. Given that organic farming is burgeoning and that the market for organic products is likely to grow at a fast pace, the project should identify strategies for strengthening the existing organic processes prevalent among the tribals, quite apart from providing them with access to markets.

Although specific states in India have agricultural extension systems for women, this has not been provided in the project area. The linking up of TCGs or women’s groups to extension training has been successful in the project in Nepal (fodder, fuel wood, horticulture, vegetables) and could be adopted in the Andhra Pradesh project as well.

B. Nepal

Land is more available and accessible to women in Nepal than in India, especially in the hill districts. Jungle and forest land for fodder, fuel, feed and grazing purposes and livestock ownership is more available in the project in Nepal than it is in the two projects in India. Of the respondents, 45% were upper caste, that is, Brahmin and Cheetri, which is an indication of better access and entitlement.

However, these positive aspects are tarnished because of the poor access to basic services and infrastructure due to the nature of the terrain, the poor communications and the skewed nature of land-holding.

The most difficult tasks for women are the collection of fuel wood and fodder, which requires many hours of work. The same applies to work on the land, which is fragmented, scattered or terraced, especially when women are the de facto heads of household and when male labour is unavailable for ploughing and other tasks.

Women’s de facto role as heads of household raises three issues: (i) the problem of the access to allocating powers and the direct channelling of family income, (ii) the heavier, twofold burden in a harsh physical environment and (iii) the social vulnerability of women owing to the irregularity of remittance income and to desertion by migrant husbands.

This vulnerability is compounded by the large average family size (the largest among the three project areas), with implications for the dependency ratio and for food allocation among individual units, in addition to the stress of sudden de facto household headship among women (powers without entitlement) owing to desertion by migrant husbands. Subsistence production covers only five or six months of the food supply needed for large families. Various types of income are therefore needed (wage work, migrant, microenterprise) to fulfil the 12-month food supply requirement. On the other hand, the partition of land reduces labour availability (given the harsh terrain) and increases women’s work, although in several cases women have indicated their preference for nuclear units, as the decision-making powers are greater and the workload is lower (women do not have to cook for several family members). The allocation of food among women is also better in nuclear units, where women have access to a diversity of foods.

There is a vast livelihood base in Nepal, for example migration to India (for labour), to the plains (for microenterprises or for temporary work), or for wage work and the like. Several upper-caste households have indicated that they have access to at least one migrant income, which is always saved and then utilized to buy land or assets.

Interallocatory processes are most difficult in Nepal owing to the structure of upper-caste conjugal units and the behavioural norms regarding women. For example, men and women eat different types of food. The amount of lean-season food available to women is much smaller than the amount available for men and is not commensurate with the greater time and energy women spend on the household during these periods.

As elsewhere, alcohol abuse is a serious threat, although women have campaigned against it in several districts, and the sale of alcohol has been banned by law in many areas.

During the lean season, coping strategies consist of (a) the sharing of vegetables and meats in the village, (b) the ability to borrow grains within the village (mainly from members of similar castes or from relatives, (c) the storage of up to a five-month supply of grain, on average, (d) storage of a variety of processed foods, owing to availability of green vegetables and (e) the consumption of milk and butter, easily accessible owing to livestock and sheep-rearing.

However, the vulnerability of the poorest households is significant, particularly if there is only a single source of income or poor landholding and especially among the low caste. Having no other skills, diversification or networks to sponsor migration, families often go without food twice a week or consume several kilos of salt with bread. Without access to PDS, the only available means of survival is often through the borrowing of grain in kind from private traders or from landlords at exorbitant rates. The lack of markets and of communications has compounded these problems among women. In the three project areas, women’s work is highest in Nepal, although this has led to relatively higher HFS, measured, for example, in months of grain storage.

The lessons learned

The project Production Credit for Rural Women is supervised by a mainline department, the Ministry for Local Government. It has been useful in linking women’s groups to veterinary, banking, rural development, forestry and other mainline services. In cases where the women’s development officer has taken special initiatives, support services and technologies such as water pumps, small irrigation techniques, vegetable nursery facilities, fodder and forestry have considerably reduced women’s workloads. The gender and other skills training of the project are continuous and have had a tremendous success in providing process to women’s groups. Microfinancing has also been effective in non-land-based occupations and livestock and sheep-rearing. Dung has been critical for the improvement of land productivity. In Dudeldura and Baithadi districts, in keeping with the shift of the district economy to horticulture, project clients have also begun to integrate into the mainstream, growing fruit and vegetables for sale.

The project’s strength lies in its holistic conceptualization of programme strategies for HFS in a severely food-insecure environment. However, as is evident, the cost is in women’s time and energy. The second problem with this model is that the initial entitlements are more substantial than average, with implications for replicability. Third, land seems to be the key determinant of food security in Nepal. However, it may not always be possible for land to become the primary resource base given the structural problems and lack of land reform in South Asia.

This brings us to the third and most viable model in a context such as that of South Asia, where land is often unavailable to the poor as a resource base.

Tamil Nadu

The total food supply for households from subsistence production is poor in Tamil Nadu owing to the lack of access to the land. Drought is a constant reality in several of the project districts.

Thus, because landlessness is pervasive among women beneficiaries in the Tamil Nadu Women’s Development Project, the project strategy has focused on the provision of capital as an alternative resource. Supporting this approach is an average level of human capital and a somewhat better than average level of infrastructure. In fact, along with social claims such as PDS mid-day meals, subsidies and employment guarantee schemes, the project provides support so that poor women can improve their situation in the absence of land.

In the project area, a combination of microenterprises, livestock and sheep enterprises and wage work is currently providing diversified incomes and employment to women who used to be mostly wage-labourers. The key to this approach is the provision through national banks of microfinancing to organized groups of women in TCGs.

The outcome is a grid of strong thrift groups at the village level, developing capital and providing informal access to credit on a personalized, low-interest and immediate cash basis. This helps households endure food crises and lean periods and facilitates backup loans for productive activities at the household level. While the TCGs have yet to initiate concerted action on social issues such as female infanticide, the problems revolving around dowry practices or alcoholism (some steps have already been taken in this area), many groups have initiated women’s involvement in the public distribution system by running ration shops and a save grain campaign and by building storage structures.

The identification of poor women, the formation of groups and the processing of loans are undertaken by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and linked to the banks, mediated by bank staff members. Access to credit has led to the accumulation of credit and savings within the groups, an increase in returns, and growth and diversification among enterprises. Nonetheless, drought, rising prices and large family sizes set critical limits on growth.

The major problem, however, is that, because of the current drought and a decline in overall purchasing power, microenterprises face severe limitations (owing to the lack of access by beneficiaries to subsistence production). Households are thus mainly dependent on the market. This has serious implications for the quantity and nutrient quality of food. With regard to the three project areas, gruel and watery foods are most widely used in Tamil Nadu, obviously to extend cereal consumption. Unlike in Nepal or Andhra Pradesh, forest foods are unavailable in Tamil Nadu, and most cereal and non-cereal purchases are market dependent.

In terms of HFS, it is clear that, although the quality of food has deteriorated owing to higher prices and poor market, the TCGs have provided tremendous resilience to women during food crises. As a coping strategy (in terms of savings or access to small loans for food purchases), the TCGs have played a critical role.

No less revealing are the examples of TCGs that have used credit to enhance agricultural production and increase small irrigation resources. This has led to diversification of crops, continuous wage work, increase in vegetable production and food surpluses. Storage and save grain campaigns have also been initiated to expand the otherwise small supply of food. In some instances, TCGs have come forward to manage the relationships established within the PDS system.

Household food security is more than a physical construct. The socio-economic specificities of allocatory practices based on cultural inequities are being reversed thanks to several TCGs that have been taking action to confront problems in relation to dowry, the girl child, female foeticide and caste and in the quest for women’s equity within the household and the community in gaining access to resources.

The TCGs have provided solidarity to women by exerting group pressure at the village level to minimize the problems of alcoholism, and this has had a direct effect on household food expenditure. The sociocultural dynamics of households are also being dealt with most effectively in the Tamil Nadu project through the leverage of TCGs and the recognition of women as alternate heads of household on a strong and sound economic basis.

The groups in the project are also now in a position to sustain their TCGs by paying an honorarium to the TCG managers from their savings. With an average cash fund of Rs. 21 000, the TCGs are in effect decentralized capital development structures, self-managed by women and with no overhead.

By creating an enabling environment, the groups are generating a demand for better infrastructure (including roads, electricity and water supply, schools, irrigation sources, training) from district authorities.

However, some limitations remain. One of these revolves around the need to enhance gender consciousness, thereby leading to improved custody of income and decision-making, and also awareness of the nutritious foods available locally. In their new roles as heads of households, women frequently deny themselves the required quality and quantity of food, despite availability, because of traditional allocatory practices.

The lessons learned

The most significant contribution of the approach of this project has been the shift away from land-based productive activities to capital formation through social mobilization. As a programme model, the project also highlights new, emerging paradigms for a partnership among the state, the poor and civil society. Bankers, NGOs and poor women form a fairly equitable partnership within a loosely coordinated government framework, supported by line agencies at the project level. This is a rare instance of synergy within governmental programmes in South Asia. In fact, the project approach should be endorsed as a ‘new model’ for people’s participation in institutional financing. Its role in reorienting the governmental (and banking) bureaucracy towards more people participation should not be minimized either.

In spite of conceptual perceptions of the ‘women-only’ approach as an isolated one, the project provides several contrary lessons:

(a) The mobilization of poor women is the first, critical step towards providing them with space and leverage to earn, grow, save, create, share and challenge, especially in traditional societies such as in South Asia (with regard to macro policies and allocatory practices). From individual powerless units, poor women in TCGs are being transformed into power-based groups.

(i) Building from the base, the Tamil Nadu Women’s Development Project has demonstrated, through the creation of TCGs and access to low-interest credit, that poor women can be effective and viable and can generate growth and accumulate at the base (capital formation). The key to this approach is women’s involvement in self-management at the lowest levels of the project.

(ii) In the absence of alternative resources, the group becomes an important resource base and a social security system.

(iii) Overhead, delivery and collection, processing, communications, problem-solving, crisis reduction and coping mechanisms are easier to organize in groups (the management of grain banks, producer cooperatives and savings programmes is an example).

(b) A women-only approach often deals with women through a more holistic framework, although it frequently neglects the linkages to the mainstream. In this case, women’s TCGs are firmly linked to mainline services and structures. The mainstreaming of women’s development becomes a reality (banks, PDS, district offices, extension services and so on).

(c) The link between mainline structures and individuals is more effectively negotiated and conducted by NGOs. The project has demonstrated that NGOs perform the organizational and empowerment role more efficiently with groups than do bureaucratized state structures.

(d) Land is not the sole determinant of HFS; through TCGs, human capital and credit can be utilized as an alternate resource base, providing an alternative approach to HFS at the household level.

(e) Women’s time allocation could decline (in contrast with Nepal) and their overall status improve through the increase in economic livelihood structures and other specific project strategies.

With its emphasis on social mobilization by NGOs and the identification of poor women through participatory approaches, the approach of the Tamil Nadu project seems the most sustainable among the approaches of the three projects. This is not merely owing to the large body of capital formed at the village level, but also to the ability of these groups to generate a demand for better food resources, to cope with and manage food crises through group solidarity and to provide poor women with a critical leverage so that they can deal with socio-economic and familial inequities, such as problems in access and entitlement.

The Significance of Thrift and Credit Groups for Livelihood Security

A clear demarcation in economic and social power within intrahousehold processes becomes evident through an examination of respondents’ cases, especially in the context of the allocation of resources and of tasks. It seems obvious that economic and social power are separate, at least as far as South Asian women are concerned. Thus, women can produce and contribute more economically or work the greatest number of hours, but their ‘power’ depends mainly on social values that are defined according to the type of family, the role or place of males and females in the society, the values regarding male children and attitudes towards barrenness, widowhood, desertion, dowry and so on. In Nepal, it also appears that poor women have more decision-making power in nuclear units, especially those in the lower castes. In contrast, however, many women in the Tharu tribe seem apathetic and diffident and complain of rigid patriarchal traditions. In these communities, alcoholism is a major obstacle to success in ensuring an adequate food supply for the family owing to its significance in household expenditure and the use of grain for distilling local liquor. It also seems that the household decision-making power of scheduled caste women was greater than that of women in higher castes.

Cultural adaptations provide women with leeway (caste) to negotiate intrahousehold processes. One respondent (Khemara Devi) stated, "I don’t fear beating by my mother-in-law or my husband anymore. Now I have a group, so I am not worried. Women are strong together to deal with this." Although her sheep loan has helped her improve the quality of her land (owing to dung) and increase her production, diversify her vegetable growing and store more food, she clearly emphasizes that the women’s group has represented the major point of leverage in helping her negotiate a new status.

The importance of the support of the group in providing a point of leverage and legitimacy to women’s claims for decision-making rights and power at the household level is quite clear. Also because it is linked to a government project, the groups inspire respect in these remote areas; clout and loans thus become available to be utilized on behalf of the poorest women so as to help them negotiate equity in the intrahousehold processes that provide access, allocate resources and control decisions regarding economic activities. Socially speaking, the group of ‘seemingly powerless’ women from individual households becomes transformed into a group with potent status at the village level. This also has implications for the individual status of the women within their families owing to the extra-familial power generated by the group.

Changes in Feelings of Deprivation

Indeed, when a respondent in Nepal states that "we are not poor any more", or when women’s groups in Tamil Nadu attempt structural change by confronting caste inequities, or even when considering Mehraul’s statement "to exclude the rich from the programme", one can see a change in the ‘feelings of deprivation’ so often experienced by poor women. The Lingammals group in Tamil Nadu has gained the confidence to challenge alone the supporters of vested interests who burn their crops to usurp credit, while the women of Chinnakamba in Andhra Pradesh have waged a relentless battle against the abuse of alcohol. The sustainability of HFS can be ensured through the creation of support systems to empower poor women and men according to a model of rights whereby they can have the space to make autonomous choices and decisions to ensure the security of their own livelihoods, as the TCGs in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Nepal have demonstrated.