INTRODUCTION

The global financial crisis, believed to have begun in July 2007 with the credit crunch, when a loss of confidence by US investors in the value of sub-prime mortgages caused a liquidity crisis. By September 2008, the crisis had worsened as stock markets around the globe crashed and became highly unstable. The crisis took a severe toll on the Indian informal market as well. The Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) and the ‘Central Trade Union’ of India selected a few key sectors to assess the impact of the financial crisis on its members working as rag pickers or as marginal farmers. The selected sample was interviewed and studied through Fixed Group Discussions (FDGs). The general objective of the report is to deal with the social factors of living (viz. education, food intake and healthcare expenditure) being affected by the drop in income patterns and poor coping strategies of workers engaging in both these occupations. The UNDP report critically analyses the conditions of the people engaged in these occupations and also attempts to recommend appropriate policy measures from the inferences drawn from the study.

MARGINAL FARMERS- FROM A BIRD’S VIEW

Introduction:

Agriculture is the only means of livelihood for more than two thirds of India’s population, though the sector contributes only 18 percent to the country’s GDP. Agriculture also has the largest number of informal workers (estimated at 98.4 percent). Given that a significant percentage of the poor in India is made up of farmers with small or no landholdings, agriculture as a sector becomes an automatic choice for such a study and thus forms the core of the report. Further, rural households that had shifted their focus to urban factories have reverted to agriculture for support. 5 districts from the state of Gujarat were targeted for inspection and an attempt for proportionate representation from different communities in the respondent profile was made. For statistical convenience, 100 subjects were questioned and their suggestive responses were also taken into account. The period of October 2008 (Diwali) was taken as a check point for a comparative study of the conditions of these marginal farmers.

Impact:

While very few of the affected were unemployed, most had either trouble finding the same volume of work or were working under more stringent payment terms.

With the advent of the financial crisis, major changes were noticed in the domain of work- income ratio and the availability of employment opportunities. 52% respondents found that the magnitude of work at increased but the wage rate stayed more or less the same while 43% farmers found it difficult to seek new work. The respondents were categorized by income bands, and there was a visible shift in the numbers towards the lower income bands after Diwali. . More than 80 percent respondent households reported that their financial condition (household income) worsened between October 2008 and March 2009. This also suggests that households had been unable to take advantage of the National Rural Employment Gurantee (NREG) scheme to secure employment. The FGDs revealed many issues that had discouraged villagers from joining the scheme. Apart from a general lack of awareness of NREGS, there were issues related to inefficient distribution of job cards and delay in payments which worsened the situation further. Therefore, a new and more efficient programme/policy was needed. Before understanding the impact the crisis had on children’s education, it is important to look at the respondents’ education profiles. With nearly 60% of the subjects being illiterate, the crisis took a toll on the education of their offspring and increasing the gravity of the issue.

Healthcare was affected significantly, with households unable to afford private healthcare facilities. The number of people reporting instances of depression, and mental and physical illness increased as well. Instances of domestic conflicts/tension increased marginally due to financial difficulties. Fifty-two women reported such instances after Diwali, as against 44 in the preceding period. Respondents also tried to cut transportation costs by shifting to public transport. As many as 33 respondents reportedly resorted to public transportation after September 2008, as against eight in the period before. Also, more people stopped using transportation and resorted to walking.