Limited Options, Low Wages: The Working Lives of Dalit Women Workers in Rural Uttar Pradesh
In June 2023, we participated in the FAS-PARI survey of [...]
Wheat Export and Food Security: Where Does India Stand?
The Government of India announced a sudden ban on export [...]
Women and the Household Food Economy
Women play multiple roles in the food economy, from participation [...]
Building Inclusive Food Systems
The newly-released global food policy report of IFPRI titled "Building Inclusive Food Systems" has come at a critical juncture. The focus of the Report is on how to address inequality, and include poor and vulnerable individuals and households and communities in the food system.
Good Diets in the Asia-Pacific Region: Three Countries Score Top Marks
A new study by the regional office of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Bangkok, Dynamic Development, Shifting Demographics, Changing Diets, has put together data on trends and key changes in agriculture and nutrition in the Asia-Pacific region.
Are Rural Households Really Saving? NABARD National Financial Inclusion Survey – 2
In the last year, there have been several peasant protests in different parts of the country, a reflection of low incomes and distress among the peasantry. We now have a new source of data on the extent of savings and investment of rural households. According to NAFIS, on average, a rural household had a monthly income of Rs 8,059 in the survey year (the figure was Rs 8,931 for an agricultural household). The main point of this Note is to argue that this picture is flawed — it is very unlikely that rural households in distress, particularly those in the lower income deciles, have positive savings.
NABARD National Financial Inclusion Survey (NAFIS) – 1
A major new source of data on rural households is the recently completed NABARD-sponsored National Financial Inclusion Survey or NAFIS 2016-17. This is a large sample survey covering 40,327 households in 245 districts of 29 States. Except for a pilot survey, the NSSO has never attempted to collect data on income and expenditure whereas NAFIS provides estimates of income, expenditure, saving, investments and asset ownership. In this first Note on NAFIS, I shall focus on income.
The Tripura Model
Madhura Swaminathan and V. K. Ramachandran attempt to draw the contours of "The Tripura Model" of development based on the study of the three villages in the State of Tripura, conducted by the Foundation for Agrarian Studies in May-June 2016. The note, which has been published in The Hindu is republished here.
Women’s Access to Land
Women’s control over land and property is recognised to be an important factor in women’s socio-economic status and empowerment. We report some interesting results on the subject from a quick analysis of data from eight villages (located in Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab and Karnataka) surveyed by the Foundation for Agrarian Studies.
Rural Women Work (At Least) 50 Hours a Week
Women work for at least 50 hours a week. This is our finding from a one-week labour diary or time-use survey conducted in Siresandra village of Kolar, Karnataka in May 2017. As part of a project on Women in Rural Production Systems, the Foundation for Agrarian Studies team interviewed 14 women on all the activities undertaken every day for a week.