Household-Level Analysis of Poverty, Gender and Exclusion in Selected Areas of Pakistan
January 2017 Market Development Facility Version 1.0
Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................ v Introduction ................................................................................... 1 Background to the Study ................................................................................................... 2 Objectives ........................................................................................................................ 3 Methodology .................................................................................................................... 4 Research Questions ............................................................................................................................. 4 Secondary Research ............................................................................................................................ 4 Primary Research................................................................................................................................. 5
Scope of Research ............................................................................................................. 8 General Limitations ............................................................................................................................. 9 Limitations of the Rural Study ............................................................................................................. 9 Limitations of the Urban Study ......................................................................................................... 10
How to Read the Study Report ........................................................................................ 10
Poverty and Gender in Pakistan .................................................... 12 Macroeconomic Overview .............................................................................................. 12 Key Sector Contribution to Economic Growth .................................................................................. 12 Consumption-Driven GDP Expenditure ............................................................................................. 13
Poverty in Pakistan ......................................................................................................... 13 Measuring and Describing Poverty in Pakistan ................................................................................. 13 Widely Used Poverty Measures ........................................................................................................ 14 Pakistan's Poverty Measure .............................................................................................................. 16 Progress Out of Poverty Index (PPI) .................................................................................................. 18 Agriculture and Poverty .................................................................................................................... 19 Urban Poverty and Labour ................................................................................................................ 21
Women’s Economic Empowerment in Pakistan ............................................................... 22 National Context ............................................................................................................................... 22 Women in Farming Households in Pakistan...................................................................................... 22 Women’s Labour Force Participation in Pakistan ............................................................................. 23
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Defining Women’s Economic Empowerment ................................................................................... 24
Findings from Strategic Engagement Area − Dairy and Meat ......... 26 Overview ........................................................................................................................ 26 Who is poor? ..................................................................................................................................... 29 Why are they poor?........................................................................................................................... 31
Pathways Out of Poverty ................................................................................................ 37 Role of Women ............................................................................................................... 41 Constraints in Economic Participation for Women ........................................................... 42 Opportunities to Promote Economic Participation for Women ........................................ 45
Findings from Strategic Engagement Area – Horticulture .............. 47 Overview ........................................................................................................................ 47 Who is poor? ..................................................................................................................................... 51 Why are they poor?........................................................................................................................... 54
Pathways Out of Poverty ................................................................................................ 60 Role of Women ............................................................................................................... 64 Constraints in Economic Participation for Women ........................................................... 68 Opportunities to Promote Economic Participation for Women ........................................ 71
Findings from Strategic Engagement Area – Leather ..................... 73 Overview ........................................................................................................................ 73 Poverty in Leather .......................................................................................................... 75 Who is poor? ..................................................................................................................................... 75 Why are they poor?........................................................................................................................... 77
Pathways Out of Poverty ................................................................................................ 78 Role of Women ............................................................................................................... 80 Constraints in Economic Participation for Women ........................................................... 82 Opportunities to Promote Economic Participation for Women ........................................ 84
Conclusion ................................................................................... 86 Next Steps .................................................................................... 87
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List of Boxes Box 1: Primary Research Tools ................................................................................................................................ 5 Box 2: Analysis Process ........................................................................................................................................... 6 Box 3: Rural Poverty Levels ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Box 4: Measures of Poverty .................................................................................................................................. 14 Box 5: Examples of PPI Contradictions .................................................................................................................. 18 Box 6: State of Agriculture in Pakistan .................................................................................................................. 20 Box 7: Women in Agriculture in Pakistan – A Snapshot ........................................................................................ 23 Box 8: Women’s Economic Empowerment Domains ............................................................................................ 25 Box 9: Employment in the Leather Strategic Engagement Area as a Pathway Out of Poverty............................. 78 Box 10: Respectability of Work in the Leather Strategic Engagement Area ......................................................... 82
List of Tables Table 1: Research Teams by Region and Strategic Engagement Area .................................................................... 5 Table 2: TABLE 3.3 in HIES − Average Numbers of Earners per Household by Province and Region .................... 17 Table 3: TABLE 3.6 in HIES − Percentage of Monthly Household Income Share by Source and Region ............... 17 Table 4: Punjab Land Use ...................................................................................................................................... 27 Table 5: Women’s Involvement in Livestock/Poultry Tasks in Southern Punjab .................................................. 42 Table 6: Sources of Information for Women Caring for Livestock ........................................................................ 43
List of Maps Map 1 –Pakistan ...................................................................................................................................................... 2 Map 2 - Poverty Distribution in Pakistan ................................................................................................................ 3 Map 3 - Punjab ...................................................................................................................................................... 27 Map 4 – Sindh ....................................................................................................................................................... 48 Map 5 - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa .............................................................................................................................. 49 Map 6 - Gilgit-Baltistan ........................................................................................................................................ 50
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List of Abbreviations FAO
Food and Agriculture Organization
FGD
Focus group discussion
FSP
Financial service provider
GB
Gilgit-Baltistan
GII
Gender Inequality Index
GoP
Government of Pakistan
KPK
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
MDF
Market Development Facility
MFI
Microfinance institution
MPI
Multidimensional Poverty Index
PKR
Pakistani rupee
PPP
Purchasing Power Parity
PPI
Progress out of Poverty Index
UNDP
United Nations Development Programme
WEE
Women’s Economic Empowerment
Glossary Arthi
The local term for agricultural − or sometimes commission − agents (from the word ‘arhat’ meaning commission)
Dhodhi
Milk agents who collect milk directly from farms
Kharif
Refers to crops, such as rice, maize and certain vegetables, sown in summer (April to June) and harvested in winter (October to December); kharif is autumn in Arabic
Rabi
Refers to specific crops sown in winter and harvested in April or May, including wheat, rapeseed and particular vegetables; rabi is the Arabic word for spring
Ustaad
The Urdu word meaning expert or highly skilled person − in the context of the study it refers to experienced leather workers who take on apprentices
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Executive Summary Household dynamics are critical to understand better the elements that contribute to prevalent poverty and gender trends within a country. Understanding these complicated dynamics requires recognising the factors that influence the quality of life in a particular household: This entails analysing the household’s relevant quantitative and qualitative features. This study evaluates the picture that emerges within the household structure to differentiate the roles, limitations and possible opportunities for poor households. In particular, the study looks more closely at the dynamics of gender inclusion and how better inclusivity can advance a household out of poverty. The Marketing Development Facility (MDF) conducted primary research to expand on the existing secondary data and statistics for a more nuanced perspective on poverty and gender dynamics. The research focused on gauging a more profound understanding of the factors that increase vulnerability to poverty; how households undertake management decisions on economic activities; the factors that prevent households from moving out of perpetual poverty; and the potential pathways out of poverty for both men and women within a household. The MDF team conducted field studies in Southern Punjab, Southern Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan to understand the dynamics of rural agricultural households. To understand urban poverty dynamics better, the team visited Sialkot and the outskirts of Lahore − both in Punjab − where the leather industry plays an important role in generating employment. The study includes household questionnaires, focus group discussions and worker interviews. The existing quantitative reports and statistics are important to this study as they provide benchmarks against which to compare our findings. The study presents the findings on a region-by-region basis. Given the socio-economic differences from one region to the next in Pakistan, and the overlap of poverty and gender dynamics within each region, organising the information as such best represents the research findings. Each section includes general information about poverty and gender dynamics, and then hones in on specific target sector information as appropriate. Note that the study integrates and cross-references information drawn from secondary sources and primary information to give as complete a picture of poverty and gender dynamics as possible. When the two sources are at odds, we attempt to explain the disparity in order to inform MDF programming decisions. Rural households comprise 80 percent of poor households in Pakistan, with the majority of these involved in agricultural work. The urban population is also on the rise, and poverty is particularly severe where the working poor are engaged in informal and/or unskilled labour. Poor rural households have difficulties accessing cultivable land; water resources that are sufficient and regular in supply; locally available inputs, which are appropriately packaged; services including
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information on best practice and techniques; and markets and market information that provide incentives for farmers to invest in their farming businesses. Fewer farmers with larger holdings capture the majority of opportunities and benefits as many input providers and connectors to formal markets only supply information and inputs to the wealthier or ‘elite’ landowners. Poor rural households have limited financial literacy and restricted access to products that include appropriate embedded services, for example, formal finance includes a wide range of embedded services. Poor rural households can be remote and, as a result, suffer from general constraints such as being located in challenging agricultural environments with low standards of education and limited access to alternative income streams to supplement household finances. Our research shows that the urban poor working in the leather sector have higher living costs as compared to rural areas; are more vulnerable as they are unable to produce goods for their own consumption; and have fewer opportunities to diversify their skills. Their financial inflexibility restricts their freedom to move to acquire advanced skills; the need to begin learning new skills from scratch means they must forego their existing regular income. The role of poor women in Pakistan is pivotal in three broad areas: women are lead producers in certain regions (e.g., farming households in Gilgit-Baltistan); women are paid and unpaid agricultural labourers (e.g., animal husbandry in Southern Punjab); and women participate in employment (e.g., in agro-processing and as stitchers in the leather industry). Despite their involvement in each of these areas, women generally suffer from a lack of access to services and information that can increase their productivity on farms and returns from economic activity. Women are seldom targeted by extension services in agriculture, be it public or private, and often remain “invisible” actors in these economic activities. The women in the leather industry tend to work only in dire financial household need. They face constraints when accessing employment opportunities, as they require specific work environments including segregated workspaces and transport facilities. Women factory workers are unable to learn new skills because cultural norms limit their interaction with male workers. Gaining a nuanced understanding of the challenges women face in accessing more opportunities and services will enable MDF Pakistan to design a more inclusive series of partnerships for economic growth. This study contributed to the body of knowledge on the existing horticulture, dairy and meat, and leather sectors, and confirms and expands − particularly in the area of gender − the strategies MDF has implemented since the establishment of the first partnership in 2014. The MDF team has analysed the study’s conclusions and integrated them into the programme’s strategies and day-to-day work to help to design interventions that are more inclusive. For instance, the findings from the urban study have informed the design of new leather-sector partnerships, such as with shoe manufacturers Footlib and Servis, where MDF has worked with the partners to provide a women-friendly work environment through segregated workspaces, restrooms and day-care facilities. Our research showed that women
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feel more comfortable working with and learning new skills from other women, and so their families have fewer objections to women working on the factory floor. Another finding was that farmers are unable to maximise returns from their livestock because of a lack of access to affordable and nutritious fodder. MDF’s contribution is to work with input suppliers, such as Farm Dynamics Pakistan, Pioneer Pakistan Seed and Maxim International, to improve the availability of nutritious fodder in small packages to promote uptake by smallholder dairy and meat farmers and encourage improved animal husbandry practices with partners such as Shakarganj Food Products, Mustafa Brothers and ICI Pakistan. In the horticultural engagement area, MDF is assisting market connectivity by working with fruit processors, such as Organo Botanica, in Gilgit-Baltistan to facilitate remote farmers’ access to high-value markets.
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Introduction The Market Development Facility (MDF) stimulates investment, business innovation and regulatory reform – three core goals − in order to create additional jobs and increase the income of poor women and men in rural and urban areas in the Indo-Pacific region. MDF began working in Fiji in 2011, in Timor-Leste in 2012, in Pakistan in 2013, and in Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka in 2015. Australian Aid funding for MDF Phase 1 ends in June 2017 after which the project will transition to Phase 2. To achieve its three core goals, MDF negotiates partnerships with strategically positioned private and public sector organisations in each country of operation. Each partnership comprises a tailor-made package of activities that enables the partner to innovate, invest and/or undertake reforms in such a manner that small farms and firms benefit from better access to production inputs, services and end markets. This makes them more productive and helps them grow, which in turn creates jobs and increases income for poor women and men. Each partnership promotes business innovations or reforms; leverages private sector investment or public sector ownership (‘cost sharing’); has a demonstrated link with pro-poor growth, job creation and income generation; and contributes to systemic changes in the economy of the country in which it is active. MDF’s portfolio of partnerships has expanded year by year as MDF negotiates more partnerships with more organisations in more countries. In Pakistan, MDF is currently working in three strategic engagement areas: dairy and meat, leather, and horticulture. Dairy and meat covers production, collection, processing and marketing of livestock products. Within the area, the focus for dairy is domestic market expansion through the formalisation of supply structures so producers can enjoy the full benefits of the growing market demand. For meat, the focus is principally on export market expansion but also on addressing the development of the formal domestic retail outlets. In order for this to happen, more livestock farmers need to transform into commercial meat production businesses, instead of retaining livestock as living financial assets. The leather engagement area involves the recovery of hides and skins through to the production of retail-ready leather goods. MDF’s work focuses on increasing the conversion of finished leather into retail-ready products in Pakistan. The horticultural engagement area covers the cultivation, harvest, post-harvest handling, processing and packaging of fruit, vegetables and root crops including fresh and processed produce for both domestic and export markets. Here, MDF works to improve the connectivity to markets; increase production volumes and product quality to service the discerning consumer segment of the domestic market; and take advantage of export opportunities. While endeavouring to improve conditions for fruit and vegetable farmers in relevant production areas across Pakistan, MDF focuses on improving farmer outcomes in remote areas such as Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Baluchistan.
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Map 1 –Pakistan
Background to the Study During the strategic assessments, MDF established that the dairy and meat, leather, and horticulture strategic engagement areas are relevant for poverty reduction in Pakistan and hold potential for women’s economic empowerment (WEE). That is, these sectors employ workers from poor urban and/or rural backgrounds; provide livelihoods for small and landless farming households in rural areas; and already exhibit significant involvement of women. Moreover, MDF established that workers and farmers would benefit from investment and growth in these sectors rather than become victims of rising disparity, which may accompany economic growth. This study builds on these observations by investigating more closely at household level to understand better the dynamics, the barriers and the potential pathways involved in poverty, women economic participation and empowerment.
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Objectives In order to expand its understanding of the poverty and gender dynamics within these strategic engagement areas, MDF undertook this study to establish:
Who is poor within the strategic engagement areas, why, and what suitable pathways out of poverty each area can provide.
Where women are working in the engagement areas, which economic roles they play, and how economic activities in the strategic areas can contribute to greater gender equality.
To achieve this, the study goes beyond the many statistical studies on poverty to get a stronger understanding of poverty and gender dynamics in the key areas, the mechanisms, choices and strategies, the ‘pathways’ to move out of poverty, and an understanding of what prevents this from happening. The study also analyses gender roles and controls within this context through a women’s economic empowerment lens. Households in all regions are engaged in multiple strategic engagement areas and income-generating activities (e.g., casual labour, salaried employment, microenterprise and non-focal sectors such as other agricultural work in rural households). As such, the study does not confine the poverty and gender analyses to the focal sectors in each region, though analysis concentrates on the key strategic engagement areas. Based on the findings from this poverty and gender study, sections of the reports on strategic engagement area assessments and strategic engagement growth strategies will be prepared to capture the learning from fieldwork, and provide insight and direction relevant for a programme applying a market-led approach to development. Map 2 - Poverty Distribution in Pakistan
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Methodology The study involved secondary research and extensive fieldwork in rural and urban sectors, mapping different household and worker profiles in terms of income sources and gender roles. It focused on both rural households earning an income from farming activities and urban households dependent on the development of the leather sector, as either suppliers or workers within cottage businesses or medium-tiered factories. This section describes the secondary research and primary research and its key questions in rural and urban areas including field research teams, research tools, sampling strategy and selection, and the limitations of the research.
Research Questions MDF conducted both primary and secondary research for this study. The design of the primary research builds on existing secondary research and statistics, and delves deeper into the qualitative aspects of poverty and gender. The overarching research questions for the gender and poverty study were as follows:
Who is poor within a strategic engagement area? Why are they poor? What are the suitable pathways out of poverty provided by the strategic engagement area? Where are women working in the strategic engagement area? What are their economic roles? How can economic activities in the strategic engagement area contribute to greater gender equality through women’s economic empowerment (particularly access, decision-making and workload)?
Secondary Research Secondary research involved a review of key resources from well-recognised organisations – e.g., the Government of Pakistan, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Bank, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – as well as from academic publications and NGO reports. These sources contextualise, expand upon and triangulate the findings from the primary research. On the one hand, as our primary research was qualitative in nature, the secondary research often provides broader and better statistical evidence where available. On the other hand, primary research was often able to delve deeper into the specifics of poverty and gender in strategic engagement areas where MDF is working to gain a more nuanced understanding of the economic lives of poor women and men across key sectors in Pakistan. The study integrates information from primary and secondary sources – with citations throughout − to provide as complete a picture as possible for each region.
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Primary Research Regional Field Research Teams MDF teams assigned to different regions conducted primary research in the field. International consultant, Linda Jones, supported the teams, conducted the secondary research and led the analysis with the WEE Results Measurement Manager, Victoria Carter. The research and analysis in each region primarily focused on a key strategic engagement area as follows: Table 1: Research Teams by Region and Strategic Engagement Area
Region
Strategic Engagement Area
Field Team
Rural Southern Punjab
Dairy and Meat
Fiza Salim, Ali Javaid, Ali Sohail
Rural Southern Sindh
Horticulture
Jawad Baloch and Zahra Mir
Gilgit-Baltistan
Horticulture
Aimen Khalid Butt and Priyanka Rajani
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Horticulture
Amna Awan and Saiful Muhammad
Urban Sialkot, Punjab
Leather
Momina Saqib and Jawad Khan
Urban Lahore, Punjab (mediumsized factories)
Leather
Urban Lahore (cottage industries)
Leather
Fiza Salim, Amna Awan, Zahra Mir, Abdullah Khan, Maira Riaz, Ali Javaid Fiza Salim, Abdullah Khan, Hussam Raza, Momina Saqib, Zahra Mir
As is clear from the table, the field research teams went to four regions: Southern Punjab, Southern Sindh, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK). MDF chose these regions as they include the majority of the existing partnerships and there is potential to develop more in some areas. Security concerns prevented the field research teams from going to Baluchistan, even though it is a region where MDF works, so it was not included in the study.
Tools Used for Primary Research The tools used during this study include household interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) conducted in rural and urban settings, and worker interviews from the urban component. Samples of the questionnaires and the templates for the FGDs are in Annex 1, while Annex 2 has the summaries of the household interviews. Details of the tools designed are in the boxes below. Box 1: Primary Research Tools
Household Questionnaire: The household questionnaire consisted of a semi-structured interview with open-ended and multiple-choice questions. In the study’s rural and urban components, the aim of the questionnaires was to explore the six overarching research questions for poverty and gender identified above. Open-ended questions allowed the
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exploration of new ideas and close examination of the interviewees’ responses. The poverty section of the questionnaire was aimed at the male and female heads of household together (although men usually dominated this aspect of the interview), followed by a gender section divided into questions to which the male and female heads were to respond separately. All members of the field team received training and became familiar with the interview guide before the field research began – through a workshop, by piloting research tools in rural Punjab and from a follow-on debrief (with input and adjustments to the questionnaire). The teams conducted all the interviews in the local language, although they took notes in English. Focus Group Discussions: Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) comprised the second tool used together with the household questionnaires. The teams held FGDs with women in rural and urban settings in the four target provinces to provide additional information on gender. The FGDs followed the themes identified from the study’s household interviews as well as the MDF pillars for WEE: women’s roles and controls including issues of access, decision-making and workload. Worker Interviews: In addition to the household interviews and FGDs, worker interviews supplemented the urban component of the study. These interviews took place on the factory floor in Sialkot in Punjab to understand the roles, conditions, opportunities and challenges of workers in factories and cottage industries. The team was able to refine its sampling strategy through the interviews, a result of which this tool was not required in Lahore, Punjab, where teams conducted short conversations with factory workers for sample screening.
Analysis Process The information collected was organised and analysed as follows: Box 2: Analysis Process
Household and Workers Quantitative Data: The research process was to collate the responses from the interviews into an Excel spreadsheet – one spreadsheet per rural or urban target strategic engagement area (by region) including data from each of the households or workers. This collation offers an overview of the region and easy access to quantitative data per household and/or worker and across a region or strategic engagement area. Data summary sheets were also prepared providing calculations such as net income from specific agricultural activities minus the cost of production and sales, total income from all sources, number of children in the household 13 years of age and under, number of livestock, etc. The spreadsheet summaries also collated data across households to get a sense of the ranges and averages (while recognising that this information is not statistically significant owing to the small sample size but suggestive of the households’ economic situation). Calculations included per capita income for households in Pakistani rupees (PKR) but did not adjust these amounts to PPP (purchasing power parity) as this was beyond the scope of the study. The goal was rather to indicate the level of a household’s income in relation to other households. Consumption of their own produce, pensions and remittances, non-farm income, and gifts and barter were all included in the income calculations to get a reasonably comparative figure from one household to the next within each region. Household Progress Out of Poverty Index:
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The teams collected data according to the Progress Out of Poverty Index used to identify the likelihood of poverty in Pakistan This served as an additional indicator for the household poverty level and contributed to the discussion and analysis of the individual household’s situation. For example, if a house had a low PPI but relatively higher per capita income, we could review that household and discuss the variables. This was often in the case where households had a higher number of children aged 13 years or younger, and the PPI deducts significant points. See Annex 1 for the Pakistan PPI form. Household Summaries: In addition to quantitative reporting, the primary research teams prepared a narrative poverty and gender summary from each household interview. A tabular but narrative format guided this process supporting the teams to reflect on the interviews and to report on numeric information as well as observations of the village, household and individuals within the household that are included in the poverty analysis for each region below. Three of these summaries are included for each strategic engagement area nine in total) in Annex 2, representing:
One of the poorest households in theengagement area An average but dynamic household A wealthier household that is above the poverty line
Focus Group Discussion Summaries: The process summarised FGDs according to the guide (sample in Annex 1). This allowed for further qualitative analysis regarding women’s roles in the strategic engagement area, their challenges and opportunities, potential solutions, and issues around decision-making, control over income and workloads. We used the information drawn from the FGDs not only to expand our understanding of women’s situations, but also to triangulate, clarify or contradict information provided by the male head of the household. This in turn led to in-depth review and discussion around household activities and dynamics.
Rural Sampling Strategy The Pakistan team identified four levels of poverty as follows for sampling rural households: Box 3: Rural Poverty Levels
Rural Poverty Levels: 1. 2. 3.
Below food security: Food poverty, dire social cases, not enough money for purchasing productive inputs Has food security and can meet basic needs (housing and clothing) Has food security and can meet housing, clothing, education and medical needs: Fairly dynamic although still poor − it is clear these people are moving out of basic poverty
4. Not poor but vulnerable to falling back into poverty The goal was to interview twelve households in categories two and three in the four rural areas where the teams conducted primary research. This was an ambitious plan – given the complexities of field research, the level of support in the field, and the probability of identifying households in such a
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prescribed manner. Nevertheless, the study was able to locate the target range of households for the study as described in each region’s poverty analysis section below.
Urban Sampling Strategy While the urban component of the study was principally similar − in that it aimed to capture a varied set of households at different poverty levels − the sampling strategy differed in this part of the study. The strategy set out to capture the correlation between upward economic mobility and the skill and career levels of worker in the leather strategic engagement area. As such, the aim was to capture:
Household poverty levels of skilled workers at different career levels: entry-level, mid-career, and experienced in the formal and cottage industries respectively Opportunities for moving into and progressing in skilled roles Reasons for remaining in unskilled positions
In order to select a representative sample of workers, it was first important to understand the value chains within the leather sector in Pakistan, which factory size dominates the sector, and in which geographical areas the sector is concentrated. Through its strategic engagement area assessments, the team found that while there are small pockets of leather workshops scattered across the country, the sector is mainly concentrated in Sialkot and Lahore in Punjab, and Karachi in Sindh. The strategic engagement area assessment also indicated that the finished goods segment is growing in Sialkot and Lahore, while the Karachi industry, which has largely been apparel-focused, has been shrinking. MDF partnerships promote the competitiveness of leather footwear and accessories, the result of which limits the study to Lahore and Sialkot. The sector in Sialkot consists of a range of value chains including gloves, accessories, garments and footwear produced by manufacturers of varying sizes, requiring the team to be flexible in its selection of households interviewed, as opposed to sticking to a stringent strategy. Having said that, the households interviewed were those that fell across a range of poverty profiles, and conducting a larger number of factory-floor worker interviews added breadth. Conversely, in Lahore mid-tier and cottage industry footwear manufacturers dominate leather good manufacturing, so he sample consisted of workers in different roles across different skill levels for the two types of producers.
Scope of Research The research was not without limitations, as described below. However, please note that despite these limitations, we were able to collect information of significant quantity and quality that has been very useful in understanding the nature of poverty and gender in the targeted regions and strategic engagement areas.
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General Limitations We calculated the household per capita income in PKR and used it for comparative purposes rather than to gauge specific poverty indicators. We used a 200 percent National Poverty Line (approximately PKR 250 per day) to confirm that our selected respondents fell within the poverty profile we wanted to capture. The teams generally conducted the household poverty interviews with the male and female heads of household together. However, men tended to dominate this part of the interview, leading to some skewed results taken from the dominant male perspective only. The male dominance may have led to some female respondents being primed in the gender interviews that followed where women reported having information they did not have prior to the interview, or gave answers consistent with those of the male respondent simply for the sake of propriety. Therefore, the focus group discussions were particularly crucial in providing a more balanced perspective of the household and roles within it. The majority of the households interviewed did not keep records and relied on memory to answer the questions. For example, it was particularly complicated with farm expenses and income as respondents tried to remember all the costs associated with a specific crop they only grew for part of the year. Some of the respondents also reported that they often experimented with non-traditional crops if they saw larger farms in the area having made profits from growing them. This created further distance between the growing time of a typical crop, such as wheat, and when the interview occurred, making respondent recall more complicated. It was not always easy to predict at the start what the final quality of that interview was likely to be. Therefore, some interviews remain suspect as to the value of the information received. Our analysis considered the occasional laspes in quality and noted them where relevant.
Limitations of the Rural Study The research in each region focused on the key strategic engagement area; for instance, Southern Punjab research focused mainly on the livestock activities of the interviewed households; and the interviews in Sindh, KPK and GB predominantly focussed on horticultural activities. In practice, farmers across Pakistan are engaged in a variety of activities, which often include both cultivation of fruit and vegetables and livestock farming. MDF will supplement this research as its portfolio grows by broadening the poverty and gender research to include dairy and meat dynamics in KPK, GB and Sindh, and horticultural dynamics for Southern Punjab. In rural sectors, crop yields and farm production are important factors in understanding why rural households are poor or vulnerable. However, similar to sales and income, reliable and consistent information on production or yields is difficult to collect. There are several reasons for this. Households do not keep records on this information and rely on memory. Yields fluctuate from year to year, and people harvest and consume many crops as needed in the home, and sometimes as partial payment
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for on-farm labour employed. Additionally, people may harvest crops at less regular intervals for sales, making it difficult to estimate a crop’s total seasonal yield.
Limitations of the Urban Study Unlike rural households, it was often difficult for the team to gain access to urban households for indepth interviews. This meant the Sialkot team sometimes had to take advantage of any opportunity presented in the households it interviewed as it was working across multiple value chains or workers employed at different companies, provided they were giving a representative picture of differing poverty levels. The team mitigated the limited access in Lahore by restricting the study sample to workers employed at two companies, which were representative of the broader sector. The team worked with the factory floor supervisors in order to gain the trust of the selected respondents to access their households and conduct interviews with them and their families. Given the small number of workers engaged at a time in a typical cottage business, their flexible working hours, and the high worker turnover, the team was not able to interview enough respondents representing the different worker profiles at their workplace. This was partly because workers in cottage industries are employed based on their skills as opposed to their skill level; however, the team was still able to capture respondents with various skills at different poverty levels.
How to Read the Study Report As is clear to this point, the first chapter of this report introduces the Market Development Facility (MDF) and its approach while providing a background to the study – why MDF conducted the study, the methodology, and the scope of the research. The second chapter provides the country context for Pakistan in terms of economic growth, inclusivity and an analysis of poverty and gender dynamics. The report presents the findings of MDF’s primary research in chapters three, four and five. Each chapter focuses on a strategic engagement area in which MDF works in Pakistan – Dairy and Meat, Horticulture, and Leather, respectively. These chapters each discuss and answer a few crucial questions:
Who is poor and why in the strategic engagement area What is the role of women in the strategic engagement area? What are the constraints specific to women in that area? What opportunities exist for women to participate in more economic activity? What are the pathways out of poverty available to households in the strategic engagement area? The findings are broken down by region when significantly different dynamics are present. For example, gender dynamics are completely different for horticulture-based households in GB and Sindh; hence, the report discusses these separately. The findings come from the team’s householdlevel research and compared against other primary and secondary research carried out by MDF. The
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sixth chapter summarises the findings of the study and suggests some next steps for future MDF activities.
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Poverty and Gender in Pakistan Macroeconomic Overview Pakistan’s annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth over the last decade reveals immensely contrasting trends. The Pakistani economy saw fluctuations in GDP growth from 2005 to 2010, with a sharp decline from 4.83 percent in 2005 to 1.7 percent in 2008.1 Financial analysis attributes these fluctuations to the poor security situation and overall global financial conditions. However, the growth rate started improving in 2011 and has shown a consistent upwards trend with a reported 5.54 percent growth in 2015.2 Following a smooth government transition after the May 2013 elections – the first time one democratically elected parliament handed power to another − and a return to political stability, the constant growth in the services sector has helped Pakistan maintain a positive GDP growth rate. Although this growth has been stable over the last few years, it still falls short of the growth rates of others countries in the region such as India and Bangladesh.3
Key Sector Contribution to Economic Growth Reviewing the growth trends shows that the services sector contributes a major proportion of GDP growth (59.16 percent in 2015)4 followed by the industrial sector (21.02 percent of GDP), of which manufacturing is the most important subsector (a 64.71 percent share of industry). Agriculture is a vital sector (19.82 percent of GDP in 2015),5 and livestock − an important subsector − contributes nearly 59 percent to the agricultural sector growth, though only at a rate of 3.63 percent.6 However, recent statistics show there has been no growth in the agricultural sector with the 2015−16 indicator at negative 0.19 percent.7 Agriculture remains the largest employer of the country’s total labour force – at 42.3 percent − and provides strong backward and forward linkages.8 Statistics reveal that 84.6 percent of rural females work in the agricultural sector, while it employs 50 percent of the rural male population.9 A regional 1
World Bank (2015) “GDP growth (annual %)” http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?end=2015&locations=PK&start=2005 2 Ibid. 3 IMF (2016) “South Asia: Strong regional growth, tepid global growth”. South Asia Regional Update 2016 4 Government of Pakistan (GoP), Finance Division (2015) “Highlights of Pakistan Economic Survey 2015−16” http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/chapters_16/highlights_2015_16.pdf 5 GoP (2015) “Chapter 01 Growth and Investment” http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/chapters_16/01_Growth_and_Investment.pdf 6 GoP (2015) “Chapter 02 Agriculture” http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/chapters_16/02_Agriculture.pdf 7 GoP, Statistics Division, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (2016) “Monthly Bulletin of Statistics November 2016” http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files//other/monthly_bulletin/monthly_bulletin_of_statistics_november16.pdf 8
GoP (2015) “Chapter 02 Agriculture” http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/chapters_16/02_Agriculture.pdf GoP Bureau of Statistics (2015) Labour Force Survey 2013−14 http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/Labour%20Force/publications/lfs201314/Annual%20Report%20of%20LFS%202013-14%20Final.pdf 9
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breakdown of the rural male and female population also reveals that most of the rural population across the country works in the agricultural sector, stressing the importance of this sector for the development of pro-poor growth. Government efforts to support the agricultural sector, however, have been largely unsuccessful. Subsidised fertilisers and support for the import of other agricultural inputs fail to create a competitive, sustainable environment for input companies. In addition, there are poor (and in places non-existent) government extension services for farmers. While the government is trying to encourage traders to export commodities, fruit and vegetables, there is insufficient demand for Pakistani agricultural products in the global market as they fail to match export quality requirements. The manufacturing sector contributed 15.3 percent to the total labour force employment in 2015 and employs around 30 percent of the urban female labour force.10 While large and small-scale manufacturing contributed 12.7 percent to GDP, the third component of this sector, slaughtering, contributed nearly one percent to the GDP. 11 Among the large-scale manufacturing, non-metallic minerals, food and beverages, and leather products are the most prominent.
Consumption-Driven GDP Expenditure GDP expenditure − including consumption, investment and net exports, similar to other developing countries − are mainly consumption driven. Private consumption alone constitutes 80.1 percent of GDP expenditure, whereas public consumption contributed 11.8 percent from 2015 to 2016.12 This private/public consumption split was consistent with previous years. However, investment inflow has picked up since 2012 and contributed nearly 15 percent to GDP in 2015. The favourable investment climate has risen out of a more stable domestic economy and the global investment climate; however, the occasionally volatile security situation and macroeconomic conditions still pose risks to private sector investment. Net exports have been negative with low export and high imports to meet domestic demands. Exports contributed nearly 10.9 percent to GDP as opposed to 17.1 percent import of goods and services.
Poverty in Pakistan Measuring and Describing Poverty in Pakistan Currently, rural households comprise 80 percent of poor households in Pakistan, and the majority of these are involved in agriculture. However, as we see from both our regional and the secondary research, there are huge opportunities in agriculture to increase incomes and benefit from labour
10
Ibid. GoP (2015) “Chapter 03 Manufacturing” http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/chapters_16/03_Manufacturing.pdf 12 GoP (2015) “Chapter 01 Growth and Investment” http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/chapters_16/01_Growth_and_Investment.pdf 11
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devoted to agricultural production. At the same time, urban populations are growing rapidly and current assessments expect them to represent nearly half the country's population by 2025.13 Urban poverty is particularly severe where the working poor are engaged in informal and/or unskilled labour. Poverty is a complex multidimensional phenomenon which, to be properly understood, goes beyond quantitative measures to look at quality of life and opportunities to advance out of poverty. This is no less true for Pakistan and, as such, we have taken a nuanced perspective to assess poor households. However, quantitative reports and statistics are still important to this study in so much as they provide benchmarks against which we can compare our findings.
Widely Used Poverty Measures There are three widely used poverty measures, two of which are UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI) and the UN-Oxford Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). The third, the World Bank’s international poverty line, changed in October 2015 from USD 1.25 to 1.90 per day using purchasing power parity (PPP)14 updated to 2011.15 For the purposes of this study, when it refers to the World Bank measurement in a general sense, it states the new rate of $1.90 (2011 PPP). However, both the HDI 2015 and the most recent MPI – released before or during the change − incorporated the previous $1.25 per day (2005 PPP), so this rate specifically appears as a poverty indicator in relation to these measures.The following box describes all three measures.16 Box 4: Measures of Poverty
Measures of Poverty: The commonly used UNDP Human Development Index (HDI) ranks countries across dimensions: health, education and income. However, HDI is a “summary measure of average achievement across measures” and “does not reflect on inequalities, poverty, human security, empowerment, etc.” 17 The World Bank’s USD $1.90 (2011 PPP) per capita per day measure of absolute poverty is also widely used (including in the HDI 18) and is helpful for understanding which households are the poorest in terms of income. However, both the HDI and $1.90 (2011 PPP) are lacking when we consider the multidimensional characteristics of individual household
13
Michael Kugelman (2014) “Pakistan’s Urbanization: ‘A challenge of great proportions’” Deutsche Welle http://www.dw.com/en/pakistans-urbanization-a-challenge-of-great-proportions/a-18163731 14
PPP − purchasing power parity – is a calculation used to rationalise inter-country income comparisons.
15
Ferreira, F. et al (4 Oct 2015) “The international poverty line has just been raised to $1.90 a day, but global poverty is basically unchanged. How is that even possible?” http://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/international-poverty-linehas-just-been-raised-190-day-global-poverty-basically-unchanged-how-even 16
Jones, L. (2015) Financial and Market Integration of Vulnerable People: Lessons from development programmes in Practical Action series Key Writings in Enterprise Development & Microfinance. Rugby: Practical Action Publishing. 17 UNDP (2015) Human Development Index (HDI) web page: http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-indexhdi 18 Note: the forthcoming HDI 2016 will use the new measurement of $1.90 (2011 PPP); however, as stated on the previous page, the currently available HDI 2015 used $1.25 (2005 PPP).
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poverty. For example, although Ethiopia and Uzbekistan both reported about 50 percent of the population living under $1.25 (2005 PPP) per day in 2010 “by multidimensional measures that capture living standards, almost 90 percent of Ethiopians live in poverty, while only a small percentage of Uzbekistanis do.”19 Therefore, in order to reflect the reality of people’s lives and to determine which households are poor, Oxford University and UNDP introduced the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) in 2010 that assesses non-income factors across three key areas of deprivation applied at the individual level: health, education and living standards.20 Although not all countries report on the necessary metrics, the 2014 UNDP Human Development Report assessed about half of the countries (91 of 187) according to the MPI.21 Consolidated findings in 2014 considered that 1.6 billion people were “MPI-poor,” with 85 percent living in rural areas. 22 Of the world’s poorest countries, the bottom ten on both the MPI and HDI were in Sub-Saharan Africa.23 In fact, out of 30 countries with over half of their population MPI-poor (in those countries for which data are available), only six were outside Sub-Saharan Africa: Pakistan, India, Lao PDR, Philippines, Timor-Leste and Yemen. The HDI rated four of the six – India, Lao, Timor-Leste and the Philippines – at a middle level of human development, revealing significant disparities in the vulnerabilities of people within these countries. Source: Jones (2015)
According to the Human Development Index 2015, Pakistan ranks 147 out of 188 countries.24 However, this reflects averages and Pakistan exhibits a high inequality in general as well as in the gender realm creating an even worse situation for the poor and for women. In fact, according to the HDI report, Pakistan ranks 121 out of 155 countries on gender inequality as compared to Bangladesh at 111. Moreover, according to the UNDP-Oxford multidimensional measures of poverty from 2012−13, 45.6 percent of Pakistan is multidimensionally poor and an additional 14.9 percent is on the border (totalling just over 60 percent) with over 26 percent in severe multidimensional poverty.25 The World Bank reports that according to the $1.90 (2011 PPP) measure of absolute poverty, the poverty headcount for Pakistan was 6.1 percent in 2013 (using Government of Pakistan data).26 The $1.90 (2011 PPP) per day line is considered appropriate for households facing poverty at level 1 (Below food security: Food poverty, dire social cases, not enough money for purchasing productive inputs), but this does not capture poverty levels 2, 3 and 4 (see Box 3) which are considered to be covered by the $3.10 (2011 PPP) per day line. (Note that the household incomes calculated during our interviews are not PPP-calibrated but raw data – the data are comparative and indicative but not quantitative in this sense).
19
Morrell, D. (2011) “Who is Poor?” in Harvard Magazine http://harvardmagazine.com/2011/01/who-is-poor The Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative web page: http://www.ophi.org.uk 21 See a summary of the OPHI findings for 2014: http://www.ophi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Global-MPI-2014-anoverview.pdf?0a8fd7 22 OPHI (2014) “Poverty in Rural and Urban Areas” http://www.ophi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Poverty-in-Rural-andUrban-Areas-Direct-Comparisons-using-the-Global-MPI-2014.pdf?0a8fd7 23 UNDP (2014) UNDP Human Development Report 2014 http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-report-2014 24 UNDP (2015) Human Development Report 2015: Pakistan http://hdr.undp.org/sites/all/themes/hdr_theme/countrynotes/PAK.pdf 25 Ibid. 26 World Bank (2015) “Poverty Headcount Ratio at $1.90 a day (2011 PPP) (% of population)” http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.DDAY?locations=PK 20
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Pakistan’s Poverty Measure Pakistan uses a different approach to collecting and analysing poverty data in its Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES). The most recent HIES (2015−16) covered 24,238 households, and provides “important information on household income, savings, liabilities, and consumption expenditure and consumption patterns at national and provincial level with urban/rural breakdown.”27 The HIES poverty analysis incorporates a consumption-based approach, comparing recent data to HIES 2013−14 at national and provincial levels with an urban/rural breakdown. It paints a more positive picture of poverty in Pakistan than the MPI but is in line with the World Bank $1.90 per day (2011 PPP) calculations (as the survey was released in March 2016). The following bullets are some key findings from analysing HIES data vis-a-vis poverty, with more detailed disaggregation available in the main tables of the report. Note that the methodology divides the population into consumption quintiles, each containing 20 percent of the total population – calculating the four provinces together − from poorest (first quintile) to most affluent (fifth quintile), with the assumption that this affords better distributional and welfare analysis:28 In 2015, multidimensional poverty was 38.8 percent, having fallen from 55.2 percent in 2005. Using HIES data and its ‘cost of basic needs’ approach, the same year the government decided on a new poverty line determining the basic amount one adult needs for a month as USD 29.69.29 Poverty reduction is one of the top priorities of the present government, and it has committed to allocating “a minimum of 4.5 percent of GDP to social and poverty related expenditures” prioritising 17 pro-poor sectors. In the 2014−15 financial year, government expenditure was 7.9 percent of GDP, well above the minimum allocation.30 Analysis attributes the decline in extreme poverty31 to substantial allocations to the Government of Pakistan’s social safety net programmes, such as the Benizir Income Support Programme (BISP).32 Designed to eradicate poverty and elevate marginalised and underprivileged groups, especially women, BISP has a National Socioeconomic Registry and has reportedly distributed cash via transfers to 5.4 million beneficiaries’ families through Benazir Debit Cards and Mobile Phone Banking. (However, very few in our sample received BISP.)
27
GoP, Statistics Division (2015) “Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) 2015−15”, p. 1 http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files//pslm/publications/hies15-16/write%20up%2015-16-HIES-final.pdf 28 Ibid., pp. 18, 32. 29 GoP (2015) “Highlights of Pakistan Economic Survey 2015−16”, p. 14 http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/chapters_16/highlights_2015_16.pdf (Text stated PKP 3,030 using data from HIES 2013−14: USD calculated at conversion rates for 1 June 2015 [USD per PKP at 0.0098] http://www.xe.com/currencytables/?from=PKR&date=2015-06-01 ) 30
Ibid.
31
Ibid.
32
Benizir Income Support Programme http://bisp.gov.pk/
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Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF)33 – the government’s non-profit ‘community-driven development’ organisation − also provides assistance in microcredit, water and infrastructure, drought mitigation, education, health and emergency response interventions (none in our sample mentioned this program). HIES provides interesting information on sources of income and changes in income patterns. For example, Table 2 below illustrates the number earners per household (not the number of sources) by region followed by Table 3 detailing information on the range of income sources in general. Table 2: TABLE 3.3 in HIES − Average Numbers of Earners per Household by Province and Region
AREA Total Urban Rural Punjab Sindh KPK Baluchistan Source: HIES 2015−16
2013−14 1.94 1.78 2.04 1.66 1.96 2.04 1.99
2015−16 1.93 1.75 2.04 1.59 1.89 2.18 2.01
This first table illustrates the increased number of earners per household against the previous HIES and certainly reflects our findings of multiple earners (often husband and wife, but sometimes brothers of father and sons). Table 3: TABLE 3.6 in HIES − Percentage of Monthly Household Income Share by Source and Region
INCOME SOURCES Wage and salaries
2013−14 URBAN RURAL 46.99 29.39
TOTAL 37.45
2015−16 URBAN RURAL 51.16 32.05
TOTAL 40.93
Crop production
2.57
19.00
11.48
1.33
16.46
9.43
Livestock
1.28
13.42
7.86
1.01
13.72
7.81
Other non-agricultural activities
24.06
12.04
17.54
17.95
9.69
13.53
Property (owner occupied houses excluded) Owner occupied houses
3.48 11.84
2.60 6.34
3.00 8.86
3.03 14.16
3.03 7.22
3.03 10.44
Social insurance benefits including pensions
2.63
1.84
2.20
3.25
2.02
2.59
Gift and assistance**
1.22
3.61
2.52
1.29
2.48
1.93
Foreign remittances
3.49
5.84
4.77
4.47
6.85
5.75
Domestic remittances
2.16
5.51
3.98
1.97
5.76
4.00
Other sources
0.27
0.40
0.34
0.38
0.72
0.56
Source: HIES 2015−16
33
**Also includes cash transfers from BISP
Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund http://www.ppaf.org.pk/
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This second table indicates a complete range of incomes, which we also investigated in our study – not only earned income (which is non-agricultural even in rural areas) but also non-earned income such as pensions, remittances and social transfers. As an extension of the data, in another of the government’s national surveys, one question asked households to compare their present economic situation to the previous year. In the survey for 2014−15, 44 percent perceived no change in comparison to 2012−13, a rise of one percent on the response given for that year’s survey.34 It could suggest either that almost half of the survey’s respondents are in relative economic stability, or reflect the nature of entrenched poverty.
Progress Out of Poverty Index (PPI) Developed by the Grameen Foundation (inspired by Muhammud Yunus’s work, the founder of the Grameen Bank), the Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI) uses a set of ten basic country-specific questions “about the household’s characterstics and asset ownership”.35 The answers result in a score used to predict the likelihood of a household’s poverty (that is, the probability that the household is below a given poverty line using US $1.25, $2.00 and $3.75). As such, the PPI is an indirect approach to assessing the level of poverty in a household or group of households. MDF incorporated the Pakistan PPI questions − there are questions for 45 countries in total − into its interviews across all the households, (the PPI for Pakistan is in Annex 1). This was not our sole tool for assessing poverty, but it offered us a quick assessment of the probability of poverty compared to actual income and expenditure data collected from the household, as well as the comparative PPI ranking among households in each region. Box 5: Examples of Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI) Contradictions
Examples of PPI Contradictions: In Southern Punjab, the PPI scores of the twelve households interviewed ranged from 28 to 65. In almost all cases, the team found there was a significant disparity between the PPI’s implications, and the actual per capita income and expenditure (including the types of expenditure). While the PPI was accurate in indicating that all households fell below the 200 percent National Poverty Line, it was less reliable in terms of elucidating how the different measures of poverty feed into predicting a particular poverty level. It appears that the PPI works on the assumption that items, such as TV sets, motorcycles and refrigerators (which are PPI indicators), are typically purchased when there is certain margin in disposable income to buy them. However, in Southern Punjab, the team found that ownership of a TV set was a high priority for the household, regardless of their income levels, and of the sample interviewed, respondents reported that they would cut back on other household expenditure (that would otherwise be viewed as ‘necessities’) to be able to acquire a TV set.
34
GoP (2016) “Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey (PSLM) 2014−15 Provincial/ District”, p. 423 http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files//pslm/publications/PSLM_2014-15_National-Provincial-District_report.pdf 35
See http://www.progressoutofpoverty.org/
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Similarly, households located further away from the market stated that ownership of a motorcycle was a necessity and not a luxury given the distance from the market, and the difficulty in accessing it on poor roads. The climate in Southern Punjab is also harsh, with high temperatures during the summer making it easy for food items − particularly milk − to spoil if not stored and cooled properly; therefore, owning a refrigerator was also critical. Thus, analysing poverty levels based on ownership alone, without also accounting for the context and usage may be too narrow a parameter for assessing household incomes.36 The PPI scores of the twelve households interviewed in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) ranged from 26 to 56. In four of the twelve households, the PPI suggested poverty levels that aligned well with the actual per capita income (remembering that we measured in PKR and did not adjust to PPP, but this is still valid on a comparative basis). In the remaining eight households, there was a significant disparity between the PPI calculations and the actual level of poverty (per capita income and qualitative observation). In seven of those cases, the PPI underestimated poverty, and it seems likely that the PPI has a tendency to overestimate the per capita income, as it does not take into account the total number of people in each household (but only the number of children). In GB 12, for example, the household comprised 21 people, so despite multiple income sources, their per capita income was still extremely low. Nevertheless, the PPI estimated per capita income to be US $3.75, which would put them well above the income poverty line. Secondly, as the PPI does not take into account working on one’s own farm as an elementary task, it tends to overestimate the PPI score. In the case of GB 04, for example, all the adults in the family work on their farm to cultivate crops and only the men work for wages in the summer. If the PPI were to take in to account working on one’s own farm as an elementary task, the PPI score would estimate a lower and perhaps a more accurate per capita income. Thirdly, it is likely that the PPI works on the assumption that access to piped water and a sewage system corresponds to a higher income bracket. This does not hold true in the case of GB as everyone has convenient access to piped water and a sewage system, regardless of the income bracket they fall in.37 In general, the team also noticed that the number of points lost in PPI calculations as the number of children in a household increases appears to skew results. Other team members noted that if a household had one or two children more or fewer, their ranking would be very different. Our qualitative assessment (and income assessment) of households did not correlate with this PPI finding.
Agriculture and Poverty The 2008 World Development Report focused on agriculture. A key finding was that “agricultural growth has special powers in reducing poverty”; economic growth in agriculture is twice as effective in decreasing the number of poor as growth in other sectors.38 Pakistan has significant growth opportunities in agriculture with one of the longest histories of agricultural production extending back thousands of years; vast tracts of arable land; multiple geographic and climatic zones; and extensive
36
Personal communication, Fiza Salim, MDF staff and Southern Punjab research team Personal communication, Aimen Butt, MDF staff and GB research team. 38 World Bank (2007) “World Development Report 2008: Agriculture for Development – Overview”, p. 6 https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/5990/9780821368077_overview.pdf?sequence=17&isAllo wed=y 37
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irrigation systems. According to Index Mundi in 2013, Pakistan is ranked 13th in the world for the amount of arable land – 39.53 percent of total land area39 – and the World Bank has identified the irrigation systems in Pakistan as among the most extensive in the world.40 Moreover, although there has been a decline in agriculture in recent decades, Pakistan is still a significant contributor to the production of global commodities.41 The following box describes the decline in agriculture and the current situation, while illustrating the unleveraged opportunities.42 Box 6: State of Agriculture in Pakistan
State of Agriculture in Pakistan: Starting in the late 1960s, the Green Revolution introduced unprecedented technological and economic transformation and growth in Pakistan’s agricultural sector; however, that growth has steadily declined for the past two decades – from 5.4 percent in the 1980s to 3.2 percent in the 2000s. The aggregate numbers hide the extreme volatility − e.g., 6.5 percent growth in 2004 compared to only 0.6 percent in 2010. Agriculture in Pakistan has reached the point of diminishing marginal returns from the technologies and resources at its disposal, and insufficient investment in agricultural research and extension has left the sector illequipped to cope with climate shocks, reduce rural poverty or compete in the marketplace. In recent decades, agriculture’s contribution to Pakistan’s GDP has declined; however, it still accounts for 21.6 percent of value added. Agriculture GDP consists of 32.8 percent major crops, 11.1 percent minor crops, 53.2 percent livestock, 2.9 percent fisheries and forestry. Through its production, agriculture contributes 60 percent to the country’s export earnings and, despite strong urban growth, 64 percent of the population still lives in rural areas and 45 percent of the nation’s labour force works in agriculture. Despite declining productivity growth, Pakistan is in the top 20 global producers for 48 different agricultural commodities; the more than 108 million tonnes produced is worth over US $13 billion annually. Source: World Bank (2014)
Despite the agricultural potential and policies, poverty is widespread among rural people who make up two-thirds of the population and account for up to 80 percent of the country’s poor. This poverty results from the lack of access to land, water resources, inputs, services and markets, where a few capture the majority of opportunities and benefits. As discovered in our research, the poor are often on remote and degraded land, may be exploited by rich landowners, and suffer from general constraints such as low educational attainment, and below minimal assets and resources. For example, although there is a well-developed irrigation system − a key requirement of agriculture in Pakistan’s arid climate – the World Bank has identified several key barriers to equitable distribution
39
Index Mundi (2013) “Pakistan – Arable Land” http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/pakistan/arable-land World Bank (2012) “Project Appraisal Document: Punjab Irrigated Agriculture Productivity Improvement Program Project (PIPIPP)” http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/926201468084531947/pdf/634590PAD0P1250Official0Use0Only090.pdf 41 World Bank (2014) “Project Appraisal Document: Sindh Agricultural Growth Project” http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/645041468086940924/pdf/776880PAD0P128010Box385244B00OUO090.pdf 42 Ibid. 40
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and efficient utilisation of water.43 For instance, water distribution to the field is by a weekly time rotation based on the size of the land holding (and therefore subject to elite capture) or a centralised bureaucracy inefficiently manages water resources. Other reasons include lack of finances in the system; limited storage and control structures; wasteful on-farm water use via traditional methods of flood irrigation; and waterlogging and salinity caused by excessive losses from canals and the absence of appropriate drainage. In the subsequent chapters, we further examine the agricultural challenges and opportunities of poor farming households, particularly in the MDF-targeted strategic engagement areas.
Urban Poverty and Labour Pakistan is undergoing rapid urban growth. While the majority of people still live in rural areas, Pakistan is urbanising at an annual rate of three percent and the United Nations Population Division estimates that by 2025 nearly half the country's population will live in urban areas.44 Although many families or individuals leave rural areas to find work, the labour force participation rate is lower in urban than rural areas.45 Moreover, urban growth comes with other challenges for poor households. Zaidi (2011) reports that low income families living in cities must deal with limited employment opportunities, poor living conditions, minimal access to services, and face environmental and health risks.46 Macroeconomic factors including slow economic growth, the rising cost of living, low engagement of citizens in local governance and a lack of adequate housing compound the negative conditions of the urban poor.47 In addition, labour regulations need updating and enforcement is an even greater challenge where hiring practices, work conditions and payment are often sub-standard.48 Recent growth in the services sector provides employment opportunities, but socio-economic circumstances often confine the urban poor to unskilled and semi-skilled work in informal or manufacturing sectors.
43
World Bank (2012) “Project Appraisal Document: Punjab Irrigated Agriculture Productivity Improvement Program Project (PIPIPP)” (web link as above). 44 Michael Kugelman (2014) “Pakistan’s Urbanization: A challenge of great proportions” Deutsche Welle http://www.dw.com/en/pakistans-urbanization-a-challenge-of-great-proportions/a-18163731 45 ILO (2008) Pakistan Decent Work Country Programme http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/--ilo-islamabad/documents/policy/wcms_100054.pdf 46 Zaidi, S. H. (2011) “Urban Poverty in Pakistan” Master thesis, University of Texas https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/ETD-UT-2011-05-3355/ZAIDI-MASTERSREPORT.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y 47 Ibid. 48 ILO (2008) Pakistan Decent Work Country Programme (web link as above).
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Women’s Economic Empowerment in Pakistan National Context On average, UNDP HDI reports significant gender inequality in Pakistan, which stands 121st out of 155 countries reporting on the Gender Inequality Index (GII) with a score of 0.536 in 2014. Compare this to Slovenia and Switzerland − at number one and two positions, respectively − for the least gender inequality with scores of 0.016 and 0.028. At the other end of the spectrum with the greatest gender inequality, Niger places 154th and Yemen 155th with scores of 0.713 and 0.744. This places Pakistan in the bottom quantile, where many of the world’s poorest countries rank; tying gender to poverty with notable exceptions.49 It means women in Pakistan, on average, rank low on three key indicators: GII measures gender inequalities in three important aspects of human development—reproductive health, measured by maternal mortality ratio and adolescent birth rates; empowerment, measured by proportion of parliamentary seats occupied by females and proportion of adult females and males aged 25 years and older with at least some secondary education; and economic status, expressed as labour market participation and measured by labour force participation rate of female and male populations aged 15 years and older.50 However, Pakistan is a diverse country and, as we observed in our primary research, this diversity is evident in areas of women’s economic empowerment. In rural areas, these differences stem largely from traditional values according to region, ethnicity and level of poverty as well as level of education of women in the household. For example, in some more conservative households (e.g., Southern Sindh or KPK) women are less likely to be engaged in work off the homestead; however, when households are very poor or well educated (at either end of the spectrum), these cultural norms are more inclined to be disregarded. On the other hand, in GB generally or in non-Muslim (Christian and Hindu) households across regions, women tend to have greater freedom of movement and access to opportunities, and are often quite active in income-earning opportunities such as operating kiosks, teaching, government jobs, agricultural labour on other people’s farms, and even marketing of products in some cases.
Women in Farming Households in Pakistan Even with restrictive social norms, women are significant contributors to the farming household – often leading certain activities as we see in our regional assessment below. The following box provides a snapshot overview of women in agriculture in Pakistan.
49 50
UNDP (2014) “Table 5: Gender Inequality Index” http://hdr.undp.org/en/composite/GII UNDP (n.d.) “Gender Inequality Index (GII) – definition” http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/gender-inequality-index-gii
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Box 7: Women in Agriculture in Pakistan – A Snapshot
Women in Agriculture in Pakistan – A Snapshot: Rural women in Pakistan, under a small holding system, play a pivotal role in farming, actively participating in a range of activities. Rural women remain busy from dawn to dusk with various agricultural tasks including pre- and post-harvest, and livestock management activities. Their participation is well dispersed but less perceived, because of insufficient data to show their active involvement in various areas. Keeping in view these facts, the present study explored the extent of their participation in crop and livestock production activities in Punjab, focusing on the district of Faisalabad. The process selected 125 rural women through multistage random sampling techniques and interviewed using a well-designed and pre-tested interview schedule, finally analysed using the predictive analytics software, SPSS. The results of the data analysis revealed that rural women’s participation was high in the harvesting of vegetables (M = 2.58). Of the post-harvest activities women’s participation was largest in the storage of cereals (M = 2.87). Similarly, in livestock and poultry management rural women’s involvement was largest in the cleaning of animal’s sheds (M = 2.90). A rural woman in Pakistan works 15.50 hours a day, spending 5.50 hours caring for livestock but provides only 50 minutes for the care of her own children. Poultry, sheep and goats are very important to rural women as they are the only source of income fully under their control. Women are responsible for 60 to 80 percent of the feeding and milking of cattle. Over 90 percent of rural families keep an average of twelve adult chickens per family and hatch chicks under a brood hen. The women apply their own methods of rearing, brooding, breeding and management based on the experience handed down from older family members. Source: Javed, et al51
Women’s Labour Force Participation in Pakistan Women’s participation in the labour force – nationally at 14.3 percent − is declining in Pakistan with significantly less participation in urban areas as compared to the rural sector, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.52 Women working in Pakistan’s cities tend to face a hostile environment of limited employment options, unequal wages and unsupportive working conditions, with the added challenge of the double burdens of productive and reproductive responsibilities.53 It is therefore not surprising that we found the leather sector to be male-dominated with a relatively low percentage of women taking jobs or wishing to find employment in the industry. However, we did also find that dire financial household need is a factor that pushes women to ignore prevalent socio-cultural norms around women’s participation in the workforce and hostile working environments, and seek employment in the sector anyway. Women mitigate these issues in two ways: firstly, by seeking employment in formal factories which sometimes have women-only facilities on site; or secondly, by taking on a wide variety
51
Javed, A., Sadaf, S. and Luqman, M. (2006) “Rural Women’s Participation in Crop and Livestock Production Activities in Faisalabad–Pakistan”, Journal of Agriculture & Social Sciences 1813–2235/2006/02–3–150–154 http://www.fspublishers.org 52
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (n.d.) “Labour Force Statistics” http://www.pbs.gov.pk/content/labour-force-statistics Kaz, A. (2013) “The State of Poor Urban Women of Pakistan” Future Challenges https://futurechallenges.org/local/thestate-of-poor-urban-women-of-pakistan/ 53
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of outsourced home-based work. In situations where neither is possible, women from poorer households take up employment in formal mixed facilities as well (but never in cottage industries), though the overall number of women working is limited. Although we did not deal with it in our research or programming, violence against women and girls including domestic violence, rape and forced marriage, murder/honour killings and acid attacks, are all too common in Pakistan. Pakistani human rights non-governmental organisations (NGOs) estimate that there are about 1,000 “honour killings” every year.54 Moreover, women are often victims in conflict situations. The International Crisis Group found: The extent to which rights violations go unpunished is particularly alarming in FATA (the Federally Administered Tribal Areas) and KPK, where women are subjected to state-sanctioned discrimination, militant violence, religious extremism and sexual violence. Militants target women’s rights activists, political leaders and development workers without consequences…and the government’s indiscriminate military operations, which have displaced millions, have further aggravated the challenges they face in the conflict zones.55 MDF recognises that such violence negatively affects women’s ability to be economically active and empowered, so it is more likely to seek out partnerships in places when there is little or no violence.. Nevertheless, when MDF negotiates its partnerships it specifically looks at building in safety measures, such as transport or segregated work spaces for women, so that creating opportunities for women to enter the workforce does not put them at additional risk.
Defining Women’s Economic Empowerment The economic unit in Pakistan is the household, and it is not always possible or desirable to separate women’s earnings from men’s or household income. However, secondary sources and our primary research provide important learning and ways forward for women’s economic empowerment in the MDF program. MDF has adopted the M4P Hub conceptual framework pillars to assess women’s economic empowerment from five different domains:56
54
Human Right’s Watch (2015) World Report 2015: Pakistan http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2015/country-chapters/pakistan?page=2 55 International Crisis Group (2015) “Women, Violence and Conflict in Pakistan”, Report No 265/Asia https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-asia/pakistan/women-violence-and-conflict-pakistan 56 Jones, L. (2012) “Discussion Paper for an M4P WEE Framework: How can the Making Markets Work for the Poor Framework work for poor women and for poor men?” SDC Springfield Centre for Business and Development http://www.m4phub.org/userfiles/resources/32201210289657-M4P_WEE_Framework_Final.pdf
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Box 8: Women’s Economic Empowerment Domains
Women’s Economic Empowerment Domains: Economic advancement: The ultimate objective is increased income for female entrepreneurs, labourers and farmers. Decision-making authority: Women may enjoy different degrees of influence in decision-making dynamics within the household and on the farm. Equipping them with more knowledge and resources increases their negotiating power. Manageable workloads: Women need to manage the triple responsibilities of reproductive, household and economic activities. Thus, the intervention plan must not overburden them and should seek ways to reduce their workload. Access to opportunities and life chances: Women would benefit from more employment opportunities and from access to training and skills development. They also need the means for becoming entrepreneurs. Access to assets, services and needed supports: Women should have access to various services in order to increase their productivity. For example, female farmers can benefit from enhanced market access, improved knowledge of cultivation, access to newer inputs and technology, etc.
MDF has expanded the concept into a WEE Framework to which the study’s gender findings adhere and support.57
57
Carter, V., Bekkers, H., and Jones, L. (2015) “Women’s Economic Empowerment: How Women Contribute to and Benefit from Growth” http://marketdevelopmentfacility.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Womens-Economic-Empowerment.pdf
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Findings from Strategic Engagement Area − Dairy and Meat Overview In 2015, livestock contributed 58.55 percent to agricultural GDP in Pakistan.58 The growth in the number of cattle and buffalo was four and three percent respectively between 2011 and 2013,59 and yet buffalo far exceeded cows in milk yield each year from 2013 to 2015.60 The dairy industry in Pakistan – globally ranked number four for the volume of milk produced − has demonstrated strong growth with milk production in 2000 at 26,284 million tonnes rising to 43,818 million tonnes fifteen years later. Meat production across the same period has not seen such a dramatic change, 2,015 million tonnes in 2000 and 3,873 million tonnes in 2015.61 As 2015 national economic data attest, “population growth, urbanization, changed eating patterns, (and) increases in per capita income … are fueling the demand of livestock and livestock products in the country”62 confirming MDF’s own research into the significant potential for pro-poor growth in the sector. One province increasing investment in livestock, particularly in dairy farming, is Punjab. It has long contributed significantly to Pakistan’s GDP − 59 percent in 2010 − with a strong performance from the agricultural sector at 61.5 percent.63
58
GoP (2015) “Highlights of Pakistan Economic Survey 2015−16” http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/chapters_16/highlights_2015_16.pdf 59
Ahmad J. (2013) “Economic Survey of Pakistan & Livestock Sector” Veterinary Hub http://www.veterinaryhub.com/economic-survey-of-pakistan-livestock-sector/ 60
GoP (2015) “Chapter 02 Agriculture” Table 2.22 “Milk and Meat Production”, p. 40 http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/chapters_16/02_Agriculture.pdf 61
Ibid., Table 2.1 B “Basic Data on Agriculture”, p. 26.
62
Ibid., p. 41.
63
World Bank (2012) “Project Appraisal Document: Punjab Irrigated Agriculture Productivity Improvement Program Project (PIPIPP)” http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/926201468084531947/pdf/634590PAD0P1250Official0Use0Only090.pdf
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Map 3 - Punjab
Punjab is Pakistan’s most populated province with nearly 100 million people. Agriculture is the main economic activity of the province: According to the Agricultural Census 2010, almost 55 percent of the Punjabi population works in agriculture, of which about one-third owns livestock and the other twothirds farms only crops.64 The World Bank reported in 2012 that of Punjab’s geographical area of 20.63 million hectares, land use is according to Table 4: Table 4: Punjab Land Use
Land Area (hectares): 12.27 million 3.01 million
Usage (% of total area) 58.9% − cultivated 14.9% − uncultivable
1.74 million
8.4% − cultivable waste
64
GoP, Agriculture Census Organization, Statistics Division (2010) Agricultural Census 2010 http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/aco/publications/agricultural_census2010/WRITEUP%20AGRI.%20CENSUS%202010.pdf
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0.5 million 20.63 million
2.3% − forested Total geographical area
Source: World Bank (2012), p. 2.65
Of significant importance to agricultural production, the Indus Basin Water System (IBWS) covers 22 million acres of Punjab – over 70 percent of the IBWS cropped area is in the province. It provides extensive irrigation on which Pakistan’s agricultural sector is greatly dependent, and as a result, Punjab claims well over half of the country’s total production in key crops such as cotton, wheat, sugarcane and rice.66 This is of direct relevance to MDF’s programme in Pakistan as it works in strategic engagement areas that are highly water consuming such as meat and horticultural crops. It also has implications for fodder production for dairy farmers.
Poverty in Dairy and Meat The Pakistan government’s 11th Five Year Plan 2013−18 states that over 8.5 million people in rural areas are financially dependent on raising livestock. The subsector “serves as a safety net for the poor”, allowing women the chance for self-employment; rearing livestock is the “only agricultural activity which generates daily cash income”.67 Supporting the national government’s findings Punjab’s Livestock and Dairy Development board reports that the livestock industry is: an active employer of thousands of landless poor, subsistence and semisubsistence small farmer families…It is a major source of active food and adds significantly to the health, nutrition and wellbeing of rural as well as urban consumers. [However,] despite (the) rising and critical importance of the subsector, there is no corresponding emphasis on analyzing its achievements, problems, as well as future prospects in the overall developmental plans.68 Similarly problematic, the dairy industry is “highly informal and fragmented” with 43 percent of households existing at subsistence level – one or two cows or buffalo – and 28 percent working at near subsistence level with three or four livestock.69 This not only endorses the selection of dairy and meat as a strategic engagement area and its relevance to the poor and very poor. It also underlines the
65
World Bank (2012) “Project Appraisal Document: Punjab Irrigated Agriculture Productivity Improvement Program Project (PIPIPP)” (web link above). 66
Ibid.
67
Ministry of Planning Development and Reform (n.d.) “Chapter 21 Food Security and Agricultural Development”, 11th Five Year Plan 2013−18, p. 257 http://pc.gov.pk/uploads//plans//Ch21-Agricultural-development1.pdf 68 GoP (2016) Livestock, Punjab: Background http://www.livestockpunjab.gov.pk/aboutus/about_us 69 Safavian, M. and Haq, A (2013) “Are Pakistan’s Women Entrepreneurs Being Served by the Microfinance Sector?”, World Bank, p. 60 https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/15929/9780821398333.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
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importance of research carried out by MDF that offers a more nuanced understanding of poverty and gender dynamics. Finally, high numbers of women are active in the livestock strategic engagement area, though their roles vary; for instance, a Punjabi rural woman spends 59 percent of her time in livestock-related tasks, making it the largest female contribution of any economic activity.70 In Punjab, over 6 million women are engaged in producing milk.71 However, women are often homebound (with no access to training and other resources); constrained by socio-cultural norms, the result of which is poor access to extension and other services that would enhance their contribution to the strategic engagement area, and which would also provide economic empowerment opportunities.
Who is poor? Poor farmers in Southern Punjab are typically low-resourced households with limited opportunities to invest in their farms as they lack financial sources. These farmers have access to small landholdings (between one to three acres) that they mostly own, but in some cases, they lease or sharecropp. They use the land to grow traditional crops such as wheat and cotton. In addition, they own three to five livestock animals, usually undernourished, which they use to provide an important source of regular daily income. Some households supplement their returns on livestock with a tertiary income through wage labour. For instance, a household with two acres of land producing some fodder and milk for trade is a relatively poor household (level 2). A household with two acres producing some wheat and a cash crop, such as cotton, with some external income is somewhat better off (level 3). A household with three acres of land producing wheat, fodder and one or two cash crops and dairy produce for sale with some external income is probably not poor but may be vulnerable (level 4). These findings regarding non-farm related income align with World Bank and other reports. In Punjab, only about 15 percent of workers are self-employed and up to 25 percent do non-agricultural work.72 They live in nuclear family units and have an average family size of between four to seven members, including two to three children aged 13 or younger; most children aged between 5 and 13 attend school. Poor farmers link with markets through intermediaries to sell their crops, milk and meat. As such, they are reliant on a number of dairy, meat and crop traders for informal finance as well as access to agricultural inputs and household groceries. Although most farms have electricity, many villages face frequent and often prolonged power outages. All the villages the field team visited in Southern Punjab had a water supply through hand pumps, covered or tube wells, or piped water, with most households 70 GoP (2016) Livestock Sector Punjab http://www.livestockpunjab.gov.pk/dashboard/sector_punjab 71 Safavian, M. and Haq, A (2013) “Are Pakistan’s Women Entrepreneurs Being Served by the Microfinance Sector?”, World Bank (web link above). 72
World Bank (n.d.) “4: Growth in the Rural Non-Farm Economy” from http://siteresources.worldbank.org/PAKISTANEXTN/Resources/293051-1177200597243/ch4.pdf
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accessing water via hand pumps within their homes. About half the households in the sample had a sewer system (mainly an open drain or a septic tank). The depths of poverty as well as the factors that keep farmers poor are different and highly influenced by their location. Their distance from markets dictates whether they can access the information, products and services that could enable them to climb out of poverty. Farming communities in distant areas are poorer than those in peri-urban communities where milk sells at closer to retail prices, so farmers are able to get better returns from their dairy products. However, in villages closer to markets, there are income disparities between farmers; large-, mediumand small-scale farmers differ not only in terms of the number of animals and area of land they own but also in terms of farming practices, and how accessible critical information, products and services are. As such, farming communities located further away from markets − particularly in the 26,300 km2 desert area of Cholistan in Southern Punjab − are homogenous in their poverty; within these communities it is hard to find income disparities. These communities exist in a system that does not support them to change their economic situation. The study discovered that most labour is from other smallholder farmers who work in livestock households with larger herd sizes. Also of note is the misconception that the traders are wealthy; small traders working in these areas could also fit into the category of poor. There is still much to learn about the poverty dynamics of agricultural labour and traders, retailers and intermediaries in the market system. Therefore, poor farming households in Southern Punjab have the following key characteristics:
They have limited resources to invest in their farming businesses. Farmers have small landholdings, typically one to three acres of owned, leased or sharecropped land. Farmers grow traditional crops, such as wheat, mostly for home consumption, fodder and a cash crop. Farmers own three to five livestock animals, which are usually undernourished. Farmers are in remote areas, far from markets. Farmers located near markets lack access to advanced practices, quality inputs and information on increasing productivity.
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Why are they poor? Lack of appropriate products offered by financial institutions for smallholder farmers “Acute shortage of capital at affordable rates severely constrains the growth of the rural economy”. Hence, acquiring finance through informal loans is the norm in the households sampled. This is not surprising as informal finance markets were present long before formal markets and are still the main source of credit in rural and urban Pakistan.73 One supplier of informal credit, the arthi, − from the word ‘arhat’ meaning commission, the local term for agricultural (or sometimes ‘commission’) agents – is the mainstay of rurally available credit and for rural households “form(s) an integral part of their financial lives.”74 In Qasim Key, Punjab, household SP 12 was heavily reliant on the arthi for both crop inputs and a significant amount of household expenditure, ‘balanced against crop sales back to the arthi’. The arthi “seems to have refined his model to avoid adverse selection, control moral hazard, mitigate risk and make substantial profits in a market deemed risky and unprofitable by the commercial bankers.”75 The arthi sets the upper borrowing limits with high interest rates often connected to other transactions with the farmers. He constantly services a “fixed clientele”, rarely loaning money to outsiders. As a result, the greatest financing for poor rural farmers is from family and friends.76 Part of the reason informal financing has persisted over the years is because it offers an appropriate and tenable solution for farmers when cash flow is constrained. For example, another supplier of informal credit, the dhodhis (milk agents who collect milk directly from farms), often purchase critical inputs, such as livestock feed and medicine, and provide them to farming households in cases where they are far from markets and/or do not have the liquidity to purchase the inputs themselves. The dhodhis recover their informal financial support in easy instalments, by deducting a certain amount from monthly milk sales. While it has its benefits, informal financing comes with significant drawbacks. In the case of sharecropping, land preparation, input costs and, sometimes, household expenses are borne by the landowner. In instances where households lease land, the landowner provides fodder to livestock households in advance and receives payment in kind after harvest. Thus, payback is tied to a specific crop, and if the crop fails in part or in full, farmers have to find other sources to repay the loan. Farmers may make urgent sales of livestock for less than optimal prices in order to fulfil their debts on time:
73
Qadir, A. (2005) A Study of Informal Finance Markets in Pakistan, Pakistan Microfinance Network http://www.microfinanceconnect.info/assets/articles/informal.pdf 74
Ahmed W. (2015) “The Complex Smallholder−Arthi Relationship in Pakistan”, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor http://www.cgap.org/blog/complex-smallholder-arthi-relationship-pakistan 75
Haq, A. et al (2013). “Who is the ‘arthi’: Understanding the commission agent’s role in the agriculture supply chain” International Growth Centre, http://www.theigc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Haq-Et-Al-2013-Working-Paper.pdf 76
Qadir, A. (2005) A Study of Informal Finance Markets in Pakistan, Pakistan Microfinance Network http://www.microfinanceconnect.info/assets/articles/informal.pdf
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One of the farming households (SP 11) reported taking a second loan to avoid conflict associated with being unable to pay off the first loan. In case of a bad crop, the arthi begins to compound interest on delayed payments and in SP 07, the farmer noted that he would sell his animals to pay any outstanding debt, if it occurred. Most farmers typically use informal finance to plug shortfalls in cash liquidity, as opposed to accessing finance for investments in productive assets. Currently, there are few financial products available encouraging farmers to invest in additional livestock, or feed and fodder, which could help farmers to expand their resource base and earn additional income.
Lack of financial literacy among smallholder farmers in rural areas In Southern Punjab, there is a lack of financial institution proliferation despite the potentially profitable untapped market of roughly 30 million smallholder farmers, and a policy level push for financial service providers (FSPs) to move into agricultural lending. The State Bank of Pakistan has allowed up to PKR 1 million in collateral free lending, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has put in equity in select commercial banks to encourage agricultural lending. Commercial banks remain unconvinced about lending to smallholder farmers, citing the lack of profit in disbursing small loans owing to high transaction costs. Additionally, commercial banks maintain a suspicion of farmers as high defaulters, and consider it risky to do business with them. Even in areas where FSPs, such as microfinance banks, are present, there is resistance to accessing their products in farming communities. With the exception of one household (SP 07) which took two agricultural loans of PKR 10,000 and 25,000 from the National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) – a not-for-profit organisation working with rural households and communities − two years ago for the purpose of household expenses, there was no access to formal financing of the households sampled in this study. There is suspicion, a negative perception, and/or lack of information regarding formal finance, combined with the well documented general lack of access to formal financial institutions such as banks or microfinance institutions (MFIs) in rural areas.77 In multiple cases, farming households expressed reservations around the lack of collateral or fear of putting up land as a guarantee. The most significant barrier to accessing formal financing, following the negligible proliferation of formal FSPs in remote rural pockets, is religious. While intermediaries typically keep a commission on amounts loaned, farmers are either unaware of this, or because the practice has existed for generations, are more accepting when interest comes in this form as opposed to when it is charged by formal finance providers, and do not necessarily view it as ‘interest’ in the strict religious sense. In other instances, such as SP 04, the head of household, Bilal, is constrained by his lack of finance but believed it was not respectable to take a loan, whether it was interest free or not. Lack of financial products from
77
Qadir, A. (2005) A Study of Informal Finance Markets in Pakistan, Pakistan Microfinance Network http://www.microfinanceconnect.info/assets/articles/informal.pdf
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institutions targeted towards smallholder livestock farmers also prevents financial literacy within the sector.
Extension services cater only to large holder farmers resulting in vast information gaps Through its strategic engagement area assessment, its portfolio of interventions in dairy and meat as well as field research for this study, the MDF team found that farmers have access to information through the following pathways: Pastoralist family learned practices: Livestock farming is an inter-generational activity, and family members pass down traditional practices. The efficacy of these practices is often sub-optimal, so the vast majority of smallholder farmers are not maximising yields from dairy animals, or securing high prices from the sale of their meat animals. Agricultural extension services: There are typically three avenues for agricultural extension services:
Public sector Given the agricultural sector’s contribution to GDP, the government has invested in establishing agricultural extension services, which from observation seem to be stronger and more active in Punjab compared to other regions in Pakistan. Even so, the extension system suffers from a lack of transparency, accountability and incentive structures, leading to a low proliferation of agricultural extension officers in the field. Where agricultural extension workers exist, they often also operate as private vets, charging farmers for medical consultations and vaccinations, which they should give free.
Private veterinarians Other than government-funded agricultural extension officers doubling up as private vets, qualified private vets operate in more developed areas where a reasonable population of largeholder, progressive farmers exist.
Private sector Through its primary research, the team found that there is a precedent in Southern Punjab of private sector companies providing access to information and services in the form of farmer training, extension services and veterinary assistance to fill the gap left by the public sector. This has been commercially viable because it has allowed large processors, such as Karachi-based Engro Corporation (with subsidiaries producing fertilisers, food, chemicals) and the multinational Nestle, not only to establish a regular base of producers to provide the requisite quantities of milk, but it also ensures the required quality. Despite the above information pathways, extension services are still limited for smallholder farmers in the following key areas:
Animal nutrition
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Farmers in Pakistan are unaware of the benefits of adopting quality inputs – such as for feeding − and use outdated dairy practices. The government-provided extension services have a nominal presence and focus on largeholder farmers, similar to most extension servicesprovided by the input companies. Extension services provided by milk collection centres are also limited to the areas where formal milk collection takes place at the storage chillers. This dearth of information on good fodder and other feed choices results in farmers relying on poor nutritive feeding options. Athough women are involved in looking after cattle they have very limited access to modern practices, as the majority of the extension workers are male., In most of the regions, cultural norms restrict interaction between males and females.
Animal health Vaccine importers and the government do not focus on rural farmers; it is easier to target urban-based livestock farmers. Farmers in rural areas lack basic information on the importance of vaccines: They are unaware of the net benefits of preventive as opposed to curative medication. Munir, the head of household SP 10 is a good example, reporting that five of his animals died from one outbreak of haemorrhagic septicaemia (HS). Vaccinating an animal against a virus, such as foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), is a much lesser cost than treatment if it contracts the disease. The loss of an animal − a substantial asset – is detrimental to the farmer. Veterinary assistants lack expertise to store and properly administer the often poor-quality vaccines. These negative experiences have led farmers to believe that vaccines are ineffective, and they are not willing to spend any money on them.
Animal husbandry Water: In Southern Punjab, access to water is not a constraint; most households the team visited had a water pump in their homes. However, water becomes a difficulty when providing it to animals. Ensuring each animal has a sufficient amount of water results in the workload increasing significantly for at least one member of the household, especially if they are required to fill water buckets at regular intervals. As such, dairy households only water animals once or twice a day in winter, and three to four times in summer. Advice to farmers is to build water troughs with regularly flowing water, enabling the animal to drink as and when it requires, but most farmers lack the requisite capital. Milking: The team found that some farmers’ milking technique damages the cow’s udder making it vulnerable to disease. Additionally, farmers typically milk the cow before letting the calf feed leaving the teats open and susceptible to infections, such as mastitis, through the calf. These practices reduce milk yields and compromise the animal’s long-term health. Sheds: Many farmers tie their animals to trees or place them in restraints in open areas, confining their movement and exposing them to direct sun. This negatively affects animal health and, therefore, productivity. The more affluent farmers typically construct sheds close to their homes to keep their animals where they have enough space to walk around, feed and drink. Poorer farmers keep animals within the outer parameter of their homes, with make-do shelters mostly made out of palm leaves and some wood, but often even these are absent.
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Farmers living in areas that are closer to main/developed roads and small town markets − even those that are relatively under-developed − exist in a market ecosystem where they have some access to indirect and direct pathways to information. While private sector companies’ extension services typically focus on wealthier farmers from whom they buy milk in bulk, the team found that there is a propensity among smallerholder farmers to copy the methods on larger farms, whether related to crops or livestock. Additionally, extension service providers are usually selected from the community, which means the political economy of an area often allows smallholder farmers to approach extension workers for advice even if they are not directly targeted with training or home visits. However, this ecosystem does not function perfectly; information asymmetry exists leading to income disparities and variations even within these small communities. For example, farmers could be located close to input markets and have access to training on animal health and husbandry but without repeat messaging. They may be aware of the best feed and fodder to use but may not know how to use it properly. The result of which is their milk yields decline instead of increase and animal health can suffer. Similarly, a low level of knowledge around vaccinations and the difference between preventative and curative medicine results in farmers waiting to call vets until after an animal has already contracted a disease (e.g. SP 10). On the other hand, where there is awareness around vaccinations some households, such as SP 11 and SP 12, noted poor availability of veterinary services. Remote farming communities have no access at all to information networks as they sell their milk to dhodhis, who may themselves be uninformed. They do not have much incentive to invest their time in educating farmers on good husbandry practices, as they sell milk to markets that do not offer a premium on quality.
Lack of year-round access to small packaged, affordable, nutritious feed and fodder Most of Pakistan’s livestock relies on cultivated forage, much of which has to be transported from regions where it is grown, adding to the cost.78 There are feed shortages four months a year in Pakistan (May to June and October to November) as fodder that grows in the period between the traditional rabi/summer and kharif/winter fodder is unavailable. Reduced or no access is greater for smaller farms that have neither the financial capacity nor access to markets to purchase fodder, such as silage (a fermented green fodder with a high water content) and Rhodes grass,79 which could feed their animals year-round. Smallholder farmers reported a heavy reliance on traditional fodder crops, such as berseem (Egyptian clover) and jowar (sorghum) coupled with wheat straw, for animal feed. These feed sources are rarely supplemented with concentrates such as khal or wanda.80 In order to maintain a holistic animal diet to
78
Dost, M. (2002) “Fodder Production for Peri-Urban Dairies in Pakistan” http://www.fao.org/ag/Agp/agpc/doc/pasture/dost/fodderdost.htm 79
Rhodes grass, or Chloris gayana, a high yield fast growing fodder, introduced to Pakistan in 2011 to overcome the fodder shortage. 80
Khal – a Punjabi word for the leftover seed flour from extracting oil from fruit or grain and sold in markets as animal food
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optimise milk yields, farmers need to feed animals green fodder for its higher protein content, together with fibre, such as wheat straw, and supplements, but in most cases some of these critical components are missing. Some farmers in the sample also reported that they access inputs through the dhodhi who delivers them to the farm gate when asked. The brand of input purchased is at the discretion of the dhodhi, and farmers recognise they may not be receiving the best quality inputs. Good quality and branded products grown in fodder-less seasons, such as silage and Rhodes grass, are only available in major town markets. Typically, these fodder sources are not for sale within the village and are often out of reach for poorer farmers as purchasing unit sizes make them unaffordable. The only available option is wheat straw, making up the bulk of feed, the price of which rises significantly during fodderless periods despite its poor nutritional composition. As wheat straw contains only one percent protein, it has a negative affect on milk yields. Only three percent of the agricultural inputs market currently sells silage, and producers package it in bales of either 300 kgs or a tonne. Once the bale is opened, exposing the silage to the air, it has to be consumed within 48 hours before the levels of aflatoxin (cancerous chemicals created by some moulds) rise. Not only is the price unaffordable for a smallholder farmer, the huge bale size means that much of it may be spoiled. Poor linkages to markets mean that smallholder farmers would have to make significant investments in transport in order to make use of the large bale sizes. Rhodes grass and rye grass pose even more extenuating challenges for small farms. Until recently, the government did not license the commercial import of these grasses. Following the licensing change in June 2016, a few companies crowded into the space but mostly to serve larger farms that grow fodder not just for their own commercial dairies, but also to export it to Gulf countries. As such, the awareness around Rhodes grass and rye grass – both are highly nutritive with the latter in demand for lactating dairy cows – is low, and only prevalent among progressive farmers. The packaging size of the seeds (typically about 10 kgs) is inappropriate for smallholder farmers who grow fodder on half to one acre of land (requiring roughly 2−4 kgs of Rhodes grass seed).
Lack of access to effective animal health solutions Despite having information on the right package of medicines necessary for animals, such as preventative vaccinations against FMD and HS as well as the regular use of worming treatments, farmers cannot access appropriate veterinary services. Connections to markets may mean that farmers can theoretically buy these products but do not have the skills to administer them. Even in situations where private or government vets are available, vaccinations may not have the requisite efficacy due to inappropriate packaging sizes and broken cold chains. Typically, input retailers sell vaccinations in package sizes of 60 vials, which once opened have to be used or put into cold storage. Due to poor infrastructure as well as having few oversight mechanisms, private vets use unsealed vials to vaccinate animals, so animals remain vulnerable to contracting diseases.
supplement; wanda – a meal made from maize cobs for livestock feed.
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Lack of access to markets resulting in low returnson dairy and meat produce Access to markets is a common concern for dairy farmers, as milk is the most perishable item of all farm produce. In Punjab, many farmers are far from or cannot afford transportation to larger market centres where more buyers exist; the market is more competitive; and, therefore, a higher price would be available (PKR 50−60 in areas closer to large storage chillers; PKR 40 in more remote areas). Farmers in our sample usually sold to their neighbours, a limited selection of dhodhis (milk agents) or the local chilling centres. The majority of households did not own a motorcycle or scooter and so did not have the option of going further afield to sell their milk – and even when possible, transportation costs were prohibitive. Just over half of the farming households interviewed was between three and five km from markets, with the remainder between 10 and 25 km from markets. However, it was not always distance that made market access difficult – one farmer (SP 01) who was 13 km away from market had no problems getting to market, as the roads were good, whereas a farmer seven to ten km away found it hard travelling to market as the roads were poor, particularly during the rainy season. When there are efforts to locate chillers in more remote areas other factors, such as the dhodhi−farmer relationship (supplying inputs and credit for household needs), mean that households such as SP 11 did not wish to abandon this pre-existing arrangement. For the meat side of the farming business, farmers view their animals as an asset, only selling the meat in times of urgency. This limits the investment in the animal, resulting in poor quality meat and lower returns. Small farms in Southern Punjab have no connections to markets or formal consistent buyers offering premiums on quality and incentivising a more robust farming system.
Pathways Out of Poverty As dairy income provides a highly important and regular source of income for those able to produce in excess of household needs, the incentive for households to invest in dairy animals is apparent. For meat animals that only provide a one-off return (albeit a significant amount), households are more reluctant to invest. In both of these circumstances, increasing the incentive for households to invest depends on whether the household has good connections to more consistent (more formal) market pull. The following section lists pathways out of poverty from inputs to end markets, but the list does not indicate priorities that may vary according to the presence or absence of more formal market connections.
Developing Appropriate Financial Products and Disbursement Mechanisms The constraints referred to in the previous section create an opportunity for MDF to work with FSPs − both microfinance institutions as well as commercial banks − on strategies for risk mitigation that can catalyse investment and policy interest in improving agricultural lending. MDF can foster an environment whereby farmers receive loans to create a demonstrable model, which assesses default rates. Once it is possible to demonstrate a sustainable cycle of lending and payback, both MFIs and
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commercial banks will be encouraged to tap this underserved market, which in turn will improve cropping and dairy outputs for farmers, and extend the reach and profitability of FSPs. One of its interventions sees MDF working with an MFI called Kashf Foundation (inspired by Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank − it is pro-poor and pro-women) to develop a financial lending product appropriate for smallholder female livestock farmers. MDF is also working with a commercial bank to develop loans for agricultural machinery required to produce silage, using the success of silage production in Southern Punjab as evidence of business viability. Moving forward, rolling out these financial products incrementally in MDF’s dairy and meat interventions strengthens backward and forward linkages for livestock farmers. Micro-saving products are currently underdeveloped in Pakistan, which MDF can use as an entry point for innovation. It can work with FSPs to pioneer innovative micro-saving products or establish more effective distribution channels. Alternatively, MDF can also explore tripartite partnerships, creating linkages between private sector companies and FSPs to enable increased savings. This can come in the form of incentivising clients to open bank accounts to receive direct transfers. There is a strong resistance to formal finance in Southern Punjab but, as previously discussed, a historical precedent of using finance informally from arthis/intermediaries, friends and relatives. While arthis do retain a commission on credit extended for crop cultivation, the sociocultural interpretation is it is not ‘interest’; therefore, people do not consider it unIslamic. Socially acceptable mechanisms, such as the disbursement of loans through intermediaries, are avenues that MDF can explore in partnership with FSPs. This has the potential of lowering transaction costs for the institutions involved, making clients less averse to financial services, and allowing FSPs to target a large market of nonbanking farmers. In addition, mobile money is an up-and-coming disbursement mechanism with telecommunications corporations, such as Telenor, Mobilink and Ufone, three of the five largest national operators, all providing services for transferring funds. This presents an opportunity for MDF not only to leverage existing services but also to work with telecommunication companies to branch out into loan disbursement and repayment.
Creating affordable fodder options for smallholder farmers through localised production Though appropriate fodder is available in Southern Punjab during the months of fodder shortage, smallholder farmers are unable to either access or afford it. This presents an opportunity for MDF to work with input companies on setting up demonstrable models of commercial viability through marketing fodder to small farms. In Southern Punjab, assessments reveal that farmers with access to livestock information and services − either via MDF’s silage partnerships with rural entrepreneurs or with milk processor Shakarganj Food Products’ chiller-equipped milk collection centres81 − are keen to
81
Shakarganj Food Products − http://www.shakarganjfood.com/about-us/
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switch their land from crops to fodder and make dairy their primary source of income. There is a ready market for the sale of this type of produce. MDF has already formed partnerships with rural entrepreneurs in Southern Punjab and other regions for the production of 60 kg bales of silage to cater to farmers in a two to three kilometre radius of the farms that produce them. Farmers in Southern Punjab are becoming interested in growing their own silage. As farmers seldom estimate their own labour costs in the production of crops or fodder, they find it more cost effective to grow their own silage, enabling them to feed all their livestock, as opposed to prioritising dairy animals when fodder is in short supply. This has positive implications for farmers’ ability to increase income from their livestock sales. MDF can look at partnerships with agricultural machinery manufacturers to support the production of machinery appropriate for making silage. It can also explore tripartite relationships with machinery manufacturers and FSPs so potential entrepreneurs can access loans to purchase silage machinery. It can also tweak the model to support machinery service providers, which buy and rent the machinery to other farmers in the area to enable on-farm production. MDF is also working with Lahore-based Farm Dynamics Pakistan to enable the production of small bags of Rhodes and rye grass, raising awareness among farmers. Given the niche nature of this product, there are a number of other input companies with which MDF can form partnerships to popularise these fodders, which in turn will increase their penetration and make them more price competitive.
Creating access to appropriate extension services The private sector in Southern Punjab is one of the main sources for the dissemination of extension services. Pakistan has historically had a large population of livestock animals. It is in the top five global producers of milk so milk processing has long existed in the market. Players, such as Nestle and Engro, saw the commercial viability and benefits of consistent supply and set up extension provision networks linked to their collection centres to provide information on animal health and husbandry, maximising the quantity and quality of fresh milk sourced. MDF joined with Shakarganj to take this model a step further by establishing milk collection centres in a mix of developed and underdeveloped areas in Southern Punjab, and encouraging veterinary assistants to make regular home visits to both direct and indirect sellers to improve milking techniques and animal care. This has had a significant impact on the quantity of milk Shakarganj sourced, a mid-tier processor and relatively new market entrant. This particular intervention has scaled up over the last two years, so MDF can replicate the model and work with other milk processors. It will enable more milk to flow into formal channels, while providing smallholder farmers with consistent payments, price premiums and increased income through improved yields. Interventions can include commercially viable training models for women and information pathways that ensure relevant messages on best practice reach female dairy producers. Designing these programmes requires particular emphasis on information delivery, the timing of training, and the employment of existing female field officers where available. It is vital to encourage the private sector
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to understand the benefits of targeting women as potential customers, even though they often do not make the final market transaction for their produce. Opportunities exist to maximise returns by increasing women’s knowledge on the benefits of nutritious fodder, animal husbandry techniques and the opportunity to grow meat animals for commercial purposes rather than simply as the household’s reserve bank. There is opportunity to enhance information delivery systems by using information and communications technology and media to ensure actionable, repeat messages reach wider audiences. Learning from implementation shows that farmers respond well to repeat messages. Innovative ways to disseminate such information will enable more male and female farmers to improve practices.
Creating access to appropriate vaccines through improved cold chain and increased awareness Vaccine packaging poses a particular problem with significant financial consequences. The problems with vaccines range from poor proliferation of quality products to inappropriate packing, and broken cold chains and storage. Similar to the pathways delineated above, MDF can work with national vaccination importers and distributors that retail internationally recognised brands – for instance, products from the French company for animal health, Merial, and Russia’s FGBI/Arriah − through Faisalabad-based Mustafa Brothers, specialising in veterinary pharaceuticals, and Sadaat International, Merial’s partner in Pakistan. Unlike other extension services, however, the marketing of vaccines to smallholder farmers has received little, if any, attention due to the heavy subsidisation of locally produced government vaccines. MDF’s business model pioneering in this field can have a large impact on smallholder farmers who could slip into poverty, the result of animal death through disease.
Connecting smallholder farmers to businesses looking to procure quality produce Opportunities exist for businesses sourcing milk, including third-party collectors, to establish themselves through networks that can deliver quality dairy products at favourable prices to promote farm productivity. Collection centres in Southern Punjab can more regularly source milk directly from farmers or through dhodhis, associations and independent collectors for product delivery to end markets. Districts, such as Muzaffargarh, which shares borders with Layyah, Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalpur, are remote from large urban populations and receive lower milk prices due to poor connections to milk markets. Effective cold chain investment in such areas can be beneficial to small dairy producers. Dairy processors are showing a growing interest in recognising this opportunity to expand the number and reach of collection centres, which will improve connectivity between farmers and the formal dairy market. The meat market is more nascent as exporters and domestic retailers struggle to secure the volume and quality of livestock required to meet market demand for improved food safety and customer compliance requirements. Feed-finishing activities (where confined animals receive intensive highquality forage in feedlots) are emerging to address these constraints but this area could receive more support. Traditional markets are currently a source for livestock where signals for quality meat are lost
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due to pricing based on guessing an animal’s weight rather than using scales. There are opportunities to engage meat processors, wholesalers, retailers and exporters to understand the value of supplying quality meat to domestic and export markets, and encourage development through feedlots as an intermediary step to deliver quality animals. There is a need for livestock farmers to understand how to optimise incomes, invest in efficient production and improve the quality of their animals.
Role of Women Interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) conducted during this study revealed that women are involved in all aspects of livestock rearing in Southern Punjab. For example, women in Shallay Garbi – a village 13 km from the town of Hasilpur in the border district of Bahawalnagar − (FGD SP 02) reported that they complete all tasks related to livestock rearing from fodder cutting and milking to feeding and watering. In fact, livestock is their main productive activity (outside of ‘reproductive’ – household – activities). Secondary literature supports the finding that livestock rearing is women’s work. A recent randomsampling study (interviews with 125 women across Southern Punjab) reported on women’s tasks in the region’s livestock sector as per Table 5 below.82 Note that women are less involved in marketing livestock (though it is still over 50 percent) but are highly engaged in all other areas. The team’s research shows that fodder cutting, milking, watering and feeding − in this order − are the most time consuming and physically taxing activities in which women are engaged. The study found that women’s husbands often consulted them; they were likely to make joint decisions; and typically have control over income for household purchases. A 2015 FAO report stated that in the Punjab, patriarchal society norms limit women’s decision-making authority and gives more control to men.83 However, our findings indicate that there are nuances in household reality. For example, in our FGD in Khotabad village close to Marot (FGD SP 01), we learned that there is joint decision making on dairy and calf sales to meet a specific need. Furthermore, because women understand the household needs, their opinion is often fundamental in decisions around when to sell calves (a precious resource for large or unexpected household expenses). For example: NB works on sharecropping with her family, in addition to taking care of the household chores. Her interview revealed that she enjoys an equitable relationship with her husband, where all decisions regarding household and farming activities are taken jointly, including decisions about the children and their futures, as well as respective incomes. (SP 02)
82
Luqman, M. et al (2013) “Training Needs Assessment of Rural Women in Livestock Management – Case of Southern Punjab, Pakistan”, Journal of Agriculture Research, 51 (1) http://www.academia.edu/2965794/TRAINING_NEED_ASSESSMENT_OF_RURAL_WOMEN_IN_LIVESTOCK_MANAGEMENT_ -_CASE_OF_SOUTHERN_PUNJAB_PAKISTAN 83 FAO (2015) Women in Agriculture in Pakistan http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4330e.pdf
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Table 5: Women’s Involvement in Livestock/Poultry Tasks in Southern Punjab
Specific Tasks Caring for diseased animals/poultry Cleaning and maintaining animal/poultry sheds Feeding and watering livestock/poultry Selection of livestock/poultry Milking and milk processing Calf rearing Construction of animal/poultry sheds Making feed concentrate Breeding livestock/poultry Marketing livestock/poultry Source: Luqman et al (2013), p. 103.
% of Women’s Involvement 95.2 92.0 91.2 81.6 80.8 77.6 72.8 71.2 66.4 56.8
Constraints in Economic Participation for Women Despite their high involvement in the strategic engagement area, women are highly constrained in being able to improve outcomes for livestock rearing. This is owing to both general household challenges and additional gender specific challenges, which in turn contribute to worsening household poverty.
Extension services limited to male household members In Southern Punjab, the culture discourages women from working or moving outside the home or interacting with male non-family members within or outside their home. There are exceptions to this rule; in the poorest households, women gain employment as on-farm labour but work in all-female roles such as sowing, cotton-picking or wheat harvesting. In our interview with SP 04, we learned that most of the household chores − including caring for the animals − were divided between Nausheen (married to the male head of the household) and her sisterin-law, with their mother-in-law contributing intermittently. Part of the reason women are responsible for livestock rearing is because the task falls within the physical parameters of the home; most smallholder farmers do not have the financial capital to make sheds far from the house. These socio-cultural norms mean that women do not have direct interaction with male field officers or veterinary assistants even in cases where they make on-farm visits. As they are always men, these meetings are with the male household members. Extension services offered by private companies are also limited to only the male members of the household. Businesses generally do not target women as consumers, even though they are involved in the production processes. There are significant management challenges in reaching out to women: These include logistics; the need for segregated training at appropriate times and venues; and delivered by female trainers in regional languages to ensure attendance.
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Lack of access to markets (both inputs and outputs) The cultural norms mean that women are not involved in market transactions, as they occur outside the home. As a consequence, they do not purchase inputs nor do they sell milk and, therefore, they remain unaware of not only which inputs are available but also of milk prices. The result of which is they may not be able to make informed decisions related to livestock. However, Nausheen’s motherin-law (SP 04) serves as the titular female head of the household because she is older. As such, she is free to work outside the home, but this freedom does not extend to younger female household members such as Nausheen and her sister-in-law. Having more freedom of movement means, in principal, that the older women can be involved in market transactions −perhaps to purchase inputs − but, typically, they are not because it is seen as men’s work. Even in female-headed households, women never purchase inputs themselves; instead, they rely on male members of the household. Where a man is unavailable, older women may, in exceptional circumstances, sell milk at the collection centre, for example. Socio-cultural norms pose challengesfor women’s access to information. Households tied to traders offering market access along with benefits for the household (e.g., loans for agricultural and nonagricultural purposes) do not support the women in upgrading their livestock management skills (e.g., no transfer of knowledge). The transfer of knowledge from dhodhis to farmers typically only takes place when dhodhis sell to formal markets with specific sourcing requirements. As such, dhodhis often share information they have gained from interactions with collection agents at the centre. Sometimes they also impart details from attending training at the centre, provided to ensure that the centre has no need to reject the milk they collect, and they can attain the highest possible price premium. Through MDF’s other assessments, the teams found that in some situations the knowledge transfer does take place from men to women, and there were notable changes in female-led practices. However, the asymmetry of information access remains, and livestock-rearing practices are still inefficient. William Greene’s84 research endorses this finding. He suggests that women’s work is not effective due to the lack of technical knowledge on livestock management concerning a balanced diet, healthcare, sanitation, the care of pregnant animals and newborn calves, and correct procedures for milking and feeding. During our FGD in Shallay Garbi, we discovered that men, both direct and indirect sellers, attend training at MDF’s partner Shakarganji’s local milk collection centre, while women do not, as it is an implicitly accepted socio-cultural norm that it is inappropriate for women to do so. The following table, again sourced from the existing study on women in Southern Punjab, supports our claims that husbands are the primary source of information for women. However, given their own limited knowledge, women require better and more direct access to sources. Table 6: Sources of Information for Women Caring for Livestock
Sources of Information
Order of Priority
84
Greene, W.H. (2000) Econometric Analysis: International Edition, (New York: Pearson Education, 4th edition). Reported in Luqman et al.
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Male head/ husband Relatives/ neighbours Electronic media Newspapers/ print media Private sector/ NGOs Extension field staff/ public sector Source: Luqman et al (2013), p. 104.
1 2 3 4 5 6
Mobility constraints in rural areas limit women’s engagement in economic activity Women are involved in animal husbandry, but owing to restrictions on female mobility and interactions with the opposite gender, are unable to benefit from knowledge shared by male extension workers if they are available. Mobility is not only a limitation for female farmers unable to leave their households to seek more knowledge regarding best practice, but it is also an issue for female extension workers. It means businesses have limited options in recruiting local women to perform extension services. Mobility concerns, such as secure transportation, create management challenges and remain daunting for employers. Private businesses are apprehensive about the security risks in rural areas and have not dealt with female staff in the past, as it is not customary for private dairy processors or input companies to hire women for the field. Women are involved in decisions regarding animal husbandry to varying extents. They have greater involvement if the household is poorer and the decisions pertain to taking care of the animals at home rather than to input purchases or market transactions. Their exclusion from extension service networks not only tilts the scales in favour of men during the domestic decision-making process, equipping them with more knowledge than women, but also results in lower milk yields per household.
Lack of financial products targeted at women There are no viable options for credit beyond local moneylenders, friends and family, and the decision to borrow may not always be jointly by the male and female heads of household. Men also do the actual borrowing, which means that women do not have access to informal financing mechanisms. In addition, the lack of suitable products offered by financial institutions targeted at women in rural areas restricts their ability to expand their income generation potential. For example, in SP 08, the female head of household does not have access to assets for income generation, does not belong to a group or association as she said none exists in the area, and has not received training or support on economic development. Women are dependent on their parents and husbands for income and it is rare for women to obtain loans. They do not have any means of saving except to invest in their daughters’ dowry (or sometimes through a committee saving system). Even in cases where women may have access to credit, they have insufficient knowledge to manage their livestock business and maximise returns. Generally, only 10 to 12 percent of Pakistan’s population has a bank account and the situation is far worse for rural women.
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Opportunities to Promote Economic Participation for Women Improved access to information and services MDF can explore a range of information delivery services directed towards women engaged in dairy and meat farming activities. Private companies, such as dairy and meat processors and input suppliers, can target women through their involvement in animal husbandry, which can affect sourcing quality. Dairy processors and feedlots can improve the quality of milk and meat they source by providing information on practices performed by women in the household that can increase animal productivity. Input suppliers can target women as potential customers and provide information on quality inputs and practices that improve efficiency. Although women are not involved in market transactions or purchasing inputs, they play a role in deciding on expenditure. MDF can enhance this process by allowing women to increase awareness on inputs and information that can enable them to have more informed discussions regarding their livestock. Specialised training providers that employ women who have experience in the sector and in conducting training in regional languages can address mobility constraints that often present a challenge to the private sector in reaching out to women. MDF can also collaborate with other donor programmes to extend training services to women in a commercially sustainable way. MDF can upgrade the capacity of government extension services as they have female veterinarians who are not mobile In order to get more information into households, MDF can explore media and telecommmunication services to deliver information through message alerts, local radio and cable television channels. The timing, language and tone of message delivery require particular attention to maximise uptake.
Improved connectivity to input and output markets Generally, men purchase the inputs after some household discussion. Therefore, it is important to increase women’s awareness about efficient labour-saving fodder options, such as making silage from lucerne (a high-yield forage legume with a 20 percent protein content), that results in less time spent cutting and carrying fodder and a more manageable workload. There is also an opportunity to create systems engaging female extension workers to administer livestock vaccinations directly at the house where women benefit from increased awareness and healthier animals. Women can benefit by better connections to consistent buyers who are willing to offer price premiums in return for quality produce − milk or meat. MDF can explore creating backward linkages so that businesses source directly from villages and gain a direct advantage in providing information to female farmers. Providing up-to-date and real time market prices to women through telecommunication services enables them to have more input in the decision-making process and raises awareness of how much income is flowing into the household.
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Access to low cost commuting options and distribution mechanisms Both female trainers and farmers have mobility constraints in rural areas; it increases the information gap for female farmers. MDF can explore safer transport options for female trainers and extension officers through low-cost commuting, such as motor scooters (taking inspiration from Lahore’s recent Women on Wheels campaign),85 or arrangements to team up with male colleagues to resolve some concerns around security and logistics. Arranging separate training for women at the same time as male training may produce better attendance rates. MDF can explore how to bring more services to villages through investment in distribution channels and by increasing the availability of information sources directed at women.
Access to appropriate financial products targeted to women Generally, women are unable to gain finance, both formal and informal. Only male household members negotiate for informal finance. MDF can explore working with financial institutions to develop products, distribution mechanisms and information pathways to improve financial literacy. Tailoring products to women’s needs should include both credit and savings options. Distribution channels will have to be innovative because women do not like traveling to town markets to access banking services. This might mean relying on banking vans, local retailers or agents providing telecommunication-based financial services, a model of which is the mobile banking option through the Government of Pakistan’s BISP. Women do not have financial literacy, so products need additional support through providing numeracy training, clear information on the product itself, business management, and budgeting and saving techniques.
85
AFP/Dawn (2016) “WoW: Women on Wheels Hit the Road in Lahore” https://www.dawn.com/news/1232091
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Findings from Strategic Engagement Area – Horticulture Overview MDF works in the horticulture strategic engagement area that covers the cultivation, harvest, processing and packaging of fruit, vegetables and root crops across Pakistan. Citrus, mangoes, dates, guava, apples, apricots and grapes are the fruit predominantly grown in Pakistan, while potatoes, onions, chillies, tomatoes and cucurbits (pumpkins and squash, gourds also watermelons and cucumbers) are the vegetables widely cultivated. In 2015, horticulture made up 11.4 percent of agricultural GDP representing a wide diversity of produce sourced from specific geographic and climatic zones.86 The domestic market buys and consumes the majority of Pakistan’s fruit and vegetables while in 2015, nine percent was export produce.87 The food processing industry is so limited in Pakistan that just two percent of horticultural crops go through production with 16 percent of fruit made into juice.88 For a monetary example, in September 2016, Pakistan exported less than PKP 500,000 of processed fruit and vegetables compared to over PKP 3.5 million of fresh produce.89 A 2010 World Bank assessment highlighted Pakistan’s underperformance in exporting horticultural produce, despite its comparative advantage with lower transportation costs for fruit and vegetables to its neighbour, Afghanistan, South Asia and the Middle East.90 Horticultural production increased from 10,416 million tonnes in 2000−01 to 16,044 million tonnes in 2014−15 (68 percent growth in fruit and 62 percent growth in vegetables over the 2000−15 period). Pakistan grows 6,703 million tonnes of fruit and 6,618 million tonnes of vegetables across the country per annum.91 Demand for horticultural produce has been on the rise over the last two decades on the
86
GoP (2015) “Highlights of Pakistan Economic Survey 2015−16” http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/chapters_16/highlights_2015_16.pdf 87
GoP Economic Wing, Ministry of National Food Security and Research (2015) “Agricultural Statistics of Pakistan 2014−15”, Table 136 http://www.mnfsr.gov.pk/ 88
Parveen, S. et al (2014) “Value Addition: A Tool to Minimize Post-Harvest Losses in Horticultural Crops” Greener Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Vol 4 (5) http://gjournals.org/GJAS/Publication/2014/June/PDF/042914208%20Saima%20et%20al.pdf 89
GoP (2016) “Monthly Bulletin of Statistics 2016 November”, p. 203 http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files//other/monthly_bulletin/monthly_bulletin_of_statistics_november16.pdf 90
Riaz, K. et al (2010) “Revealed Comparative Advantage of Pakistan’s Agricultural Exports” https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/12449/684050ESW0WHIT0xports0Nov027002010.pdf?se quence=1&isAllowed=y 91
IGoP (2015) “Agricultural Statistics of Pakistan 2014−15”, Tables 41, 43 and 58: Each production figure is the average of the last five years of data (2010−15), http://www.mnfsr.gov.pk/
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back of population growth and increasing income levels. While production has increased, it has not kept pace with the growth in local demand: early FAO analysis on food demand noted that “the share of imports in domestic consumption (is) likely to go up further”.92 The same analysis looked at the beginning of notable fruit and vegetable imports − 1990−94, 258,000 tonnes rising to 410,000 tonnes for 1995−98 – and that demand has continued to rise. Today there is a significant demand−supply gap particularly for vegetables. Pakistan has “favorable agroclimatic conditions for horticulture production”.93The production of fruit and vegetables occurs across the country, with different crops grown in different climatic zones as determined by water availability and climate. Temperature is the main factor determining the suitability of crops for each region. These climactic zones also have an influence on harvest times and, as a result, the prices that crops can command. Pakistan has two distinct growing seasons. They are: ‘kharif’, the Arabic word meaning autumn, where farmers sow crops, such as rice, maize and certain vegetables, in summer (April to June) and harvest them in winter (October to December); and ‘rabi’, spring in Arabic, when specific crops are sown in winter and harvested in April or May, including wheat, rapeseed and particular vegetables. Punjab’s agricultural production is more competitive than other provinces of Pakistan as it has better access to resources and inputs. Mango and citrus production is concentrated in Punjab, with landowners maintaining large orchards supplying domestic and export markets. Due to the high population density, there is significant production of vegetables as well. Map 4 – Sindh
92
FAO (2000) “Chapter 10 Pakistan”, Agriculture, Trade and Food Security Issues and Options in the WTO Negotiations from the Perspective of Developing Countries Vol Two, http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x8731e/x8731e11.htm 93
Riaz, K. et al (2010) “Revealed Comparative Advantage of Pakistan’s Agricultural Exports”, p. 4 https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/12449/684050ESW0WHIT0xports0Nov027002010.pdf?se quence=1&isAllowed=y
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In Sindh, the second largest province of Pakistan, sharecropping is a very common practice unlike the rest of the country. Coastal Sindh has an advantage in producing off-season vegetables, and the proximity to Karachi ensures that there is a large, stable market for vegetable products. Map 5 - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) is the northwestern province of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan on its western side. It has diverse climatic zones divided into three regions, each with distinct cropping patterns. Parts of KPK offer potential in off-season vegetable production, while other regions have potential in stone fruits such as apricots and peaches. Mountain valleys offer ideal conditions for seed cultivation and multiplication. Baluchistan, in southwest Pakistan, is sparsely populated and is the farthest from any major rivers in Pakistan; hence, it is the driest of all the provinces. The province has three agricultural zones. The dry highlands are suitable for growing temperate fruits such as apples, cherries, pears and persimmon (in the northwestern districts of Quetta, Mastung, Killa Saifullah and Kalat). The sandy, mountainous and granular areas are suitable for dates and rain-fed fruit and vegetables such as watermelons, onions and tomatoes (in the districts of Washuk, Panjgur and Kharan). The third region, with access to some water canals and agricultural practices similar to that of Sindh, widely grows crops such as cotton and wheat (mainly restricted to Lasbela district on the coast). Other areas in Baluchistan use groundwater
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for crop production, which is depleting rapidly from overuse. Current groundwater extraction is very high and this has put agriculture in the province at risk.94 Map 6 - Gilgit-Baltistan
Official census data are not readily available for the province of Gilgit-Baltistan. However, MDF field investigations indicate that GB’s farming patterns are similar in climate and terrain to those of Pakistan’s northern-most district of Chitral in KPK. GB borders Afghanistan, China and India. The region has three of the highest mountain ranges in the world (the Himalayas, Hindu Kush and Karakoram, some mountains of Asia’s Greater Ranges) and has areas of single cropping and double cropping determined by altitude. Agriculture occurs in narrow valleys and cultivable land is limited. Farm sizes are small with an average of two acres per household. The farms are often fragmented and farmers have land in more than two locations where they grow wheat and maize for grain and fodder, and potatoes as a cash crop. The number of fruit orchards in the area is low; farmers usually grow fruit on field boundaries, along water passages and in areas not suitable for other crops.
Poverty in Horticulture Agriculture provides employment for 42.3 percent of the labour force. However, a much higher percentage of the rural population would have direct or indirect engagement in agriculture for their livelihood.95 Horticultural production is widely dispersed by geographic location and the potential for 94
Although for security reasons it was not possible to survey Baluchistan province, it is still an area in which MDF has working interests. 95
Ahmed, S.A. and Gautam, M. (2013) “Agriculture and Water Policy: Toward Sustainable Inclusive Growth” Policy Paper Series on Pakistan https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/17864/862510NWP0Worl00Water0Policy0final.pdf?sequ ence=1&isAllowed=y
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pro-poor growth varies by crop and by type of farmer. Horticulture can be a key to poverty eradication as it generates more income per farm-unit area and it attracts smallholder farmers as it is labour intensive; has short cycles for vegetables; and has the potential to provide a stable source of income and food security for the household. Horticultural production creates employment opportunities ranging from production tasks, such as sowing, weeding, watering and applying pesticides and fertilisers, to post-harvest tasks including harvesting, grading, sorting and further processing tasks including packaging and drying pulping. While most of these tasks are seasonal, they are supplementary income opportunities for poor rural households.96 Most vegetables are perishable; hence, whether their cultivation takes place depends on the farmer’s access to market. The amount of vegetables most farmers close to market produce depends on the farm size. Farmers with land under one acre grow vegetables on about 53 percent of their total cropping area; this proportion decreases when farm size increases. For instance, it reduces to 33 percent for farmers whose land is between one to two and a half acres and further reduces to 25 percent for farmers with two and a half to five acres. Nevertheless, the number remains significant for smallholder farmers.97
Who is poor? Southern Sindh Poor farmers in Southern Sindh are from low-resourced households. They find it extremely difficult to climb out of poverty, as they live in a system that does not support them to change their situation. These farmers do not have the means to invest in their farms or obtain information that can improve productivity and generate better returns. Most poor farming households have small plots of land ranging from one to five acres and with an average land size in our sample of 2.75 acres. For poor households in Sindh, the primary source of income is from farming crops including wheat, rice, okra, eggplant, onion, cucumber, banana, chilli, maize and tomato. They keep a proportion of wheat, rice and vegetables for home consumption. Other than cultivating their own land, sharecropping and occasionally leasing land, some farmers also work as seasonal wage labourers, fruit picking or crop harvesting on other people’s land. For instance, a household with one acre of land producing two vegetables for trade is a relatively poor household (level 2). A household with ten acres of land, a proportion of which is only cultivable for two 96
MDF (2015) “Horticulture – Systematic Change Pathways” http://marketdevelopmentfacility.org/wpcontent/uploads/2016/05/160413_Systemic-Change-Pathways-Horticulture_coverpage.pdf 97
GoP (2010) Agricultural Census 2010 http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/aco/publications/agricultural_census2010/WRITEUP%20AGRI.%20CENSUS%202010.pdf
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vegetable crops with some external income, is somewhat better off (level 3). A household with five acres of productive land producing wheat, maize, rice and two vegetable crops is probably not poor but may be vulnerable (level 4). Sharecropping is prevalent in Sindh where landless farmers enter into an arrangement with landowners in which they live on and cultivate a part of the land in exchange for a percentage of profits. Sharecroppers in Sindh are in dire impoverished circumstances where they have limited resources to increase incomes, thus perpetuating cycles of debt. The landowner provides inputs in sharecropping arrangements. Sometimes the sharecropper does not know the brand of inputs, such as the sprays, that he uses. The cost of seeds, fertilisers and sprays is usually shared between the sharecropper and the landowner, while the cost of labour is borne solely by the sharecropper. The inputs available, especially the seeds, may not be of the best quality. Sharecroppers with unproductive land tend to be poorer as they have fewer avenues to increase incomes. Farmers towards the tailend of canals are also poorer due to inadequate access to water, which compromises the quality of their farms. The result is that the household cannot depend on agriculture; the limited water supply forces household members to look for work outside their farms. The farmers interviewed acquired finance from family and friends and upfront credit from arthis or retailers. If the loan was from an arthi, farmers often used it on inputs for crops later purchased by the arthi. Another arrangement was that the landowner provided inputs or finance for inputs with costs later deducted from the sharecropper’s earnings in a pre-determined manner. These arrangements may vary and often have a negative impact on the farming household. Poor farming households in Southern Sindh have the following key characteristics:
They have limited resources and small landholdings (1−5 acres). They are sharecroppers cultivating the land through an arrangement with the landowner. They mainly grow wheat and rice with seasonal production of fodder for their own use and cotton and vegetables as cash crops.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) KPK − a mountainous region − is more challenging for development programmes: land quality tends to be inconsistent; infrastructure is less developed; and, therefore, markets, services and other supports are either unavailable in many parts and/or more difficult to access. Moreover, KPK is prone to natural disasters that can wipe out many years of development efforts in a few hours or days. Poverty is prevalent for farming households situated higher up in the mountains. These households have small plots of land with low soil quality, and are distant from the market without adequate access inputs or buyers for their produce. Income sources vary within the region and our sample showed there appears to be more reliance on farm income in districts with better market access and larger land size. Remote households without diversified income sources also tend to be poor.
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Cropping patterns vary with landholdings, climatic suitability and access to market. Around the city of Akora Khattak, Nowshera district, vegetables are predominant. The area’s horticultural season coincides with the period of low competition from Punjab and Sindh produce; hence, farmers get better income for their crops. In Swat, poor farmers cultivate vegetables, such as tomato and onion, while farmers with larger landholdings also grow peach, plum, apricot and persimmon. Onion and tomato face little competition in the market and earn a better income. In upper Swat, cucumber, tomato and pea are the major cash crops and, being off-season, fetch better prices in the market. In Chitral, poor farmers mostly grow field crops, such as wheat, from October to June, and rice and maize from June to October in the two-crop region, and wheat or maize in the monocrop regions. Some farmers also grow onion and sell at the farm gate. Most farming households tend to grow vegetables on a very small scale for household consumption. In the monocrop area of Kalash valley there is intense farming of walnuts throughout the valley, planted on field boundaries or on marginal land not suitable for farming. Agriculture inputs, such as fertilisers, pesticides and animal vaccines, are available in most areas but not in the Kalash valley in Chitral. In areas, such as Akora Khattak and Swat, there are sales agents of many pesticide companies, while there is only one pesticide dealer for the whole district in Chitral city. Poor farming households in KPK have the following key characteristics:
They are in higher mountainous regions. Farmers have smaller plots of land and poor soil quality. They are remote with limited income sources (dependent solely on subsistence agriculture with low yields).
Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) Our primary and secondary research identified the key multiple factors that contribute to poverty in households in GB. They include erratic and extreme weather events including flooding and heavy snowfalls; remote and hard to reach populations; poor infrastructure; constrained access to inputs, services and markets; and limited access to new techniques and technologies. Poor farmers in GB have small landholdings, which are often remote and difficult to reach, thereby reducing access to the necessary supports. Poor households cultivate limited crops on their land for home consumption and sale, but over half of the household income comes from off-farm activities, both those in our sample and in GB more generally.98 There is very high land ownership in GB (90 percent), but most of the landholdings are
98
Agriculture accounts for 40% of overall income in GB, and 48% of the agricultural income is from crops: FAO (2015) Women in Agriculture in Pakistan http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4330e.pdf
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small and therefore incomes from farming are low.99 A portion of land is often not cultivable for crops, and the only produce is from fruit tree harvests. To supplement farm income, many men work for wages in construction during the summer months (May to July) and women stitch clothes for other people in the village. In fact, all families have a non-farm source of income – through either wages or microenterprise. Households with limited means to diversify income sources through supplementary jobs are poorer. Similarly, households that are overly reliant on one crop, such as potatoes, are also prone to poverty as inconsistent demand and limited production-enhancing techniques make the crops less competitive. Poor farming households in GB have the following key characteristics:
They have small landholdings, often remote and difficult to access. They cultivate limited crops for subsistence and sale. There is limited access to non-farm income sources.
Why are they poor? In the horticulture strategic engagement area, poverty is tied to region-specific factors. While there may be common denominators, such as access to resources and availability of information, how these manifest depends on the different regions.
Southern Sindh From our primary and secondary research, several key factors contribute to poverty in smallholder households in Southern Sindh. Unfavourable land ownership/sharecropping arrangements: According to a recent FAO report, the majority of farming households in Sindh are either smallholder subsistence farmers or tenants/sharecroppers.100 The World Bank estimated that less than one percent of landowners in Sindh own over 100 acres and their total land equals more than one and a half times the combined holdings of the 62 percent of smallholder farmers (with land area smaller than five acres).101 Added to this disparity in land ownership are the tenant and sharecropping arrangements that many smallholder farmers depend upon for access to land, information, inputs, services and markets. Our interviewees confirmed these findings: Crop failure and the rollover of an agricultural loan to the next crop cycle had pushed them further into debt (e.g., SS 02). In sharecropping arrangements, 99
World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Government of Gilgit-Baltistan (2011) “Gilgit-Baltistan Economic Report: Broadening the Transformation” http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/939151468062972670/pdf/NonAsciiFileName0.pdf 100 FAO (2015) Women in Agriculture in Pakistan http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4330e.pdf 101 World Bank (2014) “Project Appraisal Document: Sindh Agricultural Growth Project” http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/645041468086940924/pdf/776880PAD0P128010Box385244B00OUO090.pdf
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decisions about what to cultivate, which inputs to use and where to sell produce lie with the landowners. Sharecroppers growing chilli, for instance − a more profitable crop − have better returns than those growing wheat and cotton. In cases where sharecroppers only have access to small parcels of unproductive land, landowners are unwilling to invest in quality or specialised inputs, or seek out information on the same, resulting in declining yields and profits for sharecroppers. For instance, sharecroppers might not be able to grow rice varieties that reduce soil salinity, despite such varieties being available, unless the landowner wishes to make these investments. Compromised water access and soil quality: The majority of households interviewed said that water shortage is a significant problem, particularly for smaller farms. There is an inefficient system of irrigation canals, and none of the farmers interviewed used effective irrigation techniques because of the high upfront and running costs. Field teams noted that influential farmers with larger landholdings had a more regular water supply and were able to cultivate a larger proportion of their land. The preferential access of larger landowners to irrigation canals (based on land size and power dynamics) only exacerbated the water supply problems for smallholders. Smaller farms at canal tails do not get sufficient water, and those with five acres (for example SS 06) can only irrigate two to three acres. Similarly, in RS 06, Keeval’s two acres of land is at the far end of the irrigation system with a water supply after every 20 to 30 days, also insufficient to irrigate the whole land. Sindh’s saline groundwater − unsuitable for irrigation – only worsens the situation. If farmers are able to grow saline-resilient rice, which mitigates land salinity creating an advantage, they can cultivate vegetables the following season. In our interviews, we learned that less successful households are not using this approach (e.g., SS 07) while more success households are (e.g., SS 08). Limited access to information on cultivation practices: Poor farmers – both sharecroppers and farmers with very small landholdings – have limited access to information, which comes through landowners or upstream buyers (traders and retailers). Sharecroppers are reliant on their land’s owners for information as the private extension workers who serve this market engage only at the landowner level. Smaller landowners may access information from arthis and retailers on inputs and techniques, but arthis only work with very small landowners (two to three acres) if they are growing a very high value crop such as okra or tomato (which is an opportunity for the programme). Arthis and retailers do not have sufficient information even in cases where do they share it as their prime incentive is trading on margins rather than quality. For sharecroppers the arthi as an information source also does not exist. For example, SS 06 reported a disease that was affecting his chilli crop, but he had no information on the cause or treatment. Limited and high cost inputs: Access to quality seeds is problematic as farmers use retained seeds to save money: These degrade over subsequent cycles (in some cases to the seventh or eighth generation), resulting in lower yields from weaker plants. For tomatoes seeds on which farmers do spend money, yields remain low. The cost of pesticides can be high for okra and tomato as they are highly season variable and could be as much as PKR 15−20,000 per acre per annum − poor application, over-use and poor advice all contribute to this expense. Although okra can give high returns, the required inputs – mainly insecticides and fertilisers − are so expensive that farmers, and especially
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cash-strapped sharecroppers, cannot afford them. The result is they do not grow okra (e.g., SS 07 and 08). Moreover, household SS 07 reported that they refrain from borrowing money for expensive inputs as the risk is borne by the farmer. If the crop fails, the debt is carried forward to the next season. Although it did not identify causes, the World Bank reported a critical challenge for horticulture in Sindh is that post-harvest losses are as high as 25 percent.102 Looking more broadly across Pakistan, another study estimated that post-harvest spoilage could be even greater, with between 30 and 40 percent of fruit and vegetables being “lost or dumped after leaving the farm gate.”103 The study listed high ambient temperatures, pests and diseases as reasons for the high rate of spoilage, while the Government of Sindh stated: Post-harvest losses occur in the field, in packing areas, in storage, during transportation and in wholesale or retail markets. Severe losses occur because of poor facilities, lack of know-how, poor management, market dysfunction, or simply the carelessness of farmers or workers.104 Other fieldwork showed than post-harvest losses may also occur from traditional drying practices. For instance, for the chilli crop in Kunri, a town famous for the produce, drying on the ground results in high moisture content that increases aflatoxin levels, limiting income returns for farmers. Similarly, an estimated 10 percent of tomato crop loss occurs during transportation. Incidence of external shocks: A few farming households in the interview sample had slipped more deeply into poverty from external shocks such as health emergencies, failed crops, or animals dying from disease. Agricultural shocks in this area are predominantly crop failure caused by either lack of water or flooding. Other financial shocks are often associated with medical emergencies (in two cases − SS 03 and SS 09). Moreover, surplus income is spent almost immediately on household expenditure and consumption, and very little saving occurs.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) In KPK, many smallholder farmers suffer from a generally low level of services (including finance), inputs and information, consequences of their remote locations and difficult mountainous access. This constrained access means that households are unable to increase their income from horticulture by upgrading production and reaching markets in a timely manner. However, our sample showed there is significant variability in poverty in KPK, with a strong correlation to market access and size of
102
World Bank (2014) “Project Appraisal Document: Sindh Agricultural Growth Project” http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/645041468086940924/pdf/776880PAD0P128010Box385244B00OUO090.pdf 103
Parveen, S. et al (2014) “Value Addition: A Tool to Minimize Post-Harvest Losses in Horticultural Crops” Greener Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Vol 4 (5) http://gjournals.org/GJAS/Publication/2014/June/PDF/042914208%20Saima%20et%20al.pdf 104
Government of Sindh, Agriculture Research Institute (n.d.) “Development & Propagation of Post-Harvest Technology to Increase Shelf Life of Fruit & Vegetables” http://sindhagri.gov.pk/pci/PCI%20revised%20Post%20Harvest%20Technology.pdf
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landholding. Based on our primary and secondary research, the following key factors contribute to poverty in smallholder households in KPK. Location and condition of land: The land quality is a crucial factor in terms of soil fertility and access to water. Most farmers reported having access to some form of canal or stream, so water availability was not a concern in the interview sample. However, the type of land and its altitude influences its fertility. In both Bahrain (KPK 05 and 06) and Chitral (KPK 12 in Kalash), farming households with land on the hill slopes reported that certain plots were less productive as the soil quality was poor. Inconsistent availability, affordability and use of inputs: Generally, farmers in organised communities and valleys (such as KPK 07 and KPK 08 living in the plain area of Charbagh in Swat district) use more inputs including specialised seed varieties, fertilisers and other agrichemicals. However, farmers living in remote areas, such as the hills of Bahrain in Swat (e.g., KPK 06) or the Kalash area (KPK 11 and 12), are much less keen on using inputs. In some instances, it is because inputs are not available, as is the case in Kalash, but in other situations, such as Bahrain, inputs may be available but many farmers will not use them. There are several reasons to explain this, including lack of awareness, transportation difficulties in the absence of roads and unaffordability. In Kalash, most of the agriculture is subsistence, which also adds to the farmers’ low incentive to invest in their farms. Constrained access to information and extension services in difficult-to-reach locations: Farmers located in isolated areas are unaware of specific inputs to use and so their yields are low. Farmers in the more remote region of Kalash (e.g., both KPK 11 and 12) do not have any extension services, nor do they have inputs available locally. Furthermore, when we compare the farming practices of the two poorest households − KPK 05 and KPK 06 (KPK 06 is harder to reach) − we see a stark contrast. KPK 05 attended training; had regular interaction with the government extension worker; was aware of the need to support his cucumber plants for increased growth; bought better seed varieties; and was thus getting better yields and more income. KPK 06 was worse off in each of these areas. Distance from markets: Farmers who live in the valleys, such as Swat, enjoy road access to markets all year round and are relatively better off. Bahrain is an interesting area, as farmers living on one side of the river have road access and are significantly wealthier, while farmers on the other side of the river are the poorest in the overall sample (KPK 05 and 06). Their homes are only accessible by a narrow winding dirt track, and they have to carry their produce on their backs to take them to the market. Limited access to finance: Improved access to finance can help farmers invest productively in their farms, but almost all farmers in the sample rely on input retailers for credit. Some farmers are so poor they cannot afford inputs if informal financing is available (e.g., KPK 06). In Chitral and specifically Kalash, neither inputs nor informal financing is available, thereby adversely affecting agricultural activities and output (KPK 11 and 12). This prevents more farmers from investing in vertical farming techniques to grow summer vine crops, such as cucumber and tomato, more efficiently. Only the region’s wealthier famers practice this technique. Tomatoes and cucumbers are lucrative, as they grow off-season for the Punjab market, offering farmers a pathway out of poverty. Formal financing is limited to larger cities in KPK such as Peshawar, near the border, and the more central Mardan. Even
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in cases where formal finance is available, religious reasons mean there is less interest among farmers to use these services. Incidence of external shocks: Poorer households dependent on agriculture may be more vulnerable to natural disasters and external shocks resulting in income fluctuations. Most farmers in this sample diversified economic activities to mitigate the effect of these shocks. Other shocks include falls in the price of the final crop, unfavourable weather, excess or shortages of rain, floods, the death of family members or animals, and out-migration of productive family members. Moreover, the area around Swat has witnessed the horrors of the Taliban as well as the army operations against them. This was a time when people had to migrate to safe areas, could not send their children to school, and faced military activity all around them. KPK 05 narrated that the conflict damaged or blocked the roads so people could not take their produce to the market, thereby losing considerable income that year. The same area also experienced extensive flooding in 2010. The floods destroyed roads, and water became scarce for both irrigation and drinking. The fast-flowing rivers also deposited large amounts of stones and sand in the area, making the land uncultivable for some time.
Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) In GB, smallholder farmers are situated in remote mountainous regions reducing access to knowledge, inputs, services and markets. Limited access prevents households from increasing their horticultural income by producing better quality crops or improving yields. As horticulture is a primary economic opportunity in the region, overcoming these fundamental constraints is crucial. The following are the challenges faced by poor households in GB. Difficult access to premium markets: Karimabad, the capital of the Hunza Valley, provides the area’s only main market from which most of the households (GB 03, GB 04) interviewed are a significant distance. Although every house has convenient access to a smaller market to purchase their daily necessities, they have to travel on average two hours to reach a larger, main market. The frequency of visits to the main market varied from once to three times a month. However, in some cases, such as the households interviewed in Upper Hunza, in Pakistan’s extreme north (GB 05 and GB08) and Ghizer in the west (GB 11 and GB 12), travelling to the main market was so difficult that visits were minimal, limited to emergency situations only. Generally, farmers in the valleys of Hunza and Nagar can sell all of their farm produce, mainly comprising apricots (followed by potatoes and other fruits). Traders are able to reach most valleys to purchase produce. Farmers usually lose margins from the poor quality of produce and pre-harvest wastage. There are limited options for selling fresh apricots and most farmers dry their produce to enhance the shelf life. Most farmers produce sulphur-dried apricots commonly sold in the local markets. Farmers can obtain better prices for high-quality organically dried apricots but there are very few businesses involved in value addition and the processing of organic produce for high-end export and domestic markets. The high costs of packaging, obtaining the necessary certifications to comply
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with customer requirements and expense of transportation add to business operating costs, limiting the number of businesses that have successfully established themselves in GB. Access to water for irrigation: Access to water for irrigation is a problem in three of the six villages sampled. All villages have proper canal systems to irrigate their lands but the water supply varies. Villages that have to rely on spring instead of glacier water face serious problems with irrigation, as spring water is limited; this is especially problematic when the entire village has to share one water source (GB 01, GB 02, GB 09, GB 10). In such cases, families take turns to irrigate their lands. If they miss their turn, they have to wait another 15 to 20 days for their next turn or buy water from neighbouring villages with a better water supply (GB 01 and GB 02). The demonstrated variation in crop yield due to differences in water supply is clear in apricot production in GB 04 and GB 10: GB 04 has an apricot yield of 10 kg per tree with good access to water and GB 10 has a yield of 5 kg per tree with a very limited water supply. Access to quality inputs: Finding quality seeds is particularly challenging for households that are far from a main market or development programme. A comparison between GB 04 and GB 11 shows a significant difference in potato yield. GB 04 uses whatever potato seeds are conveniently available and has a yield of 12 mounds per kanal (a traditional measurement of land area − about 0.125 acres), while GB 11 received good quality potato seeds from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and has a yield of 32 mounds per kanal. Therefore, with better quality seeds farming households in GB can use their land to full potential and earn more from the sale of their crops. Farmers reported diseases in their fruit trees but do not use any products for control or prevention. Generally, the available inputs in GB, such as seeds, are through informal channels − no formal seed businesses exist in GB or supply GB from elsewhere. Availability and knowledge of equipment are also constraints. Farmers do not have access to any specialised tools or mechanisation. Harvesting tools can save on post-harvest losses, providing farmers with an opportunity to increase their incomes. Our research showed that gaining finance for agriculture is only through informal networks. Farmers receive credit from local support organisations and MFIs but mostly for health and educational purposes. GB 02 and GB 05 both acquired loans from a local committee saving system (technically, a rotating saving and credit association) and used the money for their children’s tuition fees. The groups provide a “revolving fund for financing lump-sum expenditure”. Basically, it is a group money pool based on regular fixed contributions where each member eventually receives a payment from the ‘pot’.105 Access to information on crop selection and cultivation techniques: Throughout GB, there is no government extension system to disseminate information on good cropping techniques and efficient farming practices. In certain regions (Lower Hunza Valley and Gilgit district, central GB), there are aid agencies, such as USAID and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), that are working 105
Qadir, A (2005) A Study of Informal Finance Markets in Pakistan, Pakistan Microfinance Network, p. 11 http://www.microfinanceconnect.info/assets/articles/informal.pdf
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towards improving farming practices and crop yields. The team found that farmers in GB are generally very receptive to such assistance and actively seek out information where provided, attending information sessions and training workshops. The farmers applied what they learned in the training. For example, one family (GB 04), on the day of the interviews, had a son who had just finished JICA training on how to make organic insecticides. He seemed very excited about what he had learned and said he would use self-made organic insecticide on his crops to treat pests. Therefore, in areas where information on cropping techniques is available significant uptake is evident. With improved access to such information, it is likely that crop quality and yields would increase for farming households in GB. Incidence to external shocks: Poor farming households in GB lack resilience to external shocks such as natural disasters, bad weather for crop production, crop diseases and the breakdown of market access, among others. Over-reliance on farming as the primary source of income means external shocks that effect crop production or the sale of crops also significantly affect the income of farming households. However, in highly organised communities where households support one another, there is more social assistance available than in other regions of Pakistan. Nevertheless, when shocks take the form of widespread crop failure or natural disasters, whole communities suffer. For example, the Attabad landslide disaster of 2010 (which created a huge lake by blocking the Hunza River) not only resulted in loss of life, but submerged villages and land, destroyed a part of the Karakoram Highway and several bridges across the Hunza River, and cut off Upper Hunza from the valleys below requiring an expensive lake crossing. This means that already-remote households become more disadvangated in access to everything from markets to hospitals. Income security: The households in our sample and throughout GB have relatively strong income diversity. They place a high value on crop and livestock production because they feel that other income from employment is not dependable. When a family has other income-earning opportunities – salaried employment, pension income, more wage labour throughout the year, etc. – they have a greater chance to move the household out of poverty. Although GB has greater income diversity than other regions, this is often from migration to urban areas, the ultimate poverty reduction strategy for the rural poor. Women suffer more from the low diversity of income-earning opportunities, as they are seldom able to move to other regions to pursue opportunities or work as wage labour.
Pathways Out of Poverty Creating access to affordable and quality inputs for increased productivity Gaining quality, productivity-enhancing inputs is difficult in all three regions where MDF conducted its research. The following opportunities exist to promote inclusive growth in different regions. Sindh In Sindh, household interviews revealed that SS 08 generally refrained from investing in quality inputs and that SS 07 was similarly reluctant to invest owing to problems of water logging and salinity in the region. Introducing saline-resistant varieties of seeds to increase yields can change the soil salinity levels. The seeds also make land suitable for vegetable production the following season, providing
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pathways for farmers to move out of poverty. These products exist in the market but limited knowledge means they are only available to progressive farmers. Research identified access to quality seeds and crop-protecting chemicals as other constraints. The seeds kept by the farmers have low germination rates and produce variant plants in size and yield. Farmers are hesitant to purchase pesticides, which they perceive as unaffordable. As they are the decision makers, the preferable approach is to inform the landowners instead of the sharecroppers and to introduce them to high yielding varieties of seeds, quality fertilisers and sprays. There is opportunity to work with input companies to penetrate this market, encourage product uptake through marketing and making quality products more available for farmers. There is also scope to work with businesses that have an interest in sourcing quality produce to comply with customer requirements. These businesses (traders, processors, exporters) would have an interest in developing strong linkages to their supply base and would encourage the use of quality inputs to increase productivity. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Input usage in KPK is low in comparisonto Punjab, which adversely affects yields. This is a consequence of limited awareness, problems transporting inputs across the hilly terrain to the distant farms and the lack of affordability. Having smaller packet sizes that are easy to transport, convenient to sample and more affordable would address some of these problems. In other areas of KPK, inputs are simply not available. MDF can support various input companies to extend their outreach to smallholder farmers in remote areas through various promotional activities, demo plots and farmer-awareness sessions. Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) Input companies are not very active in the region, but there is potential to improve the availability of organic fertiliser and pesticides. This will benefit farmers whose fruit trees are suffering from diseases. Farmers are also unable to purchase good quality potato seeds, which lowers household incomes, as potato is the cash crop for most farmers in the region. MDF has the opportunity to design partnerships to encourage input suppliers in establishing their retailer networks in the region and increasing the availability of seeds, organic fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides, etc. Potential also exists in supporting potato-seed production in GB to take advantage of its suitable agro-climatic conditions.
Provide farmers with efficient and affordable equipment and technologies Technology gaps prevent smallholder farmers from improving their productivity, maintaining the quality of their produce and practising efficient agriculture. Irrigation is an aspect of this, with farmers relying on intermittent supply from canals and streams in Sindh, KPK and GB. Available technology can also reduce workloads, particularly relevant for women overburdened with responsibility for labour within and outside the household. The following opportunities exist for MDF in this area. Households in Sindh, KPK and GB could benefit from the introduction of efficient and affordable irrigation technology. Interactions in the field revealed that though drip irrigation in the form of
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sprinklers is efficient and enables management of meagre water resources, it is an expensive technology; its uptake is difficult to gauge and ensure. The option instead is to strengthen the mechanisms concerning flood irrigation such as information provision on the creation of embankments and lining canals. Technologies, such as solar-powered tube wells, are possibilities, too. Water activity meters can measure the level of the water table and indicate the amount of water required for crops, preventing the problems of under and over watering. Availability of appropriate tools can help farmers improve the quality of their produce, while making their tasks easier and reducing demands on their time. The unavailability of harvesting and drying equipment results in post-harvest fruit loss as high as 30 percent in GB. There is potential to introduce services that offer farm equipment such as harvesting tools, mechanised tillers and small tractors. MDF can consider these activities in conjunction with microfinance providers to assist farmers in bearing the initial investments in these technologies. There is potential to introduce timesaving products for women as they have arduous workloads. Labour-saving devices can considerably reduce the effort required for land preparation, seeding, weeding, pest control, tillage, and harvest and post-harvest activities. All the women interviewed carried out household chores in addition to assisting on the farm. If women involved in agricultural activities have the requisite tools, they can save time and effort, and invest them elsewhere. Examples include tools for weeding, such as knives, and tools for fruit picking, such as gloves and protective goggles for use in fields with freshly sprayed pesticides and insecticides. Growing plants in containers can make cultivation easier, though water requirements need closer attention. Women in all three areas spend inordinate amounts of time fetching water, manually irrigating and weeding fields. MDF can work with companies to improve access to mechanised water pumps and herbicides, which free up time for women farmers.
Creating access to information and services to maximise productivity Coupling access to inputs and equipment with information regarding input usage can create farmer loyalty to quality inputs. It is essential not only to provide quality inputs but also the necessary investment in after-sales services to increase the uptake of inputs. In Sindh, KPK and GB, input companies can incentivise and advise farmers to buy more financially rewarding crops that require higher investment. Okra and tomato are higher value crops in Sindh, and off-season vegetables are lucrative in KPK. MDF can explore working with seed suppliers to come up with information dissemination models to guide farmers on proper input usage. This will minimise the risk of crop failure resulting from improper use of inputs, minimising the risks from switching to higher input value crops. The suppliers of inputs can carry out marketing campaigns to encourage farmers to adopt new methods. In Sindh, such activities need to be cognisant of social structures and sharecropper−landowner relationships to target both the farmers and decision makers (landowners) with information. To disseminate information, MDF can use the networks established by the National Rural Support Programmes and other grassroots organisations. These organisations have created farmer groups for
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both men and women in different localities. Alternative mechanisms to provide relevant and timely information are also important such as making use of the fact that most households have a radio to listen to agricultural programmes. Women in most households – except in Chitral − may not own a cell phone but men do and, while reception may be a problem in some areas, in other areas simple SMS and voice messages could give advice to farmers. There are opportunities to design partnerships for improved access to information and services to farmers using different modes of delivery including private extension, localised radio and cable TV and telecommunication services. Female farmers involved in kitchen gardening can receive information on techniques to switch to more commercial crop production. This would require extension services targeted to women farmers, such as female-only training and female field officers, to interact with and disseminate information easily to female producers. Access to timely actionable information on weather alerts can assist farmers to take precautionary measures, especially when they are drying their produce in the northern areas.
Connecting fruit and vegetable farmers to growing domestic and export markets The location, proximity to markets, roads and infrastructure are the most important determinants of poverty for agricultural households in KPK and, to some extent, in GB as well. Farmers are able to get better prices if they have more channels to sell their produce to lucrative markets. Connecting the production in KPK to processors will help increase the demand in the area. These processors may sell in the domestic market, increasing inter-provincial trade, or may export to foreign markets. These businesses must communicate to farmers about the kinds of fruit or vegetables to grow as well as the quality required. This can guarantee better prices for the farmer relative to the prices in the open market. Processors can also provide extension services on expected prices, input usage and the required handling practices. Supply chain interventions to extend the post-harvest shelf life of produce can also result in farmers increasing their returns. These may include packaging methods and transportation facilities that reduce spoilage, such as cold storage processing facilities in specific areas, to increase the shelf life of certain crops. Another idea is to explore regions in KPK, such as Chitral, and valleys of GB to catalyse on their seasonal and climatic advantages for such activities as seed production. Similar potential exists in servicing the off-season demand for vegetables. In GB, conventional markets do not reward farmers as production costs are high, a consequence of the remote location and associated transportation costs. Greater potential exists in gaining connections to niche markets, such as those for organic fruits in Europe and North America. Suppliers connected to these markets are able to offer farmers premium prices for their organic produce. One current MDF partnership with Organo Botanica, a fruit processing and trading company, provides improved market
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access to apricot farmers in GB. Apricot farmers have an incentive to produce good quality dried apricots sourced by Organo Botanica at premium prices.
Improving access to financial services In Sindh, KPK and GB smallholder farmers are extremely vulnerable to shocks to their income in the form of natural disasters, personal emergencies and/or crop failure. Their inability to deal with setbacks means that households are not able to sustain their incomes and sink further into poverty. There is opportunity for MDF to work with banks, MFIs and grassroots organisations to improve financial literacy among households and introduce appropriate products. There is a need to introduce savings tools for farmers so they become less vulnerable. In addition, MDF can work with MFIs to introduce appropriate loan and insurance products that enable smallholder farmers to bear risk and invest in higher value products/inputs.
Role of Women Women are actively involved across Pakistan in horticultural activities such as sowing, planting, picking, sorting, grading, storing and working in niche processing industries. Between 2004 and 2008, women’s participation in the agricultural sector increased by 7.2 percent.106 In some rural areas, women have long had active involvement in market transactions. An example from GB is that the majority of fruit farmers are women who both work on the land and sell the produce at the market. In other provinces, such as KPK and Baluchistan, women have very little involvement in either support or market activities related to horticulture owing to the strongly conservative cultural traditions. In horticultural areas in Sindh and Punjab, women provide support activities for household production and are employed on a seasonal basis by larger farms. While it is seasonal, this income is an important supplement to household finances. The pivotal contribution of women in the horticultural sector often goes unrecognised by both active participants and observers at the national level.107 Where women have employment, they generally receive less pay than do male workers. In some areas, women are not directly involved in economic transactions but have some degree of influence on household expenditure decision-making processes.
106
Yasmeen, G. (2011) “Contribution of Pakistani Women in Agriculture: Productivity and Contraints”, Sarhad Journal of Agriculture 27 (4) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262419592_CONTRIBUTION_OF_PAKISTANI_WOMEN_IN_AGRICULTURE_PROD UCTIVITY_AND_CONSTRAINTS 107
Zaheer, R. et al (2014) “Women Participation in Agriculture in Pakistan (An overview of the constraint and problems faced by rural women)”, Journal of Business and Management 16 (2) http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jbm/papers/Vol16issue2/Version-2/A016220104.pdf
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Southern Sindh Women’s contribution to farming activities: According to a recent study, women in Sindh make up at least 50 percent of agricultural labour (sometimes reaching as high as 70 percent), but gender inequalitie reduce their access to assets and services.108 Our FGDs and household interviews reinforced this finding, demonstrating that women contribute to household wellbeing but often face restrictions from social norms, unequal access to services and opportunities, and have less decision-making power than do their male counterparts. FAO recently reported that men and women farmers are both involved in a range of agricultural activities in Sindh. A high out-migration of male family members (to earn better incomes and avoid exploitation from local landowners) has resulted in women taking on more tasks across the spectrum of agricultural chores.109 However, we noted in our interviews and FGDs that there is considerable variability between households. In poorer households, women are more likely to contribute to farm work: for example, SS 02 is a sharecropping household where the husband and wife both work on their allotment as well as labouring for wages on other people’s farms. Our FGD in the village of Ahmed Khan Kalmati Goth near Thatta, a town east of Karachi, confirmed this finding; women sharecroppers indicated that they are highly involved in tending to horticultural crops – chilli, tomato, okra, bottle gourd and fodder crops – as well as in livestock rearing, fishing and housework. However, in SS 09, a more dynamic and better-off household, women do not work on the farm, although they care for livestock. Additionally, there is significant ethnic variation in women’s contribution to farming in Sindh. For example, FAO reported that of the more than 500,000 cotton-pickers in Sindh, the majority are women, mostly minority Hindus. We also learned from a FGD with Balochi women in Sindh (FGD SS 01) that they do not leave the household to work on other people’s land, with the exception of cotton harvesting, though they said that Sindhi women do (but this is variable). Women’s financial control and decision-making: Women and men often make decisions jointly and/or they have their specific spheres of control. For example, in our FGDs (e.g., SS FGD 1 Balochi migrants in Qalar Shah), women reported that although men do all of the work in the fields to earn income, they provide an allowance to women for personal use and for the children. Men usually buy the household necessities, such as sugar, tea and flour, from town, but if the women need items, such as washing soap for the laundry, they are free to leave their homes to go to the local shop (close by the Balochi community) and occasionally to the market, half an hour away by rickshaw. Moreover, if women work for their own income, such as embroider and stitch or rear livestock for others, they keep this income for their own use. As women rear the household’s livestock, if they sell a goat to the intermediary who comes to the village, they keep the money. In general, however, there is mutual consultation regarding the selling and spending of this income as it is a significant amount for the household. Similarly, in the
108
World Bank (2015) “Project Appraisal Document: Sindh Irrigated Agriculture Productivity Enhancement Project” http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/716751468333592032/pdf/PAD8410PAD0P14010Box385415B00OUO090.pdf 109
FAO (2015) Women in Agriculture in Pakistan http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4330e.pdf
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sharecropping households in Ahmed Khan Kalmati Goth (FGD SS 2), although there is rarely surplus production for sale, when there is income husbands consult their wives on financial decisions. Neither the husband nor the wife make farming decisions as this is under the purview of the landowner. Our interviews reinforced these decision-making dynamics. For example, in SS 05, from a very poor household in Umerkot district, in southeastern Sindh, we learned that women pick fruit as day labourers and keep this income for themselves out of which they pay the school fees. Nevertheless, they seek their husbands’ input to purchase food and household items, while the husband purchases farm items and equipment, health and medicine without discussion with his wife.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) The level of women’s involvement varies according to location and cultural norms: Our FGDs and interviews in KPK indicated that there are many exceptions to women’s behaviour following the expected social norms. It leads to the conclusion that expected social norms are just that in KPK – expectations that are the ‘ideal’ in society but are frequently relaxed or ignored in extenuating circumstances. Farming dynamics and the involvement of females vary greatly within the region. For example, in KPK FGD 01 in the Maidan valley (between Bahrain and Swat) the team noted that women work on their farms, which is not the expected norm throughout KPK as the area’s conservative values do not encourage women to leave their houses. However, families living in the hills are relatively poorer than in other areas and cannot always afford labour so women must help on the farm. Similarly, in KPK FGD 02 in Chitral, the overall district is less conservative so both women and men are involved in cultivation: men grow wheat, barley, rice while women produce vegetables. However, both genders help each other with their crops, and work is not exclusive. In the valleys that practise organised communal living, women do not step out of their homes to work on their farms. Even in households where girls go to school (KPK 01 and KPK 03) women do not work on the farms. Some places in the lower areas have a large immigrant population. These migrants have moved from the border areas but have retained their ultra-conservative value systems (KPK 02), characterised by the greatest alienation between genders; it is difficult for them even to imagine sending their daughters to school. Even affluent families in the valleys would not allow their women to engage in farming, though their women may take up other jobs. In these areas, women may be involved in activities that take place inside the household, such as looking after poultry (KPK 02) and managing livestock (KPK 03). Greater involvement of women in Northern Chitral: The situation changes as the landscape changes. On the hill slopes, the houses – each with its farmland adjacent to it − are scattered and distant from each other. These households are poorer and cannot afford to hire labour, nor can they find labour because they are so far from the main road. In these families, it is customary for the elderly women to help on the farm: Though mothers may work, daughters cannot. As these households are secluded, the women are not worried about violating cultural norms by coming into contact with non-family males. In these areas, women are responsible for vegetable cultivation. They also provide assistance at harvest and post-harvest times for crops traditionally associated with men such as wheat and barley.
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As proper irrigation facilities in the hills are absent, and bad weather conditions frequently damage irrigation channels, these women spend a considerable amount of time fetching water for irrigation. The northern area of Chitral is very different from the rest of the province. This area has limited geographic connection to the rest of the province and the road conditions are poor. There are slight differences in religious attitudes as the value systems vary from valley to valley, but in general, it is more liberal. Thus, women may work on the farms and are more engaged in vegetable cultivation for home consumption as part of kitchen gardening activities. Women also assist male family members in harvesting wheat and maize, the only commercial agricultural crops in the area. In some valleys in the north, women may even be willing to talk to male extension workers. However, there are limited employment opportunities for females in the region. A different religion influences the characteristics of the Kalash valley and thus there are completely different traditions. Here women are in charge of the household and responsible for all farming activities, with the exception of grazing herds of goats, a male role. The elderly women spend most of their days on the farm, while the younger women may help them but are also engaged in other tasks. These women spend time making their traditional dresses (stitching and embroidery). They all obtain an education up to college level, and may take up different jobs such as joining the police. As well as working externally, women are also responsible for household chores. In the Swat villages, the team learned that the wealthier households hired wage labourers as required, as women do not work on their farms. “But, in the poorest households, women cannot afford to remain indoors.”110 These working women are engaged in all kinds of farm activities including land preparation, sowing, harvesting, and all other stages of crop management (FGD KPK 01). In Chitral (FGD KPK 02), where families share farm work as noted above, the tasks in which men help women are vegetable cultivation including digging, sowing and watering. Women harvest wheat and barley – so-called ‘male’ crops − and they clean and package these crops. Women involved in economic activity are able to enhance household incomes: The research team observed that households that empower and economically enable their women are better off as a result. For example, in KPK 11, the female head of household makes and sells traditional Kalashi dresses, which earns her a total of PKR 250,000 per tourist season (May to September), and one of the daughters works for the police, earning PKR 15,000 per month, or PKR 180,000 per year. Combined the incomes contribute PKR 430,000 to the household per year or four-fifths of the household income.
Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) Women are active in farming and market transactions: With men often employed off the farm in other sectors, women have taken on more of the agricultural roles in GB across strategic sectors. Of
110
USAID (2012) USAID Pakistan Gender Analysis & Gender Assessment of Stabilization Programming http://waterinfo.net.pk/sites/default/files/knowledge/USAID%20Pakistan%20Gender%20Analysis%20and%20Gender%20A ssessment%20of%20Stabilization%20Programming.pdf
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particular relevance to MDF, we observed that women have much greater responsibility for vegetable and fruit production than their male counterparts do. In addition to working within their own households and on their farms, women also work in factories and as traders in GB. Women are also more involved in traditional economic activities, such as stitching and embroidery, to supplement the household income. In our FGDs, we gained further details on women’s roles in horticulture. In Damas, Ghizer district (FGD GB 02), all the women participated in farming, and with the exception of irrigation and spreading organic fertiliser, women carried out all the horticultural activities, from cultivating and weeding to harvesting and threshing. Similarly, in Upper Hunza (FGD GB 01), most women worked on the farm in almost all activities such as cultivation, irrigation, harvesting, weeding, pest-control and fertiliser application.
Constraints in Economic Participation for Women Southern Sindh Despite their involvement in horticulture, women are not able to improve farming outcomes due to both general challenges and sector-specific challenges discussed below. Poor information provision: While women are involved in the sector, they do not have direct access to inputs or training, but support their husbands in their farming efforts and receive information second or third hand, if at all. There are no women extension agents who would be able to engage with women farmers directly and provide information on their specific tasks.111 Poor practices increase workloads and make tasks harder: In general, women are satisfied with their workloads and typically sleep eight hours per night according to our FGD respondents and interviewees. However, when specifically asked about work in horticulture, we learned that manual watering takes a considerable amount of time, and that water handling mechanisations would have a huge benefit. However, we learned in FGD 02 that this type of decision often rests with the landowner as they are sharecroppers or farm labourers and cannot afford to make such an investment in someone else’s land. Similarly, women cannot obtain other tools and equipment to reduce their workload and make their tasks easier. Women picking chilli do not use gloves, and report mild injuries to their hands. They also do not use any herbicides or harvesting tools, and thus they spend significant time weeding and harvesting thecrops.
111
Dawn Newspaper (2013) “Call for sustainable agriculture development in Sindh”, Dec 17, 2013 http://www.dawn.com/news/1074559/call-for-sustainable-agriculture-development-in-sindh
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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Women in KPK frequently have the same compromised access to services and opportunities as do men, the result of living in more remote and harder to reach locations. This leads to the following constraints. Lack of access to information: As regards horticulture, FAO concluded that women generally lack training opportunities in their areas of work (e.g., seed cleaning, post-harvest management) and that the absence of female extension workers constrains their ability to obtain new technologies and techniques.112 Women are actively involved in vegetable cultivation and are able to keep income from crops sold to door-to-door traders. However, they have no access to extension services to improve their productivity and gain more from horticultural activities. Private input companies that provide extension services also limit their reach to male household members. Even when women are involved in specific activities in the farming household, extension workers are unable to interact with females for cultural reasons. Similarly, limited mobility means female field officers are few in number and low in visibility in KPK. Inability to afford labour saving tools: In vegetable farming, women carry out a range of activities, including land preparation, sowing and harvesting, but are poorly equipped. For example, women harvest crops manually, and the few tools available are not very effective. They use basic scissors and knives for cutting, and at times even these are not available in their homes, so they borrow from their neighbours. Moreover, they lack the finances that could provide them with better equipment. Constrained mobility due to norms and location: Socio-cultural norms relating to mobility and segregation exacerbate women’s already reduced access to services and opportunities. However, our research demonstrated that there are nuances, and women’s access to economic opportunities is variable depending upon the norms of their households and communities. Even when household norms allow women to venture out, the remote location means that they have to walk several hours to reach crucial goods and services including schools. High workload: Women with increased involvement in agriculture are likely to have heavy work burdens leaving little time for rest and leisure activities. Women who participated in each of the FGDs experienced long days from dawn to dark. In particular, the Maidan women were responsible for hand watering the crops, a highly labour-intensive task. As a result, they do not have the opportunity to rest after lunch whereas women in FGD 02 and some of the interviews (especially homebound women – e.g., KPK 07) can take a break in the afternoon. In all cases, the girls of the household help the women at home, and in some cases, men are responsible for collecting firewood (e.g., KPK 07).
112
FAO (2015) Women in Agriculture in Pakistan http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4330e.pdf
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Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) As farming is generally women-led in GB, the limitations in the strategic engagement area affect women greatly. The following constraints specifically affect women involved in horticultural activities. Remote locations and reduced mobility: Both women and men in GB face constraints obtaining services and opportunities as they are in remote and hard to reach locations. However, women have the additional restriction of limited mobility, which may negatively saffect accessing inputs as well as markets. Access to information on best practices and market prices: The FAO and World Bank reports found that women suffer from reduced access to health and education services, partly from distance but also from gender discrimination.113 The Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI, a UKbased inter-governmental organisation for information and development) wrote in a 2013/14 case study that in GB there was initially significant negativity around women’s involvement in CABI training through farmer field schools. Nevertheless, after the first season of including women trainees, their newfound knowledge and practices improved tomato and dairy production and led to their greater influence and respect for them in their communities and homes.114 Women cannot obtain the information they need to improve production and cultivation or to change to alternative profitable crops: For example, households often emphasise wheat and potato production, which oversupplies the market, resulting in low returns. Farmers lack knowledge about prices and which crops to cultivate. The weather conditions in GB result in losses as farmers are unable to take effective timely measures to stop their produce from spoiling. Limited access to finance prevents women from investing productively: FGDs with women suggested a general inability to obtain finance. In our FGDs, women identified financing gaps that affected their production and processing capacity: for example, seed potato is a major cash crop in FGD 01 village, but as seeds are expensive, women could not afford large quantities for potato production. Women would benefit from using plastic sheeting to cover fruit when it rains during the drying season; however, the materials are costly and need replacing each year. Another fact discovered was that women could not use all their available land, as land preparation is too costly, particularly in less fertile rocky soils. Increased workload in the absence of mechanisation: Without men, farm work can be especially burdensome for women. From the sheer variety of necessary tasks to specific challenges, such as preparing land after harvest and, without transport, the burden of carrying fodder on their backs,
113
FAO (2015) Women in Agriculture in Pakistan http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4330e.pdf ; World Bank, ADB, GoGB (2011) “Gilgit-Baltistan Economic Report: Broadening the Transformation” http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/939151468062972670/pdf/NonAsciiFileName0.pdf 114
CABI (2014) “Case Study: Agricultural training for Pakistan’s rural women” http://www.cabi.org/Uploads/CABI/longcase-studies/Agricultural%20Training%20For%20Pakistans%20Rural%20Women.pdf
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women reported a lot of work and much of it very arduous.115 In Damer while family and friends work on one farm, a female family member has the responsibility of cooking food for everyone. Despite sharing the work, harvesting field crops (mainly wheat, potato and vegetables) is time consuming, and women expressed an interest in mechanisation. In FGD 1, most women agreed that they would have more time to relax if they could use cheap and convenient machinery for crop cultivation. Women are also responsible for household chores. The women in Hunza explained that cooking is very time consuming without gas and at high altitude − cooking on wood-burning stoves means the simplest meals can take two hours to prepare.
Opportunities to Promote Economic Participation for Women Southern Sindh Women in Sindh are involved in horticultural activities ranging from sowing, planting, weeding and harvesting. However, they cannot obtain quality inputs and information that can improve productivity and reduce women’s workloads. MDF can explore opportunities to increase information services to women regarding the activities in which they are involved. As female field agents are not common in the region, MDF may need to design interventions that include information delivery through other channels such as local radio, television or phone message services. One example would be to provide training and tools through MDF’s partnership in the chilli value chain so that women can improve their harvesting techniques. MDF can also explore how to provide gloves to females employed in this value chain to improve health and safety conditions. Another example would be to promote weedicides or herbicides through input suppliers so that women can spend less time on weeding, a labour intensive and lengthy process.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Women’s involvement varies in KPK depending on the location of the village. MDF can explore opportunities to engage more females in areas where they are already involved in agricultural activities (hilly areas, northern Chitral, etc.) and improve the access of quality inputs and information so they can benefit from increased household incomes. Women can benefit from improved production if they have the requisite services to enhance their farming techniques and can sell produce commercially. MDF can explore working with private sector businesses and investing in female extension services and training models to benefit women.
115
This is also supported by the FAO report cited above.
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Women involved in horticultural activities can also benefit from labour-saving tools to assist them in planting, sowing and harvest activities. Women can also benefit from using irrigation facilities to reduce the need to carrying water manually.
Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) There would be great advantages for women in GB having information services and market prices provided by female extension officers, telecommunication services and media. As they are directly involved in farming activities and in making decisions about expenditure on their farms, information on crop cultivation techniques specifically for women would not only improve their efficiency on farm but also enable them to make more informed decisions regarding their farming businesses. Information on market rates can enhance women’s negotiation power with buyers and equip them with the required information to help them decide to whom to sell their produce. Women would significantly gain through using harvesting equipment as they spend a lot of time harvesting fruit, and engaging neighbours and other female family members to assist them with these activities. Tools that can pick fruit more easily also result in lower losses from traditional harvesting practices (which usually involve women shaking the tree and catching the fruit on pieces of cloth). Having financial products suitable for women’s needs enables them to invest in quality inputs, such as potato seeds and equipment, to ensure better yields and incomes from farms. However, MDF will have to assess the financial institutions functioning in GB and see whether a new product will have to be established or if it is possible to alter existing products and services to meet women’s needs. As women are generally the lead producers in the region, access to value-added businesses involved in processing and packaging to service high-end organic markets can provide opportunities for women to sell their produce at premium prices.
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Findings from Strategic Engagement Area – Leather Overview Leather is a key sector in Pakistan and the second largest manufacturing export after textiles. While China is the leader in leather goods manufacturing, until recently Pakistan had one of the strongest leather sectors globally as finished leather is easily available and labour costs are competitive. Of interest is that China is also one of the top markets for Pakistani leather, as are Hong Kong and Italy.116 As a sector, leather is export oriented, with 90 percent of leather sold internationally, the majority of which as finished leather as opposed to finished leather products.117 However, recent statistics reveal that finished leather export is considerably less than cotton yarn (about PKP 3 million compared to over PKP 9 million), the top earner for semi-manufactured exports.118 It highlights concerns that Pakistan’s once strong leather industry is in decline, a unique position for the booming leather sectors in South Asia; finished leather exports fell about 10 percent in value in the year leading up to October 2016. The sector still contributes almost five percent to overall export earnings and over two percent to manufacturing GDP. Although Pakistani leather remains the quality leader, it is losing ground; the consequence of larger production costs, lack of government policy implementation, investment and incentives, and competition not just from China, but also from India and Bangladesh. Leather products overall showed a lesser decline in export value of just below four percent, in sharp contrast to the increase in value for leather shoes to over nine percent.119 It is clear that the economic gains being realised are sub-optimal. The value addition on finished leather goods − particularly footwear − is much higher compared to finished leather. Statistics show the potential − there was a 12.18 percent growth in leather products manufacture during the 2015−16 financial year, the third largest subsector increase.120 The sector has no shortage of raw material; 70 percent of leather is a by-product of the meat industry – however, 33 percent of hides and skins become damaged through various means including from cattle skin diseases − with the remaining 30
116
Pakistan Tanners Association (n.d.) “Pakistan's Export of Finished Leather” http://www.pakistantanners.org/documents/statistics/Pakistan%20Export%20of%20Finished%20Leather.pdf 117
Awan, A. G. et al (2012) “Determinants of Leather Goods Exports: A Case of Pakistan” Journal of Business and Economics 4 (2) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257942065_Determinants_of_Leather_Goods_Exports_A_Case_of_Pakistan 118
GoP (2016) “Monthly Bulletin of Statistics 2016 November”, p. 197 http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files//other/monthly_bulletin/monthly_bulletin_of_statistics_november16.pdf 119
APLF (global leather and fashion industry, Hong Kong) (2017) “Pakistan – Finished leather exports decline but footwear improves” 10 January 2017 http://www.aplf.com/en-US/leather-fashion-news-and-blog/news/34321/pakistan-finishedleather-exports-decline-but-footwear-improves 120
GoP (2015) “Highlights of Pakistan Economic Survey 2015−16” http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/chapters_16/highlights_2015_16.pdf
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percent of better quality raw hides imported duty free.121 The sector requires a large labour force, providing employment for well over 200,000 people.122 MDF’s focus in the strategic engagement area is therefore to get more retail-ready goods into the export market but also to bring more players into supplying the domestic market. The leather sector has six subsectors: tanning and the manufacture of five leather commodities – footwear, garments, gloves, shoe uppers and goods.The industry’s bigger production units centre in Karachi, Lahore, Sialkot, Hyderabad, Peshawar and Kasur.123 However, leather manufacturing is countrywide; it is easy to find small enterprises or microenterprises cutting and stitching leather shoes, accessories and garments for larger companies, or to sell in the local retail market. Even so, most leather-sector workers come to Lahore and Sialkot in search of opportunities, because while they may be able to work in other towns, the concentration of footwear and accessories manufacture is strongest in these cities. Punjab dominates, making up 90 percent of Pakistan’s total footwear export.124 Karachi used to be the hub of leather garment production, but with the decline of the leather garment sector globally, as well as with increasing infrastructural and security issues in Karachi resulting in orders lost to China, most companies have either moved to Lahore or Sialkot, or moved into denim production. As such, the focus of this study was on Lahore and Sialkot. In Sialkot, the manufacturing of leather products is highly diverse; it ranges from shoes to gloves, to corporate gifts, such as key chains, and includes bags and wallets. The market is dense and highly competitive, exporting primarily to a European customer base. While there are pockets of leather accessory producers in Lahore, the sector mostly consists of footwear manufacturers. About 70 to 80 percent of the leather sector comprises cottage players; small workshops that employ anywhere between 20 to 50 people, and in the footwear sector they may produce and sell roughly 3,500 to 10,000 shoes per month. Such a workshop employs cutters (knife and dye), stitchers (all operating manually), and finishers (who spray final polishing touches on the shoes). A typical cottage industry player provides outsourced components and finished products to bigger companies to either sell directly in the domestic/export markets or further assemble into finished retail-ready items. A smaller number of cottage players sell in local markets through stalls or brand retailers. Outsourcing products in the export footwear sector typically involves cutting and stitching of uppers as footwear assembly for export goods includes industrial manufacturing processes. Midsized players,
121
APLF (2017) “Pakistan – Export Package – What’s in it for Leather?” 24 January 2017 http://www.aplf.com/enUS/leather-fashion-news-and-blog/news/34480/pakistan-export-package-what-s-in-it-for-leather 122
Awan, A. G. et al (2012) “Determinants of Leather Goods Exports: A Case of Pakistan” Journal of Business and Economics 4 (2) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257942065_Determinants_of_Leather_Goods_Exports_A_Case_of_Pakistan 123
Saif, O. (2013) “Leather Sector Analysis” Pakistan Institute for Trade & Development http://www.pitad.org.pk/Publications/28Pakistan%20Trade%20Liberalization%20Sectoral%20Study%20on%20Leather%20Sector%20in%20Pakistan.pdf 124
Awan, A. G. et al (2012) “Determinants of Leather Goods Exports: A Case of Pakistan” Journal of Business and Economics 4 (2) (web link above).
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predominantly making up the remaining 20 to 30 percent, employ between 300 to 700 workers, and produce and sell between 30,000 to 50,000 pairs of footwear per month. There are only two to three large footwear companies in Pakistan; the largest being the national ‘family’ retailer Servis which, through over 500 stores, sells about 10 million pairs of shoes per annum, followed by Firhaaj Footwear, holding licenses for international brands, sells 2 million pairs annually.
Poverty in Leather The factory floor employees in enterprises producing retail-ready goods are mainly residents from poorer urban areas who have received training in semi-skilled production tasks – up to 80 percent of the workers are skilled.125 An example of the employment profile in the retail-ready goods production is that over 85 percent of the 120,000 workers in the formal footwear sector work on the factory floor. Outsourced workers and artisans also provide a large labour resource for the retail-ready goods sector producing a range of intermediate components and fully finished items, and this labour is also mostly from poor urban-based households. Urban poor are less resilient than those are in rural areas. While there is more opportunity for employment in urban areas, costs are high and there are fewer options to diversify or produce food for household needs compared to rural households. Urban poor are people living on the fringe, both geographically and economically. These also include people who migrate to cities from rural areas because there is the perception of greater employment opportunities. Though they have agricultural skills, they do not have adequate manufacturing skills and are unable to compete in a factory environment. These households often send money to poorer families in rural areas. There is a great need to increase production of retail-ready goods incorporating leather to employ significant numbers of poor urban residents. Working to remove employment constraints will see the well-being and resilience of their households improve.
Who is poor? During MDF’s field research, the team found that within the leather strategic engagement area household income plays an important factor in determining poverty. While there are a myriad of issues similar to those in other strategic engagement areas − particularly household size and other income streams − this section focuses on the problems relating to income. This is particularly important, as MDF’s focus is not on other external factors, such as family planning, which could ameliorate poverty.
125
Saif, O. (2013) “Leather Sector Analysis” Pakistan Institute for Trade & Development http://www.pitad.org.pk/Publications/28Pakistan%20Trade%20Liberalization%20Sectoral%20Study%20on%20Leather%20Sector%20in%20Pakistan.pdf
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The most useful contribution to MDF’s strategy development, then, is to consider ways that poor urban workers can increase their income through employment in the leather strategic engagement area. The list below summarises the characteristics of the working poor in the leather strategic engagement area:
People with limited job opportunities or career choices Factory floor employees Residents from poorer urban areas (the outskirts of Lahore, Sialkot and Karachi) Women working out of extreme financial need Home-based women working for contractors
The determinant of who is poor in the leather strategic engagement area is linear; those who are skilled workers and employed in higher positions earn a better income than those employed in unskilled positions. As workers become more skilled, they are able to earn a higher income. The study selected a sample specifically to examine why people remain in unskilled positions; if there are opportunities for them to move into skilled positions; and if being in a skilled position serves as an effective pathway out of poverty for a household. The poor within the leather strategic engagement area fall into the following three categories that may or may not be mutually exclusive. Unskilled workers These are workers employed in jobs on the factory floor, such as packers and finishers (cutting off the remaining threads, etc.). Unlike skilled workers, their income seldom increases, as their jobs provide no opportunities to increase their skills. Unskilled workers do not necessarily seek out work in the leather sector, but extenuating financial circumstances may force them to take up any work they can find. Often, what began as an unplanned opportunity sees them working in these unskilled positions throughout their entire lives, as it guarantees them a salary. Apprentices Historically, trained workers in the leather sector come through informal apprenticeships as opposed to graduating from vocational institutes. Poor urban families typically find an ustaad − the Urdu word meaning expert or highly skilled person − from whom their children learn when they are as young as 12 to 14 years of age, so they can gain full employment by the time they are 18. Semi-skilled/skilled workers Experienced leather workers have the skills, training and ability to perform specialised tasks, such as cutting, stitching and lasting at a footwear factory. After several years of working in a specialised role and improving their skills, they receive increases in their income.
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Why are they poor? Higher cost of living People who are involved in the leather sector mostly live in poorer urban areas. While this allows them to be in close proximity to the factories, the escalating cost of living in urban areas puts them in a position where they find it difficult to make ends meet. In comparison to the rural poor, the higher cost of living means a large proportion of their salary pays house rent and other expenses including utilities, education, healthcare, food and transportation.
Limited opportunities to diversify skills and financial inflexibility In the leather industry, there is a direct correlation between the level of skills and income earned. After working in a particular role for a few years, skilled and semi-skilled leather workers find it difficult to diversify their skill set and increase their income through a more rewarding job. One of the reasons is the limited number of opportunities available for workers to acquire new skills. However, even when opportunities to diversify skills exist, workers do not have the financial flexibility to take advantage of them. In order to move into another skilled position, they would have to forfeit their work and become an apprentice to a more experienced worker, in a cottage business or formal factory, which would lead to a significant loss of income in the short term. Similarly, when there are opportunities for unskilled workers to learn new skills, they are reluctant as there is a negative trade-off between their existing incomes and the unattractive stipends offered by training institutes. Their financial circumstances often do not permit them to forego an income in favour of learning a new skill.
Power relationships: Ustaad−Apprentice Apprentices are likely to be poor because they are at the very beginning of their training. However, the vast majority of apprentices remain poor longer than they need to because ustaad−apprentice relationships tend to be exploitative; the ustaad applies significant control over the apprentice’s income and career. An apprentice can only ‘graduate’ when the ustaad deems it fit. However, as the apprenticehelps increase the number of pieces an ustaad produces per day, which in turn determines his daily income (and as compensation the apprentice only receives a minimal stipend out of that piece-rate), the ustaad has little incentive to allow the apprentice to graduate. In UL 17, Qasim, an apprentice, left the job at a factory as his ustaad was neither fairly paying him for his work nor paying on time. The ustaad had set an upper cap for payments and even when Qasim worked more, it did not earn him any additional income. The research team only found one respondent who had had an enabling relationship with his ustaad, who had brought him to Lahore and helped him find work.
Family dependency and lack of savings Many leather workers come from households where there are at least three generations living together − grandparents, parents and children. Often the income sources for such households are limited, which puts a significant financial burden on the leather workers as the main earners for the
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family. Generally, they contribute towards most household expenses and financially support their dependants; hence, they have difficulty covering their expenses with their monthly salaries and do not have sizeable savings. In some cases, such as UL 08, having already incurred a debt, as soon as the income arrives, it goes to pay off the loans. Very poor households are unable to pool funds in the committee saving system, whereas wealthier families, particularly with women working, all rely on the committee for their allocated money from the pot, often to cover big one-off household expenses (UL 02 and 09).
Pathways Out of Poverty Despite the challenges, work in the leather sector can be an opportunity for individuals to earn more and for households to move out of poverty. Box 9: Employment in the Leather Strategic Engagement Area as a Pathway Out of Poverty
Qasim: A Case Study Working in the leather industry can be lucrative enough to provide a pathway out of poverty: Lahore, UL 17, is an example of a household that was able to do so successfully. Qasim’s father passed away, leaving his mother to care for her children alone. Although she remarried, the marriage did not last long, leaving her in dire financial circumstances. In order to provide for her family, she took a job in the leather industry as a helper but had to leave because she felt the factory supervisor either had no time to teach her, or was not interested in teaching women. She switched jobs but could not earn enough money, and ultimately, she had no choice but to send Qasim to work. Qasim began work in the sector at the age of nine and gained eight years of experience working in the industry. Through hard work and applied learning, he began earning roughly PKR 24,000 per month, which is in the higher income bracket of leather industry workers. He has helped pull his family out of poverty.
The relationship between better skills and higher incomes in the leather industry is aided by the embedded skills-development mechanisms within which the sector operates. While the ustaad−apprentice relationship can be exploitative, it is restricted to the cottage industry. Furthermore, field research noted that within four-years, apprentices often leave their ustaads to seek employment elsewhere. It is prudent for male workers to rely on this historically embedded learning mechanism. There are a few vocational training institutes in Pakistan close to Lahore, Sialkot and Gujrat − where much of the leather industry is − which are not operating at full capacity. For example, the Leather Products Development Institute (LPDI) established in 2001 in Sialkot – with a mission to improve the quality of leather products for overseas buyers − has the capacity to train 750 students per year but recent enrollments are well below that number. Despite the fact that the training is free, comes with a stipend and LPDI connects students to employers once they graduate, few aspiring leather sector workers are enrolling here.
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The only workers able to enrol are those whose households have other income streams and so can afford to travel to these institutes. Financially, they need to be able to live on a stipend for 18 months. Such institutes are therefore unable to serve financially vulnerable households. There is ample opportunity for MDF to create a greater breadth of impact by helping the sector grow through its strategy of strengthening the ancillary industry, creating market linkages, establishing third party compliance and getting more retail-ready goods into the market. Greater job creation would translate into greater opportunity for households to pull themselves out of poverty. MDF can work with leather industry players on the following:
Strengthening of ancillary industry Support for the manufacturing component of the leather goods industry is under-developed as the primary focus has been on tanning since the industry’s earliest years in Pakistan. The absence of a local component support industry forces manufacturers to import ancillary components and consumable accessories or produce them in-house thus lowering their efficiency. In the footwear industry, MDF has worked with three Lahore companies − Intra-Systek (to produce shoe lasts), Tabraiz Mold Engineering (to produce shoe moulds) and Footlib (to produce shoe uppers) − for local production of these inputs, replacing some imports and reducing the lead times for footwear manufacturers. In addition to saving time, this has also led to reductions in cost for some of these inputs, previously imported. As leather industry demand drives the importation of many key inputs, MDF needs to continue working with ancillary industry players on local production to reduce the manufacturing turnaround time for factories and improve their export competitiveness.
Improving designing capabilities and creating market linkages Research and development (R&D) and product design innovation for the leather industry “is very slow and in its initial stages”.126 Aside from big players, such as Mahmood Brothers and Nova Leathers (both originally tanners but now manufacturers/exporters of many leather products)127 investing in new dyeing technology,128 there is a low focus on R&D from most local leather manufacturers, limiting their potential. This adversely affects their ability to cater to export markets and hampers business expansion. Low product design capabilities and no linkages with foreign buyers mean that local manufacturers have to rely on the domestic market for the majority of their sales. Realising the need for an intermediary to bridge the gap between foreign buyers and local manufacturers and to provide product design support to factories, MDF worked with Interconnect Global − the first of its kind leather-sourcing house in Pakistan. As a value-adding intermediary, the
126
Saif, O. (2013) “Leather Sector Analysis” Pakistan Institute for Trade & Development, p. 13 http://www.pitad.org.pk/Publications/28Pakistan%20Trade%20Liberalization%20Sectoral%20Study%20on%20Leather%20Sector%20in%20Pakistan.pdf 127
Mahmood Brothers − http://www.mb.com.pk/about-us/ ; Nova Leathers − http://www.nova.pk/about-us.php
128
Saif, O. (2013) “Leather Sector Analysis” Pakistan Institute for Trade & Development, p. 13 (web link above).
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company has developed backward and forward linkages to improve the export competiveness of local leather producers and connect them with foreign markets. MDF can look foropportunities with similar businesses to improve the design capabilities of local manufacturers and make their products export ready. MDF can coordinate specialised training focused on product design for industry professionals and fashion school graduates through partnerships with training institutes. Working with different associations in the strategic engagement area, MDF can also explore opportunities of connecting local manufacturers with export markets through international exhibitions and trade delegations.
Strengthening compliance The global market trend for leather goods is moving towards a tighter regulatory environment and increased customer-based compliance requirements. Big companies, such as Mahmood Brothers, are ISO certified, adhering to European standards, but they are the exception in Pakistan. The EU conferred upon Pakistan the GSP+ status in December 2013, which waives all duties and tariffs on Pakistani exports to EU for ten years. However, market entry is dependent on meeting certification requirements.129 The limited range of chemical and physical product testing offered by local public and private sector laboratories, means most testing takes place overseas. For leather manufacturers this results in considerable time lost and high financial costs. While some local laboratories have made investments to upgrade the testing services, there remains a need to bridge the gap between them and the industry, and build their complicance and reputation with foreign buyers. MDF is working with a leather-testing laboratory, Textile Testing International (TTI) − with Pakistan’s largest range of accredited testing and supporting international compliance for the textile, leather and apparel sectors since 1995 − to promote their improved testing capabilities to the industry players and the international buyers. For local players this would result in time and cost savings. With TTI testing locally, a major value addition comes from consultancy services to provide manufacturers with information on using the optimal quality and quantity of materials to produce their products. As international buyers demand effective measures to address workplace safety and environmental conditions, MDF can also work with third parties to certify production facilities in line with widely accepted global industry standards and best practice.
Role of Women In the leather strategic engagement area, women work directly for enterprises or indirectly through third-party contractors. Women are typically better-disciplined workers and industry perception is that they have greater concentration abilities. Within the sector there appears to be an informal division of labour. For example, in Kasur, a smaller city near Lahore, women are mostly stitchers, sometimes hired in cutting but are never involved in lasting. In stitching, women usually work with a single needle, while men work on a double-needle machine, as the latter requires good eyesight and physical
129
MDF (2015) “Inclusive Sector Growth Strategy – Leather” p. 7 http://marketdevelopmentfacility.org/wpcontent/uploads/2016/07/Pakistan-Inclusive-Sector-Growth-Strategy-for-Poverty-Reduction-and-WEE-for-LeatherSector.pdf
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pressure. While there is no policy preventing women from advancing in factories, upward mobility does not happen even if women have the skills and productivity. The reasons for this appear to be socio-cultural within the factory environment, based on perceptions and beliefs about women’s roles and capacities. Women work in the leather strategic engagement area in two roles: Home-based workers in the cottage sector: Women who live around clusters of cottage-sector players often work at home for the factories as shoe-upper stitchers. They are paid roughly PKR 120 per item (12 pairs of shoes), and work about four hours a day. Given their household responsibilities, they cannot usually dedicate more time per day towards paid work. They try to optimise their income by increasing their productivity and stitch more uppers in the same amount of time. Formal factories often indirectly outsource shoe-upper stitching to women when they place orders to cottage players or contractors, who in turn outsource them to women in the area who are looking for work. Factory floor workers in the formal sector: Unlike men, women gain employment almost exclusively in stitching, and only work on the factory floor in formal mid-tier or large leather factories. Much like the rural strategic engagement areas in Pakistan, women working outside the home is culturally sensitive, particularly when it is at factories with male workers. As such, women only seek employment in the direst of financial circumstances, or if they come from non-Muslim families.
Role of women in leather strategic engagement area households The dynamics in leather-sector households showed some interesting trends. Women participate in deciding on major household expenses, children’s education and their time division (with mothers-inlaw often having greater power than do wives). Women who work outside the house appear to be more empowered in decision making inside the house, are more vocal and confident (e.g., Lahore – UL 17 and UL 20), and are also very knowledgeable about the details of various decisions, such as why a private school was chosen rather than the government one (Kasur − UL 02). However, the general trend is that financial matters outside the household are a male domain (Lahore − UL 18). All households prioritised education for their children, both boys and girls, despite their economic circumstances. Even poor households showed a willingness to spend on private schools, textbooks and extra tuition for their girl children (e.g., Sialkot US02 and US04). However, because leather-sector apprenticeships start in early adolescence, boys often do not finish high school, instead making an early start on training and a job. In comparison, women have more opportunities to complete secondary school and beyond. In one household that had moved out of poverty into stable middle class life (e.g., Sialkot US03), the perceptions of women’s employment were also shifting. While the household still showed disdain towards factory employment for women, they were more open to middle-class professions for women such as teaching and medicine. Women in all households were almost exclusively responsible for household chores and child rearing. This places an additional burden on women who also work outside the home. One FGD respondent in
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Sialkot was only able to pursue employment because she was able to take her one-year-old with her to work, while FGD respondents in Kasur reported long working hours, reduced sleep and little time for leisure activities.
Constraints in Economic Participation for Women Socio-cultural barriers to women’s mobility Across the board in the leather industry, the research teams found that there is a strong stigma against women working outside the household, especially in factories. Women tend to work only when they are the head of the household or if there is an identified financial need. In Kasur (UL 11), for example, a woman lost her husband, and had no other option except to take work in the leather sector in order to support her children. However, families may also be ambitious and want better lives for their children. In those cases, women may start working after their children are in school as in both UL 02 and UL 09 in Kasur. If there is no financial necessity, women and their families prefer that they not work. In fact, in households that are upwardly mobile with increased income, women consider working outside the household undesirable and they drop out of the workforce. In UL 08, the team found there was a very strong bias against women working. Not only the brother and the husband, but also a son can stop the woman from working. Box 10: Respectability of Work in the Leather Strategic Engagement Area
Cultural Perceptions: Women’s Experiences ‘Respectability’ of the profession is also a big concern for women who need to work. Two single female FGD respondents in Sialkot informed the team that a male cousin of theirs came to visit the facility to ensure that the working environment was suitable for women. These workers also had not told their social circle anything about their employment to avoid stigma and criticism but said they were pursuing training at an institute. The two single women hoped that they would get married and that their husbands would earn sufficient income for the household. In Kasur, it seems less likely that their families would have allowed them to join the workforce, although there are cases of young women working alongside their mothers in a factory. However, unmarried women are more likely to help at home if they are not studying.
Two female Christian heads of household interviewed in Sialkot US02 and US04 were open to working in the leather sector and another Christian family interviewed in Lahore (UL 19) exhibited much greater mobility and autonomy on the part of female members of the household. The team observed that Muslim households in general expressed strong reservations against women working outside the home. The stigma is not attached to women’s involvement in income-generating activities (e.g., Lahore has a large population of home-based workers in the Venus Housing Scheme housing development in the outer suburbs), but only to them working outside the household.
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Limited opportunities to upgrade skills and grow Women are unable to make the same progression in income as their male counterparts. Most experienced male stitchers, for example, command high rates in the market, as leather sector employers consistently cite a lack of skilled workers as a significant impediment. However, women are not privy to higher pay because they cannot obtain the requisite training to enhance their skills, and much like unskilled workers, skilled women workers often remain in positions where they first gained employment. Additionally, women leather workers cannot receive the cash advances available to male workers, and they frequently receive less money for the same kind of work, especially in smaller and less formal establishments. Cultural restrictions mean women do not have the opportunity of learning as apprentices, or through their male peers, and therefore cannot advance their abilities.
Lack of segregated workspaces Working in a mixed workplace is challenging for women in the leather sector and serves as a barrier to join the industry. Lack of segregated spaces in factories results in women having to learn skills from their male supervisors or experienced workers, a situation in which they are not comfortable. This often hinders their career options, as they are unable to acquire new skills. Additionally, male supervisors also make little effort to train women workers, focusing mainly on men’s work. Furthermore, working with men also poses the risk of harassment for women workers. In UL17, Asima shared her experience of working in a mixed working environment that she decided to leave, as male workers and supervisors used to harass the women workers.
Lack of secure and culturally appropriate transportation facilities As some of the leather factories are not close by, workers have to rely on public or private transport. However, the unavailability of culturally appropriate and secure transportation poses a major challenge for women workers and makes it difficult for them to commute to work. As public transport is for male and female passengers, women workers do not feel secure or comfortable using it. In households with a motorbike, often a male family member would drop off the women at the factory. However, in general, the lack of appropriate transport hinders women seeking employment at leather factories.
Lack of childcare alternatives Many married women workers in the leather sector stop work to look after their children. In families where there is an elder at home to look after the children, women workers may pursue work at a factory; however, in most cases they have to give up their jobs owing to a lack of family and workplace support. Until their children are of a certain age where they can look after themselves, the workers do not actively seek employment in factories.
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Opportunities to Promote Economic Participation for Women The real poverty alleviation opportunity is to work on increasing the workforce participation of women. Companies expressed a desire to employ more women, as they contribute to a more productive workforce, take fewer breaks, improve the working environment (when men and women work together), and are attentive to detailed tasks. While there is such a demand, firms are often unable to hire more women owing to the costs associated with segregated workplaces and transport that are often a requirement of women entering the workforce. MDF can therefore work with mid-to-large leather manufacturers and institutions in several areas. Women-friendly work environments including segregated workspaces would encourage more women to join the workforce by overcoming the stigma of working outside the home and potentially reduce the incidence of sexual harassment. By hiring female supervisors, women can access the same opportunities for skills upgrade as men. This will also help create a mechanism where women can benefit from peer learning; new entrants can learn skills on-the-job from those who are more experienced. Women are generally involved in stitching tasks, however, working in segregated workspaces presents them with an opportunity to diversify and acquire new skills. MDF worked with a mid-tier footwear manufacturer called Footlib to setup up a dedicated women-only stitching line in its factory to produce shoe uppers. The stitching line provides the opportunity for women to learn and diversify their skills and experience upward job mobility. Transportation facilities that are secure and culturally appropriate are necessary for women to get to work. This is especially the case in areas where factories are located far from their homes and either no service or inappropriate service is available. If factories were to provide shuttle buses for women workers coinciding with their working hours, this would be the most convenient and cost-effective option for women. Childcare facilities could also be catalytic in enabling women with young children to work. These women often have pressing financial needs but do not have childcare alternatives (e.g., such as found within the extended family more prevalent in rural households). While homebased work may be possible with small children, this is less lucrative then factory employment. Women reported that they cannot work outside the home until they can find someone willing to take care of their children, and believed that they may have more options once their kids grew up. MDF is working with a top-tier footwear manufacturer, Servis, to establish a day-care facility at one of its factories to encourage greater hiring and retention of women workers. This will serve as a demonstrable model for other companies to replicate in their factories and be beneficial for women and, in turn, their families. MDF can work in collaboration with training institutes and industry players to design curriculum or programmes that are relevant to industry needs, so that women are employable after training, having gained the relevant skills. Training options need to change in terms of both quantity (the number of institutes, enrolment capacity, number of courses, target audience, etc.), and quality.
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Skills up-gradation for women happens though networking and learning from peers, which can take place in segregated workspaces. MDF can discuss harassment policies and mechanisms to address grievances with its partners. Segregated workspaces provide a more conducive environment to employ female supervisors, as women feel more comfortable working with them; they serve as role models and enhance on-the-job training opportunities.
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Conclusion The MDF study’s findings confirm that poverty is multidimensional, and one or two factors alone do not determine a household’s level of poverty. We are able to paint a clearer picture of poor households and illustrate the experience of poverty in smallholder and landless farming households in Pakistan. Our research shows that poorer households have fewer resources including land, curtailed access to suitable financial products to allow investment in their farms, limited acquisition of information, and weaker relationships with traders or directly with markets. Poorer households in agriculture are often remote and live on marginal land, which exacerbates their ability to obtain services that can increase their household incomes. Gender dynamics varied greatly across the regions, influenced by multiple factors such as socio-cultural norms and the ability of a household to engage labour for farming activities. For instance, there is huge variation in the division of labour even within a region, depending on the location and distance of a household from markets, − in more remote households, both male and female members often share farming activities. With the exception of GB, women in agriculture are often ‘hidden’; their roles as significant contributors to the farm remain unrecognised. Pathways out of poverty for agricultural households include stronger linkages with markets that define quality parameters and offer farmers premiums to incentivise investment in their farming businesses. These measures encourage growth and innovation in agriculture. In addition, appropriate extension services directed towards smallholder male and female farmers by reputable organisations allow them to obtain quality inputs, skills and knowledge on new technology (including engaging large farm input and technology providers to share information and inputs with smallholders) and an ability to invest in their farms through acquiring finance. The research confirms that horticulture, and dairy and meat strategic engagement areas provide many opportunities for growth within the agricultural space to assist poor rural households escape poverty. The smallholder farms can be characterised as mixed farming enterprises and the opportunity to transit to improved income levels includes enterprise activity selection (e.g., crop selection and timing), increased product yield (e.g., milk) and improved market information (e.g., transparent market pricing) and access (e.g., connections to formal markets). The research also unearthed data on poverty and gender dynamics in the leather sector. Poor urban households connected to the leather industry are often located on the outskirts of Lahore and Sialkot, with members having limited job opportunities, low educational backgrounds and hence very few career choices. Poor workers may be categorised as un-skilled, low skilled or skilled employees within the leather sector but are unable to advance their employment options through skills upgradation or diversification. Women mostly work out of necessity and are specificly involved in stitching, either for enterprises or for third-party contractors. Management challenges prevail, limiting the engagement of women in the formal industry. Women are more comfortable working if they have access to secure and segregated transportation, segregated workspace with separate restrooms, common rooms and access to a day-care facility, as they do not necessarily have a family member to take care of their children.
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Pathways out of poverty for urban male and female workers should focus on the growth of leather manufacturers through more established, stronger ancillary industries. This, combined with investment in strengthening product compliance, will enable leather manufacturers to establish better linkages with foreign buyers, service more orders and expand their businesses to create more jobs. In order to ensure this growth is more inclusive; opportunities exist to work with the private sector to establish more women-friendly workspaces. These findings add value to the programme’s existing strategy to connect more small farming households with quality inputs and information to maximise returns, connect smallholder farmers with consistent buyers that pay for quality and connect more businesses within the three strategic engagement areas to service international markets by increasing their export competitiveness. However, these pathways will evolve over time as we continue to improve our understanding of the underlying impediments that constrain progress within each strategic area.
Next Steps MDF Pakistan is already using the findings from this study to inform the strategy and design of future partnerships in its engagement areas. While MDF has applied the learning internally and many of the constraint areas are being addressed through MDF’s existing portfolio of partnerships, ample opportunities exist to create pathways out of poverty for the rural and urban poor through further engagement with the private sector. Through subsequent research and fieldwork, MDF can improve knowledge pertaining to specific regions and aspects of poverty and gender. In regions, such as Baluchistan not part of this study, there is a need to develop a more in-depth understanding of poverty dynamics. Security challenges were a major obstacle in working directly in the province; however, MDF, now having established a portfolio of partnerships with local businesses, can provide greater clarity on poverty and gender dynamics. Furthermore, in order to address poverty effectively, there is a need for greater understanding of ethnicity’s role in shaping household dynamics. For instance, how poverty varies across different ethnic groups, especially in multi-ethnic regions. Similarly, knowledge of agricultural labour dynamics needs to be improved, which would be helpful in developing a more inclusive pro-poor growth strategy for MDF’s strategic engagement areas.
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ANNEX 1 Primary Research Tools
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Rural Study Household Questionnaire Code/Number:
POVERTY AND GENDER ASSESSMENT Name of interviewer, note-taker and translator: ____________________________ Date and time of interview: ________________________________________________
PART I: JOINT INTERVIEW QUESTIONS IDEALLY WITH MALE AND FEMALE HEADS OF HOUSEHOLD PRESENT A. Household Interview (HH) Details Including PPI Indicator 1 A0.1. Province (PP-1) A0.2. District A0.3. Description of location of HH (village, address, other description) A0.4. Name of and distance to the main market town where you can sell produce and purchase farming and household needs. A0.5. Name of respondent(s) A0.6. Gender of respondent(s) A0.7. Position(s) in HH (ideally male and female head of household but if not continue) A0.8. Phone number
A1. Provide a description of each person living in or attached to the household: This includes those not living in the household but who have received financial support for the last year. Complete the table below with details for each person. Start with the male and female household heads. Market Development Facility | 89
A1.1. Name (and position in HH)
A1.2. Gender Write M: Male F: Female
A1.3. Is this person 13 years or younger (PPI-2)
1. Male household head 2. Female household head 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
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A1.4. If between 5 & 13 years old, currently in school (PPI-3)
A1.5. Type of job or activity (full description and ask if one or more job is carried out)
A1.6. Category (write letters as per list) a) Farming on own farm (including unpaid family labour) b) Farm labour on someone elses’ farm for wages c) Non-farm wage paying job d) Non-farm AND nonwage work (e.g., own business or contract or piecework
A1.7. Approximately how much per week/month/year do they earn for each area of work? (Do not include income from own farming and livestock)
A2 (PPI-5) Highest evel of school reached by female head of household (write out class, form or tertiary level). A3. Does the household get money from any non-work sources and if so how much per week/month/year: (this may include but is not limited to; scholarship for education; BISP government support program; support from religious organisations, NGOs (training/food/cash); remittances or gifts from family members or relatives; property income; pensions or other social transfers). A4. Has anyone from your household or family of origin left the household for a better opportunity (e.g., gained a skill and moved to town for a job; managed to go further in education and get a professional or salaried job; emigrated; married into a wealthier family)? Did your household or your family of origin contribute to this person’s success? A5. (PPI-6) What is the main source of drinking water for the household? (Select one.) 1) Hand pump, covered/closed well, motorised pump/tube well, or piped water 2) Other A6. (PPI-7) What type of toilet does your household use? 1) Flush connected to public sewerage 2) Flush connected to pit/septic tank or open drain
3) Other
A7. (PPI-8) Does the household own a refrigerator or freezer? 1) Yes
2) No
A8. (PPI-9) Does the household own a television? 1) Yes
2) No
A9. (PPI-10) Does the household own a motorcycle or scooter? 1) Yes
2) No (if no, clarify if they own something such as a car or truck)
A10. Do you have a mobile phone in the household? A11. What is your source of electricity? A12. What is your main source of cooking fuel (electricity, piped gas, propane, collected wood, dung, etc.)? B. Details of Farming/Livestock Expenditure, Income and Practices for Rural Households – CROPS and LIVESTOCK to understand poverty and gender dimensions of household
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B0.1 How much land does your household have access to (in acres)? (If the answer is not in acres, note down the exact answer and show calculations to acres.) Owned
Rented/Leased
Sharecropping
Grazing Land
Other
B0.2 How much do you pay per year for your land (e.g., leasing, grazing)? B1. If you are sharecropping, please describe your arrangement. (Please note − if it is a sharecropping household, this would affect how you calculate income/expenses related to the crops below.) B2. What type of land is this (plain, mountainous, dry, irrigated, partly irrigated, rain fed, terrace)? How much of it do you cultivate by type? Do you consider it good quality land that gives you a good return on your efforts? B3. How does your HH decide which crop to grow or livestock to rear (e.g., is there a discussion in the household, who is involved, or does one person tell the rest of the household, etc.)? Does the landowner decide? B4. CROPS (THIS WILL BE KEY FOR HOUSEHOLDS IN HORTICULTURE AREAS BUT QUICKLY REVIEW FOR OTHERS TOO): Fill out the table below for each main crop (in the case of horticulture, separate key crops − e.g., apricots, apples, potatoes, include fodder. Information
B4.1. Crop 1
B4.2. Crop 2
B4.3. Crop 3
1(a)- Land area cultivated for this crop (if fodder, include it as one crop and combine different types). 1(b)- Is this crop grown mainly for human consumption, fodder or sale? 2- State the months of cultivation Costs (if sharecropping, the farmer may only know the total costs so please capture this below)
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B4.4. Crop 4
4- Do you buy the seeds for the crop? How much do they actually cost or would they cost if you use your own seed? (Identify if they buy or use own seed.) 5- Do you irrigate the crop? How much does it actually cost (equipment, water fee, fuel or electricity charges, other)? If you do not irrigate, do you hand water?
QTY
Price
Total
QTY
Price
Total
QTY
Price
Total
QTY
Price
Name
QTY
Total
6- How do you prepare the land? How much does it cost (equipment rental, fuel, labour, etc.)? 7- Do you use fertiliser for this crop? How many bags of each type do you use? How much does each cost OR what is the total cost per year? (Use the table if helpful or put a total amount.)
Name
QTY
Price
Total
Name
QTY
Price
Total
Name
QTY
Price
Total
Price
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Total
8- Do you use other agrichemicals such as insecticide, herbicide and fungicide? How much do you use? How much does it cost OR put the total amount if it is easier (may calculate by number of times sprayed or bottles used).
Name
insectici de herbicid e fungicid e
9- What are the costs associated with harvesting (note the cost of bags, labour for picking, storage, etc.)? 10- What are the costs associated with selling the produce (Transportation, commission of agent or others)? 11 (a)- Are there other costs associated with this crop? 11 (b)- If sharecropping and individual costs are not available, enter the total costs if possible. Availability and Access
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QTY
Price
Total
Name
QTY
Price
Total
Name
QTY
Price
Total
Name
QTY
Price
Total
12- Do you have access to things you need to grow this crop (appropriate seed, quality and affordable inputs, labour, etc.)? Yields and Value (Sale and Consumption, and Other) 13- For human consumption or sale, how much (total quantity) of the crop did you harvest last year (or, if sharecropping, what was your share)? What was the average yield (mounds per acre)? (For fodder, this is an area measure and we have this information above.) Note: record actual answer and show calculation to kilograms.
14- How much did you lose/waste after harvest and why (rain, over-production, pests, handling, spoilage in transport, poor packaging, or storage issues)? Note: record actual answer and show calculation to kilograms.
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15- How much of the harvest (mounds per acre) do you consume/store for consumption (for fodder – then calculate by area or bales)? Note: record actual answer and show calculation to kilograms and the market price of the quantity.
16. What is the value of the amount consumed (if you had to buy or could sell how much would you make)? Note: record the market price of the quantity.
17- How much do you gift or exchange/barter? Note: record actual answer and show calculation to kilograms.
18- What is the value of this gift/barter (if you had to buy or could sell how much would you make)? 19- How much in total did you receive for the sale of your crop last year? What price do you get per unit (highest and lowest in the year)?
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20- To whom do you sell and where (e.g., farm gate trader, direct to consumers at market)? Note: If more than one buyer, indicate key buyers.
21- Who sets the prices? What factors affect this? 22- What is your greatest challenge, gap, process you would like to do differently with regard to this crop?
B5. LIVESTOCK (THIS WILL BE KEY FOR HOUSEHOLDS IN DAIRY/MEAT AREAS BUT QUICKLY REVIEW FOR OTHERS TOO): Fill out the table below for each main animal (e.g., dairy cow, meat cattle, goat, chicken, etc.) Information
1: Cows and Buffalo
2: Sheep and Goats
3: Poultry
1- Total number of animals (including male calves, female calves, pregnant females, lactating females, draft animals, etc.) 1(b)- Is this mainly for consumption or sale – meat, dairy, eggs? 2(a)- Number of current lactating females (For each animal)
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2(b)- Number of animals being reared for meat for this year (For each animal) 3(a)- What is the cost of purchasing a single animal – the range of highest and lowest prices (male/female)? 3(b)- How much did you spend in the last year on livestock purchases? Do you have to purchase regularly (e.g., goat for fattening, chicks, new dairy cow, cow for fattening)? 4- What care practices do you follow? Note: would include Avian Influenza, vaccination, high yield fodder varieties, use of formulated feed, sheds, regular water
5- What is your total cost for livestock in each category – e.g., vet services, medicines, supplements, feed (khal, wanda, etc.), fodder, hired labour, transportation to market? If you grow
Name
Expenditure
Name
Expenditure
Name
Feed/Fodder
Feed/Fodder
Feed/Fodder
Supplements
Supplements
Supplements
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Expenditure
fodder, what is the value of this? Note: If they buy fodder, include cost here.
Vets and Medicines
Vets and Medicines
Vets and Medicines
Transportati on to Market
Transportati on to Market
Transportatio n to Market
Slaughter
Slaughter
Slaughter
Misc/Labour
Misc/Labour
Misc/Labour
6- Are there any availability/access/cost problems related to inputs and services? 7- Do you have any other problems when rearing animals? What are they and how do you deal with them? 8- What losses did you realise in the last year – e.g., death or sickness of animal, spoiled outputs?
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9- What was your output from the animals in the last year (e.g. daily milk volumes at different times, number of animals sold and their weight, number of eggs)? Note: Ask how many cycles in a year and the duration of each cycle.
10- How much of the outputs (quantity) did you consume/store for consumption? Note market prices of the quantities.
11- If you had to purchase for consumption, how much would this cost? 11(a)- How much do you gift or exchange/barter? 11(b)- If you had sold the produce, how much would you have received? 12 a- How much did you sell over the last year e.g, litres per day, animals per year, kilos, items? Note down yields and prices at different time of the year.
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12 b- What price do you sell at (e.g, per litre, kilo, egg) (highest and lowest prices in the year)? Note total sales income.
13- To whom do you sell and where (e.g., farm gate trader, direct to consumers at market)? If more than one buyer, indicate key buyers.
14- How are the prices set (e.g. does the trader or farmer control this)? What factors affect the price? 15- Do you have any problems selling your outputs or livestock when you want to sell it? Why? 16- What is your greatest challenge, gap, process you would like to do differently with regard to this livestock?
SUMMARY QUESTIONS FOR CROPS AND LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION: B6. What are your major constraints/challenges in farming (crops or livestock) and in earning a better livelihood from this work?
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B7. Do you have ideas on how to earn more money from your crop/livestock production? Can you do that? Why/why not? B8. Do you get information or support from government extension or others (who)? What kind of assistance do you receive? If yes, is it helpful? B9. Have there been any major changes in how much income you earn from farming over the last few years? What kind of changes are they (a decrease, increase, etc.)? Why is that? C. Access to Finance C1. Do you take loans for agriculture and livestock? For which inputs? From whom? What are the terms? Is it easy to obtain a loan? Are there any problems with the loans? C2. When are you expected to repay the loan? What happens in the case of a bad crop? C3. Do you take a loan in case of an emergency, ceremony or other non-agricultural needs? From whom? What are the terms of the loan you receive? C4. When are you expected to repay non-agricultural loans? What happens if you are unable to repay? D. Access to Markets – Distance, Cost, Other Factors D1. How do you get to the nearest main market (foot, motorbike, truck, bus) – is this the same for all productive members of the household? D2. What is the main reason for going to market (selling surplus, buying inputs, provisions or other household needs, social, other)? Is this the same for all productive members of the household? D3. How long does it take to get to market by the usual mode of transportation? D4. How often does a member or your household go? D5. How much does it cost to go and come back from the market? Is there an additional cost if you are transporting goods? E. Main Household Expenditure and Assets E1. Does your household get all your food needs from your land or through barter? If the household buys other food, where do you buy it? E2. How much do you typically spend on food each month? What food items do you usually buy?
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E3. Are there times when you do not have enough food (hungry season) – how long does this last? E4. How does your household cope with a food shortage (e.g., obtain replacement food, take on extra or different work, charity)? E5. What are your biggest non-farming expenditures for the HH (what do you spend the most money on)? List the top three to five and tell us how much you spend each year (e.g., food, housing, school fees, religious obligations, etc.). E6. Does your household usually have enough money to meet these costs? Why or why not? E7. Do you have months where you have extra money? If so, how often and how much? E8. If you have extra money, what do you do with it (e.g., save it, spend on income generating activities, buy something special for self or the household)? E9. Do your children ever have to stay out of school due to lack of money? Do you take your children out of school at any other time for farm or household work? Why and for how long?
Rural Study Male Respondent Questionnaire PART II: SEPARATE INTERVIEWS FOR THE MALE AND FEMALE HEADS OF HOUSEHOLD (OR OTHER INTERVIEWEE)
H. GENDER ROLES, CONTROLS and ACCESS – FOR MALE RESPONDENTS H1. What types of work around the house does the female head of your household do? How much time does she spend daily? Task
Female Head of Household Time Spent (hours per day if they mainly do this task or occasional, rarely, never)
1. Cooking 2. Processing food for the household 3. Cleaning
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4. Taking care of children 5. Taking care of elders/sick 6. Shopping 7. Income earning outside the house 8. Income earning at home 9. Community/volunteer work 10. Other
H2. If they are not doing so already, do you think it would be good for women in your household to work outside the household – why or why not? If they want to, but do not, and you think it is a good idea, what stops them from doing it? Would you help more around the house if this were the case? What would you do? H3. What types of economic opportunities are most viable for the women in the household? Why? H4. Do you or other men in your household have access to opportunities for increased income generation (training, knowledge, skills development, job opportunities and market linkages)? What about the women? H5. Do you or other men in your household have access to the needed assets for increased income generation (finance, tools, equipment, market information, land)? What about the women? H6. Do you or other men in your household belong to any type of network, group, or association? If so please explain. What about the women? H7. Have you or other men in your household participated in a government or NGO programme around economic development? If so, please explain. What about the women? H8. Is there a business development centre or microfinance agency in your area? If so, have you or other men in the household used the services? Which services (please explain)? What about the women? H9. Have you seen successful women or men in your area who work more and earn better incomes that people in your household? Explain the situation and if it could work for you with the right opportunity/support.
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H10. How do you make decisions with regard to the following in the household? Category of Items
Joint decision making and discussion (which HH members – e.g., male and female head of household)
Men, seeking women’s input (which HH members) e.g., male head of household and wife or daughterin-law)
Women, seeking men’s input (which HH members) e.g., female head of household and husband or father-in-law
Men, without discussion (which HH members) e.g., main earner, titular head of household
Women, without discussion (which HH members) e.g., main earner, titular head of household
EXPENDITURE 1. Farm items and equipment 2. Livestock purchase 3. Household items (furniture, clothes, utensils) 4. Food purchases 5. Health/medicines purchases 6. School fees 7. Land purchases/lease 8. Car/motorbike purchase/maintenance 9. Social /community financial obligations 10. Religious events/ donations CONTROL OVER INCOME 11. Women’s income 12. Men’s income 13. Own savings TIME/SCHOOL/WORK
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14. Children’s schooling/ school leaving (is it the same for both genders?) 15. Women’s work in the home 16. Women’s work on own farm 17. Women’s paid work OTHER 18. Daughters’ marriage (age and partner) 19. Sons’ marriage (age and partner) 20. Women’s range of mobility (married) 21. Women’s range of mobility (unmarried) H 11. Do all members benefit when the household income increases (e.g., better food, new clothing, access to education for boys and girls, etc.)?
Rural Study Female Respondent Questionnaire PART II: SEPARATE INTERVIEWS FOR THE MALE AND FEMALE HEADS OF HOUSEHOLD (OR OTHER INTERVIEWEE)
G. GENDER ROLES, CONTROLS and ACCESS – FOR FEMALE RESPONDENTS G1. What types of work do you do around the house and on the farm, and how much time do you spend daily on average?
Task
Female Head of Household Time Spent (hours per day if they mainly do this task or occasional, rarely, never)
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1. Cooking 2. Processing food for the household 3. Cleaning 4. Taking care of children 5. Taking care of elders/sick 6. Shopping 7. Income earning outside the house 8. Income earning at home 9. Community/volunteer work 10. Other
G2. If you are not doing so already, would you or other women in your household like to work outside the household – why or why not? If you want to, but do not, what stops you from doing it? G3. What types of economic opportunities are most viable for you and other women in the household? Why? G4. Do you or other women in your household have access to opportunities for increased income generation (training, knowledge, skills development, job opportunities and market linkages)? What about the men? G5. Do you or other women in your household have access to the needed assets for increased income generation (finance, tools, equipment, market information, land)? What about the men? G6. Do you or other women in your household belong to any type of network, group, or association? If so, please explain. What about the men? G7. Have you or other women in your household participated in a government or NGO programme around economic development? If so please explain. What about the men? G8. Is there a business development centre or microfinance agency in your area? If so, have you or other women in your household used the services? Which services (please explain)? What about the men?
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G9. Have you seen successful women or men in your area who work more and earn better incomes? Explain the situation and if it could work for you with the right opportunity/support. G10. How do you make decisions with regard to the following in the household? Category of Items
EXPENDITURE 1. Farm items and equipment 2. Livestock purchase 3. Household items (furniture, clothes, utensils) 4. Food purchases 5. Health/medicines purchases 6. School fees 7. Land purchases/lease 8. Car/motorbike purchase/maintenance 9. Social /community financial obligations 10. Religious events/ donations CONTROL OVER INCOME 11. Women’s income 12. Men’s income 13. Own savings TIME/SCHOOL/WORK 108 | Market Development Facility
Joint decision making and discussion (which HH members – e.g., male and female head of household)
Men, seeking women’s input (which HH members) e.g., male head of household and wife or daughterin-law)
Women, seeking men’s input (which HH members) e.g., female head of household and husband or father-in-law
Men, without discussion (which HH members) e.g., main earner, titular head of household
Women, without discussion (which HH members) e.g., main earner, titular head of household
14. Children’s schooling/ school leaving (is it the same for both genders?) 15. Women’s work in the home 16. Women’s work on own farm 17. Women’s paid work OTHER 18. Daughters’ marriage (age and partner) 19. Sons’ marriage (age and partner) 20. Women’s range of mobility (married) 21. Women’s range of mobility (unmarried) G11. Do all members benefit when the household income increases? (For example, better food, new clothing, access to education for boys and girls, etc.)
Urban Study Household Questionnaire Code/Number:
UL
Poverty and Gender AssessmentName of interviewer: _____________________________ Name of note-taker: ______________________________ Date and time of interview: __________________________
Section A: Introduction
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A1. Province (PP-1) A2. District A3. Location A4. Name of respondent(s) A5. Gender of respondent(s) A6. Position(s) in HH (ideally male and female head of household but if not continue) A7. Phone number
Section B: Work-Related Questions Job Overview B1. What is your job? What tasks do you undertake? B2. How long have you had this job? B3a. What were you doing prior to this job? B3b. How long have you been employed in the leather sector? B4. How did you get this job (connections, advertisements, knocking on the factory door)? B5. What other opportunities were available to you? What other sector could you have potentially worked in and in what role? B6. Why did you choose to work in the leather sector? B7. What qualifications/skills (if any) did you need to get this job? How did you obtain those skills/qualifications? B8. Is the work full-time or part-time? B9. How many days a week do you work? How many hours a day? (Calculate FTE = 8 hours/day, 240 days full days per year) B10. Is the work permanent or casual/seasonal? 110 | Market Development Facility
Payment Mechanisms: B11. What is the total income you earn? How are you paid (per item, per hour, per day, per week)? What is the rate? (Note: Make a calculation of the monthly income and confirm it with respondent.) B12. Who determines how much you are paid (pre-set rate for employees, negotiated)? B13. Have you ever bargained collectively with an employer on any work-related issue? If so, please provide details (Note: especially pertinent to female respondents.) B14. How often are you paid? Are there ever any problems with pay? If so, what are they? B15. Through what mechanism are you paid (cash-in-hand, debit card, bank account, mobile money, etc.)? Wage Rates: B16. Are men and women paid at the same rate? If not, what is the difference? B17. Do all jobs pay the same rate (cutting, stitching, finishing, etc.)? If not, what is the difference? Upward/Lateral Mobility: B18. Are you satisfied with the amount of work you do (too much, too little, just right)? B19. Are you satisfied with your work? B20. Has your job changed since you began employment at this company? Have you always done the same work? B21. Have there been any major changes in how much income you earn from leather work over the last few years? What kind of changes are they (a decrease, increase, etc)? Why is that? B22. Is there any skill that you need in order to earn more (better skills, more time, good contacts, English language, etc.)? B23. Have you received any training or other support to improve your skills or advance in your work since you joined the job? B24. Are there any opportunities to diversify your skill set? (For female respondents, can they move into any other skills apart from stitching?) B25. What are your major constraints/challenges in earning a better livelihood from this work?
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B26. Are you aiming for a higher paying job here? If so, why? If not, why not? B27. Is your supervisor male or female? B28. Are there opportunities for promotion? What factors lead to promotion (skills, connections, productivity)? B29. Are there opportunities for women’s promotion to supervisory positions? If yes, under what conditions is this applicable? (Applicable to all production units to females only) If not, why not? B30. Would you like/are you planning to get a different job elsewhere? Explain. Work Conditions: B31. What are the overall conditions on the premises (fire exits, fire extinguishers, first-aid kits, ventilation, etc. – note down your own observations as well)? B32. Do you have any concerns about health and safety (dust, fumes, sharp tools, etc.)? B33. Is there any additional equipment that could help with your work? Benefits: B34. a) Do you get any leave entitlement? Please provide details (sick leave, annual leave, etc.). B34. b) Do you get maternal leave or marriage leave? Please provide details. B35. Do you get any additional benefits? Please provide details (provident fund, EOBI, pension, gratuity, jahez fund, profit sharing, etc.). B36. Do you live close to your place of work? How do you commute to work? Does your company arrange your transport? If so, is it free? If not, how much do you pay for this? B37. How long does it take to get to work? B38. (For female respondents only) Are there any other special facilities available (on or off factory day-care facilities, segregated production units, cafeterias, and restrooms)? Additional Benefits:
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B39. Do you get information or support from government programs? (Which) What kind of assistance do you receive (direct financial support, or policies surrounding minimum wage, leave benefits, sexual harassment policy, etc.)? If yes, is it helpful?
Section C: Household Details C1. A description of each person living in or attached to the household: This includes those not living in the household but who have received financial support for the last year. Complete table below with details for each person. Start with male and female household heads. C1.1. Name (and Position in HH)
C1.2. Gender Write M: Male F: Female
C1.3. Is this person 13 years or younger (PPI-2)
C1.4. If between 5 & 13 years old, currently in school (PPI-3)
C1.5. Type of Job or activity (Full description and ask if one or more job is carried out)
C1.6. Elementary occupation? (Yes/No)
C1.7. Approximately how much per week/month/year do they earn for each area of work?
(PPI-4)
1. Male household head 2. Female household head 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
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C1.1. Name (and Position in HH)
C1.2. Gender Write M: Male F: Female
C1.3. Is this person 13 years or younger (PPI-2)
9. 10.
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C1.4. If between 5 & 13 years old, currently in school (PPI-3)
C1.5. Type of Job or activity (Full description and ask if one or more job is carried out)
C1.6. Elementary occupation? (Yes/No)
(PPI-4)
C1.7. Approximately how much per week/month/year do they earn for each area of work?
C2. Highest level of school reached by female head of household (write out class, form or tertiary level) (PPI-5) C3. Does the household get money from any non-work sources and, if so, how much per week/month/year (this may include but are not limited to; scholarship for education; BISP government support program; support from religious organisations, NGOs (training/food/cash); remittances or gifts from family members or relatives; property income; pensions or other social transfers)? C4. Has anyone from your household or family of origin left the household for a better opportunity (e.g., got a skill and moved to town for a job; managed to go further in education and get a professional or salaried job; emigrated married into a wealthier family)? Did your household or your family of origin contribute to this person’s success? C5. (PPI-6) What is the main source of drinking water for the household? (Select one) 1) Handpump, covered/closed well, motorised pump/tube well, or piped water
2) Others
C6. (PPI-7) What type of toilet does your household use? 1) Flush connected to public sewerage 2) Flush connected to pit/septic tank or open drain 3) Other C7. (PPI-8) Does the household own a refrigerator or freezer? 1) Yes
2) No
C8. (PPI-9) Does the household own a television? 1) Yes
2) No
C8. (PPI-10) Does the household own a motorcycle, scooter, car or other motorised vehicle? 1) Yes
2) No
C9.a) Do you have a mobile phone in the household? C9.b) Do the women in the household own a mobile phone? If not, can they gain access to one? C10. Do you get electricity in your house?
Section D: Household Expenditure (NOTE: The participants may talk in weekly, monthly or annual terms, but please ensure to input values in Excel data sheet in annual terms.)
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D1. How much do you typically spend on food each month? What food items do you usually buy? D2. How much do you have to pay for rent and associated fee/taxes on a monthly basis? Are you satisfied with your housing situation? Explain. D3. How much do you have to pay for utilities (water, gas, electricity)? Are you satisfied with the utilities? Explain. (Include easing amounts.) D4. What are your major household expenses (e.g., schooling, social obligations, clothing, etc.) – how much per month or year? D5. Does your household usually have enough money to meet your food, rent and other expenses? If not, what do you do? D6. Do your children ever have to stay out of school due to lack of money? Do you take your children out of school at any other time for farm or household work? Why and for how long? D7. Do you have months where you have extra money? If so, how often and how much? D8. If you have extra money, what do you do with it (e.g., save it, spend on income generating activities, buy something special for self or the household)?
Section E: Access to Finance E1. Do you borrow money or material for leather work or other income generation activities (from family, friends, money lenders, microfinance institutions, social funds)? For what inputs? From whom? What are the terms? Is it easy to obtain a loan? Are there any problems with the loans? E2. When are you expected to repay the loan? What happens in case of low income and difficulty in repayment? E3. Do you borrow money, food or other items in case of an emergency, consumption, ceremony or other non-income generation needs(from family, friends, money lenders, microfinance institutions, social funds)? From whom? What are the terms of the loan you receive? E4. When are you expected to repay consumption/emergency money, food or other items? What happens if you are unable to repay?
Urban Study Male Questionnaire Section G: Gender Roles, Controls and Access – For Male Respondents
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G1. Take us through your average day in terms of times and tasks, including when you rest and sleep? Is it different on the weekend? G2. What types of work do you do around the house and on income generating activities? Task
Female Head of Household (Y/N)
1. Cooking 2. Processing food for the household 3. Cleaning 4. Taking care of children 5. Taking care of elders/sick 6. Shopping 7. Income earning outside the house 8. Income earning at home 9. Community/volunteer work 10. Other G3. (If the female respondent is employed in any capacity), what factors prompted your spouse to seek income-generating activities? How was this decided? By whom? G4. If they are not doing so already, do you think it would be good for women in your household to work outside the home – why or why not? If they want to, and you think it is a good idea, what stops them from working outside the home (e.g., transportation, child-care issues, security or safety, family members)? Would you help more around the house if this were the case? If so, what would you do? G5. What types of economic opportunities are most viable for women in the household? Why? G6. Do you or other men in your household have access to opportunities for increased income generation (training, knowledge, skills development, job opportunities, and market linkages)? What about the women? G7. Do you or other men in your household have access to the needed assets for increased income generation (finance, tools, equipment, market information, land)? What about the women?
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G8. Do female members of your household go out of the home to purchase goods or to make sales? (Purchases can include buying groceries, clothes, assets, etc. – any market/trade interaction?) If so, can they go out alone or do they go with others? (If with others, with whom do they go?) G9. Do female members of your household go out of the house to attend social gatherings (Weddings, birthdays, funerals, family gatherings, religious events, etc.)? If so, can they go out alone or do they go with others? (If with others, with whom do they go?) G10. Do unmarried women have the same kind of mobility as married women? (Purpose is to ask if unmarried women can leave the household for similar activities.) If so, can they go out alone or do they go with others? (If with others, with whom do they go?) G11. Do you or other men in your household belong to any type of network, group, or association? If so please explain. What about the women? G12. Have you or other men in your household participated in a government or NGO programme around economic development? If so please explain. What about the women? G13. Is there a business development centre or microfinance agency or other support services in your area? If so, have you or other men in your household used the services? Which services (please explain)? What about the women? G14. Have you seen successful women or men in your area who work more and earn better incomes? Explain the situation and if it could work for you with the right opportunity/support. G15. Has there been any change in your income in the last five years? If yes, what has that change been? How often does it change? G16. Do you save any household income? If yes, what are the mechanisms through which you do this (bank accounts, save it in the house)? G17. Do you have a bank account? If not, would you like to have one? If you do not want an account, why not? G18. How do you make decisions with regard to the following in the household? Category of Items
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Joint decision making and discussion
Men, seeking women’s input (which HH members)
Women, seeking men’s input (which HH members)
Men, without discussion (which HH members)
Women, without discussion (which HH members)
(which HH members – e.g., male and female head of household)
e.g., male head of household and wife or daughter in law)
e.g., female head of household and husband or father in law
e.g., main earner, titular head of household
e.g., main earner, titular head of household
EXPENDITURE 1. Costs of a microenterprise (if applicable) 2. Vehicle purchase 3. Household items (furniture, clothes, utensils) 4. Food purchases 5. Health/medicines purchases 6. School fees 7. Rent 8. Utilities (electricity, water, gas) 9. Social/ family/ community financial obligations 10. Religious events/ donations CONTROL OVER INCOME 11. Women’s income 12. Men’s income 13. Own savings TIME/ SCHOOL/WORK 14. Children’s schooling/ school leaving (is it the same for both genders?) 15. Women’s work in the home
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16. Women’s work in factory/workshop 17. Women’s paid work OTHER 18. Daughters’ marriage (age and partner) 19. Sons’ marriage (age and partner) 20. Women’s range of mobility (married) 21. Women’s range of mobility (unmarried) G19. Do all the members of the household benefit from an increase in income? If so, how do they benefit (e.g., better food, new clothing, access to education for boys and girls, etc.)?
Urban Study Female Questionnaire Section F: Gender Roles, Controls and Access – For Female Respondents F1. Take us through your average day in terms of times and tasks, including when you rest and sleep. Is it different on the weekend? F2. What types of work do you do around the house and on income generating activities? Task 1. Cooking 2. Processing food for the household 3. Cleaning 4. Taking care of children 5. Taking care of elders/sick 6. Shopping 7. Income earning outside the house 8. Income earning at home
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Female Head of Household (Y/N)
9. Community/volunteer work 10. Other
F3. (If the female respondent is employed in any capacity), what factors prompted you to seek income-generating activities? How was this decided? By whom? F4. If you are not doing so already, would you or other women in your household like to work outside the household – why or why not? If you want to, but do nt– what stops you from doing it (e.g., transportation, child-care issues, security or safety, family members)? F5. What types of economic opportunities are most viable for you and other women in the household? Why? F6. Do you or other women in your household have access to opportunities for income generation (training, knowledge, skills development, job opportunities, and market linkages)? Would you say you have more or less or the same access as men in your household? F7. Do you or other women in your household have access to the needed assets for income generation (finance, tools, equipment, market information, land)? What about the male members of the household? F8. Do you go out of your household to purchase goods or to make sales? (Purchases can include buying groceries, clothes, assets, etc. – any market/trade interaction.) If so, can you go out alone or do you go with others? (If with others, with whom do you go?) F9. Do you go out of your household to attend social gatherings (weddings, birthdays, funerals, family gatherings, religious events, etc.)? If so, can you go out alone or do you go with others? (If with others, with whom do you go?)
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F10. Do unmarried women have the same kind of mobility as married women? (Purpose is to ask if unmarried women can leave the household for similar activities.) If so, can you go out alone or do you go with others? (If with others, with whom do you go?) F11. Do you or other women in your household belong to any type of network, group, or association? If so please explain. What about the men? F12. Have you or other women in your household participated in a government or NGO programme around economic development? If so please explain. What about the men? F13. Is there a business development centre or microfinance agency or other support services in your area? If so, have you or other women in your household used the services? Which services (please explain)? What about the men? F14. Have you seen successful women or men in your area who work more and earn better incomes? Explain the situation and if it could work for you with the right opportunity/support. F15. Has there been any change in your husband’s income in the last five years? If yes, what has that change been? How often does it change? F16. Do you save any household income? If yes, what are the mechanisms through which you do this (committees with other women, bank accounts, save it in the house)? F17. Do you have a bank account? If not, would you like to have one? If you do not want an account, why not? F18. Are you expected to contribute to the household income? F19. How do you make decisions with regard to the following? Category of Items
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Joint decision making and discussion (which HH members – e.g., male and female head of household)
Men, seeking women’s input (which HH members) e.g., male head of household and wife or daughter in law)
Women, seeking men’s input (which HH members) e.g., female head of household and husband or
Men, without discussion (which HH members) e.g., main earner, titular head of household
Women, without discussion (which HH members) e.g., main earner, titular head of household
father in law
EXPENDITURE 1. Costs of a microenterprise (if applicable) 2. Vehicle purchase 3. Household items (furniture, clothes, utensils) 4. Food purchases 5. Health/medicines purchases 6. School fees 7. Rent 8. Utilities (electricity, water, gas) 9. Social/ family/ community financial obligations 10. Religious events/ donations CONTROL OVER INCOME 11. Women’s income 12. Men’s income 13. Own savings TIME/SCHOOL/WORK 14. Children’s schooling / school leaving (is it the same for both genders?) 15. Women’s work in the home
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16. Women’s work in factory/workshop 17. Women’s paid work OTHER 18. Daughters’ marriage (age and partner) 19. Sons’ marriage (age and partner) 20. Women’s range of mobility (married) 21. Women’s range of mobility (unmarried) F20. Do all the members of the household benefit from an income increase? If so, how do they benefit (e.g., better food, new clothing, access to education for boys and girls, etc.)?
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Rural FGD template Women and Agricultural Incomes MDF Pakistan: Focus Group Discussion Template Strategic Engagement Area Specific Inquiry into Roles, Controls, Access and Workload Completed by ________________________________________ Location # ___________________________________________ 10:00 − 10:05
Women gather and take seats
10:05 − 10:10
Welcome, introduction to FGD, purpose of the project (which should also have been explained in setting up the FGD), researchers and participants Explain process – it is a discussion; all comments are valuable; we would like to hear from everyone even if opinions are different; practical experience is good.
10:10 – 10:20
Warm up question: e.g: What do you do to contribute to household incomes? (If necessary prompt re horticulture, livestock, dairy, other.)
10:20 – 10:50
Questions to Explore about Roles and Access: What is your involvement in the target strategic engagement area? What challenges do you face in this role, and what do you need to contribute more (e.g., skills, market access, new equipment)? Why are you not accessing this/these already? What would help you to be able to access what you need?
ROLES and ACCESS
10:50 – 11:10 CONTROLS
11:10 – 11:25 WORKLOAD
11:25 – 11:30
Questions to Explore about Controls: What happens to the income from this agricultural activity (e.g., goes to savings, woman manages, male family member manages)? Do you contribute to financial decision making around the strategic engagement area? Do you contribute to non-financial decision making in this strategic engagement area work (e.g., inputs, time to harvest, hiring of labour, where to sell, negotiating price)? Questions to Explore about Workload: Do you have time to do more in this sector? Who helps you at home? Is more help available at home, if you take on productive work? Is there technology, a technique or something else that would help you save time in the sector work (e.g., post-harvest technology, micro irrigation, new drought resistant varieties)? What are your concerns about workload, rest, leisure, if any? Final comments and wrap-up – invite additional comments or questions from them. Leave this open and see what surfaces.
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Urban FGD template Home-Based Women and Leather Incomes MDF Pakistan: Focus Group Discussion Template Strategic Engagement Area Specific Inquiry into Roles, Controls, Access and Workload Completed by ________________________________________ Location # ___________________________________________ Our priority for home-based women workers is to identify clusters in Lahore and Sialkot areas and to conduct the following FGD (two per each area). If this is not possible, we will add in-depth interviews for women home-based workers’ households with specific questions related to home-based work. The FGD should take up to 90 minutes and the following timings are suggestions only. 5 minutes
Women gather and take seats
5 minutes
Welcome, introduction to FGD, purpose of the project (which should also have been explained in setting up the FGD), researchers and participants Explain process – it is a discussion; all comments are valuable; we would like to hear from everyone even if opinions are different; practical experience is good.
5 minutes
Warm up question: e.g: What do you do to contribute to household incomes? (If necessary, prompt re: outside job, support husband’s work, piecework.) (No need to record this unless there is some unexpected information.)
20 minutes
A discussion of their work in the leather strategic engagement area as homebased workers – do they get regular work; are they satisfied with the amount ROLES and of work; how much does it pay (per item, per month)? Are they satisfied with COMPENSATION the pay? Would they rather work in a factory or workshop? Why or why not? 15 minutes ACCESS to services and support 20 minutes CONTROLS
Try to understand the supports and services they get to participate in the strategic engagement area. – do they get the support they need to do the work well (e.g., training, inputs, designs); does someone manage the orders (quantity, quality, deadlines); do they get other services such as health insurance or advanced pay or other benefits? What happens to the income from this activity (e.g., goes to savings, woman manages, male family member manages)? Do women retain this cash or is it handed over to someone else? Do women contribute to financial decision making at home related to this work and other (e.g., getting an advance from
12 | Market Development Facility
the contractor or household expenditures)? Do they have options for borrowing in case of emergency? Do women contribute to non-financial decision making related to this work (e.g., how much work they can handle) and other such as mobility and schooling? 15 minutes WORKLOAD
5 minutes
Questions to Explore about Workload: Do they feel overworked when they do leather work as well as household work? Do women have time to do more in this sector? Who helps them at home, if they get busy? Is more help available at home, if they take on more leather work? Is there technology, a technique or something else that would help them save time in the sector work (e.g, sewing machine, cutters)? Would that increase output, quality, price, or leisure time? Who helps to look after the young children? Do women continue working when they are pregnant and/or have to look after infants? Final comments and wrap-up – invite additional comments or questions from them. Leave this open and see what surfaces.
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PPI for Pakistan
Progress out of Poverty Index * Required Fields Operational Data
Clear Form
Client Number (Unique Identifier)
*
Interview Date
Client Demographic Data Region/Area
*
Use the drop-down box to select options.
Client Name
PPI Questions
*
1
In what province does the household live?
Use the drop-down box to select options.
*
2
How many household members are 13 years old or younger?
Use the drop-down box to select options.
*
3
How many children ages 5 to 13 attend school?
Use the drop-down box to select options.
*
4
How many household members work in elementary occupations (not senior officials, managers, professionals, technicians, etc)
Use the drop-down box to select options.
*
5
What is the highest educational level completed by the female head/spouse?
Use the drop-down box to select options.
*
6
What is the main source of drinking water for the household?
Use the drop-down box to select options.
*
7
What type of toilet is used by your household?
Use the drop-down box to select options.
*
8
Does the household own a refrigerator or freezer?
Use the drop-down box to select options.
*
9
Does the household own a television?
Use the drop-down box to select options.
*
10
Does the household own a motorcycle, scooter, car or other vehicle?
Use the drop-down box to select options.
PPI Score
0
Poverty Likelihoods 1
USD1.25/day/2005 PPP Line
95%
2
USD2.50/day/2005 PPP Line
100%
3
USD3.75/day/2005 PPP Line
100%
4
100% National Poverty Line
95%
5
200% National Poverty Line
100%
6
200% National Poverty Line
100%
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Clear Form
Submit Form
Submit Form
ANNEX 2 Household Summaries
Dairy and Meat Household Poverty Summaries Poor Household Poverty Summary Household Unique Code: SP 10 Interview team names: Fiza Salim, Ali Javaid Who prepared this summary? Ali Javaid Table Summary – Quantitative Household Unique Code (e.g., KPK 01, GB 01, SP 01, RS 01)
SP 10
Province
Punjab
District
Bahawalnagar
Village
Shallay Garbi
Family size (total)
12
Number of family members 13 years old or younger
7
Adult equivalent total (each adult plus each child 13 years or 8.5 younger counted as half an adult) Land size (owned, leased, rented, sharecropped, etc.)
1 acres
Crop yield for crop #1 per year
N/A
Crop yield for crop #2 per year
N/A
Crop yield for crop #3 per year
N/A
Crop yield for crop #4 per year
N/A
Dairy yields per day on average (cow and buffalo)
5.4
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# of cows and buffalo sold per year
0
# of goats and sheep sold per year
0
Total Annual Gross Income
PKR 222,997 (includes nonfarm)
Total Farm (including sales) Expenditure
PKR 86,600
Total Annual Net Income
PKR 136,397
Income per capita (adult equivalent) per day
PKR 44
Cost of food purchased (main items listed) on a monthly basis
PKR 5,500
Household expenses other than food on a monthly basis
PKR 53,000
Total Annual Household Expenses
PKR 265,863
Average expenditure per capita (adult equivalent) per day other PKR 86 than costs of production and marketing PPI score
27
Profile No:, Mohammad Munir, Shallay Garbi, Bahawalnagar, Punjab Family and household composition: This is a large household comprising 12 members; Mohammad Munir, the effective household head, lives with his wife Ayesha, his mother Ghulam Jannat, father Mian Azam, five sons − Munir, aged 15, Rashid, aged 12, Ramzan, aged 10, Imran, aged 8 and Irfan, aged 6 − and three daughters − Farhana, aged 5, Rukhsana, aged 3 and Nimra, aged 2. The eldest son, Imran, is working for daily wages in non-farm activities. One daughter, Farhana, and two sons, Imran and Irfan, are going to school, whereas the other sons quit school, as they were not doing well in their studies. The household is registered with the BISP programme and has been receiving PKR 1,000 each month for the last three years. The family lives in a small house with three rooms, cemented inside but made of mud and brick outside. The house has an opening to the field on one side. They also have a mud shed for the animals, and an automated fodder chopper. There is no bathroom in the house, no refrigerator, and no TV, but Munir owns a motorcycle.
Munir owns an acre of land, which he uses to produce fodder for the animals. He is currently rearing a cow and two buffalo, and the decisions about which animals to buy and where to sell milk are in consultation with his wife Ayesha. Ayesha also helps Munir fodder cutting and growing, taking care of the animals as well as working as picker during the cotton season and cutting wheat during the season. Ayesha does the household work; from cleaning to cooking, taking care of the elders and kids. Munir’s mother and children help their mother in the house. Economic activities: The household can be categorised as a dairy household, earning most of the income through the daily sale of milk and labouring work during the cotton and wheat harvesting seasons. During the cotton season, they received PKR 8,000, and they received 15 mounds of wheat for home consumption by working on the different farms during the wheat season, valued at PKR 15,000. The elder son is also working as a non-farm labourer, earning PKR 54,000 in a year. Munir owns three dairy animals, which give him an average daily yield of 5.4 litres, and he sells the milk at PKR 42.5 per day on average through the course of the year with fluctuations in prices and yields according to the season. The household is dynamic poor and vulnerable to external shocks, which have exacerbated their poverty. Due to a haemorrhagic septicaemia attack, five of their animals died last year, resulting in a big loss in income. One of the sons was electrocuted two years ago, and had a serious operation costing PKR 500,000. The result is that he is unable to work on the farm or work much with his hands. He recently moved to Sialkot to work loading trucks at a beverage company this month, and he is hoping that he will soon start sending money. His mother is also very sick and every month her medicine costs him PKR 2,000. Munir knows about the microfinance banks working in the area and is hesitant to borrow from them. He thinks he won’t be able to pay back the loan, but he mentioned a lot of people are getting loans by using his name. For loans, he has an informal arrangement; whenever the agricultural or household need arises and he has no money, he asks for a loan from relatives or neighbours, and returns the money after a month. Sometimes he doesn’t have money to return the loan on time, so in that case, to avoid any unpleasant consequences, he takes a loan from someone else and uses it to payback the first one. Munir seems to be a very traditional farmer with very limited knowledge about dairy best practice. This is also because the agriculture department and private sector companies don’t focus on smallholder farmers’ needs. The major barrier, from our perspective, is the lack of formal finance access. If he has finance access, he can lease land or buy more animals to improve his income: he explained to us that he is planning to lease land and buy some dairy animals if he has some money. He also mentioned if he has money, he could feed his animals with khal, better feed, to get more milk, but low finances constrain him from doing so. Specific crop and livestock activities:
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Munir owns an acre of land, and grows fodder for his animals. In the summer, he grows jowar and in the winter he grows berseem. Munir has three animals; one cow and two buffalo, all give milk. The average yield he gets is 5.4 litres a day, and he sells 4 litres a day at PKR 42.5, making a total of PKR 64,132 per year. The team’s observation is, with natural reproduction, his animals will increase in number. Last year he had eight animals, out of which five died because he did not vaccinate them. He has now understood the importance of vaccination and has vaccinated the remaining animals. In the long run, we anticipate that the cow will give him calves, increasing his herd size. Poverty level: This household earns a per capita income of PKR 44 (approx. USD 0.44) and has a PPI score of 27. The PPI score suggests a household income of USD 3.75 per day. This is a large family household of 12 people, and the division of income per capita results in a low per capita income value. This household is at poverty level 2. The team’s observation is of a very basic three-room house. Although It has two cemented rooms, the overall condition of the house is very bad. There is no boundary on one side, which opens to the fields. Munir was unable to manage his animals properly resulting in the loss of five, which had been his assets, and his son’s expensive operation wiped out all of his savings. Now, as he has learned something from the death of his animals, he may be able to manage his dairy animals better in the future. It could lead him out of the poverty, as this is a well-to-do area with a lot of formal milk processing. All members of the household were dressed in clothes and shoes that seemed old as they were torn. The household hygiene was poor; cow dung was scattered across the patio, and the younger children were walking across it barefoot. The kitchen was open, constructed out of mud, located in one corner of the patio, close to the open fields. Gender dynamics: The team observed that the female members take care of the household and help Munir in the fodder growing, cutting and livestock activities. Ayesha takes care of the animals at home, cleans the shed, waters and feeds the animals fodder, does the cooking, cleans the house twice every day, and helps Munir cutting fodder and watering the land. She seems to be an effective head of household and is involved jointly with Munir in decision making about all the activities such as purchasing farm items, food, animals, sending the children to school, buying medicine, working on their farm and other people’s farms. The household does not have access to assets for income generation nor belong to any association, as none exists in the area. It hasn’t received any training or support on economic development from the government or any NGO. Ayesha has a mobility to go and work where she wants which is decided jointly between the household members.
Aspirations and conclusion: Munir is keen to increase his income, and has seen people in the village start from the scratch and are now earning very handsomely. He has experienced the result of not vaccinating animals, noting that last year, if five of his animals hadn’t died, he would be in a much better position. He is planning to buy animals and lease land for more fodder growing. He noted that his animals are underfed; if he has money, he will give them better feed, so they give him more milk and his income improves. Other observations: Shallay Garbi is a better-off area in terms of access to the market (13 km from Hasilpur), public transport and good roads. The land is very fertile, as it is in a river belt, so the availability of good fresh water is not a concern − even the underground water is good. Farmers enjoy very good crop yields. While there is electricity in the village, there are regular and prolonged electricity outages. Most of the houses are in good condition, well structured, and made of cement and brick. The private sector has done a lot of work in the area: Nestle, Engro and Shakarganj set their chillers up in the village, as well as extension networks helping and creating awareness with the farmers about best practices. However, the area is characterised by extreme economic polarisation. The majority of farmers are relatively wealthy; own and lease land upwards of five acres and; have multiple animals, others are very poor; do not grow crops; have few animals; have little awareness of how to increase yields; lease land and; derive their income by working as labourers either on other farms or as construction workers. Many farmers in the area have animals that have been dry for multiple years, and they are too cash strapped to make efforts to change that.
Average Household Poverty Summary Template Household Unique Code: SP 12 Interview team names: Ali Javaid, Fiza Salim Who prepared this summary? Fiza Salim Table Summary – Quantitative Household Unique Code (e.g., KPK 01, GB 01, SP 01, RS 01)
SP 12
Province
Punjab
District
Bahawalnagar
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Village
Qasim Key
Family size (total)
4
Number of family members 13 years old or younger
2
Adult equivalent total (each adult plus each child 13 years or 3 younger counted as half an adult) Land size (owned, leased, rented, sharecropped, etc.)
2
Crop yield for crop #1 per year
20.5
Crop yield for crop #2 per year
9
Crop yield for crop #3 per year
N/A
Crop yield for crop #4 per year
N/A
Dairy yields per day on average
1200
# of cows and buffalo sold per year
1
# of goats and sheep sold per year
0
Total Annual Gross Income
PKR 186,800
Total Farm (including sales) Expenditure
PKR 92,720
Total Annual Net Income
PKR 94,080
Income per capita (adult equivalent) per day
PKR 86
Cost of food purchased (main items listed) on a monthly basis
PKR 2,000
Household expenses other than food on a monthly basis
PKR 22,200
Total Annual Household Expenses
PKR 122,000
Average expenditure per capita (adult equivalent) per day other PKR 111 than costs of production and marketing PPI score
50
Profile No: Mohammad Anwar, Qasim Key, Bahawalnagar, Punjab Family and household composition: This household is made up of four members; Mohammad Anwar (MA), the effective head of household, his wife Shaheena Akhtar, their son Mohammad Azeem, aged four years, and their daughter aged one year. Both children are currently too young to attend school. The family lives in a joint family system; four families have constructed independent units on a large plot of land, and each unit contains one nuclear family. All families are income independent. MA lives here with his four siblings, and his parents. His parents live with his unmarried brothers and sisters, and the other houses are occupied by MA, and his other married brother. Most of the units are two bedrooms and have been constructed out of brick and cement. The patio is a shared space, and is quite large. The family stores, feeds, and cleans its animals in this patio area, significantly compromising the hygienic conditions. The patio is covered with animal faeces, and all the children present in the area were walking around barefoot. Economic activities: The household derives its income and sustenance from: 1) sales of wheat and cotton; 2) milk sales and; 3) occasionally from wage labour on other farms. Last year MA’s household earned PKR 8,000 through cotton-picking. MA works on a credit arrangement with the arthi; the cost of inputs for crops, as well as a large portion of household expenditure is covered by the arthi, and balanced against MA’s crop sales back to the arthi. The team found that the role of the arthi is important in Qasim Key; without the ability to obtain loans through the arthi, most farmers would not be able to grow their crops or use inputs, and in some cases, would not be able to access household goods. In addition to his arrangement with the arthi, MA also takes loans for household expenditure from his family and/or a friend. He said that two to three times a year, he has excess income, but it is unlikely that he is saving this excess as he also experiences food shortages one to two times a month. As he lives in a joint family system with independent incomes, even during lean months he is not food insecure. MA mentioned he has access to a few different markets. He purchases agricultural inputs and household items from Nowsera, located 3 km from Qasim Key; for vegetables, he is reliant on the stalls that come to the village; and for items, such as clothes and shoes, and sometimes for inputs and household purchases, he has to travel to the Madrassah market located 10 km away from Qasim Key. He makes the trip there on his motorcycle about five or six times per month, with each return journey costing about PKR 80. Specific crop and livestock activities:
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MA owns two acres of land; he uses one and a half acres to grow wheat, and half an acre to grow berseem in the winter and cotton, bajra (pearl millet) and jowar in the summer. Last year, he harvested 32 mounds of wheat, of which he retained 12 mounds, and sold 20 back to the arthi. Because of his credit arrangement with the arthi, he only received a remainder of PKR 2,000 through his wheat sales last year, valued at PKR 23,000, and PKR 5,000 for 12.5 mounds of cotton, valued at approximately PKR 21,875. MA also barters the stored crops (for home consumption) for other household necessities. For six months a year, he barters 2 kg of wheat (valued at PKR 57.5) for PKR 100 worth of vegetables approximately 15 times a month. MA owns seven animals, of which six are cows, two are lactating, one is a male calf reared for sale, and one is a goat. He sells approximately 175 litres of milk a month to the Shakarganj chiller at an average price of PKR 40 a litre, and generates an income of PKR 7,000 per month. The team found that MA’s awareness of how to increase his milk and crop yield was low. When asked how he could increase his milk yields, he said he could do so by increasing the amount of tukray (bread) fed to the animals or by buying a better breed. When asked about nutritious feed, he said that wanda is not good for the animal, as it produces too much heat. In addition, he also lacks access to a vet who can treat and vaccinate his animals regularly. He does not vaccinate his animals as private vets usually administer vaccinations, who charge a high price of PKR 500 for per visit. When asked if he attended the training on farmer practices conducted at the Shakarganj milk collection centre, he said he did, but his current practices do not reflect knowledge retention. He also did not have knowledge of the veterinary services available through the FCT. Poverty level: The household has a PPI score of 50, which suggests that the household has a 95 percent probability of falling on the USD 3.75 per day poverty line, and a 73 percent likelihood of falling on the USD 2.50 per day poverty line. MA’s per capita income, however, is USD 0.86 per day, significantly lower than what was suggested by the PPI. One explanation for this is the weightage the Index applies to the ownership of goods, such as TV sets and motorcycles (both owned by MA), typically thought to be purchased when income flexibility exists. Gender dynamics: While MA and Shaheena make decisions through mutual consultation; decisions regarding economic opportunities are mostly made by MA, and household decisions by Shaheena. Both respondents confirmed that they made decisions together ranging from the future of their children to how to spend household income. Shaheena’s day begins at 5 am, and she starts by caring for the animals. She is responsible for giving them water, cutting up fodder for them, and for cleaning around them. Her household chores involve cooking, cleaning, washing clothes and dishes, collecting firewood, making cow-dung patties, and taking
care of her children. She is involved in farm labour twice a year, and she usually leaves her children with her mother-in-law when she needs to work on the farm. According to Shaheena, the only economic opportunities for women are to work on the farm. She mentioned that some women are involved in stitching but do not necessarily generate an income from it, but largely women don’t receive wages for labour in the area. She only works on the farm when it is necessary to do so but otherwise is not involved in work outside of the household. She is usually too busy with her household chores to pursue any other activities or opportunities. She mentioned that no organisation is working in the area, for women or for smallholder farmers, neither did she know of the presence of any microfinance institutions. Aspirations and conclusion: Generally, MA appeared content with his current economic situation, and did not demonstrate a desire to change things drastically. When asked how he could improve his income, he did not have any concrete ideas, only mentioning that he would like to purchase another animal in order to increase his milk yields. Other observations: Qasim Key is a less well-to-do area, owing to its distance from the market, poor access to water, and low soil productivity. While it is only located seven to ten km from a main market, there are no proper roads connecting Qasim Key to it, making it a difficult-to-reach area when it rains. The households seemed a lot more geographically dispersed, as opposed to being densely concentrated, as noticed in other places the team visited. Most houses are constructed of mud and bricks, with few household seen finished with cement. Informal conversations with other members of MA’s household revealed that there is a preference for selling milk to dhodhis in Qasim Key because the rate is fixed and not determined by the amount of fat or the milk’s total solids (% TS) in the milk. Farmers are thus able to obtain higher prices for adulterated milk, which they cannot get when they sell to private-sector chillers. When asked why he does not sell to the dhodhi, MA did not have a concrete reason; it appeared that selling to the chiller was not an arbitrary choice, and was because it was a convenient distance away.
Non-Poor Household Poverty Summary Household Unique Code: SP 04 Interview team names: Fiza Salim, Ali Javaid Who prepared this summary? Ali Javaid
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Table Summary – Quantitative Household Unique Code (e.g., KPK 01, GB 01, SP 01, RS 01)
SP 04
Province
Punjab
District
Sahiwal
Village
103/12-L
Family size (total)
8
Number of family members 13 years old or younger
3
Adult equivalent total (each adult plus each child 13 years or 6.5 younger counted as half an adult) Land size (owned, leased, rented, sharecropped, etc.)
2 acres
Crop yield for crop #1 per year
40
Crop yield for crop #2 per year
32
Crop yield for crop #3 per year
N/A
Crop yield for crop #4 per year
N/A
Dairy yields per day on average (cow and buffalo)
13.9
# of cows and buffalo sold per year
1
# of goats and sheep sold per year
0
Total Annual Gross Income
PKR 702,210
Total Farm (including sales) Expenditure
PKR 200,310
Total Annual Net Income
PKR 501,900
Income per capita (adult equivalent) per day
PKR 212
Cost of food purchased (main items listed) on a monthly basis
PKR 8,000
Household expenses other than food on a monthly basis
PKR 25,200
Total Annual Household Expenses
PKR 489,505
Average expenditure per capita (adult equivalent) per day other 206 than costs of production and marketing PPI score
61
Profile No: Mohammad Bilal, 103/12-L, Sahiwal, Punjab Family and household composition: This is a large household, comprising eight family members; Mohammad Bilal is the effective head of house, his wife Nausheen, his mother, three daughters, aged 1.5, 7 and 11 years, his brother who works in Lahore and his brother’s wife. Mohammad Bilal handles all of the farm-related work including the crops, animal work and milking. Nausheen’s duties are to take care of the house along with her sister-in-law. They both care for the animals such as giving fodder and cleaning the shed. Bilal’s mother sometimes also works on the farm and milks the animals. The animals are tied within the house boundary. There is a strict division of labour for the people of household; outside work is for the men and inside work is for the women. Two of his daughters are studying at the government school, too young to help on the farm or in the household. Bilal has studied up to matriculation. Nausheen in under matriculation and used to teach in a school before her marriage. Bilal inherited the house and two acres of land from his father, and this serves as the source of income for the household. Economic activities: The household’s major income-earning activities are through crops and dairy. The household is poor but not vulnerable to external shocks. He has never borrowed any money from a bank, as taking a loan is a symbol of disrespect in the village. If he has to borrow money, he will go to his sister or brother in law. The household doesn’t suffer from lack of food, even in the lean season. There is money in the house that is not spent effectively because of a lack of enterprise sense and awareness. He has seven dairy animals; two are lactating, producing 13.9 litres on average, out of which he sells 7 litres at PKR 51 per litre through the year, with fluctuations in the yields and prices. As he experiences two dry months per year, during this time he has to rely on income generated from the sale of wheat and cotton to make ends meet. He is also rearing a male calf for the sale at Eid. Along with the dairy animals, he also has seven goats, which he is rearing to sacrifice for home consumption. He has two acres of land on which he is growing wheat (winter crop) for subsistence and sale, and cotton (summer crop) as a cash crop mainly for sale to generate income for the house.
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Bilal has very basic knowledge about cropping as well as dairy farming. He is a traditional farmer, and is not open to new trends and risk taking. He follows the practices of his ancestors. He lacks awareness about animal husbandry and basic productive practices. The area is served by Nestle, and there is a chiller located in the village where he sells his milk. Overall, Nestle does not have a strong extension system, as the focus is limited to large and medium farmers. This lack of access to information and business sense is a reason he is unable to get the most out of his seven animals and two acres of land. Another possibility is that he seems more conservative and not open to entrepreneurship ideas or listening to advice on getting the maximum out of his assets. His lack of openness is partly why he is struggling. Specific crop and livestock activities: Bilal owns two acres of land; he grows wheat on 1.25 acres during winter, mostly for subsistence. The cost of producing 60 mounds of wheat is PKR 30,836 and he is able to obtain PKR 1,250 per mound for his crop valued at PKR 75,000. He kept 40 mounds for household consumption, sold 20 mounds, earning a profit of PKR 11,824, and wheat for the entire year. He didn’t incur any selling cost as he sold it to his sister at PKR 1,250. Bilal grows cotton in the summer season as a cash crop on the same 1.25 acres of land. The cost of producing 40 mounds of cotton is PKR 38,961, and he is able to obtain PKR 1,740 per mound, valued at PKR 69,600. He sold all 40 mounds for a total price of PKR 1,740 to the arthi, incurring commission costs of PKR 2,088, and earned a profit of PKR 28,551. He mentioned that as he did not plant good quality seeds some didn’t germinate, and he could have had more yield from the same land if he had done so. This also affects his cost of production. In addition, he grows fodder on the remaining 0.75 acres of land. In the winter (Nov to April), he grows berseem and jowar, and in summer (May to Oct) he only grows jowar for his animals’ consumption. He noted that the berseem seed is not good quality, reducing the possibility of getting more than six cuts per season to only four. He has seven dairy animals, of which three are cows (one lactating, one female calf and one male calf) and four buffalo (one lactating, two heifers and one female calf). He gets 13.9 litres of milk per day on average and sells it for PKR 51, for a total of PKR 258,749. He keeps 6.9 litres for home consumption for at least ten months in the year (until the animals go dry) and sells 7 litres of milk. During the dry period, he has to buy milk for the household. He has been a dairy farmer for quite a long time, but he has very basic animal husbandry knowledge, resulting in the struggle to make the dairy business profitable. For instance, he has two lactating animals, giving very small quantities of milk, and then bought three small calves. Instead of buying three small calves, he could have bought two good producing animals to give 20 litres milk and started earning more. This indicates Bilal’s lack of awareness and business sense, preventing him from earning more from the animals. He also bought one male calf for PKR 32,000 and reared it for three months before selling it for PKR 52,000. Poverty level:
This household earns a per capita income of PKR 212 (approx. USD 2.12) and has a PPI score of 61. According to the PPI, the household had an 84 percent probability of being at the USD 3.75 poverty line. The analysis suggested that the PPI and per capita income don’t necessarily correlate, even though the per capita income is divided between eight members of the household. Of the household, Bilal is the only man working on the farm and looking after the dairy business. He also owns a smart phone. The structure of the house doesn’t signal extreme poverty. It is a clean, well-constructed brick and cement house with three bedrooms. It also has a cemented patio, a spacious master bedroom with relatively modern furniture (a fancy shelf for crockery, cutlery and some other items such as clocks, a three-seater sofa, and two chairs, in addition to a king-size bed). The façade of the house was also different from other houses in the village; there were some engravings on the outer walls of the house. It has solar panels, functioning fans, an electric fodder-chopping machine, and a lot of space in the middle. The other corner of the house is where the animal shed is.. The daughters, straight from the school, were dressed in clean and ironed uniforms, and both the spouses were neatly dressed as well. 103/12-L is not far from Kassowal city, and Bilal can go on his motorcycle. Nausheen can go whenever she wants on a rikshaw, which costs only PKR 30. Bilal doesn’t allow Nausheen to go to the Ada (local) market in the village, whereas he has given her autonomy to go to Kassowal city market whenever the need arises. Gender dynamics: The team found a strict division of labour within the household, as referred to above. Before her marriage, Nausheen used to work as a teacher at a private school in Sargodha, but she left this job a little while before getting married when her parents passed away. Since being married, she has not revisited the idea of teaching because her husband believes it’s improper for women to work outside the household, as it compromises the respect of the household. Even within the household, Nausheen was not the effective head of household; that role lay with her mother-in-law who resides with them. Most purchasing decisions are made jointly by Bilal and his mother including the purchase of land, animals, household goods, or assets such as a motorcycle. Decisions regarding the crops are usually by Bilal alone, and he sometimes consults his mother. Future decisions regarding their children’s marriages will be made jointly by Bilal and his mother. Responses received by the team were consistent between Bilal and the women of the household. Children’s schooling seemed to be taken as a matter-of-fact decision within the household; in conversation with the women (Nausheen, her sister-in-law and her mother-inlaw) it appeared that the household’s attitude towards education was progressive, where the possibility of children not attending school was not considered. Most of the household chores, including caring for the animals, are divided between Nausheen and her sister-in-law, with their mother-in-law contributing intermittently. Her mother-in-law also informed the team that she does have the freedom of mobility to go work on the farm sometimes, though this freedom does not extend to Nausheen or her sister-in-law. The women typically begin their day at 5 am, and end at 10 pm, during which time they alternate responsibility for the various chores.
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Aspirations and conclusion: Bilal is keen to increase his income. He is going to get some land on lease and believes he can earn more by doing so. He will grow more fodder on the land, and can feed the animals better. Bilal is constrained by lack of finance, but he is not willing to get a loan through a microfinance institute whether it is interest free or not. According to him, getting loan is not respectable. He also doesn’t want to let her wife work in the field with him; he is conservative and doesn’t want his wife to leave the house. Other observations: 103/12-L is only 5 km from the Kassowal market, where people can buy inputs and sell their produce. Household items and common things are available at the ada market in 103/12-L. Farmers normally sell their produce at the ada market. The arthis and beopris from the ada and Kassowal markets can easily reach the village to purchase produce or animals directly from the farms. The land is fertile and water is readily available through tube wells and canals, which is why the yields in this area are quite good. The land-owning farmers in the area are not poor in the same way as those who are landless and work as labourers or on leased land. These farmers are struggling to get out of poverty and are considered extremely poor. Farmers in the Kassowal area are landless with small leased land, or big farmers leasing more than five acres or a very small number are small landholders with one or two acres of leased land. Another observation is the landowning farmers don’t let the women do farm work as compared to the landless farmers, where both genders help each other to improve their incomes. From the discussion with landless farmers, the team learned that when they obtain or lease more than four acres they do not feel the economic need for their wives work on the farm. Women’s work on farms is a signifier of economic need as opposed to a more progressive outlook on women’s agency in choosing to be involved in income generation activities. When economically possible, male head of households prefer to adhere to the social and cultural norms of women not working. The team were initially reluctant to interview this particular household based on the appearance of the house. However, an in-depth conversation revealed that the house was constructed by Bilal’s father – a relatively wealthy farmer − who owned 15 acres of land. His father became very ill, and a lot of the land he owned was sold to pay for his treatment, thus leading to the household’s descent to a lower economic status.
Horticulture Household Poverty Summaries Poor Household Poverty Summary Template Interview team names: Victoria Carter and Jawad Khan Who prepared this summary? Jawad Khan Table Summary – Quantitative Household Unique Code (e.g., KPK 01, GB 01, SP 01, RS 01)
RS 03
Name of male or female head of household
Abbas
Mobile phone number
0301-3571730
Province
Sindh
District
Tando Allahyar
Village
Kallar Shakh
Family size (total)
11
Number of family members 13 years old or younger
5
Adult equivalent total (each adult plus each child 13 years or 8.5 younger counted as half an adult) Land size (owned, leased, rented, sharecropped, etc.)
3
Crop yield for crop #1 (mound per acre)
500
Crop yield for crop #2 per year (mound per acre)
0
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Crop yield for crop #3 per year (mound per acre)
0
Crop yield for crop #4 per year (mound per acre)
0
Dairy yields (litre per cow day on average)
0
# of cows and buffalo sold per year
0
# of goats and sheep sold per year
0
Total Annual Gross Income
PKR 481,433
Total Farm (including sales) Expenditure
PKR 149,250
Total Annual Net Income
PKR 332,183.3333
Income per capita (adult equivalent) per day
PKR 107.0695676
Cost of food purchased (main items listed) on a monthly basis
PKR 15000
Household expenses other than food on a monthly basis
PKR 90,000
Total Annual Household Expenses
PKR 280,500
Average expenditure per capita (adult equivalent) per day other PKR 90.4109589 than costs of production and marketing PPI score
26
Profile No: Abbas Baloch, Kallar Shakh, Tando Allahyar, Sindh Family and household composition: Abbas’s village is near Usman Shah Huri, a small town in Tando Allahyar. He lives in a compound with his parents, cousins and three brothers. He has five brothers, of which one has moved to Iran with his family for better opportunities and one works on separate land. The remaining three brothers pool in their finances to run a family of nine people, which includes Abbas, his wife Aziza and five children all aged under thirteen and the wives of his brothers Hayat and Farooq. Hayat and Farooq are not based in the village and live in Karachi where they run a small shop and work as unskilled labour.
The father, Dad Rahim, disabled and living with their mother in the same compound, supported by the five brothers. However, Abbas, Hayat and Farooq have a different kitchen and manage the expenses of that kitchen together without any financial support from the remaining two brothers. Aziza had their fifth child six months ago and the remaining four children go to a public school near the village. Two of his children have a skin disease and can’t go out in the sun. Hayat and Farooq do not have children; both of their wives have had miscarriages and the babies died at birth. The household head, Abbas, studied at an agricultural university for a Bachelor of Science in crop protection for three years but was not able to complete the degree due to financial constraints. Economic activities: Abbas sharecrops on three acres of land owned by his uncle. He grows banana on all three acres, as he believes that he would not be able to run the household with crops such as cotton or sugarcane. He says that the income from six-month crops is not sufficient. In addition to sharecropping on the land, Abbas works on other people’s farms for daily wages. This he is able to do twice a week, which earns him PKR 600−700 every week. Abbas also had access to eight acres of land on a sharecropping basis, which the landowner sold five months previously. Abbas was given PKR 250,000 for the standing crops of sugarcane and cotton when the sale was carried out. Hayat and Farooq send PKR 5,000−6,000 home each month for household expenses. The money, received by their wives, is spent on the total household expenses. In addition to this, Farooq’s wife gets a sum of PKR 4,500 every four months from the Benazir Income Support Program, which is a government cash-handout programme. The village is located near an irrigation canal with good access to water. The land is fertile and provides good output for the farmers. Abbas used to have agricultural savings however, expensive medical bills used much of his savings. A flood in 2010 destroyed the crops and put the households in the region in difficult financial conditions. The household doesn’t have any livestock as it doesn’t want to dedicate any land for fodder. The family buys milk as opposed to the common culture of dairy production in rural areas. This household’s is unique in several ways. While the brother in Iran doesn’t support the family any more, the household receives remittances from the brothers in Karachi and obtained a significant sum for the crops on the eight acres of land sold; hence it could afford to invest more than a year to wait for the banana crop. The village is located in an area with sugarcane and banana as predominant crops; both crops take typically more than a year to grow. This would suggest that smaller, especially landless farmers would not be able to grow these and wait that long for the returns; however, as this household has alternate sources of income (brothers in the city) it was able to invest that time. Banana is grown on a sharecropping basis. The sharecropping arrangement between the household and the landowner was that the costs related to land preparation and labour were borne by the
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sharecropper, whereas, the cost related to irrigation were solely borne by the landowner. The costs of inputs were shared by the landowner and the sharecropper on a 50/50 basis, costs which are invested by the landlord but deducted when the crop is sold. The banana crop earns the household a sum of PKR 50,000 – PKR 70,000 from one acre of land in one year, compared to household SP 02, which also earned PKR 60,000 – 70,000 per acre of land even after having high yields for the vegetables. A major difference is that the banana crop also allows SP 03 to work on other farms and earn an additional PKR 20,000-24,000 per year. It enables the sharecropper to manage more land and hence have a higher income. Specific crop and livestock activities: The landowner’s sale of the eight acres gave the household PKR 250,000 for the cotton and sugarcane crops they had grown. This was a lump sum, the sharecropper’s share, in consideration of the crops’ potential market value. The household has used the remaining three acres of land for almost two years and the banana trees have started producing. In the initial stages for eight months, the banana rhizomes don’t take a lot of space on the land, so the household intercropped it with cotton and mustard crops to help cover the expenses of the banana crop. The net income from these crops was PKR 25,000 each; however, this was not included in the calculations of per capita income as the income was received more than a year ago. The household had received five months of income from the banana when the interview was conducted. The costs associated with banana production range from PKR 140,000 to PKR 150,000 per acre and the household had only recovered a sum of PKR 108,000 from the produce. For the whole year, the household expects to receive PKR 300,000−400,000 per acre. The profit is then to be shared by the sharecropper and the landowner equally. The household mentioned that there were new varieties of banana that could increase their revenue by 50 percent; however, those were not available when they planted the rhizomes. The varieties developed have higher yields but the associated costs are higher as well. Poverty level: The per capita income of the household is PKR 107 and the PPI score of 26 suggests that there is a 48 percent chance of the household being below the poverty line of $ 1.25 a day. The household is currently below the poverty line due to the sudden sale of the land it sharecropped and the expenses it had to incur with the banana crop. Abbas has expectations of increasing the income from the banana crop, though the dependence on one crop also increases the vulnerability of the household. If the crop encounters a virus, which is common in the area, the household has high chances of going further below the poverty line. A large part of the family’s expenditure goes on medical expenses for the children with the skin disease. The household spent PKR 300,000−400,000 on the medical bills over the span of three to four years. This has significantly affected the household’s ability to reinvest in agriculture.
The household seems to be doing okay because of its ability to obtain credit to invest in agriculture. The household goes through a difficult time in June and July when the demand for agricultural labour decreases as during that period little is done in the fields. This also is the time when the banana crop doesn’t produce. During this period, the household gets credit from the shopkeepers for household expenses. The household doesn’t own a TV or a fridge, but shares a fridge with the cousins that live in the same compound. The household has a computer, a cement roof and some basic furniture such as an old sofa set. Hand pumps are used for household water needs and there is no sewage system in the area. The house is 6 km away from the market and they have to travel every second day to buy household items and food. The roads are in a bad condition; however, Abbas gets a lift from his cousin who has a motorcycle and a shop in the market. Gender dynamics: The women in the household were bold and present during the interview. The women didn’t work in the fields, and instead spent most of the time doing household work. They got to rest for three to four hours during the day and then slept for eight hours in the night. The women are not active economically other than stitching clothes for themselves. The girls in the household have limited opportunities. The male household members send them to a girls-only school and there is only one such school in the area, which doesn’t go beyond secondary education. The household aspired for the boys to provide them with higher education and considered it culturally unacceptable to provide the same opportunities to the girls. The women − both married and unmarried − are able to go to markets to shop for clothing and things for themselves. If there is a wedding in the area, the women decide the amount to gift to that family. Men also seek women’s input regarding the purchase of household items, food and livestock purchases. However, there is no such input from women regarding farm items or other business decisions, such as leasing a land. During the gender interview, both the men and women of the household were present and the relationship between the two wasn’t subservient in nature. The answers given by the men were carefully chosen so as not to create any disagreement; however, the men have strong opinions on economic opportunities for women, their work outside the house and the schooling of the girls. Other observations: The household had several examples from the area of people moving out of poverty and earning considerably more by leasing land and sharecropping in the area. One such example was of a person who had only an acre of land previously and has now more than 50 acres..
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Average Household Poverty Summary Template Household Unique Code: GB 06 Interview team names: Aimen Butt, Priyanka Rajani Who prepared this summary? Priyanka Rajani Table Summary – Quantitative Household Unique Code (e.g., KPK 01, GB 01, SP 01, RS 01)
GB 06
Province
GB
District
Upper Hunza
Village
Khyber
Family size (total)
6
Number of family members 13 years old or younger
1
Adult equivalent total (each adult plus each child 13 years or 5.5 younger counted as half an adult) Land size (owned, leased, rented, sharecropped, etc.)
0.75
Crop yield for crop #1 per year
12 mounds per acre
Crop yield for crop #2 per year
90 mounds per acre
Crop yield for crop #3 per year
0.125 mound per acre
Crop yield for crop #4 per year
0.5 mound per tree
Dairy yields per day on average
730
# of cows and buffalo sold per year
0
# of goats and sheep sold per year
0
Total Annual Gross Income
PKR 552,400
Total Farm (including sales) Expenditure
PKR 6,604
Total Annual Net Income
PKR 545,796
Income per capita (adult equivalent) per day
PKR 271.9
Cost of food purchased (main items listed) on a monthly basis
PKR 8,000
Household expenses other than food on a monthly basis
PKR 114,090
Total Annual Household Expenses
PKR 401,490
Average expenditure per capita (adult equivalent) per day other PKR 200 than costs of production and marketing PPI score
58
Profile No: Bibi Makhdum, Khyber, Upper Hunza, GB Family and household composition: This HH is medium sized with six family members. The family consists of Bibi Makhdum, her husband, their son and daughter-in-law, an unmarried daughter and a grandson. Bibi Makhdum is not educated and her husband had worked as a porter in the tourism sector all his life. Bibi Makhdum’s daughter-in-law studied until class five. Two daughters who had previously lived with this family have married in the past few years. One of the married daughters had started studying in Islamabad before she fell sick and received treatment. By that time the HH didn’t have sufficient income to let her continue her education. She was married soon after her recovery. Economic activities: The family has obtained multiple loans in the recent past: a loan of PKR 150,000 from a microfinance bank was to pay off food bills at the local store and pay for a daughter’s marriage. This amount has a 13 percent interest rate attached. The HH feels this is too high for their means. An additional loan was taken from the local committee saving group, amounting to PKR 50,000 with an additional 14 percent interest rate for the unmarried sister’s appendix operation last year. To the time of the interview, the HH had not obtained loans for agricultural activities.
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The family’s 0.5 acres of land is currently cultivable while the rest is fertile land with wild trees and a few fruit trees. The family has not yet cultivated that plot of land. Major expenditure for the HH includes health and food-related purchases. Education was a major cost at the time the three daughters were studying but as two got married and one dropped out, this expense is no longer included. The HH savings have also been spent on education and marriage-related expenses in the past few years. Since this time, the HH feels they usually don’t have enough money to meet their basic needs. Even then, there aren’t times in year when they have to go hungry. The community support system and shopkeepers that give food items on credit are a major reason for this around GB. The main source of income for the HH is the son’s wage paying job, followed by the agricultural activity; it helps to reduce costs but has been bringing no major income in the past few years. Specific crop and livestock activities: The major crops grown are wheat, potato, apple and apricot. Fodder for animals is also grown on the HH’s own land and most produce is kept for HH use. A major proportion of the land grows wheat and with the land route to Lower Hunza expected to open this year, the HH is growing more potato for sale. Heavy rain during the drying stage damaged more than 50 percent of the apricot crop harvested. Apple yields were low due to heavy rainfall at the flowering stage and post-harvest, around 0.25 mounds of the crop was gifted to relatives. Wheat and potato had no wastages. Costs of cultivation are higher for wheat and potato as the HH rents a tractor to plough the land. Households in this region don’t have to pay an additional water fee each year and no pesticides are used on their land. All the fertiliser is made at home. The HH identified the major constraints in agriculture as prices offered by traders in the area. The high cost of transportation for traders in the past few years means that growers are offered prices that don’t give a good return on time or money investments. The HH has one cow, five sheep and four chickens. The HH bought the chickens the previous year. One calf didn’t survive the winter and three sheep were killed by cheetahs around the grazing pasture where the HH sends animals for a few months each year. The dairy yields are higher for this HH. Most HHs spoke of an average of 1 litre each day while this HH had 2 litres per day. This is most likely because the calf is not present to drink the milk each day. The HH paid a PKR 500 mating fee for the cow last year. The animals sent to the grazing pastures (mostly sheep) cost PKR 72 per animal per season. Another problem highlighted by the HH is that of seed. Potato yields in past years have decreased; an agriculture company provided seed around eight years ago, and since then most people have been purchasing seed from their communities. This seed has been giving lower yields of crop each year.
Poverty level: The HH feels that overall income (from agriculture and other sources) has gone down in the past few years. This is primarily because return on potatoes (the only major cash crop in the region) went down after the formation by a huge landslide in 2010 of the Attabad Lake and the Bibi Makhdum’s husband retired around the same time. The HH’s PPI score is 58 in keeping with the per capita income of PKR 271. The expenditure per person for this HH is lower than its income at PKR 200. This change is primarily due to the HH not intending to return the loans due this year. The HH farming activity is mainly subsistence until income from potato sales starts to flow in. Apart from the daughters not getting an opportunity to complete their education, the HH seems generally okay. If potato sales are good, it might be possible to start saving money for the grandson’s education. The major assets the family own include the three sheep, each worth approximately PKR 13,000. If these had been sold off, the family could have taken fewer loans and the daughters could have completed their education − this choice wasn’t made. Access to water and electricity is good in this area. Drinking water requires a yearly fee of PKR 72 and the HH has access to the son’s mobile phone. Gender dynamics: Bibi Makhdum handles the family income, with most decisions made by the HH as a unit. The males and females are comfortable interacting with each other. The interview had to be conducted while the family was on the land planting seed potatoes, working together with the help of a relative. Decisions regarding what crops to grow or what animals to rear are made by the mother and son combined. He plays an active part since he earns the main source of income for the HH. No females work outside the home in this HH and a major reason for this is their lack of education. Two females from the household were sent across the lake for around six months to complete training in embroidery but they haven’t been able to earn income through this skill, mainly due to not being able to find an embroidery machine. Aspirations and conclusion: To sell their potatoes and the females would like to work on embroidery machines to earn additional income. Plans to educate the youngest generation of the family seem solid and the son seems to be working towards that goal.
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Apart from a health catastrophe and discounting the loan, this HH should be okay with their income from the son’s job and additional income from agriculture. Income and expenditure would be more manageable in that case. Other observations: It is rare for HHs in GB to take their children out of school due to financial constraints. This is one of the rare cases of the accruement of loans for health and marriage purposes, but not for education. The unmarried sister currently remains out of school and plans to re-enrol if financial conditions allow. This is also interesting considering the family owned five sheep worth a total of PKR 65,000 at the time they faced severe financial constraints. In GB, meetings at the local community centre enforce the need for education and this family is not actively involved in the community network, which could be a reason for this decision-making. The son seems to be managing the entire HH for himself while looking out for his son’s educational interests. His wife has no clear aspirations or plans to contribute to the family income at this time, apart from her involvement in agriculture.
Non-Poor Household Poverty Summary Template Household Unique Code: KPK 01 Interview team names: Amna Awan and Saiful Muhammad Who prepared this summary? Amna Awan and Saiful Muhammad Table Summary – Quantitative Household Unique Code
KPK 01
Province
KPK
District
Nowshera
Village
Mahla Iraq Abad, Akora Khattak
Family size (total)
16
Number of family members 13 years old or younger
9
Adult equivalent total (each adult plus each child 13 years or 11.5 younger counted as half an adult) Land size (owned, leased, rented, sharecropped, etc.)
2
Crop yield for crop #1 per year
450
Crop yield for crop #2 per year
750
Crop yield for crop #3 per year
200
Crop yield for crop #4 per year
600
Dairy yields per day on average
0
# of cows and buffalo sold per year
0
# of goats and sheep sold per year
0
Total Annual Gross Income
PKR 638,720
Total Farm (including sales) Expenditure
PKR 210,317
Total Annual Net Income
PKR 428,403
Income per capita (adult equivalent) per day
PKR 102
Cost of food purchased (main items listed) on a monthly basis
PKR 18,400
Household expenses other than food on a monthly basis
PKR 120,000
Total Annual Household Expenses
PKR 345,240
Average expenditure per capita (adult equivalent) per day other PKR 82 than costs of production and marketing PPI score
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66
Profile No: Mian Faridullah Shah, Mahla Iraq Abad, Nowshera, KPK Family and household composition: This is a large joint family of seven adults and six children between age 5 and 13. There are also three children under the age of 5 years. Three brothers are living together with their wives and children in one house. The mother is non-functioning family head and most decisions are made by the eldest brother. The second brother had an accident four years ago resulting in major leg surgery so cannot work. The youngest brother helps the driver of the family’s newly purchased Mazda mini-truck; manages the truck income and; is learning to drive. The elder brother’s friend is sharecropping with the family on a 50−50 percent share basis, thus bears the cost of inputs and gets a 50 percent share of the produce. He does not pay any additional amount for the land he shares. It makes sense to involve him in the economic activities as he was smart, better at communicating, better at making calculations, and had innovative ideas for taking the business forward. The family has typical and traditional Pathan cultural norms. The women do most of the housework while the men work outside the house. The male head and his sharecropping friend do all the farm work. The wife of the family head went to school and passed matriculation. She is fluent is Urdu. Four children used to go to private school, but the family could not afford their school fees. They were admitted to a government school last year. Economic activities: The family is mostly dependent on farming, their primary source of income. The family owns two acres land. They started growing tomato and cucumber in a plastic tunnel using bamboo sticks, increasing their production. Tomato production in a tunnel is three times higher than the conventional method. The cost of a high tunnel for one kanal (1/8th of an acre) is PKR 60000 and the bamboo lasts for three years. The family does the high tunnel for five kanals of tomatoes. They also do a low tunnel for one kanal of tomatoes, which costs PKR 4000 per kanal. This total cost of PKR 304,000 is divided over three years and two partners, giving an expense of PKR 52,730 for this year. The land is productive and provides better yields but prices are not stable. The farm is close to the main road and market access is easy. The family bought a mini-truck by selling a piece of their land. The mini-truck is used to transport vegetables from the family farm to the market and for other farmers in the area. The transportation work is mostly for three months and, when the vegetable season ends, there is not much work for the truck. The wife of the family head also sews clothes for money. She usually sews two dresses per week and contributes to the family income. Dealers provide inputs on credit and the family returns the money after the sale of their crop. They also borrow money from the arthi. The amount cannot exceed the value of crop grown and the farmers sell
the produce to the arthi. Although there are banks in the area, the family is against borrowing money from a bank due to the interest payments. The family grows tomato, cucumber, squash and cauliflower. Cauliflowers are grown during winter while the land for other vegetables is divided based on their income potential. The ground water quality is good but the cost of pumping it is high. The family head attended a couple seminars on better vegetable production that were conducted by a government department and they apply the practices learned. Specific crop and livestock activities: The family grows four major vegetables on their farm. Out of the two acres, tomatoes are grown on 0.75 acre, cucumbers on 1 acre and squash on 0.25 acre during summer while in winter cauliflower is grown across the whole land. Most of the tomato grows under plastic for an increased yield. They have planted cucumber on 1 kanal, the total production was unknown (at the time of the interview), yet their production from traditional practices is 56 tonnes per acre. The yield and earnings from squash are low and the production is 8 tonnes per acre. 8,000 cauliflowers are planted per acre that provides a yield of 24 tonnes. The prices are unstable and one year they could not sell their crop due to very low prices. Cucumber and tomatoes provide more profit and the family spends the income earned on food items. Vegetable seeds are expensive but are easily available in the Akora Khattak market, which is only 3 km away. The family’s net share value from the total vegetable production is PKR 334,515 from tomato, cucumber and cauliflower. Squash is not a profitable crop for the family. It should be noted that as the friend is a 50−50 partner in all expenses and revenues related to vegetable farming, the costs have been split in half, and the output quantities have been split in half. However, the actual yields have been recorded in the Excel sheet, as have been the actual prices. The family has one cow and she is not lactating. She is 16 years old and the family has decided to sacrifice her and give the meat to people. Poverty level: Per capita income is PKR 102, which means the family has roughly a 20 percent chance of being below the poverty line. PPI is 66, which means there is only 1 percent probability of this family being below the $1.25 poverty line. The PPI may not be representative in this case as the wife of the male head is educated, and they have access to basic amenities, but their farming activities and the large number of people in the family do not result in a high per capita income. The family is hovering close to the poverty line. They made major expenditure in their tunnel farming this year, which drives up farming costs immediately and drives up yields more gradually. The income will be higher next year. The family also shifted their children from private to public schools, which reduced their expenses at the time of
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conducting this study. At the same time, the purchase of the Mazda vehicle drove up family income. A combination of these factors explains why this family hovers close to the poverty line. The family purchases most food items; wheat constitutes a major purchase. Their own farm provides them with some of the vegetables but for only six months. The family enjoys access to basic amenities, such as electricity, gas, sewerage, so appears to be doing well, by virtue of their location. Market access is easy. Akora Khattak market is only 3 km away, or a 15-minute walk away. They can buy or sell anything here though speciality inputs may have to be purchased from Peshawar. Schools for kids are also located close by. Gender segregation is severe. Women do not work outside the house. Even though the wife of the elder brother appears to be smart, she does not participate in household decisions. Medical expenses are a major component of household expenditure, as one of the brothers became handicapped, and the mother is very sick and old. The brother was working in a garments factory in Lahore before he was injured while visiting home. This represented a major loss of income for the family. The family was also affected by the floods in 2010 when the Kabul River overflowed its banks. Farming output for that year was lost, and it takes some time before income can be restored. Other people in the area suffered because of the spread of diseases in their livestock herd. Gender dynamics: The wife of the eldest brother is educated; however, she has little decision-making power. Her husband controls the income and is responsible for the well-being of his younger brothers. All the members of the household go to him with their demands and he decides on the allocation of funds. He consults with his brothers and his very old mother. Household savings are saved by the old mother-in-law, but her health and age do not allow her to make real decisions. Two out of three daughters-in-law earn their own income by stitching other people’s clothes, and make around PKR 375 per week (they do two to three suits per week for PKR 150 each). They retain this money and are free to spend it on clothing, etc. The men did not mention this. The neighbours come to the house and place orders, and then collect the final product. Women do not do any work outside the house, not even harvesting or animal husbandry, as the men do it. The women stay indoors and perform household chores, shared by two daughters-in-law, as the third daughter-in-law is very newly married. They also need to care for their sick mother-in-law. The women find some time for rest in the afternoon. They do stitching in their spare time. Nobody watches TV even though there is one. The elder brother has four daughters, three of whom attend school (the youngest one is too young).
Financing options are not available for women. The sewing machines were part of a dowry. The married women can move together as a group on their own to go to nearby markets or relatives’ places. However, the unmarried girls cannot go anywhere on their own without a male blood relative. Aspirations and conclusion: The family wanted to educate their children at private school but could not afford to. There was the intent to provide higher education for their daughters. The elder brother’s friend wants to try innovative farming practices such as green sheets and pipes in his tunnel farms. They will also buy a dairy animal in the future. The brother who owns the Mazda has a driver currently but is also learning to drive himself. If they have funds, the elder brother and his dynamic friend want to open up a car-wash business. Other observations: There was a strong bias against borrowing from banks owing to interest payments.
Leather Household Poverty Summaries Poor Household Poverty Summary Template Interview team names: Amna Awan, Zahra Mir Who prepared this summary? Amna Awan Table Summary – Quantitative Household Unique Code (UL) UL 02 Province Punjab District Kasur Location Deena Naath Family size (total) 6 Number of family members 13 years old or younger 3 Adult equivalent total (each adult plus each child 13 years or 4.5 younger counted as half an adult) Type of worker (permanent, contractual, home-based) Permanent
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Function of worker (stitching, cutting) Annual income of leather factory worker Annual income from non-leather related wage-paying job Annual income from microenterprise Annual income from other sources for HH Total Annual Net Income per HH Income per capita (adult equivalent) per day Proportion of HH income contributed by leather factory worker Cost of food purchased (main items listed) on an annual basis Household expenses other than food on an annual basis Total Annual Household Expenses Average expenditure per capita (adult equivalent) per day other than costs of production PPI score
Stitcher PKR 153,000 0 0 PKR 198,000 PKR 351,000 PKR 214 44% PKR 72,000 89,200 PKR 161,200 PKR 98 73
Profile No: Zeb-un -Nisa, Deena Naath, Kasur, Punjab Family and household composition: This is a family of two parents, with a son and three daughters under 13 years: Thus, the adult equivalent size is 4.5 family members. The family − originally from Chishtian in Southern Punjab − migrated to Deena Naath in search of better opportunities. Both the mother and the father work. The mother, a leather factory worker, is the primary respondent, and the father drives a rickshaw. They currently live in a rented house in the village at the Adda, so it is in a good location. It is close to the factory, the main road, transportation, the grocery stores, and the school. The mother went to school until second grade and she had to discontinue as her father died. The male head of the household is not educated. The son is 11 years old but does not attend school, as he experiences difficulties talking. Otherwise, he seems happy and friendly. The second and third daughters, aged 8 and 13 respectively, both attend a private school nearby, as the government school, though cheap, is far away. The eldest sister started working in the factory with her mother as a helper. However, two months ago, she fractured her leg in a road accident so is currently on sick leave. Economic activities: The father drives a rickshaw and earns around PKR 9,000−12,000 per month. He spends PKR 1,000 on fuel and maintenance. The wife reported that his income has been declining owing to a number of new
competitors around. The wife earns around PKR 13,000. The mother was joined in the factory by her eldest daughter who was earning PKR 6,000 as a helper. The house is rented, but in a good location. The family has open space to sit and keep their sheep, which are looked after by the son. The house is equipped with a television, fridge, etc. along with a rickshaw. The rickshaw was purchase from the woman’s savings. When they got married, the man used to deal in scrap while they were living in Southern Punjab. She used to stitch clothes at home. However, the husband was not performing well, so they decided to move to Lahore. Here the woman joined a textile factory, leading a group of 25 women, as a stitching supervisor. However, she was not happy with the contractor, the payment terms, the environment, and the work conditions (too much fibre in the air). She convinced the group to leave that factory, and they all then went to different places. The woman started as a helper at Footlib. In the meanwhile, her husband was selling ice to factories, working day and night. He switched to driving a rented rickshaw, which resulted in a drop in income. The woman pools her savings in the form of a committee saving group. She was aware of a bank nearby, but said she prefers her committee system to a bank. These are short duration committees of two to four months, as these are in the factory, and people do not trust other workers with their money for a long time. The committee allowed them to purchase a new rickshaw and put money towards building their house in Southern Punjab. Her savings are also helping them construct a house in their homeland. The same savings also go to making items for their daughters’ marriages. She can also get an advance on her salary from her factory. There is an institution in the area offering loans for females, but she is not sure of the details. The woman was working for the sake of her children’s education, but while her income has increased over the years, her husband’s income has been declining. The woman seems intent on sending her children to school. Though her husband was less keen, she convinced him. She said that they have little control over the circumstances their children may have to face when they grow up, so it is best to be prepared. Specific leather work: The mother works as a C-grade stitcher, the level above a helper. She does machine stitching as well as other support tasks such as folding, etc. She joined eight years ago as a helper and after a year progressed to C grade. A relative’s friend told her of this position. Prior to this, she was working in a textile factory. However, the payments were not timely and the thread and cotton fibre in the air made the workers fall sick. This problem of health hazards came up in other interviews as well. The rest of the factories are farther away, closer to Lahore, in the Sunder Industrial Estate and beyond, so Footlib was an obvious preference. She is not looking for work anywhere else.
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In order to get this job, education was desirable but not necessary; she got the job even though she did not matriculate. She also had experience hand but not machine stitching. She works six days a week, 8.5 hours a day. Overtime is possible five or six days a week when a major shipment is due. She then works until 7 or 8 pm at double the salary. She earns around PKR 13,000 a month, at the rate of PKR 450 per day. She gets salary, in cash, on the 15th of every month with no major issues or delays. She gets, in addition to the government holidays, 11 casual leave days and 11 sick leave days. She may also get a few more, if she applies, in case of necessity. Her daughter is getting two months of time off because of her fracture. All these days off are paid for by the company. She thinks people may get 10 days off for getting married. The different kind of skills − lasting, cutting, etc. − all pay the same rate per day. She wants to work more and earn more. She started applying latex and progressed to stitching on a machine. In the meanwhile, her salary grew from PKR 7,000 to PKR 13,000. All the training she received was on-the-job: she learned new tasks ongoing from other workers on the factory floor. She said people learn more tasks and skills related to their own line, such as stitching or cutting, but do not switch to other lines. She has not seen someone from cutting move to lasting. She has a male supervisor and the workplace conditions are fine: There are fans, fire extinguishers, first aid kits, etc. There is no danger in the kind of work she does. If she can learn working on the two-needle machine used by men, she can earn more money. She gets several benefits. The company registers and provides every employee with the government’s pension card, as well as the social security card (which allows access to free medicines and treatment) at a government hospital. Also the company raises pay when the government raises minimum wage. Her place of work is very close to her home so it takes her only ten minutes when her husband takes her on his rickshaw. She can get an advance on her salary from the factory if needed and it is deducted from future salary payments in easy instalments. Her daughter works at entry level but currently has an injury. She is a stitching helper and makes around PKR 6,000. Her mother told her employer of her accident and, as a result, she is getting full salary for her two months off along with support for medicines and treatment. The mother thought that it is important to speak up and voice her concerns to get them accepted, and this is how she was able to secure this benefit. Poverty level: The HH’s PPI is 73, which is quite decent. The PPI is high because of the following reasons: The mother is educated; they have access to basic amenities, such as running water; they own assets such as television, refrigerator, a vehicle, etc.
The per capita income is PKR 214 per day (or USD 2.06 a day). Thus, the household has only 0.4 percent probability of falling below the $1.25 poverty line and the 100 percent National Poverty Line. However, it has a 26.8 percent probability of falling below the $2.5 poverty line, 31.7 percent probability of falling below the 200 percent National Poverty Line and 67.1 percent probability of falling below the $3.75 poverty line. These measures indicate that the household is not performing badly. The house is spacious, though it needed repairs, and it appeared to be functional, and decent. The location is quite nice, being close to the Adda. Their expenses have increased since they moved from Chishtian to Lahore. This includes fodder, food, house rent, rickshaw expenses, electricity bills, school fees, clothing, and trips to Faisalabad, where the woman’s sister lives. The woman is much more dynamic than is her husband. She takes responsibility, comes up with solutions to problems and is more confident in her communication style. Gender dynamics: WORK At Footlib, the women work on a mixed production floor (both men and women present), though they have their meals separately. She said there is a slightly different rate of around PKR 100 per day between men and women. That is because women work on single needle machines, while men work on double needle machines that require more pressure as well as better eyesight. She does not remember any woman getting days off for a marriage or pregnancy; such a need did not arise. One woman who got married left the job and moved away with her husband. She said the women working in the factory are eager to return home as soon as the shift ends. She said that they once had a female supervisor who was well educated but she could not survive for long. That was because she had not risen within the ranks so she lacked technical knowledge. Further, the women find it difficult to talk to fellow male workers, so they take longer to learn skills. Finally, the women would find it difficult to supervise men, and they would be scared of harassment from the subordinate men. She said she does not believe that women are less competent or that they cannot learn certain skills. She felt she must be comfortable working in a mixed production facility before she could bring her daughter to work on the same floor. She has taught stitching to other female relatives. HOUSEHOLD The mother is main earner and saver for the family. While her income has increased over the years, that of her husband has decreased. She is also responsible for the housework while the husband does not help her with these tasks.
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She gets up at dawn, says her prayers, cooks food (breakfast and lunch) and leaves for the factory. She returns from the factory in the evening to carry out the remaining household tasks. The children are busy and unable to help with the household tasks. She hardly gets any time to herself for leisure, or watching television. She also does shopping for the family. Mostly she goes out with her husband but can also go out alone if need be. The grocery store is right next to her house. Her daughters go to school by themselves, as the school is one minute away. They pay more fees at a private school only because the government school is far away and then it will be difficult for the girls to travel alone. The daughters go to other places only when accompanied by one of the parents. Decision making is joint on all matters, with the woman being very empowered, knowledgeable, wellinformed and articulate about what choices she makes and why. She can even offer economic analysis for some of their choices. On the issue of girls’ schooling, the man was more reluctant, but she persuaded him, and he now seems to be on board with the idea. She is also in charge of savings. The reason is that most of their regular expenditure is firstly the responsibility of the man. On the other hand, most of the woman’s income is saved. The daughters and son all appeared to be happy and confident, and the youngest daughter seemed excited about doing her homework and displaying her notebook to all. Aspirations and conclusion: At the factory, the woman wants to learn more skills and earn more She is helping her husband build a house in her native homeland in Chishtian, supplying her committee savings for that. Her dream is to be able to return her native area, where she will run her business of stitching clothes from home. She wants her son to recover fully, so that he can attend school. She wants her daughters to get a good education so that they can have a safe future where they can look after themselves if needed. Other observations: The woman lost her father when she was in second grade. She then left school and started carpet weaving, which she continued for eight years. Hers was a family of three sisters and three brothers in all. The result of her carpet-weaving income is that her younger sister and younger brother were both able to complete their education until matriculation. She is clearly a very strong woman. After she found a husband who is not that dynamic, she helped him move from one city to another, and one job to another (scrap work, ice sales, rickshaw driving). She supplies her savings to meet important household needs such as the purchase of a rickshaw or the construction of a house.
She is the main breadwinner. Her son is ill and her daughter was injured, but she is still trying to face all her problems with courage and optimism. She was also very lively and friendly, and generously kept on offering western food from a nearby eatery.
Average Household Poverty Summary Template Household Unique Code: US 02 Interview team names: Momina Saqib and Jawad Khan Who prepared this summary? Jawad Khan Table Summary – Quantitative Household Unique Code (e.g. US/UL)
US 02
Province
Punjab
District
Sialkot
Location
Rasool Pur Bali
Family size (total)
7
Number of family members 13 years old or younger
3
Adult equivalent total (each adult plus each child 13 years or 5.5 younger counted as half an adult) Type of worker (permanent, contractual, home-based)
Home-based
Function of worker (stitching, cutting)
Stitcher
Annual income from leather factory worker
PKR 22,500
Annual income from non-leather related wage-paying job
PKR 3,200
Annual income from microenterprise
0
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Annual income from other sources for HH
0
Total Annual Net Income per HH
PKR 308,400
Income per capita (adult equivalent) per day
PKR 153.6239103
Cost of food purchased (main items listed) on an annual basis
PKR 192,000
Household expenses other food on an annual basis
PKR 56,200
Total Annual Household Expenses
PKR 248,200
Average expenditure per capita (adult equivalent) per day other PKR 139.1781 than costs of production PPI score
54
Profile No: Saeed Masih, Rasul Pur Bali, Sialkot, Punjab Family and household composition: Saeed Masih and his wife Sheeda live with their four children Naina, Mahwish, Zaraab and Shahroz. Sheeda’s sister, who is ill, also lives with the family. Saeed supports his mother occasionally, but his mother also gets support from Saeed’s other brothers. Three of Saeed’s children are below the age of 13 and all his children go to a government school in the village. The government school charges a nominal amount per child and provides books free of cost to the students. Sheeda’s sister requires constant care, which has made Saeed to work from home. Sheeda works at people’s houses as a cleaner to support the household income, as Saeed doesn’t give a consistent contribution to run the household and she says he keeps some of the money for himself. Economic activities: Their house is in a small compound with one larger room where everyone sleeps and a smaller room to keep the household items. One small room in the compound is dedicated to the leather stitching work with two machines for Saeed and his partner to work together. One generator is placed outside the small room to run the machines in case of electricity load-shedding which happens quite often. Saeed makes PKR 22,000- PKR 25,000 each month from the leather gloves he stitches. He also works as a gardener on Sundays at the village head’s house and earns PKR 1,000 each month for that. Saeed
stitches the leather gloves for a contractor on a piece rate basis. For this work, he had taken a sum of PKR 150,000 as an advance from the contractor to build the rooms for his family. Saeed also knows how to paint and takes occasional jobs painting houses. Such work does not add to the total income of the household; instead, it is substitute work for Saeed when he becomes tired of sitting in one place and stitching. Sheeda works as a cleaner at two people’s houses, working two hours each day for which she earns PKR 1,200 from one household and PKR 1,000 from the other one. Specific leather work: Saeed has been working in the leather sector for the past 20 years. He started as a helper in one of the factories and remained in that factory for eight years before starting his home-based work. Saeed stitches mechanics gloves and is able to stitch any leather product if a sample is shared with him. He gets the work from one of the contractors on a piece rate of PKR 90 for 12 pairs of gloves and he manages to stitch 250 pairs in a month. The contractor takes the orders from factories and then passes them on to Saeed. The contractor provides Saeed with the equipment needed to stitch the gloves, such as scissors, thread and solution. The stitching machine is Saeed’s and he bears the electricity costs. The contractor pays Saeed on a weekly basis. Sheeda helps Saeed with sorting the already stitched leather gloves or putting the different sections of the gloves together. Saeed thinks that the piece rate paid to him is PKR 40 less than what the contractor gets from the factory. However, he doesn’t want to start working for a different contractor as he would have to return the PKR 150,000 advance that he has taken (of which he has returned only PKR 25,000 in eight years). In addition, Saeed also thinks that his contractor is helpful when he needs money. If a piece goes bad, there are no costs upon Saeed, instead the contractor bears the losses; however, it very rarely happens. Saeed also attempted to develop an alternate business and supply gloves to the local market directly. He made gloves to be sold in Lahore; however, as it requires investing in the leather and accessories he couldn’t continue the work. Saeed chose to work from home is because of his ill sister-in-law for whom he contributes taking care. He wouldn’t want to work on a salaried basis as that provides lower income than the piece rate. Poverty level: The household is entrepreneurial; however, it is unable to grow due to the high investment costs associated with expanding the business and lack of access to finance. The household has a per capita income of PKR 153.6 and a per capita expenditure of 139.2. The main household expense is food, which takes the major portion of the per capita expenditure, and the main income source is stitching. Even though the numbers suggest that the household has some savings,
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which doesn’t seem to be the case, the household struggles to meet its expenses. There seems to be a possibility of the male household head spending on other items without the knowledge of the female head of household as the Sheeda thinks that Saeed doesn’t share all his income. The household’s PPI score of 54 may not represent the true state of poverty, as it includes a motorcycle as a major indicator of the household’s level of poverty. In this case, Saeed was not able to buy the motorbike or the sewing machine on his own; instead, it was dowry, brought by Sheeda. The sewing machine has helped the household have a steady income but the ownership of a motorbike doesn’t reflect the income levels. The household seems generally okay with assets such as a large generator to support the machines. The household, however, doesn’t seem dynamic as the income and expenditure are very close to each other and the household finds it difficult to access finance to invest in buying more machines. Lack of savings and lack of access to finance limits the household from becoming upwardly mobile. The HH has a closed well for drinking water; has access to electricity, a school in the area for children; Saeed also has a mobile phone; the house is built of red bricks and cement. The condition of the house is generally worse than the houses in the surrounding area. This is a Christian household and the community lives at the back of a seemingly wealthy village. People from the community supplement their income by working in the village houses. The difference between the state of housing and road in front of the village is significantly better than the state of the infrastructure in the part of the village where the Christian community lives. The village is far away from the main industrial area, which acts as a major constraint for the women to work, even though both women and men are sufficiently willing to do so. Gender dynamics: The household perceptions about working women are quite different to the mainstream perceptions. The constraint for women to work is access to opportunities instead of social attitudes towards women who are working (both home-based and outside the house). The household belongs to a religious minority in the area, which seems to be the contributing factor in a more open perception. The female head of the household was vocal about the things in front of the male head of household. However, she also mentioned that the male head is short tempered and she is not able to work with him a lot. The access to jobs, skills training and finance is much higher for men as compared to women, for whom they are almost non-existent. Even though the household considers it acceptable for women to work outside the house, nevertheless, the leather sector in Sialkot is not generally receptive. Sheeda not only manages the housework but also works outside the house as a cleaner to support the household income. She is also more educated than Saeed as she went to school until the eighth grade.
The role of women in the household seems much more egalitarian if compared to the dynamics of the area, where women are rarely allowed to leave the houses. The male head of household said that he contributes to almost all activities in the household, such as cooking and cleaning, but doesn’t help taking care of the kids. Saeed also said that he gives all his income to his wife Sheeda, then takes money from her to spend on himself, such as buying cigarettes. Aspirations and conclusion: Saeed hopes to have more machines to increase his income but thinks he can’t because of the lack of finance. He can take machines from the contractor to increase his work; however, the piece rate he will get after that will be quite low and he thinks that would not make it feasible for him to continue. Both Saeed and Sheeda hope that their children would be able to study. Saeed thinks that he shouldn’t be spending so much sending his children to private schools as it won’t make a lot of difference to how the children learn. The household is highly indebted to the contractor and that acts as a constraint for them to change the contractor for a better piece rate. If the household is unable to repay the amount and Saeed chooses to work for another contractor, they fear that the police may arrest him.
Non-Poor Household Poverty Summary Template Household Unique Code: US 03 Interview team names: Momina Saqib and Jawad Khan Who prepared this summary? Momina Saqib Table Summary – Quantitative Household Unique Code (e.g. US/UL)
US 03
Province
Punjab
District
Sialkot
Location
Sialkot city
Family size (total)
11
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Number of family members 13 years old or younger
3
Adult equivalent total (each adult plus each child 13 years or younger counted as half an adult) 9.5 Type of worker (permanent, contractual, home-based)
Permanent
Function of worker (stitching, cutting)
Cutter
Annual income from leather factory worker
PKR 130,000
Annual income from non-leather related wage-paying job
0
Annual income from microenterprise
0
Annual income from other sources for HH
PKR 10,000
Total Annual Net Income per HH
PKR 1,680,000
Income per capita (adult equivalent) per day
PKR 484.498919
Cost of food purchased (main items listed) on an annual basis
PKR 600,000
Household expenses other than food on an annual basis
PKR 240,000
Total Annual Household Expenses
PKR 840,000
Average expenditure per capita (adult equivalent) per day other than costs of production PKR 242.249459 PPI score
94
Profile No: M Liaquat, Sialkot City, Punjab Family and household composition: Liaquat’s household comprises his mother, wife, one daughter, two sons, their wives, and three young children. Fayaz is Liaquat’s eldest son and he, with his father, works at a shoe factory. His father is the cutting contractor for the factory, whereas the son works as one of the cutters.
One of the sons immigrated to Italy, so he no longer lives with the family. The household is still supporting his wife and children, though. One of Liaqat’s son and one daughter passed away a year ago in separate incidents. His daughter was studying at college and his son used to work as a cutter in the same factory as his father and the elder brother. Economic activities: The household is very entrepreneurial. The father works as a contractor in a factory but also leases agricultural land to have additional income. The main family income comes from the employment of Liaquat and his son’s (Fayaz) employment at Sigma shoe factory as cutters. Additional income comes from three acres of agricultural land. Liaquat mostly takes care of cultivation and the household owns 9.5 kanals, the rest is on lease. The household also has two buffalo and one cow – giving 10 litres of milk daily. Half the milk is drunk at home; the rest is sold to neighbours. The family is investing money in buying plots in the city, and their investments have been gaining value steadily. Specific leather work: Liaquat started leather work after he married, because his brother-in-law was also involved in this work. Initially he found work in a factory in Multan, which he did for a few years. The family remained in Sialkot and Liaquat would send back money. The household was not very prosperous at that time. Subsequently, he was able to move back to Sialkot and find factory employment there as a cutter. He has taught the cutting craft to his two sons and nephews as well, who are all employed in this sector. Liaquat has been working for Sigma shoes since the enterprise started. He is on very good terms with the owner. Liaquat sets his own hours at the job – and works according to his schedule. He earns a commission on the work done by the people he trains. He is able to earn PKR 90,000 – 100,000 from his job. He can also easily obtain a loan from the owner, as they have a good trust-based relationship. Fayaz is one of the cutters working with Sigma and he works under a contractor as well. He joined the trade through his father and started his with the factory eight years ago. He started as a helper earning PKR 7,000 per month and continued to do so for two years before becoming a cutter. He works eleven hours each day six days a week and works for seven to eight hours every second Saturday (the day he is paid). He thinks that the work is sufficient for him and helps him earn a decent income; the work requires a lot more manual labour and technicality than the stitching work. As the position pays twice a month compared to once the month payment of the stitchers and his average income is higher. Fayaz gets PKR 16 for each piece and manages to cut 80 pieces in each day. This gives him a monthly income of PKR 26,000-30,000 each month.
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One brother is trying to find employment as a cutter in the shoe industry in Italy. So far, he has not been successful as he went there informally and did not have legal papers. He only recently obtained papers and started working. Poverty level: The household has successfully transitioned out of poverty, moving towards a stable middle-class life. The household struggled when their only source of income was land and during the early days when Liaquat was working in Multan. They have been successful because Liaquat was good at his craft and was able to move up the ranks at Sigma shoes. Now he earns a stable income and acts as the head cutter (contractor), with several cutters working under him. He gets a commission for all the leather cut in the factory for 15,000 to 20,000 pairs of shoes. His sons also have the skills required to be cutters. Fayaz is not yet earning as much as Liaquat because he does not have a lot of experience. However, he is hopeful that their income from leather cutting work will continue to grow. The family used to live in a house adjacent to the factory where there was a lot of noise. The factory bought the space from them five years ago and they used that money and other savings to construct a house in a residential neighbourhood within Sialkot city. The house they lived in was built over 10 marlas – the structure had two stories, with space at the back for dairy animals. The house was clean, open and airy. The furniture was new and in good condition. The household had appliances such as LCD television, refrigerator, washing machines, etc. Liaquat’s brother lives in the house next door, and his family was able to transition out of poverty as well through working in the leather sector as a cutter. The lifestyle of the household has also been shifting gradually. For instance, the family used to cook with dung fuel until a few months before the interview. However, the daughter-in-law was not happy with that, so they started buying gas cylinders. As the family settles into middle class life, its sensibilities are shifting a little bit as well. Liaquat’s wife and mother were not educated, but his sons’ wives received an education. The wives considered employment outside the house unnecessary and even undesirable, but Liaquat’s youngest daughter is studying in tenth grade. She intends to study and work as a doctor – which seemed acceptable to the family. In contrast, Fayaz has only studied to tenth grade – after which he started working as a cutter. The grandchildren were all young, but the family anticipates they will go to school and not have to work in a factory. The PPI score seems accurate, as the family is able to satisfy all their needs and still have some savings. Major expenses are on food, utilities, clothes and social obligations. The family was hesitant to discuss their expenditure details but they were emphatic that they had enough for their needs, and that their household was thriving.
Gender dynamics: The figurehead of the family is Liaquat’s mother, who is very old, but practically, Liaquat made most household spending decisions. Liaquat’s wife was not very vocal about household matters and deferred to the authority of her husband and mother-in-law. When Liaquat inherited agricultural land from his father, it was divided only between the brothers and not the sisters. It will be the same for the next generation because Liaquat will pass on the land to his own sons. The two daughters-in-law brought in furniture and appliances as dowry and the family will give a substantial dowry to their daughter when she gets married. Work outside the house was not considered appropriate – though that did not seem to be imposed by anyone, more the larger cultural preference. However, as noted above, attitudes are shifting within the family towards prestigious middle class professions, especially that of a doctor for women. That was considered appropriate for the daughter. The family did not observe strict segregation between the sexes; the daughter was able to interact with male visitors to the household. The women were also mobile, travelling around on rikshaws, etc., to visit family and for household errands. As the leatherwork was considerably lucrative for the male members of the household, it has allowed the female members to concentrate on education. This suggests a more dynamic future for the female members whom have not been accepted or expected to earn a living or support the family in the past. Aspirations and conclusion: Liaquat dreams that he and his sons can open up their own enterprise. They have all the necessary skills, but the investment would be a lot as stitching machines for shoes cost up to PKR. 90,000. They would need other machines as well, requiring them to invest their life savings. Setting up their own enterprise was not considered feasible until they could access export orders on their own – or if they did it in partnership with an investor and they brought in their skills and expertise. Other observations: Liaquat and his wife lost one daughter to cholera when she was 18 and a son when he was 21 in a car accident. The family still seems quite affected by the losses. The parents were hesitant to let their son migrate to Italy, because they want their children to live with them. The son insisted on leaving even while they were living comfortably.
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