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What are the factors that contribute to their vulnerability?
The most frequently cited causes of vulnerability as per ActionAid internal
survey of 13 country programmes food security work were associated with land
and farming, the second cluster was vulnerability linked with policies, third
with finances, fourth due to natural and manmade disasters and finally due to
location and access.
*
Small or no landholding, no control of land or capital, no irrigation,
poor technologies & extension, no access to production inputs, low production
levels, post harvest losses, high dependence on external inputs were cited as
causes of vulnerability associated with the land and farming cluster.
*
Trade liberalisation, poor public health and social security policies,
low investment in infrastructure, low investment in agriculture, bad rural
development policies, high taxes and fees, no social security provisions were
the vulnerability factors associated with policies.
*
Low wages, under employment, lack of savings and credit, indebtedness,
inequalities in income distribution were linked with vulnerability in finances.
*
Floods and droughts, erosion and deforestation, conflict and
displacement and civil unrest were linked with natural and manmade disasters.
*
Lack of access to markets and growth centres, lack of access for
forests and pastures, remote or isolated locations were causes of vulnerability
linked with location and access.
Some of these are elaborated below:
Natural factors
Vagaries of nature impact most on the marginalised and vulnerable groups within
a society.
In India, for example drought is not just a seasonal phenomenon but a
permanent, harsh reality for many rural poor. Agriculture still remains the
main occupation for 70% of the Indian population and is a backbone for the
Indian economy. ActionAid India's assessment of the agricultural scenario has
been that though there is an increase in the production, the vulnerability of
the poor to drought and chronic hunger has not come down.
ActionAid India believes that it is the depletion of natural resources, unequal
distribution of assets, inappropriate production technologies, inhibiting
government policies and lopsided distribution system, which force millions to
suffer chronic hunger and distress.
Death of livestock, scarcity of fodder and damage to natural forests have
forced many rural poor to borrow in order to survive. Huge debts have further
forced many to sell their land. In some districts like Bolangir, Orissa, women
and children are sold to fetch the next meal of the day. In many districts
drought the second consecutive year in 2002 led to starvation deaths, mass
migration, bonded labour, land alienation and further marginalisation of dalits
and tribals.
Government neglect and indifference
The State has primary responsibility towards ensuring that its citizens human
rights are fulfilled, and in particular that the most marginalised within its
borders are protected. However, in many countries states either violate poor
peoples right to food or turns a blind eye towards violations that occur.
ActionAid is working to ensure that state is held responsible towards
realisation of the 'right to food' for both the able bodied and the disabled.
Development projects in many countries often cause environmental damage to
water and natural resources. Such projects include the construction of
hydroelectric dams and roads, as well as mining and logging activities,
compromising livelihood of the indigenous people.
ActionAid Malawi undertook field research (written by Stephen Devereux) in the
wake of the Malawi food crisis in 2002 where between 500 to 1,000 people died
of hunger or hunger related diseases in southern and central Malawi. This was
a case of policy failure and years of government neglect. The 'trigger'
factors included production failure, information constraints, a depleted food
reserve, import bottlenecks and unaffordable high food prices. On the
political front - there were negative synergies between donor and government
policies and practices were not consistent. In addition to the above,
livelihood vulnerability and institutional vulnerability intersected to produce
the famine. The report draws upon lessons from the famine and suggests some
concrete next steps to avoid a similar situation.
ActionAid India is supporting public interest litigation on `Right to Food'
filed by People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL, Rajasthan) in the Supreme
Court. The PUCL claimed in the petition that millions starved despite Food
Corporation of India godowns over stocked with 50 million tonnes of foodgrains.
ActionAid India is providing data and research material (village and block
level data) to lawyers for this case. Within a month of the filing of the PIL,
the Court ordered interim relief to the drought-affected people.
The Supreme Court passed has also passed an order effectively converting the
provisions of eight food security schemes into entitlements (rights) of the
poor. The Supreme Court recently pronounced an interim order directing all
State governments to provide all the eight food security schemes to the poor
with immediate effect.
Corporate control of agriculture
In many parts of the world private sector/entrepreneurs are exploiting the void
left by the withdrawal of state from agriculture. Some of the private sector
actors have entered this field to make quick money through exploiting
unsuspecting rural farmers. This increases vulnerability of smallholder
farmers. In addition to these unscrupulous traders, another problem is the
growing power and increased concentration of multinational corporations.
In the absence of adequate national legislation and international rules,
multinational corporations can carry out their operations, exploiting
jurisdictional gaps and escaping effective regulations. Multinational
corporations can also count on their economic power to put pressure on
governments eager to attract foreign investors to create an environment
particularly sympathetic to the investors' needs. Multinational companies
represent a source of Foreign Direct Investments, technology and export income
that generate jobs, economic activities and development.
The exploitation of resources belonging to indigenous communities by
multinational companies includes not only natural resources (such as large
scale agriculture, mining, oil extraction and logging) but also the
appropriation of traditional knowledge and biodiversity, which contributes
billions of dollars each year to the pharmaceutical industry. This can take
place through a patenting system that allows companies to acquire exclusive
rights on stolen knowledge and can be used to create monopolies and sell
products.
These same corporations control 70 per cent of the global pesticide market and
30 per cent of the global seed market. Corporations are paying premium prices
to acquire local seed companies in developing counties in anticipation of
monopoly rents once intellectual property rights are fully enforced. If this
trend continues, patents and other forms of intellectual property protection
will decrease farmers' access to seed, increase the loss of genetic resources,
prevent seed sharing and potentially put farmers out of business. Biodiversity
is clearly being lost as farmers are drawn into seed markets that are closely
associated with the economies of scale created by mono cropping. It is clearly
in the interests of TNCs to market fewer, genetically uniform varieties. With
the expansion of commercial seed markets at a global scale, so traditional
varieties are declining.
External influence
Influence of international trade, aid and financial institutions and agreements
on developing countries agriculture is well documented. Structural adjustment
and other reform programmes have often been criticised for their negative
impacts on the poorest (often rural) sections of the country. It is often
macro-economic policies that are at the root cause of food insecurity. For
example, under various reform programmes imposed by the IMF, World Bank and the
Regional Development Banks, countries such as Haiti, the Gambia and Pakistan
have had to reduce import tariffs and domestic subsidies thereby decreasing
their support and protection to farmers (for example against cheap imports).
ActionAid's vision is a world without poverty in which every person can
exercise their right to a life of dignity. Registered Charity No. 274467
www.actionaid.org
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