The economic and social conditions of Pakistani Basmati Rice Farmers

Sammanfattning: In most developing countries the lack of resources, high costs, and limited diversified income sources are among the major factors that affect small-scale farming households' ability to earn an income, reproduce and be food secure. By using a strategy of income diversification and the use of cash crops in agricultural production can be a resourceful way for a sustainable livelihood and a reduced risk of income variability for small-scale farmers. This study aims to investigate the status of small-scale farming households' economic conditions for earning an income from agricultural production to obtain food security. Including the determinants of basmati rice production for farmers located in the region of Punjab in rural Pakistan. The study is based on a household survey of 152 households conducted by the international help-organization Oxfam in Punjab, Pakistan. The result showed that agricultural production is the main source of income for farmers. The farmers are growing various crops, raising different kinds of livestock, taking seasonal work, providing other farm-related activities, that result in a higher ability to become food secure. The main activity for the male farmers was agricultural and for the female unpaid domestic work. The women spend 4 hours (per day) more on unpaid work than the male farmers spend on agricultural work. 3 percent of the farmers within this study base all their income on basmati rice production. This concludes a low income and with a low purchasing power, a large household size with several individuals dependent in the household. The farmers that only produce basmati rice are less likely to become food secure than the farmers that diversify agricultural production. When it comes to reaching food security for the small-scale farmers of Punjab, Pakistan, the result specifies that for the farmers that based 50 percent or less on basmati-rice production were more likely to be food secure than the farmers that based all of their income from this source. The diversification of farmers' income from agricultural production, several cattle, and the aspect of female household members undertaking paid work made the farmers more secure in case of fluctuation in the market and in case of spoiled harvest.