Jharkhand State has been depicted as Extremely Food Insecure State in the Food Insecurity Map of Rural India. During the last few decades, it had been observed that every year a large number of families from different villages of Garhwa district migrate to the neighbouring states such as U.P, Bihar, M.P, Punjab, and Haryana at regular interval to earn their livelihoods.
According to the 2001 census the total population of Garhwa is 1,033,236 and 95% of the total population lives in rural areas. Recurrent drought results in surplus labour supply, slump in the wage rates and starvation deaths. In-depth discussions and regular interactions with the migrants reveal that they are migrating not because of attractive wage or but because, they have no other options to survive in their native areas.
The migration rate is alarming in the district. 50-60% of total families in rural areas migrate outside the state for a period of 6 to 8 months in a year to earn their livelihoods. Findings of field studies revealed that most of migrating families belong to landless, dalits (untouchables) and tribes. Women with their children migrate to nearby Bihar state as agricultural labourers to work on paddy fields. They are exploited by middle persons who pay less and inequitable labour wages. This has resulted in total exploitation and they are trapped in vicious circle with uncertainty in food availability through out the year.
The migrant women are not able to even get benefits from the programs implemented in their villages due to their frequent absence. This situation provides an opportunity to middlemen and unscrupulous officials to corner the benefits meant for the poor.
Migrant women families are denied of poverty family status, voting rights, their rights to common properties and resources, micro-credit, excluded from food security system of government and voting rights. Their local identity is at stake. Migration is contributing for perpetuation of child labour system, denial of education and health facilities.
Absence of strong and viable Self-Help Groups, Cooperatives, Forums or Organizations have further aggravated the problems. They have neither institutional mechanism nor resources nor skill to add value to their produce and ensure direct access to market. Absence of networking, lobby and advocacy for the cause of migrants especially for the women in the regional, state, national and international levels made their position weak and they were not able to influence government for suitable intervention.
The project, therefore, addresses the unstable and uncertain livelihood and persistent food insecurity among women migrant families in Garhwa District of Jharkhand State, India.