The interplay between household food security and wellbeing among small-scale farmers in the context of rapid agrarian change in India

Abstract

Background: Small-scale agriculture, government entitlements, and livelihood opportunities offered by rapid economic growth shape the food security and wellbeing of people in rural India. This paper analyses this ongoing process of agrarian development from the perspective of three major approaches: the food availability approach, the entitlement and livelihood approach, and food sovereignty. We draw on quantitative and qualitative data collected from 68 households in rural Tamil Nadu on landholding and management, farm diversity, agricultural production, food availability, off-farm employment, rural out-migration, objective and subjective wellbeing, and socioeconomic and demographic profile of respondents.Results: Rural households were classified in four categories, based on their engagement in agriculture and off-farm employment, to understand the interplay between food sufficiency and wellbeing. The households solely based on small-scale agriculture were found to have higher food sufficiency, landholding, and crop diversity, but lower monthly income and wellbeing. The households that were engaged in off-farm employment in addition to agriculture were found to have lower food sufficiency, landholding, and crop diversity, yet they exhibited better wellbeing and higher income. The landless households, which were primarily engaged in off-farm labour, work in distant markets had higher income than households solely engaged in farming. However, they had the lowest wellbeing index among all household types. The findings indicated that the impacts of women's participation in local or distant employment schemes on household food security and wellbeing were complex and shaped by the household's engagement in agriculture and their aspirations for a better quality of life. Conclusions:None of the three food security approaches provides a fully satisfactory basis for interventions aimed at enhancing the capacity of small and marginal farmers to achieve food security and meet their aspirations for wellbeing in the research area, although the entitlements and livelihoods approach has had a significant impact on local possibilities for livelihoods diversification. The study demonstrates that the interaction between food security and the subjective wellbeing of farmers is complex and shaped by the productivity of small-scale agriculture and livelihood aspirations of farm households.

Land ownership, agriculture, and household nutrition: a case study of north Indian villages

“…This disconnection from agriculture as a source of livelihood occurs even in Kalyanagar, where (as noted above) 70 per cent of households own small plots or arable land. One‐third (25 out of 76) of households being ‘non‐cultivating peasant households’ (Patel et al, ; Vijay, ); that is, they derived livelihoods solely from the non‐farm economy and left their land either fallow or leased out (Figure ).…”

Rural Livelihood Strategies and Household Food Security of Farmers Surrounding Derba Cement Factory, Oromia Region, Ethiopia

“…Livelihoods strategies underpin food security (Patel et al, 2015). The means by which people produce food by themselves and the means of securing income to buy food from other sources are crucial in analyzing household food security.…”

“…From a livelihood perspective, household food security is the result of adequate access to livelihood activities that allow members to lead a hunger-free life (Patel et al, 2015). Thus, treating household food security without due consideration of the livelihood security of household members is inadequate in making feasible policy recommendations (Burchi & De Muro, 2012).…”

The challenge of achieving basal energy, iron and zinc provision for home consumption through family farming in the Andes: a comparison of coverage through contemporary production systems and selected agricultural interventions

“…While overall crop and livestock production diversity is high in the study area, many households would not be able to cover the basal micronutrient (iron and zinc) demand through self-production. On-farm species richness does not, according to several studies, linearly translate into food security, dietary diversity and improved nutrition [103][104][105]. In addition to the effects of landholding and household size, the actual energy and micronutrient composition of foods determined household balance outcomes.…”