Promoting food security and livelihoods for urban poor through the informal sector: a case study of street food vendors in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India

Patel, Kirit; Guenther, David; Wiebe, Kyle; Seburn, Ruth-Anne

doi:10.1007/s12571-014-0391-z

Cited by 41 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…We were told that human consumption of fermented ragi helps individuals to recover from stomach disorders caused by over consumption of liquor. This is very common as there are roadside shops that sell this product on most street corners in the morning (Patel et al 2014 ) (Fig. 3 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

DNA record of some traditional small millet landraces in India and Nepal

et al. 2016

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Despite the extensive use of small millet landraces as an important source of nutrition for people living in semi-arid regions, they are presently marginalized and their diversity and distribution are threatened at a global scale. Local farmers have developed ancient breeding programs entrenched in traditional knowledge (TK) that has sustained rural cultures for thousands of years. The convention on biological diversity seeks fair and equitable sharing of genetic resources arising from local knowledge and requires signatory nations to provide appropriate policy and legal framework to farmers’ rights over plant genetic resources and associated TK. DNA barcoding employed in this study is proposed as a model for conservation of genetic diversity and an essential step towards documenting and protecting farmers’ rights and TK. Our study focuses on 32 landraces of small millets that are still used by indigenous farmers located in the rain fed areas of rural India and Nepal. Traditional knowledge of traits and utility was gathered using participatory methods and semi-structured interviews with key informants. DNA was extracted and sequenced (rbcL, trnH-psbA and ITS2) from 160 samples. Both multivariate analysis of traits and phylogenetic analyses were used to assess diversity among small millet landraces. Our research revealed considerable variation in traits and DNA sequences among the 32 small millet landraces. We utilized a tiered approach using ITS2 DNA barcode to make 100 % accurate landrace (32 landraces) and species (six species) assignments for all 160 blind samples in our study. We have also recorded precious TK of nutritional value, ecological and agricultural traits used by local farmers for each of these traditional landraces. This research demonstrates the potential of DNA barcoding as a reliable identification tool and for use in evaluating and conserving genetic diversity of small millets. We suggest ways in which DNA barcodes could be used in the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights in India and Nepal.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13205-016-0450-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

DNA record of some traditional small millet landraces in India and Nepal

et al. 2016

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“…Public space in the urban areas has become an important resource for the informal business sector due to its conduciveness to the market. In fact, in India, the government recognize the role of the street-food vendor in providing food security as mentioned by [16]. The study further claimed that the state can capitalize on the potential of the informal food sector in the delivery and consumption of healthy food by capacitating the informal micro-entrepreneurs in recuperating urban food security.…”

Section: Urban Informal Food Sector Issuesmentioning

confidence: 92%

Remodeling Livelihood Vulnerability Indicators for The Informal Food Microentrepreneurs

Hidalgo

Cuesta²

2018

SEAS

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The informal sector consists of business enterprises that operate outside legal business frameworks. With the huge contribution of the informal sector in economic development, local authorities regard the sector as partners in local development initiatives. Among the industries in the informal sector, the role of the informal food sector in the food value chain is vital in addressing food security issues in the urban community. However, the absence of social protection in the informal sector makes their livelihood more vulnerable to economic losses. The Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) approach is a practical tool for assessing how vulnerable the sector is and which livelihood component contributes to its vulnerability. Inopportunely, studies on LVI are only centered to farming communities. This paper explores the development of livelihood vulnerability indicators that can be utilized to off-farm enterprises predominantly to the informal food microenterprises. The indicators were sourced from LVI and entrepreneurship studies using the major vulnerability factors such as adaptive capacity, sensitivity, and exposure. The developed livelihood vulnerability indicators quantify the seven livelihood components of the informal food microenterprises such as the demographic profile, social network, livelihood strategies, health security, food security, access to utilities and disaster experience. Keywords: remodeling, livelihood vulnerability index, microentrepreneurs.

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“…Also, linking of agriculture with other sectors, predominantly energy, for renewable energy generation like bio-gas will also provide a sustainable environment and a scope for inclusive growth (Grote 2014 ). Moreover, production of healthy snacks and ready to eat food items in a distributive manner, say, street side shops and small hotels, is proven to be a successful model for promoting rural–urban self-employment and food security (Patel et al 2014 ). Another aspect towards technological interventions include introduction of less capital invested equipment in small scale like hand operated or pedal operated de-husking and de-milling equipment for crop processing etc.…”

Section: Need Of An Effective Balance In Food Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%