Livelihood Promotions In North-East India: Issues And Challenges

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The book "Livelihood Promotions in North-East India. Issues and Challenges" covers the issues of livelihood promotions in the region. Livelihood promotions goes beyond generating income and employment. It incorporates the means and access to resources, opportunities and the conditions under which a person or group of persons are meaningfully occupied in a sustainable manner and with dignity. Thus, understanding of livelihood opportunities for the people, their socio-economic institutions under which they work, the institutional supports and interventions that have affected the different economic sectors and consequently, how the households and the society have adopted to various livelihood strategies are all equally important. This book deals with the various aspects of livelihood options and promotional issues at macro and micro levels in North-East Region in India.

B. KILANGLA JAMIR (b. 1966) is presently working as professor and Head, Department of Economics, Nagaland University, Lumami. She obtained M.A, Ph.D from North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Meghalaya. She is guiding Ph.D scholars and involve in Research under minor and major projects. She has published several articles in reputed journals and organised conference in the department. She is involved in preparation of State Human Development report of Nagaland. She is specialised in Agricultural Economics, Developmental and Environmental Economics. She is a life member of many professional associations of economics and other women based NGOs.

GIRIBABU M. (b. 1975) had a distinguished academic record in Economics in Nagaland University after which he received M.Phil and Ph.D degrees from Hyderabad Central University, Hyderabad. He had wide experience in the field of Agricultural Economics and Developmental Economics. He ha contributed more than twenty research articles to prestigious journals and presented papers in many national and international seminars, conferences and delivered lecturers in various academic programmemes. He is guiding Ph.D scholars and involve in research in different projects. He is also life member of various reputed associations like Indian Economic Association, Indian Society of Labour Economics, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics and Indian Society of Agricultural Marketing.

Livelihood entails 'means of living or of supporting life. In its simplest sense, it comprises the capabilities, assets and activities required for a means of living. It can be said as sustainable when it cope with and recover from stress and shocks, maintain or enhance its capabilities and create assets and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for now and the future generation. The issues of livelihood have been extensively discussed among academics and development practitioners. Livelihood promotion is about the improvement of the choice or the series of livelihood opportunities which are open to the poor people and to make these opportunities more accessible to the poor. Livelihood promotion goes beyond generating income and employment. It means a condition where a person or a group of persons are meaningfully occupied in a sustainable manner and with dignity. The strategies adopted by households for livelihood generation differs from region to region depending upon the factor and demand conditions existing in that particular area, and thus contextual. However, in most cases, the households would have a mix of activities, also called honey bee activities, in order to ensure that the variety of risks like seasonality of income, price fluctuations, disasters, etc. are taken care of and the income streams are 'smoothened' This is true for the poor who have much less capabilities and access to resources.

An understanding of livelihood options practised by the households, their socio-economic institutional settings under which they work, particularly households from the rural, hilly, poor and remote areas in the North-East Region would throw light on the intervention strategies to be taken up for the region. Despite large interventions by government in livelihood promotion, households have been making decisions on livelihoods which have been following the demand conditions and matching the ability of the households to invest. For example, millions of youth from North-East Region in rural areas have been joining up small jobs in the growing service industries in the metropolitan cities of India and even other continents. These are providing the much needed cash to the households which are in perennial need of it. Similarly, the MGNREGA interventions of providing cash for work seem to have affected the supply of agricultural labourers in the farms. In other I words, how these various interventions affected the different economic sectors and consequently how have households adopted the various livelihood strategies in light of the interventions would be interesting area to understand.

The authors in this book have focus on different dimensions of livelihood issues of north-eastern region and the individual states as well, highlighting evidences and contextual problems confronting the people in the region. The discussions in the subsequent chapters are based on both secondary and primary sources of information, thus provides valid base for planners in formulating policy options for promotion of sustainable livelihood in the region. Most of these papers are presented and discussed during the 12th NEEA Conference, held on 9th and 10th November, 2010 at Nagaland University, Lumami.

Nirmala Devi and Dipendra Kr. Sarmah in their paper "Issues of livelihood Promotion in North-East India" expressed the role and significance of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP) which is also known as minor forest product, is the most important source livelihood for people living in the hilly areas in North-East India through generating adequate employment and income. The study reveals that NTFP have number of advantages for people in the entire North-east India. They often involve a diversity of products, which are generally seasonal in nature providing food and supplementary income often during periods of food shortage. As well, the NTFPs are labour intensive, require simple technologies, provide direct benefits to the local people, and most importantly, generating employment and income, protecting natural environment as well as ecological balance. There is a bright scope for developing small scale enterprises based on NTFPS such as food processing, oil processing, weaving, paper, handicraft, medicinal-aromatic plants based industries and nursery etc. in the region. The study concludes that for development of such industries government should come.

Sustainable Livelihood is a route through time and space, and refers to consequences of altering ways in which individuals make a living. Livelihood studies were brought to the centre stage of development studies in the late 1990s and the beginning of the new millennium, especially with the UN. Declaration of Millennium Development Goals. It concerns with capabilities, assets, access and activities that provides for means of living. A sustainable livelihood is one, which can withstand various stresses and shocks towards providing and continue to provide livelihood opportunities over time and generations.

Strategies for sustainable livelihood are complex, diverse and dynamic; entrenched in the make-up required for socio-economic organisations and governed by institutions such as, land in ownership systems, credit in government policies and financial institutions, and wages and prices determined by supply and demand in the market and government regulation etc. The wider framework is considered to be crucial for various policies and interventions intended on creating opportunities; as well as reducing constraints in these structures would enable the poor to organise effective livelihood strategies. Its effectiveness would determine the extent of vulnerability and well-being of the people at large and thus sustainability of their livelihood.

Therefore, notions like claims and accesses are considered to be the keys in achieving sustainable livelihood, pointing at the possibility for assistance and access to resources and their effective utilisation. The process will convert stakeholders from endowment to entitlement. The livelihood approach has been developed into a critical tool that provides a way to understand not only the nature of poverty but also the link between different aspects influencing people's livelihood. Further, the considerations of different sections of population including gender difference have remained to be an important concern affecting the very level of well-being of individuals having important policy implications.

This book addresses the varied issues of livelihood, and therefore, will be an essential tool for students, research scholars, academicians, government officials and policy makers. It is expected that the publication will play an important role in understanding the basic issues in enhancing livelihood opportunities and well-being of the people in the North-East Region of the country.

**Contents and Sample Pages**