Alternative Perspectives on Livelihoods, Agriculture and Air Pollution
Dedicated to the village communities of Faridabad and Varanasi, who participated in this study and made it possible.
The present book is the outcome of participatory field research under the project Community Perspectives on Impact of Air Pollution in Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture. The project was funded by DFIDs Environment Research Programme, as part of a larger research project The Impacts and Policy Implications of Air Pollution on Crop Yields in Developing Countries of the T H Huxley School at Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine in collaboration with International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London.
First published 2001 by Ashgate Publishing
Reissued 2018 by Routledge
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The present book Alternative Perspectives on Livelihoods, Agriculture and Air Pollution, Agriculture in urban and peri-urban areas in a developing country is the outcome of participatory field research under the project Community Perspectives on Impact of Air Pollution in Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture. The project was funded by DFIDs Environment Research Programme, as part of a larger research project The Impacts and Policy Implications of Air Pollution on Crop Yields in Developing Countries of T H Huxley School at Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine in collaboration with International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London. The project based on participatory field research has led to two volumes on the subject. The present book is the first volume based on synthesis of community perspectives from selected urban and peri-urban villages in Varanasi and Faridabad districts of the Indian States of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, respectively. The second volume written by Amitava Mukherjee is entitled Perspectives on Air Pollution, Crop Yield and Food Security in India, case studies from urban and peri-urban areas. This accompanying volume contains analytical case studies based on community perspectives from selected villages covered by the project.
The farmers perspective is an alternate view on pollution, which is important from their position as primary stakeholders of development. Such views come from their direct field experience and need not necessarily match with the formal or the expert view on the subject. However, it is important to learn about farmers perspectives for any realistic analysis and policy-making and for building micro-macro linkages. The views of the farmers, who are at the cutting edge of such air pollution have been neglected for too long with the scientists views dominating the scene. This has resulted in farmers worldview getting marginalised in the process implying thereby underscoring of the social aspects of air pollution and over-emphasis of the scientific aspects of such a problem.
At present, though impact of air pollution on agriculture is a major concern of the farmers located in and around industrial and urban areas, very little has been written on such a topic. The research on agriculture and air pollution has been concentrated in terms of scientific experiments and expert opinion based on scientists/environmentalists perspectives. Scientific studies show that air pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, fluorine, nitrogen oxide, ozone and particles of dust and soot emanating from urbanisation, industrialisation and vehicular traffic adversely affect agriculture in complex ways. Such air pollution has a major impact on productivity and efficiency of wo/man and nature and pose as serious health hazard leading to higher levels of morbidity, premature mortality and cases of chronic bronchitis and other respiratory infections.
So the issue is how does air pollution impact on lives and livelihoods of those farmers living in such polluted areas. Who can better explain such impact other than those farmers, whose livelihoods are directly dependent on agriculture bordering industrial areas. Since farmers views are never looked upon with credibility and never given priority in conventional development practice there is a big gap between scientists view from the top and the grassroots view from the bottom. The present book and its accompanying volume try to bridge this gap by bringing a range of perspectives on the topic from the grassroots.
The present study has approached the topic of air pollution in a holistic manner in terms of local lives and livelihoods from the perspectives of local communities, in which impact of air pollution on agriculture has been viewed as part of a whole livelihood system. Field results show that many farmers, both women and men, at the periphery of industrialised areas are directly facing the negative externalities of polluted air and many are well aware of such complex impacts though not in terms of our scientific jargons. With polluted air and also water, they are facing new problems in crop production for which they hardly have solutions. With rapid pace of industrialisation and urbanisation they are paying a price through reduction in crop yield, income, health and uncertainties in livelihood including loss of habitat through forcible acquisition of land by government housing agencies against low compensation. Some of them are coping with the situation by means of complementary livelihoods like raising livestock and selling milk in industrial areas while others are facing threatened livelihoods incapacitated by the low compensation for land acquired by the government agencies and absence of effective rehabilitation package. The local farming community covered by this study are under immense stress due to uncertainties that have cropped up in their agricultural practices and productivity; their conditions of living and well being; the stress on health; the land acquired by government in a high handed manner and the lack of state support. Their periodic representations to the government have proved ineffective and their voice has fallen on deaf ears in the face of strong power lobbies for industrialisation.
In order to learn about farmers perspective on impact of air pollution a team of participatory approaches (PA) researchers conducted field research in urban and peri-urban areas of India at Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) and Faridabad (Haryana) during August 1998 to November 1999. Such field research was carried out in selected urban and peri-urban areas of India, in Faridabad (14 villages) and Varanasi (14 villages). Going by scientists criteria, only those villages were selected, which demonstrated different pollutant levels and were close to the sites where scientists were measuring air pollution levels and impact on crops. Such selection was refined and improved upon in consultation with village communities depending on different criteria such as location of village, social composition, size, level of development etc. The fieldwork was geared towards listening to primary stakeholders, in which around 1200 women and men farmers were listened to, of which about half were women.
