LANSA / PIDE - Synergy or trade-off between agri growth & nutrition: women’s work & care

1. 05 December 2014 Synergy or trade-off between agri growth & nutrition: women’s work & care Mysbah Balagamwala, Haris Gazdar & Hussain Bux Mallah © Collective for Social Science Research

2. Overview of presentation •Setting the context •Research framework •Research objectives and methodology •Empirical findings •Analysis and conclusion © Collective for Social Science Research

3. Research context •Agricultural growth matters Key sector in terms of output Important as a source of livelihood •Nutrition is an important indicator of well-being •What are the implications of growth: linkages between agriculture and nutrition? Can be simple and intuitive or more complex and less examined •Findings part of an on-going larger research study © Collective for Social Science Research

4. Context: Undernutrition in Pakistan •High prevalence of undernutrition among women and children without improvement NNS 2001 NNS 2011 Children under 5 years Stunting 42% 44% Wasting 14% 15% Underweight 32% 32% Mothers (non-pregnant) Anaemia 29% 50% Source: National Nutrition Survey 2011 © Collective for Social Science Research

5. Agriculture and nutrition pathways (Gillespie et al., 2012) Agricultural growth Nutrition outcomes Food production Food consumption Private income Expenditure on „pro-nutrition‟ goods & services •Agriculture as a source of food •Agriculture as a source of income •Spent on food •Spent on „pro-nutrition‟ goods & services © Collective for Social Science Research

6. Agriculture and nutrition pathways – women‟s work in agriculture Agricultural growth Nutrition outcomes Women‟s employment Expenditure on „pro-nutrition‟ goods & services Care practices Energy expenditure •Increased decision making– more-pro-nutrition expenditure •Reduces time available for care •Increases her energy expenditure & affects her health •Evidence mixed and limited © Collective for Social Science Research

7. Context: Feminisation of agriculture in Pakistan? •Three-fourths of female labour force employed in agriculture •Proportion of women working in agriculture increasing Year Labour force participation rate (%) Labour force employed in agriculture (%) Male Female Male Female 2001 – 02 82.7 16.2 37.2 64.5 2003 – 04 82.7 18 37.0 66.6 2007 – 08 82.4 21.8 35.3 73.8 2010 – 11 81.9 24.4 34.7 74.2 2012 – 13 81.1 24.3 32.9 74.9 Source: Pakistan Employment Trends, 2013 © Collective for Social Science Research

8. Context: Undernutrition and occupation •Women working in agriculture tend to be thinner than those working in non-agriculture •Children whose mothers work in agriculture tend have worse nutrition indicators than those working in non-agriculture Mother‟s occupation Child stunted Child wasted Mother underweight Not working 42% 11% 11% Agriculture 52% 13% 29% Non-Agriculture 48% 8% 17% Total 44% 11% 14% Source: Authors‟ calculations based on Pakistan DHS 2012-13 © Collective for Social Science Research

9. Care, work & empowerment •“Care is the provision in the household and the community of time, attention and support to meet physical, mental and social needs of the growing child and other household members” (Engle et al., 1999) •Pregnancy •Breastfeeding and complementary feeding •Hygiene •Health-seeking •Psychosocial •Not just time – time AND resources •Care practices have figured prominently in the literature but care-time missing © Collective for Social Science Research

10. Nutrition production function (based on Behrman & Deolalikar, 1988) •Output – Nutritional status (anthropometrics) as a source of well-being •Intermediate outputs act as inputs – ante-natal and post- natal care, healthcare, feeding practices, WASH •Intermediate outputs determined by „inputs‟ – income/consumption, care time, care ability, norms, public goods •On a margin, household has control over income and care time and must choose between them i.e. jointly determined •Modified labour supply function •Factors determining optimal choice: assets, women‟s decision-making, income opportunities for women, norms and agency © Collective for Social Science Research

11. Empirical approach – research objectives •Explore pathways and implications of nutrition production function (joint determination) •How men and women understand choices and trade-offs with respect to income and care •Gendered norms in work and care – implications •Labour arrangements, technologies, interventions, and their implications, particularly in seeing change © Collective for Social Science Research

12. Methodology •Focus on cotton-growing regions in mainstream canal- irrigated areas •Sanghar – largest cotton-growing district in Sindh •Badin – mixed cropping pattern; cotton production recent •Why cotton? •Importance of cotton in Pakistan‟s economy •Women‟s role in cotton harvesting almost exclusive •Qualitative methods •Purposive selection of informants done on the basis of gender, occupation, socio-economic status, caste/religion/ethnicity •Questions around: •annual agricultural cycle, organisation of labour in agriculture, technological changes in agriculture •identifying norms and behaviour with respect to childcare, healthcare and the use of women‟s income © Collective for Social Science Research

13. Sites selected •Mainstream canal-irrigated areas with two-crop annual cycle •Cotton-wheat, rice-wheat, sugarcane, fodder •Unequal land ownership – landlessness, some large land holdings •Self-cultivation, share-cropping, farm labour, non-farm employment •Social structures dominated by kinship group-based communities and hierarchies; religious minority •Prevalence of various „fragility‟ related issues •Different levels of physical and social infrastructure •Road access, health facilities, LHWs, cash transfer programme •Technological change, intervention and shock •New seed varieties, land grants programme, flood © Collective for Social Science Research

14. Gendered work & economic agency •Work •Men‟s work: land preparation, water management, fertilizer/pesticide application •Women‟s work: cotton harvesting, vegetable picking, fodder (mostly women) •Mixed work: other harvesting, transplanting, weeding •Economic agency •Remuneration: grain, cash, household or individual •Resources: land - men, livestock-can be individual •Market access: mostly men, women‟s limited autonomous interaction with markets © Collective for Social Science Research

15. Cotton harvesting •Seen exclusively as women‟s work •Rivayat, aib, exceptions underline rule •Differences between regions in strength of norm •Seasonal: July to November •4-6 rounds of picking, 8-12 day interval, 8am to 5pm •Sanghar: cotton region •Widespread: various labour arrangements, including „jamadar‟ contractor •Choice: work or not, if work then full day, all season, little choice for sharecropper families •Badin: mixed region with some cotton •Less demand for labour, more flexible arrangements •Income •Up to 25,000 rupees in a season •Lower in Badin •Different levels of agency •Choice and agency •Correlated with class, caste, labour arrangements •Constraint (majboori), earning opportunity, and something extra (shauq) •Income: Lifeline, extra consumption, savings © Collective for Social Science Research

16. Care •Economic and ecological factors •Women‟s health: exposure •Pregnant women •High fertility rates, indications of decline, mixed •Availability and utilisation of antenatal services •Work during pregnancy and after birth •Special treatment triggers •Breastfeeding •General behaviour, norms, resources •Working women‟s constraints: distance, exhaustion, temperature © Collective for Social Science Research

17. Implications for nutrition •Evidence of trade-off between income and care •Time allocation main factor •Key issue: gendered division of work AND care, limited evidence of change in response to household economic constraints/opportunity •Terms of the trade-off vary •Land ownership, tenure, region, prior understanding of care- nutrition relationship •Importance of norms, changes in these or at least in knowledge of norms •Fertility, work during pregnancy and after birth, breastfeeding •Differences between communities with/without exposure to health services •Implications for intermediate inputs •Not clear how final nutritional outcomes impacted – likely to be dominated by other economic and ecological factors – but useful to focus on intermediate inputs © Collective for Social Science Research

18. Conclusions and way forward •Qualitative fieldwork supports outlined model •Care as substantive factor in constrained optimisation behaviour on part of households with respect to well-being •Agri growth to improved nutrition •Not linear or smooth •Gendered division of labour and care can lead to trade-off •Trade-off needs recognition: how can agricultural growth have a greater positive impact on nutrition? •Women‟s empowerment with respect to work-care choices key determinant •What types of changes lead to inclusive AND pro-nutiriton growth? •Cropping patterns allowing working flexibility? •Modifying social protection programmes? •Asset transfer programmes? •Social mobilisation to establish pro- nutrition work/care norms? © Collective for Social Science Research