Regional Markets

3 Cases
secure some additional income that they control, largely through the economic activities
where they are most directly involved, like fruit trees, livestock and poultry. This
has resulted in women feeling less constrained in their mobility and more confident in
voicing their opinions during meetings when men are present. However, it should be
emphasised that gender equality is still a long way away. Looking at the gains in mobility,
while women do feel free to go to other people’s homes and deal with traders, they
do not usually go to the market. The direct income that women secure is disproportionally
smaller compared to the invested labour. For example, women do 95% of the work
in homestead gardening but receive only 12% of the proceeds (ActionAid 2011).
Food security
Overall, there has been a durable increase in food intake at household level. Also, with
the adoption of homestead gardening and the emphasis placed on poultry and livestockrearing,
families have more diverse livelihood options at their disposal. The impact of
income diversification on food security should be underscored. During field studies it was
found that poultry were the most resilient source of protein and income, as they could
best weather natural disasters, like storms, droughts and cyclones (ActionAid 2011). Also
one innovative introduction at the level of women’s groups was the ‘fistful of rice’ savings
scheme. Each woman brought to the meetings 250 grams of rice, which was placed into
a collective grain bank, to be used by members in time of need. This experience prompted
the women to apply the same practice in their homes, i.e. when they cook they set aside a
small portion of rice, thus creating their own household food security batch.
The quality seeds provided to farmers led to improvement in the quality and quantity of
rice production. The initiative increased farmers’ income, thus improving access to other
food items from the local markets. The FoSHoL seed initiative has brought greater
control to the farming community over rice seeds, because they produce, process and
distribute the seeds themselves.
Food quality
The diversifications of livelihood also had an impact on the quality of food consumed at
the household level. Primarily it provided for a regular supply of easily accessible proteins,
primarily from the fish ponds, augmented sometimes also by egg consumption
(eggs are primarily used as a cash commodity in these communities). Along with the
line-sowing and quality seeds, other key improvement to crop management practices
included the introduction of organic fertilisers and integrated pest management with
plant-based insecticides (ActionAid 2011). The wide application of environmentally
friendly farming techniques has had a marked effect on productivity. It also improved
the general health of the population. The scarce sources of clean drinking water are not
being polluted by runoff, not to mention the direct benefits to the personal health of
those who no longer have to handle chemical agricultural agents.
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