1

What is the Peri-UrbanInterface?At the outset it is important to define what wemean by the term ‘peri-urban interface’ (PUI).However, it might be easier to start by definingwhat we believe it is not. It is not primarily alocation, although of course, it has a place whereit exists. Thinking of the PUI purely in terms of alocation that can be drawn on a map has led to anumber of misconceptions. It is more appropriateto think of the PUI as a process, rather than aplace. The sorts of misconceptions that arise fromconsidering the PUI to be primarily a location are:

1. For urban specialists (e.g., academics, urbanlocal authorities), it is regarded as havingessentially urban characteristics and isadministered and planned accordingly.

The peri urban interface: A meeting of the rural and the urban

IntroductionRobert Brook and Sangeetha Purushothaman

2. Rural specialists, on the other hand, regardthe PUI as having predominantly ruralcharacteristics, and they likewise treat itas such.

3. The PUI is considered by environmentaliststo be the location which suffers the pollutingeffects of the nearby urban area.

4. For natural resource managers (e.g.,agricultural, livestock, horticultureadministrations), it is a problematic zonewhere buildings and roads encroach onproductive land, farmers change theirproduction systems or even abandonagriculture and where rural certainties nolonger hold true.

11

2

To some extent, each of the above does containsome elements of the features that characterisethe PUI; misconceptions arise when eachspecialist regards their own particular outlook tobe the appropriate one without taking intoconsideration other viewpoints. However, thebiggest misconception which arises from a largelyspatial definition of the peri-urban interface isthat it does not take people into account.

Sometimes the PUI is defined in terms of flowsand interactions; flows of people (e.g., dailyor seasonal commuters, in-migrants), goods(e.g., building materials, agricultural produceinwards, agricultural inputs, hardware andhousehold consumables outwards), finance(e.g., earnings outwards and bank depositsinwards), pollution (solid, liquid and gaseouspollutants generally flowing outwards) and

ideas or knowledge. These arecertainly true, but are still only a partof the whole picture.

Mbiba (2001) summariseddefinitions of the PUI as falling under thefollowing headings: spatial/locational (based ondistance from the city, land use value and useland is put to, and administrative boundaries);temporal (those areas recently absorbed into acity); functional (those areas outside the cityboundary but linked to the city by flows andinteractions); social exclusion (inhabitants ofinformal settlements, or poorly served byinfrastructure and services and so cannot trulybe considered as urban); and conflict (where twoor more systems clash instead of converging andharmonising, maybe agriculture vs builtdevelopment, modern vs subsistence economies,formal vs informal).

It is clear from the foregoing that there is nosingle satisfactory definition of the peri-urban

interface, and moreover, different definitions willprobably apply in different circumstances, andmay even change in the same location over time;for example, as a medium sized city becomes alarge one.

However, few of these definitions explicitlyincorporate the notion of the PUI being a placewhere certain characteristically peri-urbanprocesses take place. So, what is meant by sayingthat the PUI is primarily a process and not aplace? The dominant process that takes place inthe PUI is that people’s livelihoods are changed,often rapidly, as a result of changes in thecircumstances around them driven byurbanisation. Often this change is forced uponpeople as urbanisation overtakes the rural areasin which they live, whilst others adapt willinglyas they embrace the opportunities thaturbanisation affords. Although this book willconsider many effects which at first sight mayappear to have a strong spatial or functionaltheme; cropping and livestock systems, waterresources, land sales, soil degradation; underlyingit all is a recognition that each of these changesaffect someone’s livelihood (often as a result ofpeople’s own decisions), as a consequence ofwhich they have to make choices about how toadapt to new circumstances. Accompanyingthese changes in livelihoods, are severalconcurrent and inter-linked change processes,both in land use and in natural resources.

This is implicit in the description of the PUI bythe Department for International Development(DFID) Natural Resources Systems Programmeas being “...created by urban development. Ruralactivities pre-exist. As urban activities proliferateand grow, linkages relating to them are built fromeither the town or the countryside. These causechanges to existing production systems and

3

create new ones that can affect the poor in urbanand rural areas. Opportunities arise relating toeasy access to markets and services, with readysupplies of labour. Problems arise from shortageof land and risks from pollution and continuedurban growth” (NRSP, 2000).

Nowhere have these processes driven byurbanisation been comprehensivelycharacterised. The aim of the research describedin this volume was to investigate some of theseprocesses and draw them together. The approachwas deliberately multi-disciplinary and with asystems perspective (i.e., the PUI was viewed asa whole, rather than several unlinkedcomponents).

Rationale for ResearchThe global urbanisation rate is 4.5%, comparedto an annual population growth rate of 1.2% (USCensus Bureau, 2000). Even in the least urbanisedcontinents, Asia and Africa, both are expected tobe 54% urban by 2025 (UN, 1995). Nearly allfuture growth in populations will be in LessEconomically Developed Countries (LEDC),projected to be an additional 2 to 3 billion by2050 (depending upon which estimate isaccepted), two thirds of which will be in andaround existing urban centres (Griffon, 2002),mostly peri-urban as new migrants will not easilybe able to find space in already densely populatedcities. Thus, the peri-urban population is expectedto grow rapidly.

There is increasing worldwide concern about theeffects of expanding cities upon the surroundingrural areas, principally, but not exclusively, beingexpressed in terms of degradation of the naturalresource base. In response to this, in 1995, UKDepartment for International Development(DFID) included the peri-urban interface around

medium sizedcities as onesystem tobe investigatedwithin itsR e n e w a b l eNatural Resources Research Strategy. DFIDconducts its natural resources research programmemainly through programmes coming under theRenewable Natural Resource Research Strategy(RNRRS). RNRRS comprises a number ofprogrammes, of which the Natural ResourcesSystems Programme (NRSP) is one. Eachprogramme has to address particular productionsystems, including the peri-urban interface system.A South Asia Scoping Study (project numberR6463), conducted in 1996 in conjunction withIndian key stakeholders, identified Hubli-Dharwad as a suitable location for such research.

More recently, several governments, includingthose of India and the UK, have expressedcommitment to the reduction or eradication ofpoverty. As a consequence, the research emphasishas shifted towards a pro-poor agenda and themanagement of natural resources within thiscontext. Since research began in Hubli-Dharwadin 1997, much data and information have beencollected but nevertheless, critical gaps inknowledge remain, particularly concerningimpact of change upon the poor. The projectdescribed in this volume followed on from aprevious one (project number R7549) whichidentified questions remaining about the PUI thathad to be filled before any projects that soughtto alleviate poverty could be formulated (Brookand Dávila, 2000). The aim of the projectdescribed in this book was to fill identified criticalgaps in knowledge about the PUI, particularly inthe areas of response of farmers in adapting

4

cropping and livestock systems, what producemarketing systems operated, whether thepresence of a large urban area influenced theavailability of ground water in surroundingvillages, some of the factors influencing naturalresource degradation, and how the foregoingchanges affected household livelihood strategies.This study was not an end in itself; it was in factone link in a series, the overall objective beingthe development of natural resourcemanagement and livelihood strategies for theperi-urban area, benefitting the poor, which atthe time of writing is still being implemented.

Background to Hubli-DharwadHubli–Dharwad, located in Karnataka state,southwest India (Figure 1.1), is a conurbationcomprised of the urban areas of Hubli andDharwad which are separated by a distance ofsome 20km. It is 427km north-west of the statecapital, Bangalore, and approximately 600km

south-east of Mumbai (Bombay). The two werebrought together under the Hubli–DharwadMunicipal Corporation (HDMC) in 1962, thusmaking it the third largest urban agglomerationin Karnataka State (after Bangalore and Mysore).“Hubli is the larger city, a centre of commerce, tradeand industry, and also the centre for transportwithin the region, due to its position on road, railand air links with Bangalore and Mumbai, bothimportant centres of trade and industry. Dharwad,to the north west of Hubli, acts as the administrativecentre and hosts the city’s higher educationinstitutions” (Budds with Allen, 1999).

The Hubli–Dharwad city–region is anadministrative area which encompasses bothcities within a wider district comprising fivesurrounding taluks: Dharwad, Hubli, Kalghatgi,Kundgol and Navalgund, which together contain372 villages. In 1991, Hubli-Dharwad had apopulation of 1,428,174 inhabitants, while thatof the city-region was 648,298. The population

Figure 1.1. Study area

5

of the city had grown by the time of the 2001census to 786,018. Hubli-Dharwad ischaracterised by a low population density byIndian standards (3,395.3 inhabitants/km2), yetis experiencing high rates of population growthin some parts of the surrounding area(Universities of Birmingham, Nottingham andWales at Bangor, 1998).

Hubli-Dharwad is located in a predominantlyrural region where agriculture is the principaleconomic activity due to the productive natureof the soils. Within the region there are localdifferences particularly with regard to soil typeand rainfall. The area to the north of the city-region is characterised by medium black soils,south by mixed red and black, west by paddysoils (inceptisols) and east by deep black cottonsoils (vertisols). The rainfall from west to eastdeclines from 1000–650mm whereas north andsouth receive around 700–800mm.

Concerning information about the peri-urbaninterface around Hubli–Dharwad, almost nothingexists at a fine (e.g. village level) resolution. Forexample, there is little information on the level ofpoverty in the Hubli–Dharwad city-region,particularly among smaller-scale farmers in thePUI, nor about the gender dimensions of poverty.In fact, according to Rakodi (1999), there has beenlittle explicit work to date on the impact of peri-urban processes on household livelihoodstrategies, anywhere. There is some, limitedinformation about scheduled castes and tribesaggregated at a taluk (sub-district) level. An initialBaseline Study (project number R6825) in 1997analysed data in five taluks closest to Hubli–Dharwad taken from 1991 census data. It wasfound that only 61,077 (8.6%) of the populationin the five taluks were members of scheduledcastes (who are likely to be poor). Only 23 villages,

6.5% of the villages in these taluks, had over 20%of their population classified as scheduled castesand 12,789 (1.8%) of the population in the fivetaluks were classified as scheduled tribes. Somevillages, however, have higher concentrations ofscheduled castes and tribes than others. However,no work has been conducted on levels of povertyamong these groups, nor has spatial analysis beenconducted at a resolution finer than sub-districts.

Thus, conditions pertaining around Hubli–Dharwad have to be inferred from what is knownelsewhere in India. In an analysis of DFID’scontribution to poverty reduction in India, thefollowing conclusions about the poor in Indiawere made:

➤ Most of the poor are casual workers,particularly rural workers, both agriculturaland non-agricultural. Wage rates are a primedeterminant of poverty.

➤ Within the poor, female-headed householdsand households with large numbers ofchildren, were especially vulnerable.

➤ Scheduled tribes were the most economicallydestitute within the rural population.

➤ Scheduled tribes and castes together had asignificantly higher extent and severity ofpoverty than the population as a whole(Shepherd et al., 1998).

The study also found linkages between incomepoverty reduction and the initial level of femalelabour force participation. It was concluded that:

➤ Where women are part of the waged labourforce, poor households have more workingmembers, may be less vulnerable to shocksand so may be able to take more risks andmake investments.

6

➤ Men are more free to migrate for employment,an important strategy for poor householdsespecially in the remoter areas.

➤ Women, and therefore girl children, may bemore highly valued (Shepherd et al., 1999).

These secondary sources of information informedthe present study, guiding the team in whataspects of livelihoods should be studied.Similarly, there are no data on trends in croppingsystems other than at a taluk or district level, soit is not known to what extent farmers arechanging farming practise to take advantage ofaccessibility of urban markets.

A Brief Overview of the StateStructure in India and HubliDharwadOne aim of this research was to surface issuesparticular to the PUI and evolve an understandingof the policies needed to address these issues.However this implied looking at the differentrural and urban authorities. Thus a brief overviewof existing rural and urban government structuresoperating within Hubli–Dharwad and theirrelationship to the state and central governmentauthorities follows (Figures 1.2 and 1.3).

At the national level broadly speaking are theMinistries for Rural and Urban Developmentunder which are the National Departments. Forinstance, examining the rural administrativestructure under the Ministry of RuralDevelopment, falls the Department of PanchayatiRaj, Government of India at the national level.At the state level, also there is a State Ministryand a state department for Rural Developmentand Panchayati Raj. At the district level, for therural agencies, the three tier panchayati Rajsystem operates at district, block, and village

levels and for the urban, the municipalities andurban development authorities.

In Hubli–Dharwad this system operates asfollows: “There are three levels of governmentadministration present in Hubli–Dharwad inaddition to central government: state, municipal(urban) and rural. The state level comprises theKarnataka State agencies including the TownPlanning Department, the Karnataka IndustrialEstate Development Authority and the KarnatakaPollution Control Board. The two principal bodiesactive at the municipal level are the Hubli–Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) andthe Hubli–Dharwad Urban DevelopmentAuthority (HDUDA). The rural level is governedby the Panchayati Raj (rural local self-government) system, divided into three furthersub-divisions, Zilla Panchayat, Taluka Panchayatand Gram Panchayat” (Budds with Allen, 1999).

“Within the Hubli–Dharwad city–region, theHDUDA takes an urban-oriented, medium tolong term, physical town and country planningapproach, with emphasis on forward (strategic)planning. It is responsible for the planning ofurban areas including areas of urban expansionand takes the stance of accommodating urbangrowth rather than making specific land usedecisions. Each ten years it devises a strategicRegional Development Plan, which appears togive little attention to sustainability of theenvironment. The role of the HDMC is theimplementation of the plans produced byHDUDA”.

“In the rural-oriented three tier Panchayati Rajsystem, the Dharwad Zilla Panchayat (DZP) isprimarily concerned with short-term socio-economic planning and adopts a non-spatialplanning approach, with no attention to land-use

7

decision-making, physical planning orenvironmental concerns. The role of the DZP isto allocate financial resources to specific projectproposals by Village Development Committees atthe Gram Panchayat level (lowest level village

authorities) in accordance with Central and Stategovernment directions” (Budds with Allen, 1999).There is little co-ordination between these variousbodies, and although the 74th Amendment to theIndian Constitution stipulates the setting up of

Figure 1.2 Government Structure: Rural Development

ZillaParishad(District)

TalukPanchayat

(Block)

GramPanchayat(Village)

Panchayati Raj Three – Tier

NationalLevel

DistrictLevel

StateLevel

Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati RajGovernment of India

Department of Rural Developmentand Panchayati Raj

Ministry of Rural Development, State Government

Department of Panchayati Raj

8

District Planning Committees, around Hubli–Dharwad, this has not happened.

How the Research wasConductedEight case study villages were selected accordingto their distance from the cities of Hubli and

Figure 1.3 Government Structure: Urban Development

Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation, Government of India

Department of Urban Development

Urban Development AuthoritiesTown Municipal Council

Urban Development Department, State Government

NationalLevel

StateLevel

DistrictLevel

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Dharwad along four transects (north, east, south,west) upon which the research focused(Table 1.1). Transects radiating out from Dharwadand Hubli were approximately 10km long, butthe exact length was determined by the locationof villages. In each chapter therefore the fourvillages closer to the city (Kelageri, Dasankoppa,Gabbur and Bidnal), along each transect, werecompared to the four further away (Mandihal,Pudakalkatti, Inamveerapur and Shiraguppi)(Table 1.1) This transect approach was used todetermine the spatial effects of urbanisation.Some villages were selected from amongst theirneighbours according to features of particularinterest or impact, such as the presence of aparticular industry (e.g., quarry). Otherwise,villages were selected to try to include as wide arange of variables that may affect livelihoods aspossible, for example, population size, soil typesand various facilities such as transport.

Other sampling patterns were used for twocomponents of the project. For the landtransactions study, the whole of Dharwad andHubli taluks were surveyed, and a sewageirrigated farming systems study concentrated ontransects running along two natural watercourses flowing from Dharwad and Hubli. Thelivestock study also included two further villagessouth of Hubli, Channapur and Varoor.

Survey methods varied with the type ofinformation sought. Although the research teamsubscribed to participatory approaches, thesewere only considered to be relevant in the caseof the livelihood component. Data in most caseswere quantitative, and this determined methodsused. For example, for cropping system transects,crops were mapped along a linear transectwithout directly seeking any information fromfarmers. On the other hand, when croppingsystems were being mapped in villages, a key

Table 1.1 Villages by Transect

Village Distance from Transectthe city (km)

Near villages

Kelageri 5.5 Dharwad west

Dasankoppa 8 Dharwad north

Gabbur 4 Hubli south

Bidnal 3 Hubli east

Distant villages

Mandihal 11 Dharwad west

Pudakalkatti 18 Dharwad north

Inamveerapur 12 Hubli south

Shiraguppi 15 Hubli east

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REFERENCES

Brook, R M and Dávila, J D (eds.). (2000). The Peri-Urban Interface: A Tale of Two Cities. School ofAgricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Wales and Development Planning Unit, UniversityCollege London. 251 + viipp.

Budds, J with Allen, A (1999). Peri-Urban Profiles: Hubli–Dharwad, India. Strategic EnvironmentalPlanning and Management for the Peri-Urban Interface, Development Planning Unit, UniversityCollege London (available from www.ucl.ac.uk/dpu/pui).

Census of India (2001) Geo-Hive, India: Karnataka, Main Cities, Population datahttp://www. Geohive.com/cd link.php?xml=in_29&xsl=spec_reg

Griffon, M (2002). Sustainable Development of Rurban Development Areas is Crucial. The CourierNo 195, November – December 2002, 42 – 43. ACP – EU, Brussels.

Mbiba, B (2001) Introduction: Peri-NET origins, obstacles and options. In: Review of Urban and Peri-Urban Transformation and Livelihoods in East and Southern Africa (Ed. Mbiba, B): pp 1 – 5. Urban andPeri-Urban Research Network, South Bank University, London.

NRSP (2000) Unpublished call for project proposals, HTS Development Ltd., Hemel Hempstead,Herts, UK.

Rakodi, C (1999). Poverty and Wellbeing in the Peri-Urban Interface of Developing Countries. DFID NRSPreport, project PD70.

Shepherd A. with Mehta A K, Herbert A and Slater R (1998). Evaluation of DFID’s Support to PovertyReduction: India Country Study, Country Synthesis. Birmingham: University of Birmingham.

Shepherd, A with R Slater, A K Mehta, A Herbert, A Shah and M Senapaty (1999). Evaluation of DFID’sSupport to Poverty Reduction: India Country Study. Birmingham: School of Public Policy, University ofBirmingham.

Universities of Birmingham, Nottingham and Wales at Bangor, (1998). Baseline Study and IntroductoryWorkshop for Hubli-Dharwad City-Region, Karnataka, India, Final Technical Report, DFID Project R6825,Volume 1, 128 pp.

UN. (2001). World Population Prospects: The 2000 Revision. Population Division, Department of Economicand Social Affairs, United Nations, New York

US Census Bureau, (2000). World Population Growth Rate, 1950 – 2050. US Census Bureau InternationalDatabase.

informant, the Village Accountant (known locallyas the ‘Walikar’) was used. For cropping patterns,four further villages along the same transectswere chosen for the purpose of comparison withthe peri-urban villages, Palikoppa, Umachagi,Kalle and Kogilgeri villages. The livestock surveyused extensive, formal interviews, and the landtransaction study required the transcribing ofdetails of thousands of land sales from registers

held in the Hubli and Dharwad Land RegistryOffices. For the livelihoods component, foursocio-economic categories were determined bya participatory wealth ranking procedure. Eighthouseholds per village were selected from eachof the eight villages, and semi-structuredinterviews were conducted with thesehouseholds concerning their livelihood strategiesand options.

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Introduction

The peri-urban interface is characterised byrapid land use changes. This chapter discussesthe nature of land use in the peri-urban contextwhile simultaneously contrasting it to land usein urban and rural areas. It discusses the effectsof urbanisation such as the growth of urbaninfrastructure like roads and by-passes on landtransactions contextualising these changeswithin the dynamics of urbanisation andconcurrent speculation. The article examinesthe effects of the development of roads on landuse, seen here as directly l inked tourbanisation. Finally the need for new typesof policies which address land use in the peri-urban areas is posited.

Illegal settlements

Need for Land Use PlanningConsidering the increasing demand for food

production, it is an essential task to promote

optimum land use and its conservation, given

the different types of uses in India’s land

resources and the resulting need for

resettlement and rehabilitation. Historically,

land use planning has largely been an economic

concern. However, in recent years, a

comprehensive land use plan is required to focus

integration of economic, ecological, social and

cultural values in order to develop options so

that informed choices can be made.

Urbanisation Leading toChanging Land Use Trends

Fiona Nunan and K C Shindhe

We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a commodity towhich we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.

(Singh, 2002)

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Box 2.1 Evolution of Land Use Planning in the Five Year Plans

The Second Plan (1956–61) stressed a more studied effort to introduce a planned approach in agriculturaldevelopment, which is one of the main elements of ‘land use planning’. The third plan (1961–66) recommendedthe establishment of Land Use Planning Cells at the Centre (national level) and states to take up this work.Fully realising the urgency of the production, it was decided in the fifth plan (1974–78) to strengthen theorganisations and programmes relating to land and water management. The states were asked to prepare 25-Year Perspective Plans for the optimum management of their land and soil resources and establish the orderof priorities based on which various soil conservation, land development, drainage, flood control andreclamation programmes should be undertaken. This ensured the setting up of Land Use Boards in the states.

In the sixth plan (1980–85) the State Land Use Boards assisted by the Central Land Use Commission were to paypriority attention to the re-orientation of current pattern of land use on the cited lands. With a view to placingproper emphasis on the objectives of proper land use and development of watersheds, the National Land Use andWasteland Development Council (NLWC) under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister of India, was set up inMay 1985 in the seventh plan (1985–90). The mandate of NLWC included:

1. formulation and implementation of National Land Use Policies through State Land Use Boards (SLUBs)

2. preparation of perspective plan for conservation, development and management of land resources of thecountry

3. review of land-based programmes/progress

4. sponsoring of special/evaluation studies

5. organising national/regional seminars/conferences

6. review of working of SLUBs, etc.

Source: Singh (2002)

Land use planning trends, as reflected in thechanging priorities of the five-years plans showa wider comprehensive perspective (Box 2.1). Thetrends reflect that land use planning in the secondfive-year plan had a narrow focus on agriculturealone which changed slightly to increasingagricultural productivity in the third five-yearplan. As the five-year plans progressed theemphasis broadened to include soilconservation, land development, drainage,flood control and reclamation programmes.Towards long-termsustainability, the seventhplan built further on theseareas to createinstitutional structuresand policy frameworks,

emphasising land use programme review,research and dissemination of its findings andawareness building. The previous five-foldclassification of land use expanded to include newcategories recognising permanent pastures, treegroves and culturable waste (Box 2.2).

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Box 2.2 Classification of Land Use

In 1948, the technical committee on Coordination of Agricultural Statistics, of the Ministry of Food andAgriculture, recommended a nine-fold land use classification (ICAR, 1980: 96) outlined below:

1. forests

2. land put to non-agricultural uses

3. barren and uncultivable land4. permanent pastures and other grazing lands

5. miscellaneous tree crops and groves

6. culturable waste7. fallow land, other than current fallows

8. current fallows

9. net sown area.

Net sown agricultural area in India was 41.8 per cent of land in 1950–51 and increased to 46.6 per cent in1991 due to increased irrigation, easy availability of agricultural inputs, improved crop production andprotection techniques. Forest area also increased from 14.9 per cent in 1950–51 to 22.3 per cent in1991–92. Comparing this increase with rural population and labour force growth rates, there is a concurrentrise in the agricultural labour force1 despite a decrease in the overall rural population (from 82.7 per cent in1951 to 74.3 per cent in 1991), increased out-migration and mechanisation.

Source: Goutam et al. (2002); Singh (2002)

A comprehensive land use plan thus integratesinstitutional frameworks that support strategicpolicies and actions such as guidelines, permits,financial incentives, education and monitoring/enforcement. Land use decisions should take intoaccount the goals of achieving regionallybalanced economic development. The land useplan should be flexible dealing with thegeographical environment such as naturalresources, human settlements, protected areasand water and the aquatic system. The rights,responsibilities and circumstances of local peoplein land use issues and management greatlyinfluence the strategy for public and private lands.The present land use policy should set upinstitutional mechanisms with the task ofpreserving natural and cultural heritage. Suchinitiatives use the regional environment andnatural resources in a way that does not harmthe prospects of their use in the future.

Land Use in the Peri-UrbanInterfaceThe peri-urban zone is a location of high level ofcapital investment and new activity in anyeconomy. The PUI of Hubli-Dharwad is not anexception to this. The PU area of Hubli-Dharwadcan be characterised as the areas undergoingchanges due to growth of the twin cities andincreased connectivity between these cities. Thishas resulted in changes of livelihoods, land useand social structures.

The twin cities have quite different characteristics.Hubli the more commercial trading centre, is verywell connected by national highways in all thefour directions. The two state highways makeHubli more easily accessible to the surroundingdistricts than Dharwad. As a result Hubli city isthe more commercial trading centre, whilstDharwad is more of an educational centre, withtwo universities based in the city.

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Box 2.3 Land for Sale? The Navalur Case

A previous study conducted in 1999 compared costs and benefits involved in converting agricultural land tohousing plots in Navalur village, 7km south east of Dharwad within the Navanagar area. Over 90% of thetotal village land was devoted to intensive semi-mechanised agriculture, almost all of it rainfed crops. Thisland, however, was gradually being encroached due to demand for housing close to the city along the highway.The study involved the valuation of land for crop cultivation, fruit production and animal husbandry. Thesevalues were compared with land purchased for housing development. It was found that whatever approachwas taken to ensure common units of comparison and applying an appropriate discount rate, the value ofland for housing exceeded its value in agriculture. The study concluded that private individuals would preferto push for development as long as the value of land for housing is greater than its value for farming. Publicauthorities may have other objectives, however, such as supporting work for landless labourers and maintaininga ‘green belt’ around a built-up area.

Source: Nunan et al. (2000)

The inexorable process of urbanisation isdemanding a transformation of the

land use in thesurrounding ruralareas to cater to theneeds of the urbanareas. The Karnataka

state urban developmentpolicy seeks to

accommodate theneeds of urbanisation,

but in its implementation

does not adhere to environmental assessmentprocedures as legally mandated. One exampleis Navalur, (Box 2.3) situated between the twincities, where the land was under heavy demandin 1999 for housing and today for many moreinstitutional and infrastructural uses. Today amedical college and some industries have beenestablished in this area. This has resulted in thetrends described below in land use in the HubliDharwad PUI (distinct from rural and urban landuse trends as seen in box 2.4).

Box 2.4 Rural and Urban Land Use Features

Rural: Land is mainly used for agriculture, grazing, and horticulture. Large industries and quarries also existin the rural areas. Large industries are set up in rural areas because of government incentives to locate industriesin industrially underdeveloped areas which also prevent pollution and congestion of urban areas. Changesin the rural landscape driven by urban development include road and highway construction, and infrastructuredevelopment such as irrigation projects, power plants and so on.

Urban: Land use is for residential as well as commercial purposes and small industries. There are alsogreen belts where there are parks and playgrounds. In addition institutional structures of particulargovernment and educational institutions tend to be concentrated in the urban areas. Simultaneously,urban areas demand heavy infrastructure to cater to specific needs of large urban populations such astransportation, health and so on.

Source: Singh (2002)

15

➤ Increase in non-farm employment: Thegreatest increase is in construction workersworking outside their villages due to improvedurban acess and better wages than in farmemployment. As a result labour is not availablefor agriculture and people are forced toabandon agriculture or shift to less labour-intensive activities such as horticulture orchange the land use. Interviews have revealedthat, for example, people from Dasankoppacommute to Dharwad to seek employment asconstruction labour. In Navalur village farmlabour is not available because they get morelucrative employment in industries which areclose by.

➤ Development of unauthorised housingcolonies with inadequate water supply,electricity and sanitation to accommodatepeople displaced by inner urbandevelopment1. Illegal colonies also developto accommodate migrating people fromrelatively far off rural areas. For instance, inDharwad an unauthorised layout SriRamnagar, is housing factory labourers whoearlier used to stay in the city on rental basis.In Kelageri, Anjaneya Nagar is a colonyhousing tribal migrants (sudugadu sidhas).

➤ Commercial activities such as poultry,dairying, brick making and quarrying cateringto the urban needs take place in the peri-urban interface. Poultry units are not allowedin the city because of bad odour and noise.As agriculture becomes unviable due to highlabour wages small farmers seek alternatelivelihoods and their land is leased foractivities like brick making and quarrying.Building contractors take such lands on leaseto make bricks. The quarries have benefitedfrom the construction of a four-lane highway

Brick kilns near Kelageri: Loss of Top-Soil

where there is a great demand for stone grit.Though there are quarries even in rural areasthere are more quarries in the peri-urbanareas because there is a greater demand fromthe cities. Brick industries tend to be locatedas close as possible to urban areas to reducetransport costs.

➤ Land markets are characterised by speculationand escalating land prices and urbaninvestment to avoid taxation. Agriculturalincome is not taxed and therefore landtransaction records tend to show agricultureas the main activity so as to avoid taxpayments. Wherever proposed urbandevelopment like a by-pass or industrial estateor large governmentestablishments takeplace, the speculationon land is higher. Forexample land aroundNavanagar situatedbetween Hubli andDharwad is subject tohigh speculation

16

Horticulture farms – investments for tax avoidance

because of the increasing number ofgovernment offices being located there.Educational institutions, industrial areas,airports and other institutions related to urbanareas but located in the peri-urban interfacedevelop here because of the need for largeamounts of land, unavailable in cities.

The changes in livelihood strategies linked to landuse as a consequence of urbanization are depictedschematically in Figure 2.1.

In the early stages of urban influence and/or theouter parts of the peri-urban interface theopportunities for farm enterprises exceed thethreats of loss of livelihoods for those in the PUI.Those who benefit tend to be the larger farmers,while those who are least able to take advantageof the opportunities are smaller farmers who lackcapital and surplus land, leading to increasedpolarization. Thus in the initial stages increasingaccess to credit for small farmers and to other farminputs would enable them to increase productivityand benefit from increased sale of surplus produce.

In the later stages of urban influence on the urbanfringe areas or the outskirts of the built up area,the threats to farm enterprises from declininglabour availability and higher labour costsoutweigh the opportunities, leading to increasedabandonment of farming. Those who benefitfrom this process are those who can either sellland to speculators or developers or have thecapacity to develop it. Those who lose tend tohave little or no land, are dependent on wagelabour in other farms for all or part of theirincomes, and are unable to take advantage ofalternative economic opportunities in the urbanlabour market. This is because their householdsand its members lack labour, skills, contacts,capital, or freedom of movement. Those who haveinsecure rights to land, or who have little to sell,and who are excluded from urban labour marketopportunities may be impoverished and, in anycase, polarization between the rich and poor islikely to increase. Women in particular are likelyto be disproportionately affected.

Farmland may be converted from subsistencefood production to either commercial productionfor the urban market or urban development. Ifthe food producers are unable to accessalternative income generating activities,Poultry farms close to Dharwad city

17

Figure 2.1 Impact of Urbanization on Land-based Livelihoods

ASSET RICHFARMERS

ASSET POORFARMERS

Have the assetsnecessary to

allow them thechoice to stay orleave agriculture

Availablealternatives aremore attractive

Cash forfees

Skills training/apprenticeship

Salariedemployment,

trade,business,crafts, etc.

Cash for tools etc.

Specialisedproducers:

CommercialHorticulture,

Brick-making,Poultry, DairyQuarry etc.

No viable farmingopportunities or

opportunities to investin anything more

attractive

Insufficient landavailable, no way

of acquiring capitalfor rent. Have no

choice

No alternatives,must continue

farming

Have abilityto labour, and

mobilityHave educationand city contacts

Jobsearchin City

Casuallabour,petty

trading

Diversifyincomewhen

possibleOpportunistic

cropping,share cropping,

own smallfield/plot

Increased soilinfertility and

insecure tenureLoss of

livelihood andunemploy ment

Lack ofsustainablelocal work

forunskilledlabourers

Have the opportunityto invest insufficiently

profitable farmingactivities

Impact of land uponfarmers livelihoodstrategies

Brook and Davila (eds.) (2000)

households will suffer from increased foodinsecurity, which will be associated withincreased malnutrition and poorer health status.

Those seeking new economic opportunities arelikely to face barriers to entry erected by thosealready pursuing particular income generatingactivities. As a result, those who are forced toabandon cultivation and related activities on theirown land will become more reliant on casualwork or the less lucrative informal sector tradingand service occupations, and unemploymentrates will increase.

The Impact of Urbanization onLand TransactionsUrbanisation inevitably affects the value of

agricultural land and the number of land salessurrounding an urban area. The influence of theurban centre is not, however, uniform in alldirections and at all distances, consequently therelationship between urbanisation andagricultural land sales is complex. Therefore inthis section the link between land transactionsand urbanization is examined. The intensity ofland transactions is measured in terms of priceper acre, number of transactions and acres sold.Reasons identified for the variation in landtransactions include the distance of the villagefrom the city, the distance in combination withthe direction of the village from the city and themain type of road that connects the village tothe city.

18

Stone quarry in Mandihal

Information was collected on all recorded landsales around Hubli and Dharwad between 1995and 2000. Details of land transactions in 61villages in Dharwad taluka (sub-district) and 44villages in Hubli taluka were recorded. Data wasalso collected on potential explanatory variables,such as distance from Hubli or Dharwad anddirection of village from the city. The main typeof road leading to each village was also recordedfrom a district map to explore relationshipsbetween land sales and accessibility to the land.

Possible Reasons for Variationin Land Sales around Hubli-Dharwad

Land transactions that took place between 1995and 2000 were examined to identify furtherreasons for variation in land prices and to identifytrends. There are clear differences between Hubliand Dharwad (See Table 2.1). On the average,

there have been more land transactions aroundHubli city, at a higher price per acre and moreacres sold than around Dharwad.

This higher degree of activity around Hublireflects the more commercial nature of the citycompared to Dharwad, since land is in demandfor commercial enterprises, as well as for housing.Commercialization is accentuated here due tobetter access to roads with the National highwaysNH-4, NH-63 and NH-218 all passing throughHubli covering all the four directions. In additionHubli is a railway junction and is the headquartersfor the proposed South-Western Railway Zone.

Dharwad on the other hand has only onehighway passing through it and an ordinaryrailway station. (Hubli has better access to otherblocks in Karnataka than Dharwad, as moreroads radiate from the former. Map 2.1).

Further Analysis of theInfluence of Distance andDirectionDistance from Dharwad or Hubli and directionfrom the cities were the main explanatory factorsexamined. Distance was measured ‘as the crowflies’, rather than actual road distance.

Distance and price were found to be inverselyrelated though the level of significance was low.It can be observed that the development doesnot take place uniformly from any city but thereare preferred directions. These preferences indirection are determined by factors such asaccessibility (determined by presence of by-passand state and national highways and railways),railway zonal headquarters which bring aboutmassive infrastructure development to supportthe scale of operations and soil type. This supportsthe observation of Fazal (2001) that Indian cities

19

Map

2.1

: The

Hub

li–D

harw

ad tw

in c

ity r

egio

n

20

tend towards linear development, with ‘ribbon-like urban development along main roads’ .

The shape of urban development around Hubli–Dharwad is inevitably linear, as there are two cityhubs and urban development is prevalent alongthe 20km national highway between the citycentres. The expansion of the urban area closelyfollows the main roads, with the exception of theby-pass, where development has been constrainedby fencing (see section on By-Pass). For Hubli,however, the direction of the village from the citydoes not significantly affect the price, though itdoes affect the number of transactions taking placeand the number of acres sold. This can beattributed to the fact that Hubli is a city which hasnational highways in all the four directions andas a result there is uniform development of landall-round Hubli. (Map 2.1)

Along the old highway (NH-4connecting Hubli and Dharwad),no more land is available for sale.

However, along the recentlydeveloped highways (NH-63 and NH-

218) land transactions are increasing for

Table 2.1 Mean number of land transactions, mean land price peracre and mean number of acres sold per village, 1995–2000

Year Mean number Mean land Mean numberof land price per acre of acres soldtransactions per village (Rs) per village

Dharwad Hubli Dharwad Hubli Dharwad Hubli

1995-1996 3.39 4.86 29637 41766 10.39 18.12

1996-1997 3.32 5.07 34024 42358 12.73 19.11

1997-1998 4.05 6.09 40523 54814 13.71 21.13

1998-1999 3.24 4.18 38757 58613 10.88 13.76

1999-2000 3.48 6.35 40314 72325 11.44 19.29

housing and offices. This is accentuated byincreased activity by the railway authoritiesaround Hubli along the railway tracks.

For Dharwad, the highest prices were found inthe south-east, the preferred direction i.e.,towards Hubli. Along this direction, industrialestates, government offices and dental collegehave come up, while a medical college is stillcoming up. The lowest prices, however, werefound to the north-east, where there is only adistrict road surrounded by farm land with blacksoils. Generally, for more commercial uses, redsoils are preferred. This is because constructionon black soils is expensive as foundations have

to be deeper due to the swelling and shrinkingproperties of these clay-rich soils. Also forhorticulture, red soils are more suitable (seeCropping Systems chapter).

By-Pass

Increased urbanization and growth of Hubli andDharwad cities resulted in the national highwayconnecting the twin cities becoming an internalpart of them. Increased traffic congestion andaccidents and the need for a smooth,uninterrupted flow of traffic between the cities andbeyond, led to the construction of a by-pass in2000. A private company, Nandi HighwayDevelopers Limited, was awarded a contract for26 years to build, operate and transfer the by-pass.

During 1997-98 when it was decided to constructa by-pass, land prices of villages along theproposed route began to soar. Land sales alsoincreased (Fig 2.3 and 2.4). This is in line with theperi-urban feature of speculative land prices. In1998–99 the land prices remained high but therewas not much land left for sale around the by-pass. People held on to the land expecting the priceto continue to grow and that commercial

21

for Hubli. This is because the highway passesfor a greater distance through Dharwad talukathan in Hubli taluka. In Hubli the proposedconversion of a district road to ahighway has led tospeculative buying oflands. Also, nearHubli ones t a t ehighwayis beingconverted

Figure 2.2 Acres of Land Sold (in Rs) Across Time1996-2001

0

5

10

15

20

25

96-97 97-98 98-99 99-00 2000-01

Figure 2.3 Average Land Price (in Rs) Across Time1996-2001

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

70000

80000

96-97 97-98 98-99 99-00 2000-01

enterprises could be set up. However, the Ministryof Surface Transport (MOST) stipulated that fencesbe constructed along both sides of the road toprevent people and livestock crossing the road, toensure smooth flow of traffic and to preventaccidents. The road has to be patrolled by securityguards to prevent any problems. Underpasses,culverts and pipelines had to be constructed tofacilitate the movement of traffic, people, livestockand water. A service road is yet to be constructedalong both sides of the by-pass for local traffic.

This fence prevented any access whatsoever tolands adjoining the by-pass, hence anycommercial activity along the by-pass becameeconomically non-viable. This resulted in asudden increase of land sales but only a marginalincrease in land prices. This is because peoplebought the land in the hope that they couldestablish hotels and other commercial venturesalong the by-pass. When access was not possiblethey started to sell the land. There was only amarginal increase in price as there were only fewbuyers. This finding is supported by data onaverage land price per acre of land.

Effect of Road TypeThe process of urbanization includesdevelopment of better infrastructure.

Prices in general are higher around Hublicompared to Dharwad. Also the value of land isthe highest around the national highway. Allthree parameters representing land use activities,average price per acre or number of transactions,or acres sold are higher around Hubli relative toDharwad (Table 2.2). This supports the overallfindings relating to a higher degree ofurbanisation in Hubli.

The highest number of transactions was aroundthe by-pass for Dharwad and on the district road

22

Fencing on the by-pass between Hubli and Dharwad

to a national highway. This therefore could affectthe lands up to 1km away, as lands adjacent tothe state highway have been sold long ago.

The highest number of acres of land sold forboth cities is around the by-pass. There is alsoa greater number of acres sold around thenational and state highways and this trend isaccentuated for Hubli. Where the by-pass andhighway meet this trend is accentuated(Box 2.4).

Box 2.4 The Case of Gabbur

The by-pass joins National Highway 4 at thevillage of Gabbur. Gabbur was stronglyaffected by the sale of land for the by-passaround Hubli-Dharwad. Price per acredoubled between 1996-97 to 1998-99, butdid not rise thereafter. After the by-pass wascompleted in 1999-2000 people realisedthey had no access to the by-pass and theland was no longer seen as commerciallyviable as was originally envisaged.Consequently land sales increased to 23.25acres as compared to 6.63 in the previousyear due to resale of the land.

Institutional Structures andDecision-Making ProcessesIn addition to central government, three levelsof government administration are present inthe city region of Hubli–Dharwad: state,municipal (urban) and rural. The two principalbodies active at the municipal level are the

Hubli–Dharwad MunicipalCorporation (HDMC) and theHubli-Dharwad UrbanDevelopment Authority (HDUDA).The rural level is governed by thePanchayat Raj (council) system,divided into three further sub-divisions, Zilla (district). Taluk (sub-district) and Gram (two or threevillages) Panchayats. The ZillaPanchayat has some land usefunctions but planning is not one

Table 2.2 Effect of road type on land transactions, 1995-2000

Located Mean Mean Meanadjacent number of average number oftype of transactions/ price per acres sold/yrof road year acre (Rs)

Dharwad Hubli Dharwad Hubli Dharwad Hubli

Nationalhighway 1.60 6.35 50211 71177 4.52 20.46

By-pass 6.87 4.60 29175 66477 29.83 28.41

Statehighway 4.00 5.00 28960 69431 14.56 14.90

Districtroad 4.20 7.35 44255 40472 12.80 27.40

Villageroad 3.25 2.25 30288 33943 11.47 7.25

The value of land was the highest around nationalhighways for both Hubli and Dharwad. For Hublithis is followed by lands around state highwaysand the by-pass. Around Dharwad, a district roadis being converted to a state highway hence thehigh prices around the district road. Land aroundvillage roads are lowest in price.

23

of them. The Panchayati Raj tiers are primarilyresponsible for the allocation of resources andthe implementation of programmes and schemesdefined by the Central and State government. Theline departments such as watersheddevelopment, forestry, mines and geology,industry are more concerned with land useplanning and natural resource management.Comparing the urban and rural contexts land useplans are formulated by the HDUDA for theformer and do not exist for the latter.

From an institutional point of view, the decision-making arrangements and mechanisms affectingperi-urban production activities appear to behighly fragmented and lacking attention toenvironmental and poverty concerns. However,this does not mean that there is an institutionalvacuum concerning the management of peri-urban productive systems.

In relation to urban development, the maininstitutions directly involved in land-use planninghave been characterized in the DFID fundedR6825 Baseline Study (Subhas M S, 1997). TheHubli–Dharwad Urban Development Authority(HDUDA) is responsible for the planning ofurban areas including areas of urban expansionand takes the stance of accommodating urbangrowth rather than making specific land usedecisions. The Hubli–Dharwad MunicipalCorporation (HDMC) is responsible forimplementing urban plans and the maintenanceof urban public utilities.

The rural-oriented Dharwad Zilla Panchayat(DZP) is primarily concerned with short-term,socio-economic planning and adopts a non-spatial planning approach, with no attention toland use decision-making, physical planning orenvironmental concerns.

Each government department has its own sourcesof information, which are not shared with otherdepartments, and each has their own separatelinkages with other levels of government. TheZilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer isresponsible for co-ordination and together withthe Planning Unit and the Deputy Secretary(Development) appears likely to be able tofacilitate contacts with stakeholders in the district.The state tends to impose a top down approach,with state wide policies on industry andurbanization drawing little resistance from therural authorities. Although the panchayat hasthe right to approve (or reject) requests for landconversion, in practice the state government hasthe power to acquire the land and overrule thelower-level panchayat authority.

In general, there is an absence of communicationand co-operation between the planningauthorities, especially the HDUDA and HDMCbodies, in spite of the fact that their realmsoverlap to a certain degree. In order to counteractthis, the state government set up a DistrictPlanning Board with representatives from all localplanning authorities on paper. Previous researchdone in the Hubli–Dharwad region highlightedthe need for the integration of planningmechanisms of the HDUDA and DZP (SubhasM S, 1997). However, little is known about thespecific role and responsibilities of the Board andalso about the factors that hamper itsimplementation.

The main policy mechanisms identified to guideland-use and ameliorate the impact of urbanexpansion on peri-urban areas are theComprehensive Development Plan, revised every10 years by HDUDA, and more specifically adesignated green belt within the plan, earmarkedfor agriculture and future expansion of

24

settlements. Both mechanisms appear to havetaken little account of environmentalconsiderations and also lack a broader vision ofregional development to promote a more efficientuse of renewable natural resources in the PUI.

Implications for Policy andPracticeThe use of information technology would be astep forward in improving the understanding ofurban growth and in informing the planning

process. Planning processes for sustainableurbanisation require consultation beyond theurban boundaries. It should also include peopleat the local level, including both farmers andindustrialists of whom are concerned with landuse. The role played by the broader citizenry andmedia is also important for determining land use.Government and community partnerships insustainable environmental management isusually crucial to the success of initiatives (Boxes2.5 and 2.6)

Brick making eating into agricultural land

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Box 2.5: Restoring the Oval Dream

The Oval is a 22 acre recreation ground owned by the Government of Maharashtra in Mumbai, India. Toencourage donations, the Oval Trust was registered whose main objective was to restore the Oval and tocreate infrastructure, a water supply system, plant palm trees to border the ground and improve soil cover.Professionals sensitive to urban conservation executed an effective fund raising strategy. No loans weretaken. No survey plans of the Oval existed with any authority. Therefore a detailed survey of the land wascommissioned. To determine usage patterns, trustees interacted with all stakeholders - residents; cricketclubs, football players, commuters, walkers and a cross section of all who used the Oval particularly theunder privileged for whom no other free open space was available. All their needs were built into the restorationplan keeping in mind the Oval’s heritage status, which allowed only limited interventions.

The rubble of decades thrown by errant contractors and careless citizens was removed. A new watering systemwas laid to green the ground and the land leveled. The quality of air in the Oval is noticeably cleaner and thetemperature many degrees cooler due to this greening and planting of over 500 palm trees. Land is wateredfrom a municipal connection and well fed by a perennial underground stream. Vegetable waste from theground is composted and reused. Waste paper strewn by the public is collected for recycling.

Mobilising public opinion and community involvement was an important ingredient to success. Anotherlesson learnt was that greedy eyes are always cast on open spaces. Proposals made by the authorities for‘improvements’ to the ground included the construction of a club house, a stadium, a shopping center, cafeteriasdespite the fact that their own plans show this area to be part of the green belt. The unrelenting objections bythe public supported by the media stopped these plans from passing. Eternal vigilance is also the price of anopen ground Another lesson was on influencing government. It was inexplicable how government could notapprove a project so pre-eminently in the city’s interest, especially when citizens were to raise the funds anddo all the work voluntarily. In other words, no commitment was asked for from government in terms ofmoney, time or manpower. The government, however, sounded the trust to restore the adjacent recreationground called Cross Maiden which is partly used for fairs and exhibitions. When not in such use, it is adecertified no man’s land. The trust plans to restore it so that social activities can continue and between fairsthe Maiden can also be used for recreation. The Oval Trust is creating a garden outside the library building ofthe state’s Prince of Wales Museum, a grade 1 heritage building and has also been asked to restore vastcampus grounds of the Grant Medical College, a grade 11B heritage building. It has established that qualitativeimprovements in the city can be made. This unique agreement between government, municipality and citizens,characterized by mutual good faith and motivated solely by public interest has pointed the way for otherprojects to improve this great city and its never-say-die population.

UN Habitat’s Best Practices Database website: http://www.bestpractices.org

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Box 2.6 Operation Sunshine

Garbage and filth was a common sight in Calcutta due to indiscriminate disposal of solid waste on city streets.It became almost impossible to keep the city clean. Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) has adopted a two-pronged approach for improving the environment and health of the city: solid waste management and removalof unauthorized stalls from roadways. Private carriers transport nearly 40 percent of daily garbage. Of theremaining 60 percent, CMC employs three main systems: manual loaded vehicles, pay loader loaded vehiclesand containerised vehicles. An average of 430 vehicle trips are performed daily to remove garbage from the cityto the disposal ground.

Besides the city’s 200 markets, over 100 roadside markets have sprung up. Most important road pavementswere encroached by hawkers with make-shift stalls. There are over 3,000 bastees and slums with over flowingpopulations. Nearly 3 million people from neighbouring districts come to Calcutta everyday for theirlivelihoods. This huge population with large scale road encroachments, forced pedestrians to use the roadwhich caused tremendous traffic jams particularly during peak hours. The average speed of vehicles camedown to as low as 8km/hr adding high amount of air pollution from vehicle exhaust. Shops and business andpeople in general got into the habit of throwing waste on roads. Piling up garbage all over the city andincreasing road encroachment provided the motivation to develop some correcting initiative. The averagedaily accumulation of garbage is of the order of 2,500 metric ton. There was no partnership between otherinstitutions before the initiative began.

At the direction of the Government of West Bengal, CMC launched OPERATION SUNSHINE - removinglarge-scale encroachments numbering about 8,000 on the night of November 24, 1996. In subsequent operations,nearly 10,000 such unauthorised stalls were removed. From February 1st, 1998, CMC embarked on separationof clinical and bio-medical wastes at source of nearly 500 hospitals, nursing homes, laboratories, clinics in ascientific manner. This initiative is the first of its kind in India. It also established partnerships with the privatesector for waste recycling.

The disposal ground is at an average distance of 12km from the collection points. Computerized weighbridges have been installed at the check post of the disposal ground where all vehicles are checked andrecorded to provide daily trips and weight. Bulldozers are deployed at the disposal ground to spread andcompact the garbage. From September, 1995 Calcutta Municipal Corporation has been making great effortsto launch special cleaning drives and intensive awareness campaign. The culmination of all these programmesis the introduction of garbage Carrying Charge with effect from 1st January, 1997.

Towards the end of 1995 the House-to-House collection of waste system was started in a low key way whichcovered 70 per cent of the city area with the support of people, particularly in domestic areas. The MunicipalWorkers, after the initial road sweeping, moved in with hand carts, whistling to signal people to throw wasteinto their hand carts. The commercial areas are yet to cooperate fully in this system. In August, 1996 atwo-day seminar on LOVE CALCUTTA was organised to focus on roads, with Ministers of State Government,Councilors of Municipal Corporation, officers connected with civic services and the general public to raisepublic awareness on the environment.

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27

The HDUDA board consists of representativesfrom numerous organisations, notably the HDMCand agencies responsible for infrastructure, suchas water supply and drainage. However,representatives of agricultural departments fromthe Dharwad Zilla Panchayat could usefullyprovide information on good agriculturallyproductive land for planning purposes. Theplanning process should not only be limited toHubli-Dharwad city but should include all villagescoming under the relevant blocks or taluks.Existing literature in India on the subject ofland use policy links today’s policy needs toAgenda-21 of the United Nations (Box 2.7).

This literature however is not cognisant of theperi-urban features and their specific policyneeds. In the PUI, the continuous expansion ofthe city and rapid migration to the city needs tobe better regulated (Box 2.9). Several national andinternational innovations point to new directionsfor policy formulation for the PUI which spanzoning to taxation strategies.

• Credit: Increased access to credit for smallfarmers in the peri-urban interface and to otherfarm inputs could potentially increaseproductivity. Most importantly this wouldprevent migration. This must include farmersdwelling within the boundary of the municipalauthority, who currently are classified as being‘urban’ and are therefore not eligible forpreferential credit terms as compared tofarmers falling under the Panchayati Rajsystem.

• Zoning: Rapid growth without creatingboundaries should not be allowed withoutcreating green areas in between. In two cases,Nagpur in India and Vancouver and its satellitetownships in Canada, urban sprawl has beencontained using different strategies (Allen and

You, 2002 p75). In Nagpur the city authoritiesrefused to allow the sale of land around thecity. In Vancouver an incentive structure wasused where concentration of mid-incomehousing and employment creation in satellitetownships with green areas in between thesatellite townships and the city were createdto attract residents and preserve theenvironment.

• Taxation: Another strategy that can be usedfor better land utilization is a land taxationpolicy with built in incentive and disincentivestructures. Vacant land in the city should behighly taxed to prevent the non utilisation ofthese lands. Taxes for renovations andmodifications in the city should be loweredso that people will not leave them vacant(Allen and You, 2002 p95).

• Ratio of Built to Vacant Land: A thirdstrategy for more effective land use in the cityincludes the fixing of a higher ratio of thebuilding to the site. If these limits are violatedthen the vacant land should be taxed highly.

• Labour Creation and Labour Sharing: A finalstrategy to prevent rural urban migrationrevolves around creating more employment inthe villages by setting up rural based industries.Alternatively employment can be generated bycommunity labour participation and sharing ondifferent people’s lands as described in thePragathi Bandhu Model (Box 2.8). Such kindsof labour sharing concepts if adopted in the peri-urban interface could result in the cultivation offallow lands of asset poor farmers, therebyencouraging them not to migrate to cities foremployment as casual labourers. Thisadditionally could provide a more securelivelihood and enable farmers to retain theirassets in the form of lands.

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Box 2.7: Prerequisites of a Good Policy

Given the rapid increase in urbanisation combined withincreased migration and urban population, the pressureon land in and around cities will increase. This, if leftunattended, will result in illegal settlements, poorsanitation conditions, improper facilities and depletionin natural resources, especially in the peri-urbaninterface. In turn unchecked sprawl results in a toll onurban populations in the form of increased commutabledistances, more air, noise and water pollution. Accordingto Agenda-21 the biggest problem is the rapidpopulation growth which reduces the land availabilityto a great extent and also generates environmentaldegradation directly or indirectly.

More stress needs to be given to:

1. Involvement of people at local level includingindustrialists who are concerned with land use; useof land properly, keeping in view its capability andowner’s need;

2. Encouragement of users/owners for best possibleland use specially in hilly areas;

3. Review of regulatory and legal framework for localpanchayats and the entire country;

4. Ecosystem/watershed approach in land use;

5. Demonstration/development of efficient land useplans versus traditional methods;

6. Making of more accurate evaluation of land use;

7. Development and implementation of low costmanagement system;

8. More research regarding land resource usepotential and then interaction study with farm andfarmers;

9. Education and training of beneficiaries accordingto land use needs and comprehensive integratedapproach;

10. Encouragement of public participation (since hillsand plains conditions are quite different);

11. Adoption of a comprehensive approach for landuse for environmental and economic gains.

Source: Singh (2002)

Box 2.8: Pragathi Bandhu Model

Belthangady Taluka, in Dakshina Kannada District of KarnatakaState comprising of 81 villages has 18,000 families of small andmarginal mostly illiterate farmers with landholdings ranging from0.5 to 1.5 hectares, whose lands were left fallow. Family membersworked as farm hands for the local landlord. SKDRDP, an NGOwith twenty years of experience, created the Pragathi BandhuModel for integrated rural development with small farmerparticipation. Pragathi Bandhu Groups comprising of five to eightneighbourhood families were created whose aim was to developan efficient system enabling small farmers to cultivate their lands,develop other infrastructure and gain access to credit for landdevelopment and information on new cultivation. The strategyused was sharing of labour and financial resources.

Over eight years the initiative improved living conditions ofalmost 10,000 families. About 4000 ha. of uncultivated landshave been brought under cultivation. Through water harvestingand building tanks and good rains, 8000 ha. of lands werebrought under irrigation enabling permanent crops. Theinfrastructure and labour for cultivation and irrigation wasgenerated through a concept called labour sharing where groupmembers contribute one day a week towards working on eachmember’s lands.

The results are that the villages have sufficient resources to beindependent. Those who worked on other people’s lands nowhave their own plantation gardens. Illiterate farmers, talkeloquently on organic farming, soil conservation and ecologicalbalance. Raised awareness towards protecting natural resourcesin these communities is reflected in afforestation, communitymedicinal gardens, cultivation of roadside trees, and schoolgarden initiatives. The programme has been replicated in theneighbouring taluka easily as it utilises the natural capacity ofits stakeholders and promotes growth through people’sparticipation.

Similarly in another model in Rajasthan the Tarun Bharat Sanghhas developed 300 water harvesting structures called Johadsusing traditional knowledge systems and local experience. Thishas resulted in converting vast areas of barren land into fertileagricultural land simultaneously reducing migration due toincreased employment.

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• Green Rating of Industry: One solution toreversing the trend of rural to urban migrationis to generate employment by setting upindustry in rural areas. To prevent theconsequent risk of industrial pollution a greenrating of potential industrial units can beconducted. Here the industrial process hasto be scrutinized before and after it is set upto ensure minimal environmental damage.

Box 2.9: Reversing Rural-Urban Migration: The Delhi Case

As a result of urbanization in the post–independence period, the rural-urban composition of populationin Delhi has undergone one of the sharpest changes. It was 47.24:52.76 % in 1901, which became17.60:82.40 % in 1951 and 7.3:92.7 % in 1981. During the period 1981-91, the share of rural populationhas increased for the first time. It is now 10.07:89.93 % as rural population has more than doubledfrom 452,000 in 1981 to 943,000 in 1991. The main reasons for this abnormal increase seems to be:(a) The population in urban areas has reached a saturation point and migrant population is settling

in rural areas of Delhi;(b) Rents/rates of property in urban areas are much higher than in the rural areas; and(c) Many industries have been set up in rural areas; thereby a large number of working force has

shifted to nearby rural areas.

Source: Boorana (2002)

• Encouraging the Participation ofVoluntary Organizations in the PUI: Herecommunity based strategies to managenatural resources, to prevent the misuse ofland, to rate industry and to createemployment sharing by the community isonly possible with the active participation ofNGOs in this area.

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END NOTE

1 Data collected as part of this study.

REFERENCES

Allen, Adriana and Nicholas You (eds). (2002). Sustainable Urbanisation: Bringing the Green and BrownAgendas, DPU, DFID and UN Habitat, London

Boorana, S S (2002) ‘Land Degradation and Sustainable Development’ in Human Dimensions ofSustainable Development edited by R B Singh, Rawat Publications, Jaipur and New Delhi

Brook, Robert and Julio Dávila (eds.) (2000). The Peri-Urban Interface: A Tale of Two Cities, NaturalResources Systems Programme, HTS Consultants, Herts, UK, p211.

Fazal, S (2001b) Land re-organisation in relation to roads in an Indian city, Land Use Policy,18, 191-199.

Goutam et al (2002). ‘Pattern of Land Utilization in Sagar Division of Madhya Pradesh’ in HumanDimensions of Sustainable Development edited by R. B. Singh, Rawat Publications, Jaipur and New Delhi

Nunan, F, K Bird and J Bishop (2000). Valuing Peri-Urban Natural Resources: A Guide for Natural ResourceManagers. School of Public Policy, University of Birmingham. A Report produced for DFID, NaturalResources Systems Programme. pp101 and viii

Singh, Krishna B (2002). ‘Land Use Systems and Changes in India’ in Human Dimensions Of SustainableDevelopment edited by R. B. Singh, Rawat Publications, Jaipur and New DelhiSubhas M S (1997). Baseline Study and Introductory Workshop for Hubli–Dharwad city-region, Karnataka,India, Draft Final Technical Report, vols. 1 & 2, School of Public Policy, University of Birmingham

UN Habitat’s Best Practices Database: http://www.bestpractices.org

31

The cropping system in any location is governedby the soil type and climatic conditions. Otherfactors that are important are social andeconomic. In the context of the PUI, it washypothesised that proximity to urban areas mayinfluence the crops being grown, driven by factorssuch as market opportunities, labour availabilityand cost, access to resources (includingknowledge), amongst others.

An investigation was carried out to test thehypothesis that urbanisation influences croppingsystems, and to gain a better understanding ofchanges in the cropping system in the PUI.

Eight paired peri-urban villages along fourtransects (northern, southern, eastern andwestern directions) were selected, located either

Cropping SystemsRobert Brook, Chandrashekar Hunshal, B Basavaraj, Paul Smith

Introduction

Box 3.1: Agriculture in the PUI

Peri-urban agriculture occurssurrounding the boundaries ofcities and includes crop andlivestock production, fisheries andforestry, as well as the ecologicalservices they provide. Two-third ofperi-urban populations areinvolved in agriculture for homeconsumption or catering to localmarkets. Peri-urban agriculturecompetes for resources – land,water, energy, labour – to satisfyrequirements of the urbanpopulation.

Source: FAO (1999)

Growth of horticulture in the PUI

33

32

near the periphery of the urban area or around10km from the periphery. Two villages to thenorth (Dasankoppa and Pudakalkatti) and thewest (Kelageri and Mandihal) of Dharwad andtwo villages to the east (Bidnal and Shiraguppi)and the south (Gabbur and Inamveerapur) ofHubli were selected. (Map2.2)

In each of the eight villages, with the aid ofrevenue maps from the Directorate of SurveySettlements and Land Records of Dharwad andHubli and the village accountant (a keyinformant), area of crops grown were recordedfor both the monsoon (kharif) and thepost-monsoon (rabi) seasons. From this, theproportion of land in each village devoted tospecific cropping systems was calculated.

Recognising that eight villages is a small sampleout of more than 100 that could be considered tobe peri-urban, cropping systems were alsorecorded along linear transects connecting thepaired villages named above. A global positionsystem (GPS) receiver was used to plot positionson a map and transects were covered by walkingin as straight a line as tracks, field boundariesand natural obstacles permitted, starting from avillage near the city and ending at the moredistant village. Cropping systems were recordedat 100m intervals, whereas soil samples werecollected at 500m intervals.

Soil and Climate

1. The study villages lie in 3 different climaticzones, i.e., hilly zone receiving rainfall ofabout 1000mm (Mandihal), transitional zonereceiving rainfall of about 700–800mm(Kelageri, Dasankoppa, Pudakalkatti, Gabbur,Inamveerapur and Bidnal) and northern dryzone receiving rainfall of about 650mm(Shiraguppi).

2. The rainfall in these zones is bimodal (kharifand rabi seasons), received during June toOctober with two peaks as high as 150mmper month. In general, the rainfall declinessharply from west to east and less markedlyfrom north to south of Hubli-Dharwad.

3. In each transect the soil and climate weredifferent. Very broadly, the soils of northDharwad transect were medium black(vertisols), the west transect were paddy soils(inceptisols), east of Hubli were deep blacksoils (vertisols) and south of Hubli were mixedred and black.

The fact that variation in rainfall patterns and soiltypes ran in different directions made selectionof sample villages difficult, particularly as atransect approach to determining influences ofurbanisation was considered to be important.

33

Kelageri to Mandihal Transect1

● Each bar on the graph is a mean of fivepoints, recorded at 100m interval.

● There is not a smooth transition from onecropping system to another: much‘patchiness’ is evident. Nevertheless, broadtrends are evident.

● This transect is dominated by mango andgrass cover with mango grown largelywithin 5km from Kelageri. The red soilsfound here are more suited for mangocultivation.

● The large area of grass cover along thetransect is due to the hilly terrain which isusually uncultivated.

Urbanisation effect● Mango cultivation is due to urban market

demand, good roads and its low labourrequirements compared to annual crops.

● More villagers seeking urban employmentcreating a labour shortage for agriculture.

● The affluent urban class buy up large tracts ofland for commercial horticulture, to avoid taxes.

Figure 3.1 Cropping Systems between Kelageri-Mandihal

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Spatial Differences in Cropping along Transects

34

Dasankoppa – Pudakalkatti Transect

This transect is dominated by cotton, pulses andintercrops. At the far end of the transect (beyond5km) vegetables are cultivated due to irrigationfacilities being available.

Vegetable cultivation through borewell irrigation, Pudkalkatti

Urbanisation effect

● Vegetables, highly perishable products are incontinuous demand from urban centres.

● Thus vegetable production here is a functionof market forces as well as the availability ofbore well irrigation, and good roadtransportation to Dharwad market.

Figure 3.2 Cropping Systems between Dasanakoppa-

Pudakalakatti

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35

Bidnal – Shiraguppi Transect2

● This transect is dominated by anintercropping system where onion + chilli +cotton are grown.

● Traditional cotton is grown here because it iswell suited to rainfed conditions. Farmers donot use pesticide on local cotton.

● The soils being deep with high moistureholding capacity, allow the cropping period

Chilli cultivation, eastern transect

to be extended into the rabi season, despitescanty rabi rains. This is in contrast toMandihal on the western transect, whererainfall is 50% higher, but the soils have alow water holding capacity.

Urbanisation effect● Cropping here is influenced by soil and

climate rather than urban development

Figure 3.3 Cropping Systems between Bidnal-Shiraguppi

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● This transect lies along a nalla (natural watercourse) into which sewage contaminatedwaste water flows. In villages as far asInamveerapur, this permits year roundirrigation of vegetable crops, although insummer the nalla dries up at Inamveerapur.

● Vegetable cultivation was observed up to3.5km from Gabbur and again between 6 and8km.

● All along the transect, fruit crops such as sapotaand guava are grown.

Gabbur – Inamveerapur Transect

Urbanisation effect● Vegetable and fruit production is strongly

influenced by the presence of the urbanmarket.

● Other contributing factors include thepresence of Hirehalla stream joined by Hublisewage and good roads, especially thenational highway 3.

Fruit production under sewage irrigation, Inamveerapur

Fig 3.4 Cropping Systems between

Gabbur - Inamveerapur

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HUBLI

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Figure 3.5 Cropping Systems in Kogilgeri

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Figure 3.6 Cropping Systems in Mandihal

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Figure 3.7 Cropping Systems in Kelageri

Mango Paddy SorghumOthers Fieldbean

Village Cropping Systems (Western Transect3)

39

In each of the four transects, a village farther away (beyond 20km) which is rural (less influenced byurbanisation) was also studied to provide a comparative urban – peri-urban – rural perspective. These villageswere Kogilgeri, Kalle, Umachagi and Palikoppa (Map 3.1).

Western Transect Villages

Kelageri (5.5km) (Fig 3.7)Cultivated area is 78.3% of the total village area.The major cropping system in kharif includesmango, paddy, grasses and sorghum.

During rabi only 4.5% of area is cultivated; themajor annual crop grown being field bean inlow land paddy soils.

Urbanisation effect

● Mango is dominant in Kelageri, being closestto the Dharwad market where there isdemand for mango variety ‘Alphanso’, bothfor local consumption and export.

● Soil and climatic conditions are highlysuitable for mango cultivation.

● Due to the large number of people commuting(both men and women) to Dharwad, lesslabour intensive crops like mango arepreferred.

● Large proportion of land under grass cover(including grass under mango) supports dairyenterprises (another predominantly peri-urban activity) in the village (since there isno nearby forest and common lands).

Note: Kelageri is situated within the Dharwad city on the western side,5.5km from the city centre

Mandihal (11km) (Fig 3.6)Cultivated area in this village is 92% of the totalvillage area. The major crop is paddy (37%) byvirtue of soil type (paddy soils) and higher rainfall(hilly zone). Rest of the area is under annualcrops: sorghum, cotton, maize and fruit trees:mango, sapota , and timber trees.

During rabi pulses dominated in the lowlands(8.5% of the area), utilising residual moisture.

Urbanisation effect● Mango and sapota gardens are owned both

by local as well as city dwellers.

● Landholdings are smaller and few people(especially men) commute to Dharwad. Assuch agricultural crops are predominant.

● During off season poorer villagers areengaged in stone quarries.

Kogilgeri (23km) (Fig 3.5)Majority of the cultivated area is under field crops with 56% paddy. Plantation crops cover about 11% ofwhich mango occupies 10%.

During rabi hardly 2.16% of area is cultivated of which the major area is occupied by field bean grownon low land paddy soils.

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Figure 3.8 Cropping Systems in Kalle

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Figure 3.9 Cropping Systems in Pudakalkatti

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Figure 3.10 Cropping Systems in Dasankoppa

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Village Cropping Systems (Northern Transect4)

41

Northern Transect Villages

Kalle (32km) (Fig 3.8)

During kharif 70% of cultivated area is under greengram and 15% under onion grown on black soils.During rabi 82% area is cultivated with sorghum, chickpea, wheat and safflower due to more assuredrains in rabi and high water holding capacity of soils.

Pudakalkatti (18km) (Fig 3.9)

During kharif greengram (52%) is the major cropfollowed by groundnut (20%) and cotton (13%)with a small but increasing area under vegetables.

During rabi 82% of the land is cropped withchickpea, wheat and sorghum with a small areaagain under vegetables.

UrbanisUrbanisUrbanisUrbanisUrbanisaaaaatttttiiiiiooooon efn efn efn efn effffffeeeeectctctctctThe village is accessible to Dharwad by 5 differentroads facilitating vegetable cultivation underirrigation. Vegetable production is increasing, butfrom a negligible base.

Dasankoppa (8km) (Fig 3.10)During kharif groundnut, potato and cotton arethe major crops grown.

During rabi 86.5% of the area is under sorghum,wheat and chickpea grown due to betterdistribution of rainfall across the seasons andhigh moisture holding capacity of black soils.

Urbanisation effect

● The village is situated off the main road on apoor quality village road and discouragespublic transport. Irrigation provision is poor,so vegetable cultivation is not feasible. Soilsare not suited for mango cultivation.

● Overall, the effects of urbanisation are limitedto commuting and are not evident in croppingsystems.

42

Figure 3.11 Cropping Systems in Umachagi

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Figure 3.13 Cropping Systems in Bidnal

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Figure 3.12 Cropping Systems in Shiraguppi

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Village Cropping Systems (Eastern Transect5)

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Easteren Transect Villages5

Umachagi(32km) (Fig 3.11)

A similar situation as that of Shiraguppi exists with respect to cropping, onion + chilli + cotton intercropbeing the major cropping during kharif.

Chickpea and wheat are the major crops during rabi.

Shiraguppi (15km) (Fig 3.12)

Nearly all cultivable area is cropped during kharifwith onion + chilli + cotton intercrop occupying 83%.Groundnut, greengram and sorghum + redgramintercrop occupy the remaining area.

During rabi, chickpea, wheat + safflowerintercrop and sole wheat are the major crops.

Urbanisation effect

● No urbanisation effects and hence traditionalcropping exists based on soil and climaticconditions.

Bidnal (3km) (Fig 3.13)

About 57% of cultivated area is cropped withonion + chilli + cotton intercrop and the rest withgroundnut (29%), sorghum, cotton andvegetables during kharif. More favourable rainsduring kharif and the presence of deep black soilshave favoured onion + chilli + cotton system.

During rabi, sorghum occupies more than halfthe cultivable area, vegetables occupy 41% andwheat the remainder.

Urbanisation effect

● Sewage irrigation from Hubli allowsvegetable cultivation year round.Other factorsinclude strong market demand for vegetablesfrom the Hubli market with easytransportation facilitated by the nationalhighway. Bidnal is within the Hubli-DharwadCorporation boundary.

Note: In Bidnal few varieties of vegetables of longer duration are cultivatedcompared to Gabbur. In Bidnal vegetable producers have largerholdings and are better off than Gabbur farmers who have smallerholdings and prefer to grow short duration vegetable with multi-cuts to gain quicker returns.

44

Figure 3.14 Cropping Systems in Palikoppa

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Figure 3.16 Cropping Systems in Gabbur

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Figure 3.15 Cropping Systems in Inamveerapur

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Southern Transect Villages

Palikoppa (22km) (Fig 3.14)

In kharif cropping area is more because of red soils wherein paddy, cotton and sorghum are dominant.However, mango, arecanut and sapota are grown in very small proportions.

Inamveerapur (12km) (Fig 3.15)

It has a wide diversity of crops with 88.5% of thearea cultivated during kharif with sorghum,maize, cotton as the major field crops and sapota,guava and vegetables as horticultural crops.

Urbanisation effect

● Presence of sewage irrigation as well asborewells, along with easy accessibility toHubli market has facilitated production ofvegetables and fruit crops.

● Landholdings compared to Gabbur beingslightly higher has facilitated growing fruittree crops.

● Borewells supplement the sewage irrigationduring summer.

Gabbur (4km) (Fig 3.16)

More than 90% of the village land area is croppedduring kharif with major cropping underchilli+cotton, groundnut, maize, sorghum andvegetables.

During rabi 19% is cultivated with major areaunder sorghum and the rest with vegetables.

Urbanisation effect

● Presence of sewage has diversified thevegetable production during rabi and summer.

● Village being located on the outskirts of Hubliwith good transport facilities has facilitatedmarketing of vegetables.

● Vegetables are grown exclusively by pumpingsewage water.

Note: Many of the landholdings in Gabbur are owned by people from Hubli.The sewage is available to Gabbur allthrough the year whereas the quantity decreases as it flows through Inamveerapur in summer. Accordingly, manyborewells have been sunk to supplement irrigation to vegetables and fruit crops.In Inamveerapur the area undersapota is increasing, replacing guava, because of fewer diseases and pests, and a better price than guava which ismore perishable than sapota.

46

Box 3.2 Vegetable Cultivation around Cities

Vegetable production has expanded around cities in many developing countries. The broaddiversity of horticultural crop species allows year-round production, employment and income.Also, short production cycles of 60–90 days provide a quick response to emergency food needs.Leafy vegetables provide a quick return for farming households to meet their daily cash needsto purchase food.

Source: FAO 1999

In Gabbur especially, leafy vegetables are predominantly grown by small and poor farmers whoselandholdings are very small and for whom quick returns on their produce is very important.

Box 3.3 Soil Fertility along the Transects

In the western transect to a distance of 3.5km the nitrogen status of soils is lower compared tosoil at the far end due to removal of top soil for brick-making and also mango cultivatednearer to Dharwad, which is not fertilised as frequently as the field crops like rice at the fartherend. In the southern transect, nitrogen and potash status of soils decreased with distance fromHubli, probably due to a decrease in the nutrient load in the sewage and lower availability ofsewage water for irrigation.There were no discernible fertility trends along the northern oreastern transects.

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CONCLUSIONS

Although the soil and climatic conditionsdetermine the cropping system of any location,proximity to the urban area results in changes incropping systems, depending on the demand forthe commodity and availability of transport andirrigation facilities. Some of the urban effectsobserved on cropping systems are indicated below.

The shift in cropping from field crops to mango(principally along the western transect) is due toa combination of very favourable soils and climatealong with a tax break for establishing orchards,and greater number of people commuting toDharwad. This leads to less labour intensivecropping (tree crops) which has a good market,aided by good transport facilities.

Good accessibility to Dharwad coupled with thegood underground water sources for irrigationhave led to growing vegetables in Pudakalkattithroughout the year.

Availability of sewage irrigation throughout theyear coupled with good transport facilitiesprovides greater opportunities for production ofvegetables and fruit crops as noticed in Bidnal,Gabbur and Inamveerapur. However the quantityof sewage decreases during the summer makingits availability lower at the far end, which hasled to more underground water extraction inInamveerapur to supplement irrigation insummer. People in Inamveerapur are ready torisk the capital costs of installing borewells sincethey are able to market vegetables and fruits.

The poor who are unable to maintain theiragriculture for various reasons and have foundalternative livelihoods, as in Kelageri, sell the topsoil of their lands for brick-making which isfinancially lucrative. This leads to mining ofnutrients and ultimately poor fertility of soils,resulting in weed-infested waste areas.

Box 3.4 National Agriculture Policy 2001–02

A major thrust will be given to development of rainfed and irrigated horticulture, floriculture, rootsand tubers, plantation crops, aromatic and medicinal plants, bee-keeping and sericulture foraugmenting food supply, promoting exports and generating employment in the rural areas.

Emphasis will be laid on development of marketing infrastructure and techniques ofpreservation, storage and transportation with a view to reducing post-harvest losses andensuring a better return to the grower.

Source: Chapter on ‘National Agriculture Policy’, Annual Report 2001– 2002. Department of Agricultureand Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, GOI, 2002

Policy Recommendations

Need for Specific Peri Urban Policies

● Given that urban and peri-urban agricultureare on the rise, there is the need for a separateagricultural policy for urban and peri-urbanareas.

● Given that cities are constantly expandingtheir boundaries and including more andmore villages within the jurisdiction of themunicipalities, there is the need for creditterms for farmers included in the municipalboundary similar to credit terms available torural villages falling under rural authorities(Zilla Panchayat).

48

● Informal sector programmes often overlooksuch enterprises and more attention is neededfor provision of training, managementassistance, credit and marketing information tomicro and small entrepreneurs in the PUI.

● Marketing policies for peri-urban agricultureare needed.

As shown in Box 3.4, the National Agriculturalpolicy emphasis on marketing infrastructure willrequire that specific planning and assessmenttake place in the peri-urban villages where theeffect and linkages to markets are highest.

● Thus for the PUI, marketing infrastructurewould require easy transportation and storageof crops that dominate this area.

● Adequate post harvest technology withspecialised cold storage units, transportationinfrastructure and packing materials should bemade available especially to vegetable and fruitproducers. This will protect them from marketfluctuations.

● Changing urban needs and demands forchemical free and cleaner produce can providea potential market niche for peri-urban

producers. Therefore training on valueaddition to their produce can help increasethe profit margins on crops like vegetablesand fruits.

● Facilitate the organisation of producercollectives and marketing societies to dealwith large markets (Box 3.5)

Agricultural Land Use Policies for Peri-urban Areas

Given the rise of brick kilns around cities andthe growth of the construction industry, peri-urban villages are experiencing a degradationof agricultural land due to top soil removal forbrick making.

● The brick making industry catering to urban areasneed to find alternate raw material to replace topsoil which is currently in use

● Selling top soil for brick making results in along gestation period before top soil can berestored. Till that time the productivity of landis very low. Thus awareness needs to becreated among farmers that the short-termgain from selling top soil is uneconomical.

Box 3.5 Producers - Marketing Societies

This is an innovative system facilitated by Agragamee, an NGO in Orissa, where producer societiesare federated into marketing societies to facilitate the bargaining power of small producers. Tribalwomen in Orissa, India, belonging to the poorest sections of society had limited access to resources,employment or to markets. This endeavour on entrepreneurship development helps tribal womenin these communities to capitalise on their own resources and skills, empowering them to fightpoverty. Grass-roots groups have been federated into producer groups at village, block and districtlevels. They save in various forms, creating cash, seeds and food banks which cut out middlemenand moneylenders at crucial stages of production and marketing, especially during lean periods.Grass-roots groups have also turned from using their collective savings for thrift and credit toincreasing producer bargaining power in the local market, and for value addition to their products.The market network of ‘Ama Sangathan’ is thus assured for all these groups. Women’s collectives,proving self-reliant in decision making are first encouraged to identify and initiate income generating

49

projects. They are encouraged to generate resources through savings and linkages with thegovernment and banks. One such collective, for example, the ‘Mandibisi Mahila Mandal’ mobilised$5,000 to be trained in processing forest products from the Centre for the Advancement of People’sAction and Rural Technology (CAPART), Government of India.

Strategically, different producer groups have combined into one marketing society, the ‘Ama Sangathan’,in order to compete in the market and facilitate licensing, trade marks, and so on, essential for thesegroups to compete in large markets. The producer society collectively bargains for higher prices fortheir products, adding value to their products. This simultaneously minimises groups competing witheach other on the same products or engaging in price wars. Thus, they take on the responsibility tocontrol their capital and resources, and decide on its use, profit sharing, reinvestment and so on.

Panchayat level groups are the working groups into which individual producer women are invited formembership, which is done through meetings and camps. The groups are encouraged to identifytheir own leaders and committee members and identify development priorities and define their owninitiatives.

Local groups of men and women are taking up the initiative started by the efforts of Agragamee.The women’s collectives in the different Panchayats manage the funds, with backup supportgiven by Agragamee personnel for book keeping and accounting. Educated local youth havenow begun to take up management of the practice, and through training, and experience, it isenvisaged that in a short period, it will be completely self-sustaining. Skill development traininghas been taken up at various periods of time, to enable groups to command better skills inprocessing and management. The initiative is sustainable as the products are cultivated by thecommunity traditionally using locally available skills and resources.

Other valuable linkages have been formed with government institutions. Through the ForestDepartment, women now influence decisions on common resources such as minor forest produce.Minor forest products which were once completely controlled by the state, and businesscorporations are now being handed over to women’s groups for commercial use; land rights arebeing accorded in tribal areas, over tracts previously under government control. Thus women aregaining access to land and to the produce from this land.

The impact has been state-wide. The department of forests and environment has agreed to help thewomen build a processing centre for minor forest produce. The tribal welfare department hasagreed to fund them for storage space for their stock. The Panchayati Raj Department of the StateGovernment has assured support to market their products and provide finance when necessary.

Women are advisors for tribal development. They sit on various committees to determineforest policy and development policies. They have been able to bring about a liquor ban ontribal regions, and ensure proper wage payment.

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The major lesson learned is in understanding how to deal with a large market - how topackage products, how to add value, ensure that the products are biologically clean anddevoid of pesticides and chemical usage, and thus create a market niche for themselves. Thishowever needs complementary awareness raising among consumers on the value of theseproducts. This initiative is already being replicated by other organisations, although on asmaller scale.

Source: Agragamee, UN Habitat’s Best Practices database, www.bestpractices.org

whereby gluts can be overcome andmiddlemen avoided.

● Creation of short-term credit linkages tovegetable growers and long-term to fruitgrowers especially to the small farmers.

Box 3.6 Agro Processing

Setting up of agro-processing units in theproducing areas to reduce wastage,especially of horticultural produce,increased value addition and creation offarm employment in rural areas will beencouraged.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture, GOI, 2002

Policies to Restore Natural Resources in the PUI

Due to higher urban wages, labour commutesfrom the PUI to cities thereby resulting in labourshortage in the former and a resultant neglectof agricultural lands.

● Focusing on a strategy for poor farmers bypromoting agri-horti-forestry (Box 3.7) canrestore natural resources and stop migrationto the city.

● Watershed development for better naturalresource conservation will help increase thewater resources in the PUI. There should bea simultaneous enforcement of existing rulesfor groundwater exploitation.

Policies for Crops Produced inPeri-Urban AreasGiven that peri-urban villages meet most of thedemand of urbanites for highly perishable items,like fruits and vegetables, these producersexperience more vulnerability because of themarket gluts and resultant wastage. To absorbthis waste or ensure that these producers do notsimply dump their produce at a very low price,agro processing units can be set up in the PUI.

● Set-up agro processing (i.e., food preparation,packaging, milling, drying and others) industriesand value addition to the horticultural producein the peri-urban villages (Box 3.6).

● Creation of Horticultural Growers Board toregulate prices and facilitate marketing

Rice processing unit: Puffed rice production

51

Such policies can reduce the labour shortage. Itcan also enhance the natural resource base andultimately lead to sustained agriculturalproduction in meeting the ever increasing

demand for food from the urban areas. It canalso help promote vegetable production in theperi-urban areas.

Box 3.7 Agri-Horti-Forestry

To generate employment, stop migration and improve the quality of life of people BAIF promotedagri-horti-forestry cultivation on wastelands owned by these families. The strategy included a focuson alleviation of poverty among low income families in 5–6 years; generating gainfulself-employment; encouraging people’s participation through community organisations and identifyproblems and search for suitable solutions. The new farming system has regenerated forests andconserved bio-diversity. Tree planting has increased green cover and created a cleaner environment.More food and fuel availability have reduced the dependence on natural forests. Soil and waterconservation have facilitated groundwater recharging and increased agricultural production.

Source: BAIF, UN Habitat’s Best Practices database, www.bestpractices.org

END NOTES

1 The effects of urbanisation are discussed in greater detail in the section entitled ‘village croppingsystem’.

2 Here it is important to note that the starting point of this particular transect was from the easternside of Bidnal village while the sewage irrigation farming system of the village existed on thewestern side across the road closer to Gabbur. Thus no vegetables were recorded.

3 Village crop survey data was collected for the year 1999– 2000.

4 Notes:

1. In Dasankoppa the underground water resources are very poor and there is great shortage oflabour for agriculture activity. Labour is brought in from outside the village during peakdemand.

2. In Pudakalkatti several borewells have been sunk (due to poor monsoons in the last fewyears) leading to cultivation of vegetables to an extent of 20 ha throughout the year.

5 Vegetables grown during rabi continue during summer depending on availability of irrigation.Apart from perennial horticultural crops, long duration crops like chilli, cotton, redgram continuefrom kharif into the rabi season.

REFERENCES

Agragamee, UN Habitat’s Best Practices database, www.bestpractices.org

BAIF, UN Habitat’s Best Practices database, www.bestpractices.org

Food and Agricultural Organisation. (1999). ‘Issues in Urban Agriculture’ in e-magazine, Agriculture21. This article is based on Urban and peri-urban agriculture, a report to the FAO Committee onAgriculture (COAG), which met in Rome on 25-26 January, 1999. http://www.fao.org/ag/magazine/9901sp2.htm

52

Urban areas generate large volumes of sewage1

depending on their population, most of which isuntreated in India. Sewage usually flows for a longdistance, often entering natural water courses. Thesewage passes through peri-urban villages and if

Sewage irrigation in the peri-urban interface

the volume is large enough it flows even throughrural villages. The villages closer to the city get agreater volume of water for a longer period thanmore distant villages. Often, crops are grownwhich depend on sewage availability and urban

demand for food. Although urbangenerated sewage is a waste product,

it is still an opportunity for farmersto grow crops. Sewageirrigation can lead tohealth andenvironmental hazardswhen the sewagecontains heavy metals asa result of industrialpollution andpathogenic micro-flora.

Sewage IrrigatedFarmingAndrew Bradford, Chandrashekar Hunshal, Robert Brook

44

53

Box 4.1 Hazards of Sewage

In hot climates, sewage can soon lose its content of dissolved oxygen and become ‘stale’ or‘septic’. The septic sewage has a most offensive odour, usually of hydrogen sulphide andmercaptans. Sometimes a major concern in using sewage effluent for irrigation is the presence ofhigh concentration of hazardous constituents, such as heavy metals, stable organics, complexmicro-pollutants and pathogenic microbes. These are harmful in nature and dangerous to publichealth. This makes the economic and sanitary disposal of sewage a problem of far reachingimportance.

Source: Salakinkop (1999)

Around 60 million litres of waste water isproduced per day from Hubli-Dharwad, none ofwhich is treated. The waste water flows alongnatural water courses from Hubli towards thesouth and from Dharwad in three differentdirections because of the undulating topography.Along its route(s) farmers exploit this resourcefor irrigation, especially for fruit and vegetableproduction. The climate of Hubli-Dharwad issemi-arid (800mm rain per annum), and socultivation of vegetables in the summer (offseason) is a profitable enterprise. Apart fromsewage irrigation, vegetable cultivation in thesummer in this area is restricted to farms withborewells. However, as borewells are expensiveto install and the water table is subject tofluctuations in depth (Chapter 7 on WaterResources), sewage irrigation represents a morereliable alternative. The content of heavy metalsin waste water in Hubli-Dharwad is minimal, dueto the absence of heavy industry.

Advantages of Waste WaterIrrigation● Higher crop yield (20-25%) compared to

borewell irrigation due to high nutrient loadin sewage

● Lower fertiliser inputs needed

● A safeguard from erratic rainfall

● Vegetable market prices increase three- tofive-fold in the off season

Disadvantages of Waste WaterIrrigation● High nutrient load in the sewage results in

vastly increased incidence of weeds and pests

● Due to greater incidence of pests, systemicorgano-phosphate pesticides are used andusually farmers do not wear protective clothing

● ‘Soil sickness’, soil and groundwatercontamination,p h y t o t o x i c i t y,offensive odours,and severe mosquitoinfestations areexamples ofsewage-re la tedenvironmental andhealth hazards

● Sewage causes risks to public health as it isa major source of sewage borne pathogens.For instance, often farmers are barefootwhile irrigating their farms and are infectedeasily through open wounds on the lowerlegs and feet.

● Surface and endo-microflora (coliform) inleafy vegetables enters the food chain andcauses public health risks.

54

● Crops cultivated by sewage irrigation,especially vegetables do not fetch theproducer a high margin and secondly, duringa glut the prices drop sharply leading to heavylosses. Thus the markets for sewage irrigatedproducts are poorly articulated.

Cropping Systems UsingSewage IrrigationA survey was undertaken during May to July 2001of farmers utilising sewage water for irrigationin eight villages, located along two nallas flowingfrom Dharwad and Hubli. A summary of thefarming systems encountered is presented inTable 4.1

The dominant feature of sewage irrigatedcropping systems located nearest to both citieswas the continuous cultivation of vegetables.These production systems are predominantlyfound at Madihal on the outskirts of Dharwadand at Bidnal on the outskirts of Hubli. The ease

of access to local urban markets and high urbandemand ensure a secure market for vegetableproduction, particularly during summer whenvegetable market prices are three to five timeshigher (Hunshal et. al., 1997). Once beyondMadihal on the Dharwad nalla the remainingcropping systems are predominantly field cropswith a lower proportion of vegetables; thesecropping systems are found at Govankoppa,Gongadikoppa and Maradagi and also on theHubli transect at Gabbur. The larger the farm size,the more land is put over to field crops, asvegetable production generally requires greaterlabour inputs. Beyond Maradagi village, thecropping systems are rainfed and sewageirrigation ceases as during the dry season theinsufficient quantity of sewage flowing in theDharwad nalla at this point makes it an unreliablesource of irrigation. Budarsingi and Katnur in theHubli transect mainly grow orchard fruit cropssuch as sapota and guava.

Quality Parameters of Sewageof Hubli and DharwadA study of the quality of sewage water wasconducted from November 1998 to October 1999by Renukaprasanna (1999). The samples werecollected at monthly interval at one km intervalsto a distance of 10km starting from the outskirtsof Hubli and Dharwad.

Values of the various parameters were generallyhigher during summer (dry season) and lowestduring rainy season (June-October) (Table 4.2).All the parameters2 except residual sodiumcarbonate (RSC) were found to be below criticallimits. The RSC values during summer werehigher than critical limits for irrigation more soin Dharwad. Thus the water is not fit for irrigationduring summer, which may cause sodicity (theaccumulation of sodium in soils) and /or salinity

55

Table 4.1 Spatial variation of predominant sewageirrigated cropping systems

Transect Village Distance from city centre Main cropping system

Dharwad Madihal 2.0km Vegetable production

Govankoppa 5.4km Field crops & vegetables

Gongadikoppa 9.2km Field crops & vegetables

Maradagi 11.8km Field crops & vegetables

Hubli Bidnal 2.5km Vegetable production

Gabbur 8.9km Field crops & vegetables

Budarsingi 10.7km Fruit crops

Katnur 13.5km Fruit crops

(Distance = length of the sewage nalla from city source to village including any meander).

(the accumulation of soluble salts) of soilsdecreasing soil productivity.

The presence of heavy metals was below thepermissible limits in both the sewage streams.The biological oxygen demand (BOD) (whichindicates the decomposable organic matter)showed that sewage of both Hubli and Dharwadhad values well below the critical range(81-305 mg/l) for irrigation asindicated by Mara (1976)

which implied that the waste water is safe forirrigation. Tests conducted for pathogens revealedthat vegetables were contaminated with coliformbacteria. Samples taken from brinjal andamaranth showed that the E.coli were not onlypresent on the surface but also within thevegetables studied (Table 4.3)

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Table 4.2 Chemical parameters of sewage of Hubli and Dharwad

Distance pH EC SAR RSC (me/l) Total(km) (ds/m) Mar Nov- suspended

to Feb solidsMay and (TSS)

(Summer) Jun-Oct (mg/l)

Hubli 1 6.78 1.69 3.32 5.57 1.92 228

2 6.82 1.68 3.32 5.62 1.98 205

3 6.84 1.67 3.33 5.63 1.86 192

4 6.90 1.63 3.30 5.59 1.69 181

5 6.94 1.61 3.34 5.31 1.91 167

6 6.97 1.60 3.33 5.29 1.61 150

7 7.03 1.60 3.34 5.01 1.69 131

8 7.07 1.58 3.38 5.13 1.65 117

9 7.12 1.57 3.37 4.76 1.50 100

10 7.16 1.56 3.35 4.60 1.46 94

Dharwad 1 6.82 1.44 3.04 7.05 3.12 189

2 6.91 1.42 3.03 7.10 3.05 174

3 6.94 1.40 3.01 6.86 3.01 157

4 7.25 1.20 2.54 6.85 3.72 102

5 7.10 1.33 3.00 6.93 2.95 122

6 7.17 1.33 2.97 6.90 2.84 105

7 7.21 1.32 2.96 6.90 2.74 88

8 7.29 1.31 2.95 6.77 2.56 77

9 7.37 1.30 2.94 6.48 2.43 70

10 7.42 1.30 2.96 6.40 2.53 53

Safe limits of irrigation water: pH 6.5–8.5; EC 2dS/m; SAR 10; RSC 2.5 me/l

Note: There is no limit for TSS but BOD is used as a measure for TSS.

57

Table 4.3 Surface and endo-micro-flora of sewage irrigated crops3

Location and Surface micro-flora Endo micro-floraCrop in field (coliform units per gram of sample) (coliform units per gram of sample)

Total micro- E. coli Total micro- E. coli

flora flora

A1 Aubergine4 16.5 x 102 2 x 102 1000 35

A2 Aubergine nil nil nil nil

Z1 Amaranth 165.5 x 102 nil 405 10

Z2 Amaranth 160.0 x 102 nil 225 35

(A = taken from ridge; Z = taken from basin; 1 = nearest to sewage source; 2 = furthest from sewage source)

Note: values above 30 c.f.u./g of sample pose direct risk to human health if eaten raw. The lower E. coli countsobtained on the surface samples are due to sunlight exposure and desiccation killing the bacteria (Alagawadi, 2001).

Conclusions and PolicyRecommendations1. Vegetable production is more concentrated in

nearby peri-urban villages whereas fruit cropsdominate in farther off villages.

2. The vegetables are invariably sold in Hubli-Dharwad market whereas orchard fruits aresold elsewhere depending on the price.

3. Soils of Hubli transect are more suitable forfruit crops than Dharwad soils

Policies

1. Treatment of sewage would greatlysolve the problems of health hazards.Treatment could be done throughfish culture providing employmentand food production (Box 4.2)

2. Research is needed on biologicalcontrol of weeds and pests to reducepesticide application.

3. Application of ‘polluter and user pays’ for theservices which will help in maintaining thesewage plant.

4. Develop a sustainable irrigation managementin conjunction with cropping system.

58

Box 4.2 Integrated Wetland System for Low Cost Treatment, Calcutta

The East Calcutta Wetlands stretch on the eastern margin of Calcutta, India. Calcutta has grown asa metropolis without any sewage treatment plant where all its sewage is drained into the wetlandswhere garbage is also dumped. Wetlands play a significant role in treating sewage and convertingmunicipal wastes into resources. Three activities that transform garbage and sewage to wealth are1) Sewage Treated Fisheries (STF), 2) Garbage Farming (GF) and 3) Sewage Farming (SF).

Sewage Treated Fisheries: Due to siltation, the Irrigation Department of Bengal officially declaredthe Bidyadhari river dead which then became a vast abandoned swamp. Due to increased sewageflow from Calcutta into this area, the original salinity of 800-1200 ppm dwindled down to 500-600 ppm creating an ideal condition for fresh-water fish culture. Thus 11,570 acres were used forsewage-fed fisheries which yielded an average of 3.40 quintals of fish per acre. By 1985, the areareduced to only 7500-8000 acres while the yield of fish increased from 3.40 to 10 quintals withscientific management.

Garbage Farming: Garbage farms in Dhapa span 800 acres in 9 villages. Garbage dumping andfarming dates back to the 1870s. The ground level has risen after continuous dumping of garbageover 100 years. Dumping garbage in rows on either side of water strips has a double advantage.Garbage rows are used for garbage farming while water strips contain sewage irrigated cropsand vegetables grown on the garbage farms. A village-based study reveals that a little more thanhalf of agricultural land (720 acres) uses municipal garbage and sewage to produce vegetables,fruits and paddy.

Sewage Farming: On the whole, about 8000 hectares of land in East Calcutta are covered bysewage-farms. The daily average production of fresh vegetables is about 147 tonnes, growingabout 15 varieties of vegetables, besides paddy. Paddy cultivation with nutrient-rich fishery effluentused for irrigation is known as Sewage Farming. Two varieties of paddy are grown, Aman in therainy season and Boro in the winter. Compared to fisheries, which produce fish all the yearround, overall production from the sewage farming is poor as the land has to lie fallow after thefirst harvest.

Economic activities in East Calcutta wetland areas, include piscicultural, agricultural and rag-picking. Sewage water has increased fish production. The fish effluent in turn is used for vegetableand crop production. Land reclaimed through garbage dumping has also increased the areaunder cultivation and therefore overall production of vegetables.

The Calcutta Sewage fed Fisheries model has national implications as the largest source of riverpollution in the country is untreated municipal sewage discharge which can be treated byestablishing sewage fed fisheries. The process is carried out, owned and managed by the localcommunity groups mostly comprising joint families. This folk technology option is low-cost,location-specific and, more importantly, in no need of any institutional subsidy or transfer ofhigh- skill expertise to run the system. Thus the wetland of Calcutta effectively addresses threemajor challenges facing developing nations: waste treatment, employment generation and foodproduction.

UN Habitat’s Best Practices Database

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END NOTES

1 Defined as liquid waste discharged from human settlements changing significantly in output,strength and composition as a result of spatial and temporal variations.

2 Measure of soil reaction, pH (US Salinity Lab Staff, 1954); electrical conductivity (EC), sodiumadsorption ratio (SAR) and residual sodium carbonate (RSC) (Central Soil Salinity ResearchInstitute, Karnal, 1992); total soluble solids (TSS) (Food and Agricultural Organization, UnitedNations, 1985)

3 Samples taken on 31 May, 2001 from Madihal, Dharwad and tested at the Department ofAgricultural Microbiology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, under the supervisionof Dr Alagawadi, Professor of Agricultural Microbiology.

4 Aubergine is also known as Brinjal.

END NOTES

Alagawadi, A R (2001). Professor of Agricultural Microbiology, University of Agricultural Sciences,Dharwad. Personal communication 19th May; 31st May; 6th June.

Food and Agricultural Organisation (1985). Water Quality Recommendations. Rome.

Hunshal, C S Salakinkop, S R and Brook, R M (1997). Sewage irrigated vegetable production systemsaround Hubli-Dharwad, Karnataka, India. Kasetsart Journal (Natural Sciences). 32 (5): 1-8.

Mara, D D (1976). Sewage Treatment in Hot Climates. A Wiley Interscience Publication, John Wiley andSons, London, pp 1-15.

Renukaprasanna, M (1999). Characterisation of Hubli-Dharwad urban sewage and its impact on soilproperties. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, India

Salakinkop, S R (1999) Conjunctive use of sewage and borewell water on performance of wheat atvaried fertility levels. Ph.D. Thesis University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad. pp 6

United States Salinity Laboratory Staff (1954). Agriculture Handbook No.60. Washington DC, UnitedStates Department of Agriculture.

UN Habitat’s Best Practices database website: http//www.bestpractices.org

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Depletion of the top soil: brick kilns in Kelageri

Effects of Urbanisationon Livelihoods of thePeri-Urban PoorKaren J. Hillyer, Anasuya Patil, Chandrashekar Hunshal

With one out of every five households in the world living in extreme economic poverty (defined as living on lessthan $1 per day), poverty alleviation continues to be one of the greatest challenges facing the world today.

Heidi Albers, Urvashi Narain, Shreekant Gupta, and David Zilberman1

Introduction

Poverty with reference to a country, may be definedas social phenomenon in which a section of thesociety is unable to fulfill even its basic necessitiesof life. When a substantial segment of a society isdeprived of the minimum level of living andcontinues at a base subsistence level, the society issaid to be plagued with mass poverty (Madan, 1990).

Poverty is now recognized to go well beyond alack of income and to have multi-dimensionalcharacteristics and causes. Case studiesconducted in peri-urban villages of Hubli–

Dharwad characterised poverty highlightingsocio-economic classes, the importance oflivelihoods and diversity among the poor,changes in the livelihood strategies, vulnerabilityand coping strategies which are adopted andachieved by the poor.

The peri-urban interface (PUI) is a highlydynamic area. People in the PUI may experiencea sudden loss of land, assets or livelihoods.Industries and associated livelihoods prominentlycatering to urban markets, like stone crushing,brick making, mining, among others are subject

55

61

to market forces. Livelihoods such as brickmaking are equally conditional on the depletionof natural resources, upon which they aredependent, in this case, the top soil and firewoodfrom forests to which access is being increasinglyrestricted by the government.

Rapid land use changes witnessed in the PUIresults in land being usurped for various urbanuses: land acquisition by industrialists to buildfactories, construction by the public authorities,public infrastructure such as roads, highways,aerodromes, railway junctions, conversion of landfor brick making and quarries by the private sector,urban residents acquiring land for privateresidences, as well as contractors investing inbuilding housing colonies (Chapter 2). These landuse changes result in scarcity of land andconsequently a scarcity of agricultural by-productssuch as fuel and fodder not easily available to theperi-urban poor compared to the rural poor.

Peri-urban poverty, thus, is multi dimensional innature where the poor are subject to shocks andstresses caused by rapid urbanization, many ofwhom lack access to land and resources. Inwealth characterization exercises conducted forthis study and in follow up studies2 on the poor,very poor, medium and rich families in the PUI,a wide range of characteristics emerged. Theseincluded the poor and very poor being describedas those who are often unable to educate theirchildren, those who were forced to send theirchildren to work, families who had a highernumber of people who are sick or handicappedor dependent, families with bad habits many ofwhich are induced through urban contact suchas alcoholism, increased debt and gambling.Other characteristics included a weakening offamily and social ties as depicted by the fact thatmany leave their families without any notice forlong periods of time. Female headed households

where there are no earning male members,families with higher ratios of dependents toearning members, high influx of dependentrelatives due to urban opportunities such as jobsand medical treatment all constitute part of thefabric of the peri-urban poor. Majority of thepoor could be characterized as semi skilled orunskilled. Several engage in circular migrationwhere they commute to the cities on a daily orweekly basis for labour. Migration is becomingone of the major coping strategies of the agrarianpoor (Box 5.1).

Consequently, the PUI can be characterized as aspace with high opportunity, high potential forupward mobility and a mix of populations who bothhave high survival skills and those who fall betweenthe cracks. Changing market opportunities suchas increased demand for flowers, fruit crops, dairyand other natural resources and their products fromurban areas also result in rapid changes in livelihoodstrategies. Livelihood strategies here are stronglydriven by the markets which determine both labourand commodity production.

A long journey: Woman gathering fire wood in Kelageri to sellin Dharwad market

62

Poverty Characterisation inPeri-Urban Villages

Box 5.1. Brokered Livelihoods: Debt,Migration and Development in TribalWestern India

Seasonal labour migration is anincreasingly important aspect of rurallivelihoods in tribal areas of Western India.Such migration can no longer be viewedmerely as an adjunct to an essentiallyagrarian way of life, but has to be seen asintegral to the coping, survival andlivelihood strategies of tribal farmingfamilies. Rural to urban migration is oftenviewed as a consequence of environmentalcrisis in which migrants as ‘ecologicalrefugees’ are forcibly displaced byprocesses of deforestation, soil erosion,water scarcity, land fragmentation,declining agricultural productivity andpopulation increase. Increasing pressureon a fragile resource base has indeed

contributed to widespread failure to meetsubsistence needs among tribalhouseholds. The social experience andconsequences of migration are far fromuniform, but shaped by class and gender.For a minority of Bhil householdsmigration offers positive opportunities forsaving, investment and meetingcontingencies. For the poorer majority,migration is a defensive coping strategycovering existing debts and extremeeconomic vulnerability. In combiningunequal and individualised income accrualwith the need for joint livelihoodstrategies, migration has a major impacton intra-household relations.Mosse (2001)

Wealth ranking exercises were conducted, askingvillage representatives themselves to identify thepoor and define the characteristics of the foureconomic classes: rich, medium, poor and verypoor in each of the eight villages. Villagerepresentatives were then asked to sort allhouseholds in the village into these fourcategories. Based on the overall results the broadcharacteristics of the four socio-economic classeshave been made.

Unloading rice for rice puffing units,Dharwad: Agro processing in the PUI

63

Wealth Ranking: Poverty Characterization

RICHOwnmorethan 14acres ofrainfedland, ownhouse,

and tractor; highly paid salaried employment(of more than Rs10,000 income per month),own businesses and have savings.

MEDIUMOwn 5–13acres ofrainfed land,engage insmallenterprise orare lowsalaried employees (of Rs5,000 per month or less)

POOROwn below 3acres of rainfedland; areagriculturallabourers, orfactoryworkers.

VERY POORLandless, donot alwayslive in theirown homes,lack assetsand areagriculturallabourers.

Two villages at either end of each transect werepaired on the basis of distance from the city tofacilitate comparison and characterisation ofpoverty (Table 5.1). Poverty in all eightperi-urban villages is causedby less diversity,lack of access to governmentprogrammes and services, andthe lack of capacity to avail ofurban jobs and opportunities.By and large, the type of soil,cropping patterns, proximity tothe city and skill levels of thepopulation influence theextent of poverty. In general,there are lower proportions of

the very poor category in villages close to thecity (Gabbur being the only exception).

64

Near the city

Kelageri(5.5 km)

Dasankoppa(8 km)

Gabbur(4 km)

Bidnal(3 km)

Far fromthe city

Mandihal(11km)

Pudakalkatti(18 km)

Inamveerapur(12 km)

Shiraguppi(15 km)

Reasons

● Mandihal has lower agricultural potential due to lower water holdingcapacity of soils and poorer access to markets and employment alternatives.

● Consequently there is a larger proportion of the poor and very poor inMandihal compared to Kelageri.

● Even landowners who were poor had to supplement income fromproduction with wages from labour.

● In Kelageri even the very poor could afford to send their children to schoolunlike Mandihal where only medium and rich households could affordeducation.

● Dasankoppa, a small village, has poorer transportation, very little irrigationand the poor here who tend to be landless commute to the city for work.

● Pudakalkatti is on the main road and well connected by state and privatebuses, has good irrigation and therefore rich and medium farmers growvegetables, fruits and flowers catering to the urban markets.

● Availability of work locally provides agricultural employment to the poor inPudakalkatti.

● Both Gabbur and Inamveerapur have sewage irrigation, a peri- urbanfeature.

● Although falling within the city limits, Gabbur is neglected in terms ofinfrastructure and services including transport and governmentprogrammes as it is administratively ‘urban’. Whereas Inamveerapur comesunder the Zilla Panchayat (district level government).

● Gabbur has lost lot of land for the by-pass and industrial development.

● Gabbur’s main economic activity is vegetable and milk production. Landholdings are often small, wastewater irrigation is available, so shortduration leafy vegetables are grown.

● Due to larger holdings, Inamveerapur has a more diversified production:orchards, staple crops and some vegetable production.

● An attempt was made to relocate people to new Gabbur, a place lessaffected by development of the highway and sewage channels, but manyvillagers refused to move or migrated back.

● Bidnal is almost a part of Hubli, lying within corporation limits.

● Due to lower cost and greater convenience, more agriculture workerscommute to Hubli resulting in an acute agricultural labour shortage inBidnal.

● More poor and very poor of Bidnal have taken greater advantage of marketsand commute to the city for jobs than in Shiraguppi. The high cost oftransportation prevents Shiraguppi residents from commuting to Hubli.

● Because of proximity of Bidnal to Hubli, the large land holdings, labourshortage, and access to sewage irrigation, the types of crops grown includelonger duration vegetables, which are less labour intensive.

Dh

arw

ad W

est

Dh

arw

ad N

orth

Hu

bli

Sou

thH

ub

li E

ast

Table 5.1 Comparison of extent of poverty between villages along each transect

65

Characteristics of the Poor in Urban, Peri-urban and Rural Areas

Characteristics of the peri-urban poor were contrasted to characteristics of the urban and rural poor1

(Table 5.2).

Table 5.2 Differences in the characteristics of the poor in urban, peri-urban and rural areas

Livelihoods

Nature of andreasons formigration

Type of wages

Opportunities

Human capital

Governmentprogrammes

Poor in urban

Poor are concentrated in theinformal economy, tradesand as domestic labourers.

The urban poor do not tendto migrate back to villages.When they migrate it ispermanent and often toother cities in search ofurban jobs such as theconstruction industry.

Wages are paid in cash

There are moreopportunities to find workthroughout the year

The poor have varied skillsrelevant to petty businessand jobs in the informalsector.

Government programmesare designed to target theurban poor.

Poor in PUI

Poor are involved in both agricultural and in theurban informal sector. The very poor in the PUI aretypically agricultural labourers.

The peri urban poor are involved in circularmigration commuting back and forth from cities tovillages for shorter period from daily to weeklycommuting.

Wages are paid in cash for labour in staple cropsand in kind for perishable crops.

Some of the poor have the opportunity to workboth in agriculture or take advantage of urban andperi urban opportunities. Others cannot avail ofurban opportunities due to lack of skills, health,alcoholism, no mobility, particularly to femaleheaded households. This group also suffers thenegative consequences of urbanization in the formof insufficient well paid work in the PUI.

The poor who seek urban opportunities may not beas skilled as their urban counterparts. The peri-urban youth try to pick up urban skills or skillsrelated to agriculture which they can encash in thecities (gardening).

Villages in the PUI have a mixed scenario. Thoseunder the Municipal Corporation have no access torural government programmes or subsidised credit,but some urban facilities are provided. They enjoyonly partial benefits compared to thetruly urban population but also have to pay highertaxes than rural villages. Villages under thePanchayati Raj System have access to all the ruraldevelopment government programmes.

Poor in rural

Poor are involved mainly inagricultural work.

The rural poor migrate due todistress factors, sometimesseasonally, sometimes permanently.

Wages are paid in cash and/or inkind

Work is agriculturally related andcompletely season bound. Themajority do not work in the off-season periods, but a small minorityengage in small enterprises (such asminor forest produce).

The poor have skills relevant toagriculture.

Government programmes cater tothe needs of the rural poor.

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Characteristics of the peri-urban poor3

● Some of the poor are characterized byhomelessness, lack of access to land andresources, thus they have less capacity toprotect themselves against the shocks andstresses caused by rapid urbanization. Incontrast the wealthier groups were seen tosell or lease their assets during emergencies.

● In the villages, the poor and the very poorboth work as agricultural labourers andcoolies. There are two groups who work eitherin agricultural operations or engage in workon the farm such as cleaning animals andsheds as well as cleaning the house. In thesecond group fall blacksmiths, carpenters,priests, barbers, cobblers, potters, men andwomen engaged in washing, among othersuch localized occupations. Sinceagricultural activities are seasonal, thepoor unlike the very poor, are oftenable to get manual labour in the cities.The very poor on the other hand eitherare unable to work, or work as contractlabourers for landlords or depend onothers. Many of them work in verylow paid occupations such as livestock

herders and domestic workers.

● In urban areas, they work in the informalsector, in hotels, in mason work, or as fruitand vegetable vendors.

● The poor are unable to educate their childrenbecause they are forced to send their childrento work, despite free education opportunitiesprovided by the government.

● The poor use old clothes handed down fromthe rich.

● The poor are not eligible for loans or formalcredit.

● The poor do not have job security.

● The poor lack knowledge and skills.

● The poor are mainly wage earners or workon a contract basis.

Urban opportunitie

s

poor very poor

The peri-urban poor face more stress than therural poor. Their livelihoods strategies thereforehave to be more diverse and coping skills greaterthan the rural poor in order to survive. They alsohave greater opportunities from both rural andurban sectors of which not all can avail. It is thisdistinguishing feature of the lack of capacity toavail of urban opportunities that separates thepoor from the very poor in the PUI.

67

Livelihood Strategies of the Poor

A livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets(including both material and social resources)and activities required for a means of living.A livelihood is sustainable when it can copewith and recover from stresses and shocks andmaintain or enhance its capabilities and assetsboth now and in the future while notundermining the natural resource base(Carney, 1998).

Table 5.3 shows the range of livelihood activities4

across different wealth classes. Within each class,the total number of people working in particularoccupations aggregated across the four nearurban villages is provided. As can be seen, thedegree of diversity of livelihood activities is lessamong the rich with emphasis on fewer activities:agricultural production, followed by dairyproduction and to a very small extent, brickproduction. The rich need not diversify theiractivities and agriculture is a traditionaloccupation where they are familiar with the skillsrequired for this activity.

Boys working in a garage in Dharwad

Clear differences emerge when comparing themodes, where the largest number of people inthe further villages still remain in agriculturallabour while in the nearer villages, the largestconcentration of labourers is in construction andcommercial labour.

Table 5.3 Comparison of livelihood activities of different socio-economic groups: Near vs Far villages

Rich Medium Poor Very Poor

Near Far Near Far Near Far Near FarAgricultural production 32 40 20 36 4 8 0 0Dairy 12 7 8 15 3 2 1 0Artisan 0 0 1 0 3 2 2 0Commercial construction labour 0 0 1 1 8 0 11 3Brick/quarry labour 0 0 1 1 2 5 1 0Agricultural labour 0 0 2 4 8 17 7 10Trade 1 3 0 0 0 3 2 1Brick production 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0Others 1 3 3 0 2 2 4 2

Total 48 53 37 57 30 39 28 16

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For people falling into the medium wealth class,there is a similar pattern as the rich, except fora greater degree of diversity in the nearervillages with people also engaged in driving,petty business, artisans, professional positions,construction labour, brick and quarry labourand government jobs. People in the mediumcategory have a slightly higher diversity beinginvolved in activities requiring lower skill levelsand fewer resources, such as driving, pettybusiness and artisans, and even labour work.

The choice of occupation of the poor and verypoor depends mainly on regularity of work andwages. The peri-urban poor are involved inagricultural labour, dairy, artisan activities,commercial and construction labour.Additionally the poor also work in agriculturalproduction, brick kilns and quarries. Some of

the poor are also involved in other activities suchas driving, petty business, and religiousactivities. Some have government jobs and rearsmall livestock. Despite ample opportunities towork in quarries and brick kilns the very poorare less involved compared to the poor, whichcould be a function of skill levels, health orfamily commitments where they cannot takeadvantage of these opportunities. However forboth the poor and the very poor, a larger numberof people are involved in agricultural labour inthe further villages compared to the nearervillages. Another clear difference emerges whilecomparing the modes, where the largest numberof people in the further villages still remains inagricultural labour while in the nearer villages,the largest concentration of labourers is inconstruction and commercial labour.

Box 5.2 Conditions for diversification of livelihoods of the poor

Research shows that agriculture continues to be the most important source of livelihoods for thepoor. But this is not necessarily from choice. Often, it is because they are trapped in low returnemployment and rainfed cultivation, due to a lack of other remunerative options and the inabilityto break away from impoverishing agrarian arrangements. The poor are trying to diversify bothwithin agriculture and away from it. The factors that have enabled the poor to pursue theseoptions include access to informal credit and political patronage, social networks, entrepreneurialskills, education and access to information. The factors that limit them are their caste status,gender and location.

Deshingkar et al. (2002).

Thus in peri-urban areas, the very poor and poorhave more diversified livelihood activities witha lesser reliance on agriculture. In contrast therural poor still show a strong concentration inagricultural labour and production (Boxes 5.2and 5.3).

69

Box 5.3 Diversification of Livelihoods for the Rural Poor

In most countries in South Asia, the majority of rural poor are still primarily engaged in agriculture.But there has been a trend in all countries for people to move from rural to urban areas and,within rural areas, to move out of agriculturally-based occupations, often due to growing pressureon natural resources, declining terms of agricultural trade and other broad ranging trends insociety. These transitions are neither simple nor painless: some people are able to accumulatewealth and climb out of poverty by diversifying out of agriculture, taking on new more lucrativeactivities that enable them to invest in, and reduce the risks of, agrarian livelihoods. Sometimesthis involves subsequent specialisation into secure, full-time occupations. Other people, however,may diversify into coping activities, often part-time and casualised with low returns and lowsecurity. While these are essential to ensure survival, they are often associated with increasingpoverty and vulnerability. Both routes of diversification, either positive or negative, may involvetaking up some activities and dropping others as circumstances allow; a process of ‘portfoliomanagement’, though often with very restricted options or choice. At the heart of these choicesand constraints is the ability to gain access to new resources and opportunities, and climb out ofdeepening poverty traps. Yet the economies, societies and institutions that determine who winsand loses are also undergoing change.

DFID (2002).

Prioritization Among DifferentLivelihood ActivitiesAs families ranked the various livelihoodactivities, they were asked to explain the relativeadvantages and the importance they attribute toeach. The single most important reasonattributed to employment activities was regularityof work and security, except for agriculture andhorticulture, where tradition was the mostimportant reason (Figure 5.2). Security (food,financial advantage) is another reason to opt fora livelihood. Being in peri-urban villages, thepoor have the advantage of taking up differentactivities depending on the season. For example:the poor do agriculture labour throughout theyear except during summer, when there is noagricultural activity. Then they go for constructionand commercial labour. Other reasons includeconvenience of work place, payment provided incash and kind and to a lesser extent social status,

activities for sons and no other employmentopportunities.

Reasons attributed for being engaged inparticular activities:● Given an option, the poor prefer commercial

labour compared to agricultural labour dueto regularity of work.

● Between commercial and construction labourthe poor prefer the latter due to financial gain.

● Fruit and milk purchase and selling arepreferred if there is a convenient market

● For the poor, agricultural labour is easilyaccessible and they have the skills.

● The rich on the other hand prefer agriculturebecause of tradition and security.

● For example the rich are engaged in dairybecause it is convenient in terms of workplace,they have the skills and it is a secure activity(a guaranteed market).

70

Peri-Urban Effectson LivelihoodStrategies andOptions

Comparison was madebetween the importanceattr ibuted to dif ferentlivelihood activities by allfour socio-economicgroups together. Next thefour more distant villages(12–18 km) from the citywere compared with thefour that are nearer (3–6 kmfrom city) in Figure 5.2.

Agriculture and agricultural labour are moreimportant in the further villages compared to thenearer villages, as were brick and quarry labour.The availability of construction labour has giventhe poorer people of the nearer villagesalternatives and demonstrated the difference inthe importance attributed to this type of activity.

In the further villages there is a greater level ofimportance placed on trades that may have morelimited markets in villages nearer to the city dueto competition or easy access of consumers orproducers in those villages to the city markets.

The proximity to the market is one reason for agreater importance of dairy production in thenearer villages, as milk can be sold directly,avoiding the cut of the middleman andtransportation is easier. This is not to say that milkvendors do not operate in the near villages,merely that there is a greater probability thatfamilies will sell their own milk if they havesufficient family labour to do so. This information

Attraction of the labour force by the construction industry, housing development,near Kelageri village

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Agric. And hortic

Dairy

Brick kilns

Trade

Artisan

Ag. labour

Commercial labour

Construction labour

Brick/Quarry labour

Other

No other opportunities Activity for sons Social status Security

Convenient Workplace & Market Seasonality Regular work

Have ski lls Traditional

Figure 5.1 Importance of Activities

71

should be considered in respect to the costs offodder and availability of land for grazing. Fromlivestock survey data (Chapter 7) wealthierhouseholds have their own grazing fodder andfeed sources from their own land, but for thesmaller land holders or those with no land, it iscostly to meet these requirements. However,fewer poorer families have milch animals in thefurther villages according to the householdstudies and the market survey data. It is difficultto see how the poorer families involved in dairy,who can not rely on their own land for grazingand dry fodder and must therefore purchase it,make a living out of the activity.

Proximity to the market also facilitates vegetableand fruit production and sales. Thus dairy andvegetable production and sales are opportunitiesavailable more to the peri-urban poor. Box 5.4provides an example of how the peri-urban pooruse urban opportunities as a coping strategy.

6791

3627

25

31

44

363 28

3026

213

67

17 3528

78

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Importance (%)

Agriculture & Horticulture

Dairy

Brick kilns

Artisan

Other

Trade

Commercial labour

Construction labour

Brick/Quarry labour

Agriculture labour

Ac

tiv

ity

Figure 5.2 Importance of Activities

Near Villages Far Villages

Box 5.4 Migrant worker to vegetable farmer

The case of Rana Sana, a migrant agricultural labourer of Tankarupara village in the droughtprone district of Bolangir, Orissa state is an interesting one. With increased responsibilities athome after the death of his father and brother, Rana had no option but to stay at home and to tryother alternative livelihoods. He considered various options and opted for vegetable cultivationas a few families in the village were already into it. With vegetable cultivation, Rana has been ableto feed and take care of his family, his widowed mother and his deceased brother’s wife and son.He does not have to resort to migration anymore, which was his regular practice before he tookto vegetable cultivation.

The first shock was the death of his father. He and his brother had to borrow money at highrates of interest to perform the last rites and ceremonies. Unfortunately, his brother also passedaway, causing him to incur further debts. He now had to manage his brother’s share of2.60 acres as well. He had the added responsibilities of a wife and the son of his deceasedbrother. It became difficult for him to migrate for two reasons. The first was that he could notstay away for so long leaving behind his wife, his nephew, his old mother and his brother’swife. The second was that the income from migration was inadequate to meet the expenses ofa larger family back at home.

72

He considered various options and opted for vegetable cultivation in 0.60 acres, as a few familiesin the village were already into it. Soon he realised the need for irrigation and excavated twosmall wells which cost him Rs 600 each, in addition to his labour and poles which he procuredfrom his own land. Every year, desilting costs Rs 60 per well. Excavated silt is added to thevegetable beds. Vegetable cultivation is highly labour-intensive and keeps Rana busy throughoutthe year. In fact, he requires 40-50 personal labour days for vegetable cultivation on 0.60 acres.With no helping hands available, Rana leaves about 1.5 acres of sandy and less fertile landfallow, on account of the high cost of cultivation and high risks.

Kumar (2002)

Diversity of LivelihoodStrategies

Based on the information available, the poor andto a slightly lesser extent the poorest groupsshow a greater degree of diversity than thewealthier groups, and in the same way themedium families show greater diversity than therich. The Shannon-Weiner Index (SWI) has beencalculated to assess diversity.

Four factors seem to have influenced levels ofdiversity in livelihoods strategies:

Number in the family and the need to occupy all ofthe working members: In joint families there are afar greater number of people dependent on feweror more specialised activities (although the

resources and revenues are greater), which isreflected in the SWI for the rich and mediumc a t e g o r i e s(Fig 5.3).However, asthe capacityof theagriculturalactivities toabsorb thefamily labouris reached, alternatives are sought for sons, andthe range of livelihood activities within the jointfamily becomes more diverse.

Need to supplement income in addition to the one mainregular activity: Poor or medium families withsmall land holdings may need to supplement theirincome from their farms with additional activities,such as agricultural labour, running general storesor selling bangles during festivals for extra cash.

Need to find a series of seasonal activities to providework throughout the year: In Mandihal peopleprefer stone quarry work because it is better paid,but they work as agricultural labour in the kharifseason when quarry work is not available. InKelageri, the poor are involved in brick makingfrom December to June, then during the kharif

Shannon Weiner Index

Figure 5.3 Comparing Diversity of LivelihoodsBetween Socio-Economic Groups

Rich Medium Poor Very Poor

0.93

1.25

2.021.9

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

Wea

lth C

lass

73

season, June to October, they work as agriculturallabour after which they do contract work such asinstalling pipelines in Dharwad from October toNovember. Some are also involved in loading andunloading of trucks in Dharwad from June toOctober.

Capacity to work amongst family members: Theaged, widows, wives of disabled and fathers ofyoung families have fewer opportunities todiversify livelihood activities, and such familiesrepresent 50% of the poorest group. Women arereluctant or unable to venture far from home tofind opportunities, particularly if they have youngchildren to care for by themselves or are alonewithout family. The aged might find lighteractivities such as sheep grazing to supplementtheir incomes, but are otherwise dependent onagricultural labour near their homes, or on theincome of their sons. Even a man with a youngwife and babies might find it difficult to venturefurther from home to look for betteropportunities. These factors have contributed to

a lower level of diversity in the poorest groupthan in the poor group.

Ellis (1999) reported that, ‘Diversificationcontributes positively to livelihood sustainabilitybecause it reduces proneness to stress andshocks”, which from a policy perspectiveindicates the importance of developing anenabling environment for diversification throughappropriate policy and service provision, thusfacilitating the poor to gain access to increasedopportunities.

To determine if there was any differencebetween nearer and further villages, diversitiesof household l ivelihood strategies wereaveraged across all wealth classes and aShannon-Weiner Index calculated. This was 1.7for nearer villages and 1.8 for those furtheraway. There is no obvious differenceattributable to proximity to Hubli-Dharwad.This indicates that socio-economic class has agreater influence on livelihood diversity thandoes proximity to the cities.

Table 5.4 Number of changes in livelihood activities of the peri-urbanpoor: Near vs Further Villages

Nearer Kelageri Dasankoppa Gabbur Bidnal Totalvillages 10 6 8 6 30

Further Mandihal Pudakalkatti Inamveerapur Shiraguppi Totalvillages 4 7 4 3 18

Results presented in Table 5.4 show that in nearervillages, among the poor and very poor there isa greater tendency to change or add activities (30)than the further villages (18). Looking at thedifferences along each transect the nearer villagesshow at least twice as many changes except forPudakalkatti and Dasankoppa. Dasankoppa is

small and has poor transport facilities whilePudakalkatti though further away has bettertransportation facilities (Map 3.1, Chapter 3).

The reasons given for changing livelihoodactivities within households over the yearsreflect to a large extent the changes in family

74

circumstances (e.g., aging, death of familymembers, joint families dividing, sons becomingold enough to work) and the reasons forpreference for different activities alreadydiscussed above.

Figure 5.4 shows the options that members ofthe poor and very poor families have taken upover the past 30 years. Many have adopted “non

agricultural” employment opportunities that payhigher wages than agricultural labour, whileothers have found opportunities where they canearn a living or contribute to it, from independentactivities (self employment). This figure highlightsthe importance of non-farm incomes and thediversity of incomes in the household livelihoodsstrategy in the peri-urban areas.

Figure 5.4 Adoption of New Livelihood Activities by the Peri-Urban Poor

SELF EMPLOYMENT EMPLOYMENT IN NONAGRICULTURAL SECTOR

Commercialactivities

Managing orchardson contract basis

(1)

Wedding (1)Dairy (6) Regular

employment (4)

Shop assistant (2)

Bus conductor (1)

APMC weigh man (1)

Poultry (2)

Goats &sheep (2)

Photo studio (1)

Plumber (1)

Musicprovided atfestival (1)

Fruit/milk productsvending (2)

Tea shops (2)

General village stores (1)

Selling bangles at festivals (1)

New artisanaltraders

Livestock Agricultural orhorticulture onown or leased

land Constructionlabour

Commercialwork

Casual labour(3)

APMC Coolie:loading and

unloading (2)

Coolie inDharwad (1)

Factory work (1)

Brick andquarrylabour

7

411

2

24 21

87

6

Numbers in Fig 5.4 indicate livelihood activities adopted by members of the poor and very poor households over the past thirty years

75

Women in agricultural labour in the PUI

Vulnerability and CopingStrategies

In depth interviews of the poor households in allthe villages indicated the following as the factorscreating vulnerability in families (Table 5.5).

Illnesses and accidents increase vulnerability. Workrelated illnesses included respiratory problemsfrom carpentry, stone crushing and quarry work.This problem is well known amongst the quarryworkers, but as wage levels are higher andagriculture in Mandihal is quite poor, many derivethe main part of their income from this activity.Women are particularly vulnerable as they havefewer alternatives due to their preference to workwithin the village, closer to domestic duties. Thesame can be said of other hazards such as that ofexposure to the risks of sewage irrigation ofvegetable crops. Women are involved to a greaterextent in the husbandry of the crop, especiallyweeding (Bradford, 2001).

Another hazard that could be considered workrelated is the danger presented by the poorlycontrolled road traffic. Several fatal accidents wereobserved in a ten day period on the road betweenDharwad and Hubli, one of which involved a buswhich ran into women selling fruit by the roadside, killing them and many of the passengers.This concern was expressed by a person who hadtaken up the opportunity to add to his incomeby collecting the bus fares on a private bus servicerunning from Pudakalkatti.

Conclusions

Due to rapid urbanization and changes in theperi-urban interface the poor and the very poorare subject to greater shocks than their ruralcounterparts. While they have the distinctadvantage of falling back on urban employment

Women and children working in the construction industry

opportunities and diversifying their livelihoodstrategies, not all are able to avail of them, whichis what separates the poor and the very poor.One more disadvantage is that rural and urbanauthorities that exist in the PUI do not providethe types of support, programmes and servicesthat the peri-urban poor require. Many of theperi-urban villages that fall within the municipalboundaries, no longer have access to ruralprogrammes and charge their populations withurban taxes.

76

Vulnerabilityfactors

DroughtLarge family withhigh dependencyratio

Coping strategy

Left agricultural work formanual labour inDharwad cityAlso obtained an extrajob as a temporary busconductor

Impact on security of livelihoods

Earns more money than agriculture labourHowever, agricultural land is neglectedRisk of road accidents

Begging allows meeting of basic food needs

DepressionDependency

Reduced incomeChildren not attending schoolMore pressure on women and childrenFamily conflicts increase

Members work as labourers on contract basis onother’s landsDebts

Dependent on others

Reduced income and savingsUnrealised intention of returning to contractingmango orchards

Less pay but poor health does not permitanything elseChild labour is perpetuated

Table 5.5 Coping strategies and vulnerability factors reported by the peri-urban poor

Insecurity due toold age

Involved in religiousactivities (begging in thename of god)

Death of workingmember

Support from relativesWidow developedtailoring skills but not yetbeen able to work

Alcohol abuse The women and childrenhave to work

Dowry systemand marriageceremonies

Leased out land

Ill health

Urban market pricefluctuations (mangoprices crashed andlost money frommango harvest)

Support from relatives

Recovering slowly byselling fruits and curds assupplementary toagricultural labour

Now doing agricultureworkSon working in quarry

Quarry workoccupationalhazards resultedin loss of health

77

The peri-urban poor and very poor also chooselivelihood strategies based on tradition, regularityof work and security. Based on these reasons, theactivities where the peri-urban poor areconcentrated include agriculture, constructionlabour, livestock rearing, dairy production andvegetable and fruit producti]on

Government programmes for poverty alleviationare tailored either for the rural or the urbanscenarios. For the peri-urban areas theseprogrammes need to have a combination of bothrural and urban features and should be based onan activity rather than on a particulargeographical area. Thus any intervention shouldfocus on countering the barriers faced by theperi-urban poor to make use of urbanopportunities. Furthermore, for peri-urbanvillages which fall within the muncipalboundaries it is important for government torecognize their rural characteristics and providethe support required for rural sustainablelivelihoods.

Subsequent work by the research team hasdemonstrated the empowering effect ofestablishment of self-help groups (SHGs).5

Other experiments and success stories have alsoemphasized the importance of communitybased organization (Box 5.5). Lessons fromthese experiences show that providing resourcesto NGOs to facilitate community mobilization,provision of a larger amount of seed money tothe self-help groups should also focus more oncapacity building so that the peri-urban poorcan better compete with their urbancounterparts. Capacity building should includebuilding technical skills, credit managementcapacities, alternative income generation andmarketing skills. Policies should also aim atutilization of local natural resources to makelivelihoods sustainable. Therefore capacitybuilding of the peri-urban poor on naturalresource management is needed.

Skills Credit

Self Help Group

78

Box 5.5 Strategies to Combat Poverty

Despite several anti poverty programmes implemented by the Kerala government, povertystill exists in Kerala cities due to the ‘top-down’ planning approach used. Kudumbashree, theState Poverty Eradication mission aims to reduce poverty and empower poor urban women inKerala in a time bound (20 year period), sustainable manner. The strategy adopted includedforming a strong network of community-based organizations (CBOs). The CommunityDevelopment Societies (CDS) movement reached out to the community through women toidentify poor families who are then grouped into grass root level Neighbourhood Groups(NHGs), consisting of 15 to 40 women. The NHGs are federated into an Area DevelopmentSociety (ADS) at the ward level, which are further federated at the urban local body level intoa Community Development Society (CDS).

These neighbourhood groups prioritize the needs of the community to inform micro levelplanning. The micro plans of various NHGs are combined to form mini plans at the ADS leveland further combined to form the anti poverty sub plans of the urban local bodies through theCDS. Once the anti-poverty sub-plans are finalised, resources are pooled from various governmentprogrammes such as Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) and National SlumDevelopment Programme (NSDP) and the plan fund of urban bodies which are convergedthrough the community based organizations (CBOs). Consequently, 21,987 houses and 20,049toilets have been built for the urban poor.

About 200,000 poor women from 58 Urban Local Bodies of the State have been organized into7,848 NHGs thus ensuring that poor urban women are actively involved in the planning andimplementation processes. NHGs also promote savings which now amount to Rs.154 million(3.27 million US$). Micro Enterprise Promotion has resulted in 12,991 micro enterprises underthe CDS system in various fields ranging from information technology to mat weaving andrabbit rearing to biotechnology. Remedial Education Centres enhance the educational standardof poor children and help them prepare for public examinations and also give gainful employmentto educated poor women.

The significant aspect of this initiative is bottom up gender sensitive planning which starts at thegrass root level. About 100 members from CBOs have been elected as representatives of thecouncil of the urban local bodies. This ensures that both economic and political decision makinggets decentralized.

Kudumbashree, UN Habitat’s Best Practices Database

79

END NOTES

1 (http://www.rff.org/proj_summaries/00files/narain_natwealth_india.htm)

2 Wealth characterization exercises conducted in six peri-urban villages in a follow up project inJanuary 2003 entitled NAJA: Enhancing livelihoods and natural resource management in peri-urbanvillages near Hubli Dharwad.

3 Focus group discussions with other researchers working in Hubli Dharwad, and with urbanbusinesses in Dharwad in October 2002.

4 In Table 5.3, trade includes fruit and milk selling, fuel wood sale and auxiliary agricultural enterprise(flour mills, hiring out tractors and leasing out land). Others include rearing of small livestock(sheep, goats, chicken), religious activities (devotees of goddess Yellamma who beg for a living),government service, driving, and business.

5 In two subsequent action research projects (Participatory Action Planning Project, 2001 and NAJA,November 2001 onwards) in Hubli Dharwad in six peri-urban villages self help groups wereformed which were found to be an extremely effective strategy for dealing with both planningand implementation of community-based action plans.

REFERENCES

Bradford, A.M. (2001), Scope for Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in Sewage Irrigated Crop ProductionSystems in the Peri-Urban Interface of Hubli-Dharwad, India. Unpublished MSc Thesis. University ofWales, Bangor.

Carney, D. (1998), Sustainable Rural Livelihoods, Russell Press Ltd., Nottingham P:4.

Deshingkar, Priya, Usha Kulkarni, Laxman Rao, Sreenivas Rao, Raja Reddy and B Renuka, (2002).Poverty Traps Or Opportunity?: Changing Rural Livelihoods In Agriculture In Andhra Pradesh. An abstractof draft findings based on analysis in progress produced for the Rural Livelihood Futures workshop,Delhi, 17th-20th October 2002, for the Livelihood Options project. http://www.livelihoodoptions.info/what’s_new/workshop%20papers.htm

DFID (2002), From The Livelihood Options study Funded by DFID Rural Livelihoods Department,running until March 2003, and drawing on evidence from India, Bangladesh and Nepal http://www.livelihoodoptions.info

Ellis, F. (1999), Rural Livelihood Diversity in Developing Countries: Evidence and Policy Implications. NaturalResource Perspectives Number 40. Overseas Development Institute, London

Kudumbashree, UN Habitat’s Best Practices Database website: http://www.bestpractices.org

Kumar, Somesh (2002), Methods for Community Participation: A Complete Guide for Practitioners.Vistaar Publications a Division of Sage Publications, New Delhi.

Madan G. R. (1990), Poverty, Unemployment and Minimum Needs Programme India’s Developing VillagesAllied publishers limited A-4 Mayapuri II New Delhi P: 299.

Mosse, David (2001), Brokered Livelihoods: Debt, Labour Migration and Development in Tribal WesternIndia presented in the conference, Livelihood, Savings And Debt In A Changing World: DevelopingAnthropological And Sociological Perspectives, Wageningen, The Netherlands, 14–16 May of 2001.(http://www.sls.wau.nl/law/livelihoodsavingsdebt/abstracts/1605_09-00_mosse.html)

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Introduction and Background

This chapter analyses marketing systems ofagricultural produce in eight villages in the peri-urban interface, Hubli-Dharwad. Building uponthe Hubli-Dharwad Baseline Study,1 a briefmarket survey was undertaken for this analysiswhich focuses on marketing of produce andanalysing the supply chain from farmer toconsumer. It reviews and compares marketingstructures and systems with respect to:

1. Different economic classes of agriculturalactivities within and between villages.

Marketing Systems forAgricultural Produce in thePeri-Urban InterfaceJ. A. Mulla and J. C. Tuson

2. Different products from most to leastperishable.

In the villages closest to urban centres, fruits,vegetables and milk production, all perishablegoods, are more prevalent because of thefollowing advantages:

1. The strong and increasing demand from theurban population and urban growth

2. Market access and good roads make vegetableand milk production attractive.

Daily market

66

81

3. Sewage irrigation is available in all three‘vegetable growing villages’.

4. Financial factors: Urban investors are attractedtowards investment in land in peri-urbanvillages for cultivation of fruit orchards (a highinvestment-high value, less labourdemanding crop).

These distinct peri-urban features are strongestin the four villages close to the city (Map 2.1).

Box 6.1 Local vs Regional Markets

Markets can broadly be classified into twotypes based on the type of commodity:local or regional.

Local Markets: A market in which thebuying and selling activities are confinedamong the buyers and sellers drawn fromthe same village or nearby villages. Thismarket exists mostly for perishablecommodities in small lots, e.g., local milkmarket or vegetable market.

Regional Markets: A market in whichbuyers and sellers for a commodity aredrawn from a larger area than the localmarkets. Regional markets in India usuallyexist for food grains.

Mamoria (1999)

In contrast with the villages further away fromthe city, milk production is less important andthe marketing chains are distinctly different.Vegetables, particularly leafy vegetables, aregrown less.

Among the staple crops cultivated in all villages,sorghum (jowar), wheat, paddy and maize are themost important subsistence crops typical of poorer,less fertile soils in rainfed areas. Vegetable and fruit

crops, specifically summer crops supported bysewage irrigation, are particularly common inGabbur, Bidnal and Inamveerapur2, i.e. the villagesbest connected to the city. Grains compared tothe more perishable items such as vegetables andfruit crops cater to different markets (Box 6.1)

The methodology used included interviewingvillagers where data was collected on aquestionnaire proforma. During the analysis theeconomic classes were condensed into twocategories combining rich and medium farmers(those with access to land), and poor and verypoor farmers (those with little or no land).Preliminary findings revealed that rich andmedium farmers grew a larger variety of cropsfor sale than did poorer farmers. The study showshow marketing chains too have different routesfor these two categories of farmers.

Marketing Structures

Urban Markets

These include the daily markets of Hubli andDharwad cities. These larger markets cater to

Daily market

82

the local urban populations, especially the largersouthern region. These markets deal in wholesaleand retail sales. They procure consumables fromboth the peri-urban and rural farmers and sell inturn to retail outlets and consumers.

Daily market

Weekly Rural Markets

The rural population, sells and purchasescommodities in weekly or ‘sandy’ markets whichtake place on a fixed day of the week. Thesemarkets cater to a cluster of surrounding villagessupplying consumer durables as well as inputsrelated to agriculture. Middlemen also come tothese markets to procure agricultural produce buthave a smaller role to play than in the urbanmarkets. In the urban markets in contrast,middlemen both buy and sell produce on largerscales. Rural wage earners normally get paid ona weekly basis and hence these markets suitthem. This population due to a limited purchasingand storing capacity, spends their weeklyearnings in these markets. On the other hand,the urban population procures staples on amonthly basis and only perishables are boughton a regular basis.

Weekly market

Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee(APMC)

The APMC and Taluka Agricultural ProduceMarketing Committee (TAPMC), Governmentbodies, have the functions of offering price support,providing storage and marketing facilities. The twobodies never co-exist in the same place. The APMCwhich is located at the district head quarters ismanaged by elected members who have to befarmers and own land in the area covered by theparticular APMC. The APMC is monitored by aSecretary, appointed by the government. This is aregulated market. One such market situatedbetween Hubli and Dharwad where licensedagents, farmers and traders from across the statemeet. The agents are provided space for pooling

83

and displaying the commodities within the APMCpremises. They are stationed at the APMC andapproached by the farmers who develop a rapportwith these agents and bring their produce to themto facilitate sale through auctioning or tenderingsystems. The agents often advance money to thefarmers which they recover as and when theproduce is auctioned off.

This system exists both at the block (TAPMC)and district level (APMC) where the former catersto the rural populations and the latter to boththe peri-urban and rural populations. The APMCdeals in bulk sales based on tenders submittedby large buyers.

While the TAPMC is one outlet for small farmers.However the TAPMC is not an option for smallfarmers in peri-urban villages which are locatedand have transportation and road access todistrict headquarters where the APMC is located,making this market outlet, the APMC, a distinctperi-urban phenomenon.

Direct MarketingDirect marketing is done mainly by farmers withimmediate cash needs and less produce. They cango house to house catering to daily consumptionneeds or to wholesale shops and to a smallerextent to retail shops and hotels. Milk, vegetablesand fruits are sold to households and shops andhotels. Shops and hotels in addition also procure

staples on a smallscale. Theadvantage withthis type ofmarketing is thatthe payments areimmediate, andthere are nomiddlemen and

therefore the price is advantageous for both theproducer and the consumer. The disadvantage isthat they have to do the marketing themselveswhich takes them away from their farms, whichmany farmers can ill afford. Direct marketing isnot done by large scale producers be it forperishables or for staple grains.

Urban and weekly village markets provide allessential goods including perishables (milk andvegetables) and goods such as food grains. TheAPMC and TAPMC, on the other hand, representa regional market system covering a large area,and they do not sell perishables. Direct marketing,deals more with perishables and consumablecrops and caters to a small area, thus fitting thelocal market concept.

The advantages of weekly markets is the shortdistance that farmers and consumers from nearbyvillages have to travel. The advantages of the urbanmarket are the variety, regularity and large scaleof operation which lends to better economies ofscale and better prices. The advantage of theAPMC and TAPMC are its specialization, its highdegree of concentration of buyers, agents andsellers and the reputation for fair dealing. Bothare regulated by the government. The APMC has

Entrance to the APMC, Amargol, Hubli

84

further advantages of its capacity and scale whichattracts buyers and sellers across the stateboundaries and caters to bulk producers andconsumers.

Findings from interviews3 with farmers from peri-urban villages near Hubli such as Bidnal, Gabbur,Inamveerapur and Shiraguppi confirm thatvegetables are sold to commission agents (ordalals) who in turn sell these to the urban marketswhile the non perishable crops are sold tothe APMC agents. Interviews in Dasankoppa,Pudakalkatti, Mugad, Mandihal and Kelageri, allperi-urban villages in Dharwad taluk, showed thesame. Kalle and Kogilgeri villages are more distant,so do not grow vegetables, but sell their otherproduce to the APMC, Dharwad.

Urban agricultural markets have differentrequirements and opportunities stemming fromthe needs of urban populations compared to ruralmarkets where processing is not as necessary forthe rural consumer. Urban and peri-urbanagriculture also requires a service deliveryenterprise, unlike the rural. Also the credit andfinancial requirements needed for the peri-urbanneed to be tailored to these specific requirements.Conditions of existing credit programmes for theurban informal sector are often not the mostadequate for peri-urban farming enterprises.There are ample opportunities for the peri-urbanproducers to specialize their skills towardsprocessing, packing, and delivery networks.See Box 6.2.4

Box 6.2 Urban Agricultural Marketing

A major challenge for the coming years is to prepare extension services to provide relevant adviceto urban farmers, since most of their knowledge is based on rural experiences and does notnecessarily apply in the cities. This applies both to the methodologies used as well as to technicalknowledge diffused. The available literature on marketing focuses mainly on marketing from therural areas to the cities and exports, with an emphasis on the formal and central city markets.

The area of micro and small enterprises related to urban agriculture is a very interesting one thatis worth much more attention. Business opportunities in urban agriculture abound, resulting indifferent kind of enterprises that can be classified into three major categories (apart from theagricultural production enterprises):

• Processing enterprises (i.e. food preparation, packaging, milling, drying and others),

• Input delivery enterprises (i.e. agricultural supplies such as fertilizers, compost, soil media,seeds, pesticides, water, tools, feeds),

• Service delivery enterprises (i.e. special labour services such as milking, animal health assistance,book keeping, transport and others).

Informal sector programmes often overlook such enterprises and more attention is needed forprovision of training, management assistance, credit and marketing information to these microand small entrepreneurs.

UNFPA (1996)

85

Marketing Chains

The marketing chains described hereinclude those of highly perishableproduce such as milk and vegetablesas well as less perishable produce suchas cotton and paddy. If the peri-urbanproducers deal with perishables, ruralproducers deal with non perishables.These distinctly different chains needto be outlined in order to understandthe different market forces each typeof producer faces.

Marketing Chain of Vegetables

This marketing chain is depicted inFigure 6.1. Small and medium farmerstend to concentrate on their ownagricultural activities as they cannotgenerally afford to spend their ownlabour towards full-time marketing.Whatever they produce they bring it to the urbanmarkets and sell to middlemen in the markets.

Only very small farmers do direct marketing.Problems related to direct marketing faced bysuch farmers when they come to markets are thefollowing:

Vegetable Producers

Direct Marketing

Urban Household

Small retails outlets of regularvegetable markets and pettyvendors who sell outside the

urban markets

Home UseLarge Producers

SmallProducers

Very Smallproducers

Middlemen inUrban Markets

Hotels, Canteens,Hostels

Vegetables loaded to be transported

approach sellers where they can do one stopshopping and have a larger choice.

● They do not get the best locations in themarket place. Prime locations are alwaysoccupied by those who specialize inmarketing activities.

● They usually have only one product5 but urban consumers prefer to

● Thus villagers have to sit thewhole day to sell their product.

Direct marketing also has anopportunity cost of being unable toattend to farms in addition to thecost borne in the form of amunicipality tax levied daily for therental of space in the markets.

Thus it is cheaper and moreefficient for the small, medium andlarger farmers to accept the priceoffered by a middleman and thusdispose of their produceimmediately. Medium and larger

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agents being able to fetch a better price for theirproduce. Unlicensed middlemen also conduct thesame activities for the same rates but are notregistered with the government and pay no fees.

Milk Marketing Chain for thePeri-Urban ProducersMilk and milk products are either retained forhome use or sold through a variety of mechanisms(Chapter 7). The milk supply chain is representedin Figure 6.2. The more common routes reportedwere to urban markets, where 50% of raw milk issold through house-to-house sales, hotels, and vialocal vendors including the gowlies6, a grouplocated mainly in cities primarily involved inlivestock activities. Urban dairies includingKarnataka Milk Federation (KMF) account for theremaining 50% of the Hubli-Dharwad milk supplychain.7 Urban dairies have middlemen throughwhich they procure pooled milk in bulk. Milkproducers either sell to middlemen or directly tocustomers. Alternatively they process the milk intobutter or curds, which they then sell to urbanhouseholds. KMF does not feature in themarketing chain in Figure 6.2 since in the peri-urban villages KMF societies do not operatebecause producers have access to urban marketswhere they receive a much higher price.

In interior villages middlemen including gowliesare the major milk distribution option forproducers. Where gowlies do not operate due todistance or accessibility, Karnataka MilkFederation (KMF) societies have been set up. Dueto KMF’s low prices, this option is the last resortfor milk producers (Chapter 7 on Livestock).However KMF has acted as a check to exploitativeprices quoted by middlemen in certain instances.The KMF price thus raises the minimum price ofmilk acting as a support price. Fifty to sixtythousand litres of milk is sold daily in Hubli

f a r m e r sp r o d u c i n gp e r i s h a b l e stend to callmarkets to findout where theycan get the bestprice. Theproduce is thentaken to thosemarkets, notn e c e s s a r i l yHubli orDharwad, butthe largercoastal marketseven as far asGoa, Mangalore,or Karwar.

Price is determined largely by market forces.Based on the previous day’s supply and consumerdemand, the prices get determined. Agents arethe ones who are the key persons in pricedetermination.

In Hubli and Dharwad, middlemen are of twotypes, licensed and unlicensed. The licensedmiddlemen are called dalals or agents and have

a small shop. Farmers usually selltheir vegetables through dalals withwhom rapport has been built. Fromthe sales proceeds of vegetables dalalstake a 6% commission in Dharwadmarket and 8% commission at Hublimarket. Hubli is highly commercial,due to its large scale of operationwhich attracts producers with bulkproduce, and they are willing to selltheir produce at a higher commissionwhere they have the advantage of

Direct marketing

87

Dharwad in half litre and one litre sachets byKMF. KMF is set up in the form of a three tiersystem, the state level Apex body, stationed atBangalore, coordinates the Milk UnionLimited (MUL) at district levels. At the villagelevel, milk producers set up Dairy CooperativeSocieties (DCSs).

The problems with KMF as reported byfarmers is that the purchase price is not highand the payments are often delayed. Second,milk from all sources are pooled and the priceis based on the quality of pooled milk. Someof the advantages of KMF are that it providesemergency veterinary services and feed foranimals at a minimal cost to members on creditbasis. They also have fodder production anddevelopment programmes. KMF is trying toimprove its quality of services by procuringbuffalo milk and cow milk separately pricedaccording to fat content.

In interior villages, unlike the PUI, the MilkUnion Limited remains a major milkprocurement route. The Dharwad Milk UnionLimited (DMUL), specifically in Dharwad catersto milk shed area in North Karnataka and has aprocessing unit unlike other MULs. DMUL hasa unique milk handling unit, where apart fromnormal milk sales, milk is processed for wholemilk powder and skimmed milk powder and tomake butter, sweets, and curds.

Producers also use gowlies if there is a lack ofother marketing venues. Gowlies have settled inDaddikamalapur village (8km from west ofDharwad). They collect milk from Mandihal andneighbouring villages, which they sell door todoor in Dharwad to known customers. The directsale to the customer is almost certainly a functionof the perishability of milk, as its dailyrequirement is in limited quantities.

Milk producers / processor(curd/butter)

Home use

Small scale local

Urban dairyHouse to House

& Hotels

Local Vendors(including Gowlies

or middlement)

Figure 6.2 Milk Marketing Chain

The landless for whom dairy is a primaryoccupation sell door to door. However farmerswho have dairy as their secondry occupation finddoor to door sales time consuming and dependon gowlies. Furthermore for some farmers it isbelow their stature to be involved in door to doorsales especially for those for whom dairy is asecondary occupation. Basically direct salesinvolves a great deal of bargaining and criticismfrom consumers on the quality and quantity ofmilk, which is potentially demeaning. This typeof activity is viewed as low status particularly forfamilies, who have lost their ancestral propertyand wealth. In both villages, Gabbur and Bidnal,being close to Hubli, the gowlis use bicycles astheir primary mode of transport. The smallerfarmers on the other hand use public transportand sell on foot. Motorised modes of transportare preferable when procurement is from a moredistant village.

Alternatively, there are large-scale sales directlyto urban markets in Hubli and Dharwad. Hubliused to have a special butter market which hasbeen taken over by other wholesale products suchas electrical goods and plastics but is still called

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span of a few hours, a unique feature of the urbanmarkets. Dharwad has private dairies for collectionand sale. In Dharwad, milk is also sold to hotels,canteens, sweetmarts and hostels. Dharwad,unlike Hubli, does not have either a special buttermarket or an animal milking market. Hubli is acommercial city with a larger North Indianpopulation (Gujaratis, Punjabis and Rajasthanis)having greater purchasing power and food habitswith high demand for milk and milk products.

Finally, and whilst relatively unimportant ineconomic terms but vital in social and healthterms, is the small-scale milk sales to the localpoor. The urban poor cannot afford to buy goodquality milk. They therefore purchase cheaperwatered down milk, mainly supplied by peri-urban villages. This helps the poor, both sociallyand health wise as they can now afford milk at avery low price.

The process of selling dairy produce shows someinteresting patterns. In Gabbur and Bidnal,families prefer to sell the majority of milk (51%and 58% respectively) directly to hotels andhouseholds in Hubli, which provides a betterprice than vendors or retailers. In Gabbur, theprice of buffalo milk sold directly is Rs 15-20 perlitre but only Rs 7-11 when sold to vendors andretailers. Price received is higher for PUIproducers. This, and a ready urban market, hashad a direct effect on livelihoods making dairy aviable economic option for many farmers andeven the landless (Chapter 7).

The process described in Box 6.3. ofstrengthening linkages by providing inputs andbetter procurement prices has made dairy basedlivelihoods a success story which could befollowed elsewhere. Hubli Dharwad milkrequirements amount to 2,00,000 litres per day

the butter market and continues to be graced bysellers of butter and curds at the entrance. Hublialso has a milk market which is unique. Buffaloesare brought here and milked according to therequirement of the customer in front of him orher. It fetches a premium price which can be ashigh as Rs. 20-25 a litre since it is clearlyunadulterated and fresh. Animals here areconditioned to be milked several times within a

A gowli from a peri-urban village directly selling milk

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out of which about a fourth is supplied by KMFand half by peri-urban producers and theremaining share is being catered to by the

Box 6.3 Milk Marketing in Pondicherry

Milk procurement has increased in Pondicherry due to a union that prices milk based on fatcontent. It would be most appropriate to review and revise the procurement price of milk by themilk cooperative union (PONLAIT) as it happens to be a major player in the milk-marketingnetwork of Pondicherry. Milk Co-operative Societies (MCS) are the most important market outletfor cattle keepers in rural areas. At present the cattle keepers do not have an alternative to sellingmilk for the price given by the MCS. The milk producers in the peri-urban and urban areas whodepend on milk vendors for marketing receive better procurement prices.

PONLAIT at present supplies compound cattle feed (which has oilcakes as one of the importantingredients) to the members of the MCS. This is being used by at least 50 percent of MCSmembers. In addition, they also purchase oil cakes and wheat bran from the local shopkeepersto feed their cattle.

Milk producers suggested that the extension infrastructure in the Animal Husbandry Department(AHD) needs to be improved. The AHD needs to formulate and implement more productionoriented extension activities for the welfare of the landless.

A study of The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) showed thatthe landless cattle owners suggested that increased milk production is the major reason for rearingcrossbred cows. The study also revealed that for majority of these farmers, returns from sale ofmilk is an important livelihood income. In spite of the poor feeding, the farmers get more milkfrom crossbred (CB) animals, which helps secure their livelihood. A crossbreeding programme isbeing successfully implemented in Pondicherry. The present policy is of maintaining an averageexotic inheritance of 62.5 percent. Appropriate genetic production potential, suitable to the regionand the owners need to be further identified. Many members felt that the cattle owners especiallythe landless lack knowledge on rearing of the CB cows in a hygienic and profitable manner andtheir access to information is limited. The majority of these cattle owners are women.

Sadamate (http://education.vsnl.com/vetextn/workshop.pdf)

neighboring state of Maharashtra. This couldpotentially be an area for improvement throughbetter forward and backward linkages.

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Cotton Marketing Chain

Raw cotton is bought by various types of buyers,small manufacturers, big ginning mills, spinningmills as well as middlemen. The cotton containsseeds and some vegetation which needs to becleaned and then compacted into cotton bales.Farmers put the cotton in gunny bags which isbrought to the market and sold. From here smallmanufacturers who make home utility cottonbased products like mattresses, pillows, cushionsand so on have their own small traditional andimproved ginning units for processing the rawcotton. The bigger agents of spinning mills, andmiddlemen sometimes send this cotton for

processing to ginning mills or sometimes theginning mills directly purchase raw cotton whichthey then process and sell.

There is substantial variation in price (Fig 6.3).Poorer farmers reported receiving a higher pricefor their cotton than the rich. While the pricereported by them in some instances is higher, thereis a possibility of poor farmers being cheated interms of weight and measurement. Some farmersreported a price of Rs300 but these later wereexcluded as they were implausible. Also the poortend to sell small amounts of 100 or 200kg to smallscale manufacturers (for cotton beds, pillows, andquilts) for a better price while the rich obtain awholesale (lower) price in regulated markets, butare able to simultaneously reap economies of scale.Small farmers in the peri-urban interface haveaccess to manufacturers whose factories and outletsare located in urban centers.

There are different distribution modes for the richand the small farmers (Fig 6.4). Due to the lackof credit and small quantities of produce, thesmall farmers are forced to sell to the local sandymarket or to middlemen where they getimmediate payment.

The rich auction their produce in large quantitiesin the regulated markets (Agricultural ProduceMarketing Committees) typically at a wholesalerate based on the quality. Often the buyers delaythe payments to the APMC who in turn delaypayments to the farmers. The APMC provides aregulated environment for bidding according tomarket forces. Therefore while it does not providea support price it provides a transparent set ofprocedures by which prices announced throughthe bidding procedure are adhered to. It alsoprovides an alternative selling space for farmersto dispose of their goods without which theywould be subjected to exploitation by middlemen.

Industries

APMC

Small Farmers Rich and MediumFarmers

Local Vendors/Small ScaleIndustries/Middlemen

TAPMCVillageMarkets

1581

800

2500

34372900

4000

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

Cotton with seed Cotton without seed (Lint)

Figure 6.3 Prices of Cotton (Cost per 100 Kg in Rs)

Average price Lowest price Highest price

Ru

pee

s

Figure 6.4 Cotton Marketing Chain

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Cotton being sold at the APMC, Amargol, Hubli

Both buyers and middlemen who are involved inthe purchase and marketing of cotton, operate asignificant control on the price of goods at differentpoints of the marketing chain. Middlemen controlthe price given to medium and small farmers byacting as creditors, supporting farmers with loanswhere the price is fixed at the time the loan isgiven, irrespective of the quality. Often middlemenhave direct or indirect links to manufacturers whoadd value to the products. Middlemen thus haveready markets as they are already linked to buyersand know their demand.

APMC: A major outlet for cotton and groundnut

APMC cess and through not paying the APMCagents’ commission, the buyer and seller both geta better rate. Sidestepping the regulated marketsis not good since these add to the tax base, andprovides a platform for competitive prices, forbetter quality and distribution of bulk produce.

Some clear policy directives that support smallfarmers stem from the above situation:

● Peri-Urban small farmers do not haverecourse to the regulated market and thushave to rely more heavily on middlemen. TheTAPMC is accessible to the rural small farmer.Strengthening the TAPMC and creatingawareness and developing confidence amongsmall farmers to link to the TAPMC is vital.

● A second policy option to support smallfarmers would be to create cooperatives orother facilities to facilitate purchase at thevillage level.

● Price regulation mechanisms need to be putin place to protect small farmers. Cottonhaving very high production costs, requiresspecial credit facilities to be created for smallfarmers to avoid middlemen.

Cotton mill agents exert a different form ofcontrol at the APMC which affects the largecotton producers. They may together offer a lowerprice in tacit agreement with each other creatingwhat is referred to as a ‘ring’, commonly seen inscrap dealers, timber dealers and governmenttenders. The buyers and their agents thus createmonopoly effects lowering prices for sellers.

Sometimes industry representatives bypass theregulated market and lift the produce directly fromfarmers. While this avoids the tax payment of

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Paddy Marketing Chain

The most obvious feature of Figure 6.5 is thatmarketing systems for rice are relatively complexcompared to other marketing chains. The reasonis because unlike other crops, paddy has to beprocessed first and therefore cannot be marketeddirectly to the consumers or the urban markets.

The core of the paddymarketing system is the chainfrom paddy growers throughlocal or village levelmiddlemen and urbanmiddlemen to the APMC(where relevant), mill, theprocessing unit andsubsequently to the urbanmarkets and customers.

With the exception ofDharwad, the APMC isheavily involved in this chain.In Dharwad paddy farmersgrow a particular variety of

paddy (Intan) which is suitable for processinginto puffed and flaked rice. They are directlyconnected with processing units so they neednot trade through the APMC. Here paddygrowers are doing relatively well despite theAPMC’s lack of support.

Paddy

Local middle

Urban middle

APMC

LocalRice mill

Rice processing unitsfor popping and flaking

Urban

Customer

Note: The APMC does not deal with paddy in Dharwad but theAPMC does play an important role in paddy marketing chains inother districts where paddy is the main crop. In Dharwad paddy isnot a major crop. Wherever paddy is grown in the PUI of Dharwaddistrict it is sold to the middlemen and they in turn sell to the riceprocessing units and mills.

Policies to facilitate the formation of self helpgroups among producers for credit andmarketing are needed. Policies are also neededwhich facilitate the APMC’s capacity to dealwith all major crops in the region. TheMandibisi Mahila Mandal (Box 3.5) has madean effort in forming a marketing societythrough which they are able to enter into thelarger markets avoiding middlemen.

Figure 6.5 Paddy (rice) Marketing Chain

Contract workers from Pudakalkatti unloading rice at the rice mill in Dharwad

93

Review of CommodityMarketing Systems

Farming activities are strongly influenced bymarket forces. The rich sell while the poorconsume a greater proportion of their produce.For some commodities, middlemen exert a largecontrol on prices as well as credit arrangements.

Vegetable and milk production is more commonin villages close to the urban centres or in villageswell connected to urban markets by publictransportation, as might be expected for perishableproduce. Each of the peripheral villages have theirown particular sets of circumstances thatdetermine crops grown.

Marketing chains of perishable and lessperishable crops show some commonalties anddifferences:

● For all crops, perishable and less perishables,middlemen play a key role. In both cases withsmaller quantities direct sale is possible. Inthe case of perishables where the quantitiesproduced are small, direct sales through doorto door household marketing and vending isan option. For less perishables, with smallerproduce only direct marketing is possible tovalue adding units such as paddy poppingunits and cotton based household products.

● The APMC plays a very important role amongthe less perishable commodities.

● Role of processing units is also significantamong the less perishable crops. The need forprocessing impedes the producer’s ability tosell directly to the consumer and thereforecreates the space for a buyer’s monopoly andfor their control of the price.

● Among perishables, as the consumption hasto be immediate, producers cater to localurban markets.

● Direct marketing for both perishables and lessperishables, results in immediate cash flows,are typically small scale in nature andtherefore it is the landless, small and marginalfarmers that are involved.

● For APMCs, the waiting periods are muchlonger for receiving payment because of thetendering and auctioning procedures.Therefore credit given by APMC agents tofarmers is the norm. Bulk sales and purchasesand delayed payments result in only largeproducers and buyers being involved in thesechains as only they can withstand suchfinancial pressures.

● Middlemen in the marketing chain ofperishable goods are largely unlicensed andtherefore their activities are less regulatedwhere sales are made on the spot and alltransactions are completed within an hour ortwo. Since the goods are not stored, butdisposed of quickly, the middlemen do notsit at their stores for any length of time.

● On the other hand for the less perishable cropchains, middlemen deal with crops for alonger duration and cannot dispose them offquickly. They have to operate within theAPMC which requires licensing and due tothe clientele being larger farmers, they requirelarger financial flows.

Prices for most agricultural commodities varygreatly. This suggests that the role of the APMCin controlling the fluctuations in prices isunsuccessful as it is undermined by the strongcontrol of middlemen on prices. Higher priceswere gained for commodities in villages aroundHubli. This finding corresponds with higherprices for land around Hubli (Chapter 2). Hublialso has a higher population with greater market

94

demand compared to Dharwad. Pricedifferentials show some interesting patterns.Cotton appears to be more expensive closer tothe urban centres with the poorer classesreporting a higher price received.

Small villages away from major transport routesrely very heavily on the APMC - middlemenassociation to sell their produce rather than localmarkets. Because marketing is more costly forfarmers in more distant villages, middlemen cansecure a lower price than in other villages thathave a more strongly competing market andbetter transportation. On the other hand thelarger villages such as Kelageri and Shiraguppihave more diversified marketing arrangementsand better prices due to saving on transport, time,and labour.

The systems for each commodity are verydifferent. The milk systems show a necessaryintegration between the producer and theconsumer due to the perishability of the product.Rice can be stored for long periods, and thus thereis an increased complexity of the marketingsystem. There is a very complex interaction

between a variety of stakeholders, including theproducer, two sets of middlemen, two sets ofprocessors, and a variety of selling outlets for allstakeholders.

Fruit, which is intermediate in perishabilitybetween milk and paddy, has a marketing systemthat is fairly simple. Here the standing crop isleased to contractors who market to processingunits directly or through commission agents.Vegetables on the other hand are sold largely bythe farmer in the local or urban markets eitherdirectly or through commission agents. Vegetableproducers endure relatively high packaging andtransportation costs that limits their productionto those villages near urban centres.

Policy Implications

Policy on price: Reporting of price informationin different markets should be made availablethrough radios and TV marketing channels tofarmers to avoid glut and deficit in the supply andcorresponding price fluctuations in certain markets(Box 6.4).

Box 6.4 The Need for Market Information

Market information and intelligence is important for farmers and traders to balance supplyand demand in the marketing system and avoid gluts and deficits in supply and correspondingprice fluctuations. This is all the more important in India, since there is no price control forhorticultural produce - it depends largely on supply and demand. In wholesale mandis (markets),price is determined by auction. This auction system is not transparent and manipulation is thenorm: farmers invariably lose out in the process. Recently, government agencies like the NationalHorticulture Board and Agriculture Product Marketing Committees of state governments havestarted reporting market and price information but the time lag in the reports reduces theirrelevance. They can be assessed more as historical data for statistical purposes rather than amechanism to regulate the market.

Post Harvest Technology: Making the Most of What We Grow, Market Watch.8

95

Establishment of farmers markets: In Hublithe latest development is the creation of the“raithara santhe” or farmers markets establishedby the government. This provides farmers a spacein the urban markets for direct marketing to theurban consumers thus shortening the marketing

Raithara Santhe: Farmers’ market (Hubli)

Farmers’ market (Hubli)

chain and avoiding middlemen. More of thesetypes of farmers markets should be promoted.

Post harvest technology: Perishable commoditiessuch as fresh fruits, vegetables and milk areincreasing in surpluses. These need to be carriedfrom production areas to consumption centres orcommercial processing units to increase their shelflife. Specialized cold storage units, transportationinfrastructure (which regulate temperature) andpacking materials are available today albeit inlimited supply and should be made available onlarger scale.

Credit: Small farmers need special programmesthat provide easy access to credit. This wouldunder cut the control excercised by middlemenon small farmers over price and creditarrangements.

96

END NOTES

1 R6825; Universities of Birmingham et al., 1998: 50 - 60

2 See Chapter 3

3 Interviews conducted with farmers in November, 2002

4 UNFPA, http://www.unfpa.org/swp/1996/CH596.HTM

5 Interviews with farmers

6 A caste which specialises in the dairy industry, either producing orvending, although milk production and sales is by no means limited tothis group

7 Interview with KMF

8 http://www.postharvestindia.com/market/market.htm

REFERENCES

Mamoria, C B (1999) Agricultural Problems of India, Kitab Mahal, New Delhi

UNFPA (1996) The State of World Population 1996: Changing Places: Population,Development and the Urban Future, Marshall, Alex (ed.), United NationsPopulation Fund, New York

Post Harvest Technology: Making the Most of what we grow, Market Watchhttp://www.postharvestindia.com/market/market.htm

Sadamate, V V Policy Frame Work For Agricultural Extensionhttp://education.vsnl.com/vetextn/workshop.pdf

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Background

Peri-urban areas are characterized by change,often rapid, resulting from urban development.There is also a lack of coordination betweenagencies concerned with natural resourcemanagement in urban and rural areas. This resultsin the absence of strategies to utilize theopportunities for new livelihoods and thwartthreats to existing livelihoods. Thesecharacteristics mean that some people,particularly poor, are unable to respond effectivelyto change and may find their householdlivelihoods under threat. Well planned andtargeted interventions are required to enablepeople to make the best of new opportunities

Livestock: PromisingLivelihood Opportunities

for the Peri-Urban PoorP Bhat, A Nitturkar and J A Mulla

and overcome the threats. This requiresunderstanding of the intense interactionsbetween urban and rural areas characterizing theperi-urban interface. One aspect, which needthorough understanding, is the livestock in theperi-urban area.

Many factors influence the management of livestockin these areas. One factor is the demand for milkand dairy products that increases with increase inthe urban population. Since most urbanpopulations are made of ‘non-productiveconsumers’, the increase in demand has to be metby increased production around the city. Largeorganised dairies procuring and supplying milk

Women in Channapur getting ready to board the bus to Hubli to sell curds

77

98

from distant production pockets meet part of it.However urban populations, being diverse, havediverse tastes and diverse demands. One suchdemand is for fresh milk sold directly by theproducers and vendors. The other is the preference

of Indian taste buds for buffalo milk. The urban milkconsumers also have diverse preferences for themilk price that they would like to pay. Thesedemands though small (Boxes 7.1 and 7.2) are theforces that make peri-urban dairy thrive.

Box 7.1 Livestock in Peri-Urban Systems

In peri-urban systems, urban residents engage in livestock production to supplement their incomes.Very little is known about these systems, but they appear to be a growing phenomenon, at leastin Africa and the Middle East. According to one evaluation, women’s peri-urban farms are generallymuch better run than those of men. In Iran, the peri-urban livestock sector is controlled by acommercial elite rather than by the middle class or urban poor; the sector is mostly in the form ofprivate feedlots and fattening operations around major towns, owned by people who are alsolivestock traders, butchers or owners of large breeding herds. In those households where themen also have off-farm work (in construction, as water or vegetable sellers or as middlemen),women have to perform the men’s as well as their own tasks of raising animals. In these peri-urban communities of displaced people, women can no longer rely on kinship and social-reciprocalnetworks.

Source: IFAD (1994)

The study therefore assumed that the livestockbased livelihoods are greatly influenced by urbangrowth. It follows that understanding the trends ofthese influences will help in better managing thelivelihood shifts in these villages. This study was anattempt to understand the changes in the livestock

system in the PUI driven by urban development bylooking at ten villages around Hubli–Dharwad. Thevillages included four near1 and five far2 villagesand a village (Varoor) much further but connectedwell to the city.

Box 7.2 Urban Dairies in Hubli-Dharwad

In and around the city there are large and small dairies. About twenty commercial enterprises keepbetween ten and twenty buffaloes and crossbred cows, while a number (30-40) of smaller dairieskeep crossbred cattle. By far, the largest number of urban dairies belong to traditional buffalo keepers,known as gowlies. Some of these households rely solely on the milk produced by buffaloes as theirsource of income, others may rely more on urban-based work, but keep one or two buffaloes as asource of milk for their family and as an additional source of income. Keeping buffaloes is also partof tradition. Animals may be impounded in a vaada or go-shaala, which are cattle shelters, includingpounds where roaming cattle are taken. Owners of cattle have to pay a fine for the latter.

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The main source of fodder for the urban dairies is from the adjoining rural areas. The urbandairies purchase sorghum and grasses during the harvest season and store it for use during theyear. The owners of large urban dairies have their own resources for growing fodder, includingcereals and legumes. Additionally, food waste from hotels and cafés and vegetable waste is fed tothe buffaloes.

Milk is sold once or twice a day in Hubli-Dharwad, depending on demand. There are severaldifferent methods of marketing the milk. Gowlies sell their milk directly to hotels, boardinghouses and households. Some gowlies milk the buffaloes in front of the consumers, to assurethem of the freshness of the milk, which is also carried out in certain locations, for example atfixed hours in the morning and evening. A premium price is paid for such fresh milk. Sometimesloans are given to the gowlies for the purchase of buffaloes, with the loan repaid in the form ofmilk. A further marketing route involves vendors collecting milk directly from dairy owners anddelivering the milk to organised milk booths in Hubli-Dharwad.

The milk collected by the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) from the rural areas, along withdried milk, poses a significant source of competition to the traditional urban dairies. People canobtain milk when they want it, rather than wait for it to be delivered, and its sale appears to beincreasing, despite the fact that, in some cases, it is a little more expensive than buffalo milk,retailing at around Rs11 a litre (approximately Rs41 = 1 USD).

Milk produced in the urban areas is, however, not a substantial source of supply to the city. Fromlivestock census data, it is possible to estimate approximately how much urban dairies contributeto the milk supply of the city, working out at 0.03–0.06 litres per person per day in 1997. Althoughthese figures are estimates, and the numbers of cows and buffaloes given in the census may notbe entirely reliable, the figures are quite low. Milk from KMF and more commercial dairiesdominate the market, and these dairies are likely to increase their dominant position if theconstraints on urban dairies are not reduced, and if consumers increasingly prefer pasteurisedmilk and modern forms of purchasing.

Source: Nunan (2000)

The respondents were selected on the basis ofland holding as a proxy for wealth classes, basedon the general assumption that the peopleholding most land are the richest, and thoseholding less land and landless are poorer andthe poorest respectively.

This classification was used because there was noother quick and guaranteed method to classify therespondents. Government institutions also use this

assumption. The categories considered in this studyare big farmers (BF)3, small farmers (SF)4, marginalfarmers (MF)5 and landless (LL).

A maximum of 40 families in each village with 8-10 families of each category were surveyed usinga structured interview. A list of 20 families of eachcategory was prepared with the help of the villageaccountant, panchayat secretary and village leadersand the first available 8–10 families of each

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category were surveyed. It is recognised thatselecting the first available families introduced abias against those families who for whateverreason were absent from the village, but in thetime available it was considered that this was areasonable compromise if sufficient data were tobe collected. Those families that have or had anytime in the past, livestock of any form, wereconsidered for the survey and the families thatnever had livestock were excluded. The survey wasdone door to door personally interviewing thehead of the family or key informant from thefamily. Details of numbers of respondents pervillage are presented in Table 7.1.

Data on livestock number, household milkconsumption, use of livestock for draughtpurposes and management practices werecollected for the year preceding the survey (2000)and for the year 10 years before the survey (1990).Data on quantity of milk and number of animalssold, income from it, number of animals boughtand amount spent, quantity of feeds and fodderused and cost,

diseases and veterinary care were collected onlyfor the year 2000.

Questions addressed in the study of the livestocksystem in the PUI were:

● Has dairy production increased in importanceas a livelihood option over time?

● Do the characteristics of dairy productiondiffer in peri-urban villages compared to nonperi-urban villages6?

● Are there changes in management systemswith urban growth over time and are theyinfluenced by urban growth?

● Where are the markets located for milk, milkproducts and livestock?

● What are the temporal and spatial (near andfar from the city) differences in livestockpopulation? Is it likely that urban growth hasinfluenced it?

● Are the changes in livelihood opportunitiescreating opportunities for the poor in the

villages?

It needs to be stated at the outset that urbanlivestock enterprises, such as poultry units,pig keeping and urban dairies, fall outsidethe scope of this study. However, theirimportance is recognised, and they areconsidered elsewhere by Nunan (2000).

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Table 7.1 Number of respondents interviewed per village,by land holding

Name of village Number of respondents interviewed

Total BF SF MF LL NA

Bidnal 40 12 13 6 9 0

Channapur 40 9 10 11 10 0

Dasankoppa 19 7 2 4 6 0

Gabbur 37 7 10 10 10 0

Inamveerapur 34 6 4 11 13 0

Kelageri 40 10 10 10 9 1

Mandihal 32 8 8 4 10 2

Pudakalkatti 39 10 13 11 5 0

Shiraguppi 40 10 12 10 8 0

Varoor 40 7 8 8 7 10

NA- Wealth class not determined.

Livestock

Dairy Animals

In general, the buffalo is the preferredmilking animal, as consumers prefer itshigh fat content. However, cows arealso present, as they are required toproduce bullocks for draught. It is clearthat there is an increase in number oflocal buffaloes and a decrease innumber of local cows over time andthat buffalo numbers increase withproximity to the urban area (Table 7.1).

Livestock rearing is gaining importancein peri-urban villages with morefamilies involved over time. Out of 321families studied, only eight did not haveany type of animals in the year 2000where as 37 families did not possesesany type of livestock in 1990.

Livestock rearing is not the primaryoccupation for the rural population butserves instead as a support enterpriseto agriculture in the rural belts of

Dharwad district. Cattle7 are the most commonlyreared component of livestock. Cattle are rearedprimarily for draught power and for manure, ratherthan for milk. Buffaloes, on the other hand, arereared primarily for milk and milk products, as

consumers prefer its high fat content andas a result the milk fetches a better price,and their numbers increased slowly overthe decade. Ignoring those categories withlow numbers (Cross bred bullocks,upgraded buffaloes, sheep), the trend forCB cows is sharply upwards, albeit from alow base, whilst local cows and bullocksare declining.

Vegetarianism being the predominantdietary feature of the area, livestock rearingfor slaughter is not common. Somecommunities, poor farmers and thelandless, practice goat and sheep rearingfor additional income. ‘Backyard poultry’

Figure 7.1 Local Buffaloes and Cows per householdby Village Location

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exists in small numbers where a few local chickenare raised for consumption and sale. Other typesof livestock are not commonly reared in ruralDharwad. In one of the villages surveyed therewas a large scale poultry unit, but such units arenot common around Hubli–Dharwad(approximately 20 within 10 km radius of thecentres of both cities).

Figure 7.2 Temporal Changes in Number of HouseholdsRearing Livestock: 1990-2000

Box: 7.3 It’s not Just Distance that Makesa Village Peri-Urban: Varoor

Varoor is a village at a distance of about17 km from Hubli towards the south onthe Bangalore road. A survey of Varoor wasconducted to get information about anapparently less peri-urban village tocompare with the data from peri-urbanvillages near and far from the city. But theanalysis of data shows that Varoor hascharacteristics of a peri-urban village.

The reasons for this were traced and it wasfound that

● It is on the Bangalore-Pune NationalHighway 4.

● It has many hotels and shops, whichcater to the needs of passers on thisroad. Many trucks and buses stop herefor meals.

● There are many small industries andcommercial establishments coming upin the vicinity of this village, bringingin many outsiders to the village daily.

● Many of the residents have businessestablishments in Hubli and in turnhave employed many from this villagein their establishments. All theemployees commute daily to Hubli.

● There are petrol pumps near to thevillage on the road where manyvehicles stop for fuel.

In villages close to the city mean number ofbuffaloes per family was double the number indistant villages. Over time, buffaloes increasedby 50% in near villages and only marginally invillages further away from the city. This is an

Note: Multiple responses are possible; i.e. some households kept both cows/bullocks and buffalo.

Buffalo: Important livestock for the peri-urban poor

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indication of farmers investing in buffaloes asspecialized dairy animals. This is particularly soin villages near the urban centres where accessto markets is better and a high demand for buffalomilk prevails. There are however examples ofdistant but well connected villages behavingsimilarly.

Big farmers on an average owned the highestnumber of dairy animals and the landless theleast (Fig 7.3). The number of local cows hasdecreased for all the economic classes except thelandless where it remained the same (Fig 7.4).This could be because the landless consider cattleas an encashable asset to be sold in times of need.In all other classes there is a preferential shiftfrom cows to buffaloes retaining only a minimumnumber of cattle for draught, manure and milk.This overall shift to buffaloes is accentuated inthe peri-urban interface.

From poor to wealthier, there is a steady increasein mean number of dairy animals, except formarginal farmers. The marginal farmers ownmore buffaloes than small farmers who depend

more on agriculture and less on dairy for theirincomes. Marginal farmers view dairy as theirprimary occupation since their land holdings tendto be smaller and less productive.

Bullocks

In general the number of bullocks in the peri-urban area has either decreased over time or

remained the same for all classes in nearvil lages. This is an indication thatagriculture in these villages is becomingless important; or perhaps is a result oftractor purchasing or leasing. On anaverage each family in near villagesowned 1.9 bullocks in 1990 whichdeclined to 1.73 in 2000. The trend infar villages is the reverse of this. Therewas a slight increase in the number ofbullocks in 2000 (1.46) as compared to1990 (1.38). This is as expected becauseagriculture sti l l remains the mostimportant economic activity.

Figure 7.3 Local Buffaloes per Household by LandholdingClass (mean of all villages)

Big

Far

mer

s

Sm

all

Far

mer

s

Mar

gin

alF

arm

ers

Lan

dle

ss

Figure 7.4 Local Cows per Household by Landholding Class(mean of all villages)

Big

Far

mer

s

Sm

all

Far

mer

s

Mar

gin

alF

arm

ers

Lan

dle

ss

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One interesting peri-urban feature driven bymarket demand is that even landless householdson the average maintain over two animals (cowsand buffaloes).

Sheep and Goats

Sheep rearing in particular is not common in thearea. Goats are found in larger numbers in all thevillages except Bidnal, and are largely confined tothe landless sector. This is because they need not

be confined to the house and can be grazed onwastelands or field bunds. But it is interesting tonote that their number has increased over the last10 years, both in near and far villages. The reasonfor this increase is probably due to prolificacy andeasy liquidity of goats.

Poor communities keep poultry in backyardsthough in small number. Surprisingly, thesample of households interviewed in Mandihalvillage did not have any poultry. This is a villagewith a commercial hatchery with parent stock.With urban growth some organised poultryfarms have been established in the last ten yearsin all villages near the city except Gabbur (Thismay be because Gabbur has lost much of itsland due to the national highway and by-passrunning past the village)

Household Consumption

Milk

Households in nearer villages on an averageconsume more milk than those in distant villages(Fig 7.6). In Varoor, the farthest village, theconsumption of milk was slightly more than thefar villages but less than the near villages (1.4 l/day in 1990 and 1.3 l/day in 2000). This ispresumably a function of availability of milk forhousehold consumption, but the slight declineover time in all villages is an interestingphenomenon, given the increase in buffalonumbers. The consumption of milk could havedeclined as the market for milk sale improved.

The milk consumption when averaged over allclasses showed a slight decline over the lastdecade (Fig 7.7). Figures clearly show inequitybetween the wealth categories, revealing a morethan three-fold difference in consumptionbetween large farmers and the landless.Goat the poor man’s cow, Channapur, a peri-urban village

Figure 7.5 Average Number of Bullocksby Village location

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Households with larger land holdings are ableto consume more milk whilst landless familieshave to sell as much as possible to maintain theirlivelihoods. There was, however a slight increasein daily milk consumption for marginal farmers(from 0.88 l/d in 1990 to 0.94 l/d in 2000).

Egg and Meat Consumption

Very little meat and eggs are consumed. There isa tendency to sell them to earn money in thecity. Muslims and other communities doconsume meat and eggs but still in very small

quantities. The data on this factor weresparse, so no firm conclusions could bedrawn.

Milk Sales and the MilkMarket

Urban dwellers, are the main consumersof milk and milk products produced inperi-urban villages (chapter 6). Figure 7.8illustrates that in the near villages,especially the three villages within HDMC(Gabbur, Bidnal and Kelageri) most of theproducers market milk door to door in theurban area. For the far villages it is less.This is because of good demand, higherrates, payments when required, personalrapport with customers (who sometimeshelp producers purchase animals bypaying in advance) and the option toadjust quality of milk according to theprice offered by the customer. Producerscloser to the city can directly market theirproduce by-passing the middlemen, thusobtaining even higher revenues.

However, the use of middlemen such asGowlies is high in both near and far

villages. In the near villages for some farmers theeffort to go to urban markets to sell a limitedamount of milk is not worth it and therefore theyuse middlemen. In the far villages middlemenare used for lack of any other alternative forexternal marketing. In the villages far away fromthe city, the internal market is not negligible.However, in villages close to the city familiesclearly prefer to sell their produce to urbanmarkets or even to middlemen than to localmarkets (the hotels). Hotel owners often producetheir own requirement of milk.

Figure 7.6 Milk Consumption(I/household/day) by Distance of Village

Figure 7.7 Milk Consumption Averaged AccrossWealth Class (I/household/d)

Big Farmer SmallFarmer

LandlessMarginalFarmer

0.94

0.88

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Overall dairying is an important occupation inthe PUI. The average milk sales per family peryear in villages close to the city is five times higherthan that of a family from a distant village (Figure7.8). The average income from these sales is evenhigher (close to six times)(Figure 7.9). Thisemphasises the high demand in urban areas.

Mean retail price of milk is higher for near villages(Rs9.2/l) compared to distant villages (Rs7.4/l).These mean values hide extremes. Cow’s milkfrom far villages fetches a price as low as Rs 6/lwhile fresh buffalo milk sold in the city can sellfor Rs15/l, a 2.5-fold difference.

The data clearly show that a location near thecity creates more lucrative opportunities fordairying to become an important livelihoodoption. Moreover, the poorest (landless) benefitthe most from it. In the PUI the landless sell more

milk compared to any other category, becomingthe biggest stakeholders in dairy production. Thereason is clear. An animal that can be stall-fed orgrazed on field bunds is a viable livelihood optionfor a landless family given the better prices inthe city for buffalo milk. In the three villages lyingwithin the HDMC boundary, each family on anaverage marketed 1,465.5 litres of milk per yearbringing a gross income of Rs14,405. The muchlower corresponding figure for distant villages isRs2,044/year, averaged across all wealth classes.In some suburbs, particularly Bidnal, theseenterprises are effectively urban dairies, wherethe mean number of buffalo per landlesshousehold was 4.0 in 2000 and the mean quantityof milk sold a year was 4,000 litres earning a grossincome of more than Rs40,000.

On the other hand in distant villages, the landlesssell the least amount of milk. The farmers in farvillages who do not have such easy access to theurban market, prefer to convert the milk into milkproducts such as curds and ghee before sellingthem in the urban areas because the milk may getspoiled by the time they reach the city. Marketingof evening milk is a problem in the far villages.Curds and ghee selling is a solution. It is moreprofitable for producers than working asagricultural labourers in the village. Many womenfrom Channapur travel by bus to Hubli every dayto market curds and ghee. In Bidnal there wasonly one household surveyed (a landless widowwho cannot go daily to sell milk in the city) thatsells curds and ghee.

Some distant villages (Shiraguppi andPudakalkatti) have milk co-operative societiesand are located on the KMF milk collectionroute (Chapter 6). These societies provideproducers an outlet for selling their milk at aprice fixed on the basis of fat and SNF8 content

Figure 7.8 Milk Sold in 2000 (in litres)

15001000

5000

1292

Milk Sold

275

Figure 7.9 Income from Milk Sale in 2000 (in rupees)

Income from Milk sale (Rs.)

Near Villages Far Villages

15001000

5000

2045

11,92

8

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in the milk. In the absence of this the farmershere would have to resort to middlemen formarketing in urban areas or sell to villageconsumers whose demand is typically low9 andin both cases fetching a low price.

In contrast, in the PUI, producers have a marketthat offers several options. Here milk can bediluted and sold to different market segments fordifferent prices. Thus peri-urban producers caterto a wide range of consumers including thepoorest at prices affordable to them by adjustingthe quality of milk. Cooperatives are not a

preferred option in the PUI because of the easyaccess to urban markets and better prices. Amongthe near-urban villages, the exception to this isDasankoppa, where little milk is marketed dueto its poor road connection to Dharwad. In manyrespects, this village is similar to distant villages,and shows that bad roads add to ‘frictional’distance, an indicator of the difficulty of movinggoods and people irrespective of actual distance.Milk collection remains a problem in the PUI andthe accuracy of the quality assessment is anotherissue (Box 7.4).

Box 7.4 The Potential of Technology in Milk Collection

Previously all milk collection activities at the farmer-owned, grass-root Dairy Cooperative Society(DCS), in Kolkata, India were performed manually. Due to climatic conditions, milk would oftenget spoilt, as producers had to wait in long queues. Secondly, the payment for the milk soldwould get held up resulting in farmers trust towards the system declining.

Akashganga is a new methodology to collect milk in a timely, scientific, accurate manner whichenables speedier collection of milk, timely payment and roots out corrupt practices. A group ofseven dynamic, young entrepreneurs founded Akashganga with less than US $5,000 as seed money.It comprises computer hardware, software and milk testing and interfacing equipment. The interfaceequipment is a microprocessor based electronic unit, and the milk testing equipment consists of anElectronic Weighing Machine and a Fat Testing Machine. The electronic interface allows the dataabout the milk to be transmitted to the PC. The data, which is transmitted, is also displayed on thedisplay board, connected to the milk testing equipment. The complete interface mechanism ofelectronic unit with the PC is innovative and at the same time cost effective and offers transparencyof operations. This microprocessor based Automatic Milk Collection System enabled integratingvarious equipment, using different technologies, to deliver value and speed to the farmer.

This project was conceptualized more than six years ago, when IT awareness in the country waslimited to big cities. The fact that illiterate and semi-literate farmers accepted the system and areoperating it confidently is an achievement in itself. The key success factor is the ease and efficiencyof the milk collection system. Elimination of the middleman and accurate fat measure of milk,thereby enabling the producer to get a higher profit are the basic pillars on which the cooperativesystem is built. The farmers are benefited because their payment is now based on an accuratemeasurement of fat content and weight. In the earlier system the fat content was calculated a few

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hours after the milk was received because the process of measurement was cumbersome. Alsothe payment to the farmers was made every ten days because of the inability of the collectioncentres to calculate the payment immediately. The IT system enables prompt, accurate, immediateand transparent payment. A significant impetus was provided when two entrepreneurs offeredthe integrated system to milk societies. They marketed their systems aggressively, sometimesoffering to install the system free of cost initially until the customers were satisfied. Theseentrepreneurs now have a turnover of 10 million rupees from this product with the system nowin place in 500 locations.

MYTH: Rural citizens will not accept IT.

REALITY: Even as far as four years back, they accepted the system, once the value was realized.

MYTH: Small private companies cannot undertake such projects.

REALITY: Private enterprise is essential to make such mammoth projects thrive on asustainable basis.

MYTH: People need to be IT savvy to operate software applications.

REALITY: The workers at the DCS are semi-literate (passed grade 4 or 5) but are totally adeptat working the system.

MYTH: Villages in India need heavy subsidy to enable them to procure IT based systems.

REALITY: All the DCS using AKASHGANGA have spent money from their own coffers.

Best Practice from the UN Habitat’s Best Practices Database

Sale and Purchase of AnimalsMore cows are sold than bought and the numberof buffaloes bought is more than those sold (Table7.2). This indicates people’s overall preferencefor buffaloes.

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Table 7.2 Cows, Bullocks and Buffaloes Sold and Purchased during the Year 2000

Village Type Sold Purchased

Number Av. rate Number Av. rateper animal per animal

(Rs) (Rs)

Near Cows 5 3100 4 2600

Bullocks 58 4600 63 6637

Buffaloes 21 3652 26 7346

Far Cows 17 853 7 6800

Bullocks 31 3768 42 4107

Buffaloes 10 4210 10 4245

Market for the Sale of Livestock

Animals are sold by families primarily in threeways (Table 7.3)● Urban and rural markets● To middle men● To local householdsSlaughter houses buy cattle either from middlemen or from the urban markets, and hence donot figure in this household based survey.

Table 7.3 Market for Livestock-Number ofAnimals Sold

Near Far

Local household 14 7

Rural markets 1 10

Middlemen 0 1

Urban households 4 4

Urban market 48 37

Slaughter houses 0 0

Total animals sold 67 59

The urban market is the major outlet for sale oflivestock with close to two thirds of animals being

sold here. It is however used more by familiesliving in near villages. The urban market is apreferred option for wealth catagories. Bigfarmers sell 66 percent animals, small farmers71 percent, marginal farmers 66 percent andlandless 50 percent of their animals in the urbanmarket. The urban market provides a wide rangeof customers, guarantees sale of animals and abetter price. Other market options for selling theanimals are considered only in case of emergencyor in case a better price is offered.

The second main outlet is the local household,followed by local markets and then by urbanhouseholds. The role of middlemen is minimal.For further off villages the second major outlet isthe rural market while for nearvillages the next optionfor cattlesales isthe localhousehold.

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Table 7.4 Use of Fodder

Villages Number of No of families Average per Average costfamilies using green family per year per family

interviewed fodder in tons (Rs)

Near 136 66 15.7 2351

Far 185 87 1.5 720

Villages Number of No of families Average per Average costfamilies using dry family per year per family

interviewed fodder in tons (Rs)

Near 136 127 8.9 8903

Far 185 169 6.6 5643

FeedingDry fodder is the main source that sustains thelivestock in all villages (Table 7.4). Near villagesuse a greater quantity of dry fodder (8.9 tons perfamily per year) as compared to far villages(6.6 tons per family per year). The commonfodders used are sorghum and maize stalk, paddyand wheat straw, groundnut haulm and grass hay.This is generally collected, stacked in theharvesting season and used in dry seasons. Dryfodder may come from their own lands, leased

lands and others’ lands. The landless in nearvillages have to buy this and in far villages someof them exchange it for farmyard manure (FYM).

Green fodder is also fed to animals mostly duringthe wet season. The near villages feed more greenfodder to their animals. On an average each familyfeeds 15.7 tons of green fodder per year. Greenfodder comes from own or others land purchased.The far villages feed 1.5 tons p.a., most of it duringthe rainy season. This high amount of green fodderfed to livestock in near villages reflects the greaterimportance given to dairy as a livelihood. Besidesthis, grazing land is scarce in the villages nearerthe city compared to those further out. The greenfodder commonly fed is sorghum, maize, grassesnaturally growing on waste lands and weeds fromagriculture land. Cultivation of green fodder is notcommon in any of the villages except one or twofamilies in near villages who grow fodder usingsewage irrigation.

Concentrates are fed in small quantities, mostlyto milch animals and working bullocks. In nearvillages 59 per cent families feed concentrates ascompared to 37 per cent in far villages. TheStacked dry fodder

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average quantity of concentrates fed in nearvillages, far villages and farthest villages is3,308kg, 1,154kg and 533kg per family per year,respectively. In the near villages, big farmers(5,085kg) on an average use the highest amountof concentrate followed by the landless (3,559kg)and then by small farmers (2,890kg) and lastlymarginal farmers (1,165kg). The major feedingredients are maize, sorghum, wheat, cowpeaand other pulses, rice bran, groundnut cake, andother husks. Farmers usually use materialsproduced by themselves or which are locallyavailable, as they are less expensive thancommercial concentrates.

Free grazing of animals is common in all villagesbut intensity and type varies greatly betweenvillages. Among the most urbanised villages,Bidnal, has limited and controlled grazing and aconsiderable amount of fodder is ‘cut and carried’(dominantly sorghum, but also forage maize andhybrid napier grass) to feed stalled animals.

In the other two villages falling within HDMC,Gabbur and Kelageri, the dominant source offodder for livestock is free and uncontrolledgrazing. The proportion of land used for rabicropping is low (Chapter 3), and these summerfallows are used for grazing of dairy herds.Grazing often takes place on ‘others’ land’. Asmight be expected, the reliance on others’ landincreases with decrease in landholding. Most ofthe landless graze their stock on others’ landswhereas among the big farmers, only half grazetheir stock on others’ lands. The marginal andsmall farmers rely on a combination of others’,government and their own land. Leased land isnot a major option for any category. This issupplemented by all farmers with dry fodder,predominantly paddy, sorghum and maizestovers, but in much lower quantities thanreported for Bidnal.

Euclyptus planting of forest land: One reason for fodder shortage

In more distant villages grazing is the dominantfeeding practice, where adequate grazing landstill exists. A community-grazing schemeoperates here, with a herder paid to tend the cowsby the owners. In the crop growing seasonlivestock are partly stall fed with forage sorghumand maize. The dry fodder used in these villagesare sorghum and maize stalk, paddy and wheatstraw, groundnut haulm and grass hay, most ofthem available locally. Loss of access to the forestshas resulted in fodder shortage.

Draught use

The other main use of cattle is for draught power.The region is still relatively unmechanised, and evenwhere tractors are owned, bullocks are still preferredfor some tasks such as crop sowing and weeding.Surprisingly, number of local bullocks is greater inthe near villages (1.72 per household in 1990 and1.54 in 2000) than in the more distant ones (1.34and 1.32 respectively), although numbers aredecreasing over time in near villages. Whendesegregated into land holding class, as anticipatedthe farmers with most land have most bullocks. Indescending order from large farmers down to the

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The disease of whichpeople have awarenessis foot and mouthdisease (FMD). Theanimals are generallyvaccinated against thisdisease. In 2000,outbreaks of thisdisease were observedwithout any mortality.Out of total familiessurveyed, 172 familieshad vaccinated theiranimals against FMDand animals in 92families were infected.

The other diseasesfound are hemorrhagicsepticemia (HS) and

blackquarter (BQ). Sporadic cases of thesediseases were reported (HS=3 and BQ= 4)resulting in mortality of 2 animals due to HS and1 due to BQ. Only 41 families reported havingtheir animals vaccinated against these diseases.It is interesting to note that vaccinations againstthese diseases are done free of cost by thegovernment veterinary department whereasvaccination against FMD is charged (the marketprice of each dose is Rs7 while the governmentsubsidised rate is Rs2.50per dose). Fewervaccinations against these diseases is due to lackof awareness among the farmers and non-accessibility of the services. Vaccination andveterinary care is more in villages, which haveveterinary aid centres like in Bidnal, Shiraguppi,Pudakalkatti and Inamveerapur (served by BAIF).Awareness of disease and health managementis better in the near villages compared to farvillages despite them not having access to

landless, the numbers of bullocks per householdin 2000 were 2.70, 1.64, 0.92 and 0.37 respectively.Landless households keep bullocks to work theland that they have taken on a share-cropping basis.The highest numbers of bullocks per householdare for the largest farmers in Bidnal and Shiraguppi.This is the zone where the profitable chilli+cottonintercropping system is practised, and clearly in thatsystem the bullock is still an important animal.Owning bullocks also seems to be satisfying theurge to be considered prosperous. This is manifestedin farmers keeping more than the required numberof bullocks. Even big farmers owning tractors keepbullocks, as in case of Bidnal.

DiseasesHealth awareness was found to be poor in bothnear and far villages. Vaccination and health carewas found to be low even in villages like Bidnalwhich has a veterinary aid centre, and was similarfor both rich and poor farmers.

Cattle for draught

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veterinary aid centres, Bidnal being the onlyexception. No other diseases except minorailments like wounds, non-specific fever, bloatand impacting were treated.

Use of Waste

Dung is a very important by-product in the Indianrural economy. Every household has a compostpit or a heap near the house, and compost is usedon the land as fertiliser or is sold if the householdis landless. Dung cakes are also usedas cooking fuel even in some of thehouses where kerosene or bottled gasis used, as it is considered to providethe best temperature for cooking milk.Stalling of livestock facilitatescollection of dung.

On average, 65–70 per cent of the dungis used as manure, 2–5 per cent as fuel,17–25 per cent is sold and 0.5-5 percent is bartered for fodder. The landlesssell most of their manure while the richuse it on their lands (Fig 7.10).

Figure 7.10 Waste use by Landholding Class

Used asmanure

Big Farmer Marginal Farmer Small Farmer Landless

Bartered forfodder

Used asfuel

Sold

Waste use

Cowdung cakes used as fuel

ManagementThe study of management of the animalsreveals a clear division of labour amongthe family members. The male membersmainly graze the animals, whereas themajority of other works such as milking,cleaning, feeding, sale of milk and milkproducts are done by female members ofthe family. This division of labour is moreprominent in far villages, where animalhusbandry is not the primary livelihood.

As dairy has gained more importance in theperi-urban economy over the last decade,the trend is changing with men being

involved more in animal management. This changeis most evident in near villages where dairy hasbecome an important livelihood activity. In the nearvillages, where dairying has become a maledominated activity, women still continue to domilking and cleaning work. Except for the wealthierfarmers, animal husbandry is a family activity wherethe family members do all management and verylittle hired labour is involved.

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BrBrBrBrBreedingeedingeedingeedingeeding

Breeding of animals is an important activity indairy farming. But in the villages awareness aboutbreeding is found to be poor. Bull service is themajor method used for breeding of animals inall villages except Inamveerapur, which has

BAIF’s10 artificial insemination service (Box 7.5).Almost all breeding in other villages is done bynatural service. This is because of lack ofawareness about the success of other alternativesand non-accessibility of other breeding services.

Box 7.5 BAIF’s Dairy Livestock Production Programme: Turning Liabilities into Assets

A local cow or buffalo is a potential asset that most of the families in rural areas, even thelandless have. However, poor maintenance and management systems have converted theseresources into liabilities. A dairy livestock programme started to address this problem in 1967 inUrulikanchan near Pune in Maharashtra State, India.Producing good quality dairy animals using high quality frozen semen in artificial inseminationis the key to the success of this programme. The salient features of this programme are timelydelivery of artificial insemination service at the doorstep of farmers, regular follow up, fodderdevelopment, animal health care, training of farmers and capacity building.

BAIF reaches over one million families from 12,000 villages through 841 centres in eight states ofIndia. About 0.8 million cows and buffaloes, mostly owned by the poor, are bred and 200,000female calves are born. The calves so produced will start yielding about 2,100–2,700 litres of milkper lactation at the age of 28–30 months. Presently, about 4,25,000 cows and buffaloes contributeabout 0.95 million litres milk every year.

A herd of elite Jersey and Holstein breeds of cows is maintained along with native cattle breedslike Gir, Sahiwal, Hallikar, Amrit Mahal, Dangi and Ongole. Elite buffalo breeds include Surti,Murrah, Jafarabadi and elite goat breeds such as Sirohi and Osmanabadi, are maintained. Bullmothers of the elite herd produce bulls for semen production. Processed at the semen-freezinglaboratory, which is certified under ISO 9002, about 2 million doses of frozen semen are producedannually. To improve dairy profitability, research on non-conventional forages and feed isundertaken and relevant technologies disseminated.

Source: Multidisciplinary programme: Livestock Development, BAIF pamphlet, BAIF DevelopmentResearch Foundation, Pune, (2002)

Conclusions

● Livestock, particularly dairying, emerges asthe most important natural resource basedlivelihood option for the poor in the PUI,especially the landless (Box 7.6).

● Landlessness does not exclude householdsfrom this activity. On the contrary, theproportion of landless families involved indairy activity increases near the city.

● Buffaloes are the preferred species influencedby a specific demand for buffalo milk. Existingskill in the community has facilitated it further.

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● Dairy enterprises become economicallybrighter nearer the cities.

● Other livestock (except goats for some people)do not form a substantial part of livelihoodin the PUI. Goats, though still small innumber, seem to be increasing. But it is a moregeneral than exclusive peri-urbanphenomenon.

● Grazing pressure on land increases nearer thecity as increasing numbers of landless familiesare involved in dairy farming.

● Healthcare of animals is an area of concerndespite better economics and accessibility toservices.

● Breeding of animals remains traditional andunplanned.

Implications

● The effect of urbanisation is real as far aslivestock is concerned. There are distinctdissimilarities between the near and distantvillages in composition of livestockpopulation, livestock management, milkmarketing and consumption.

● Development programmes need to recognisethat the peri-urban situation differs from ruraland urban ones.

● It puts an indent for peri-urban developmentprogrammes tailor made for this locale.

● Fodder resources need urgent attention if thelandless PU dairy farmers are not to abandonthe activity and convert themselves to full-time urban wage workers. Attention needsto be given in preserving or promotingcropping patterns that produce sufficientfodder. Certain sections of land in the villagesabsorbed by the city need to be preserved asagricultural land.

● Marketing of milk and its products has a‘personal touch’ that benefits both producersand consumers. The concept of ‘choosing yourmilk’ from a quality and price matrix seemsto be satisfying both parties. The system needsto be preserved without ‘developmentinterventions’ affecting it. Innovativemarketing strategies like the one adopted byAakashganga may be of use in streamliningthe marketing efforts (Box 7.4).

● Credit is a major constraint (as was indicatedin subsequent Participatory Rural Appraisal)in the villages inside the city, especially whilereplenishing/ replacing the livestock. Nolonger being considered rural, these urbanvillages were cut off from rural credit basedprogrammes advanced through banks.

Box 7.6 Animals Benefit the Poor

The baseline, or “most likely,” IMPACT projection is that developing country growth rates foraggregate consumption of meat and milk over the 1992/94 to 2020 period will be 2.8 and 3.3percent per annum respectively, compared to 0.6 and 0.2 percent in the developed countries.Similarly, additional milk consumption in the developed countries of 13 million tons of LiquidMilk Equivalents (LME) will be dwarfed by the additional consumption in developing countriesof 227 million tons. The experience will vary widely among different parts of the developing

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world, with China leading the way on meat with a doubling of the total quantity consumed.India and the other South Asian countries will drive a large increase in total milk consumption.By 2020, people living in developing countries are projected to produce on average 38 percentmore meat and 54 percent more milk per capita than in the early 1990s.

Far from being a drain on the food purchasing power of the poor, increased consumption ofanimal products can be a major cause in increasing the incomes of the poor on the productionside. There is considerable evidence from in-depth field studies of rural household incomegeneration strategies in Africa and Asia that shows that the rural poor and landless presently geta higher share of their income from livestock than better off rural people. The exception tends tobe in Latin America, where relative rural wealth correlates more clearly with cattle holdings. Inmost of the developing world, a goat, a pig, some chickens, or a milking cow can provide a keyincome supplement for the landless and otherwise asset-poor.

However, there is a danger that rapid industrialization of production could harm this majormechanism of income generation for the poor. There are large economies of scale in processinglivestock-origin food products, but relatively few in production beyond a fairly low threshold inmost cases. It is therefore critical for poverty policy to seek vertical integration of small producerswith livestock food processors, through contract farming or participatory producer cooperatives.The alternative might be that industrial livestock producers drive out the poor and the one growingmarket they presently compete in will be closed to them.

Over-grazing is often the result of inadequate property rights development or enforcementmechanisms, or politically motivated subsidies to large producers. Policy needs to focus on theovert distortions that produce problems and also on how to let financial incentives to producersand consumers better match the full costs and benefits intrinsic in livestock production, a sectorwell-known for its many non-market externalities.

Livestock products presently contribute about 40 percent of the value of food and agriculturalproduction in the world, but receive a disproportionately small allocation of public investmentsfor facilitating production. Inappropriate livestock development patterns such as high cost andhighly capitalized industrial pig, milk, and poultry production in the peri-urban areas of developingcountries are often the effect of distortions in domestic capital markets. Urban piggeries anddairies that cannot adequately dispose of waste materials are often the result of poor regulatoryenvironments, distortions in the marketing chain that prevent competition from rural areas, andlack of legal accountability of economic agents for pollution.

Governments and development partners seeking entry points to facilitate the participation of thepoor in commercially viable activities need to follow the Animal Food Products Revolution (AFPR)closely. The stakes are high, and the probability of success is enhanced by rapidly growing demandfor output. The worst thing that well-motivated agencies can do is to cease public investments thatfacilitate economic, sustainable, and small-operator oriented forms of market-oriented livestockproduction. A lack of action will not stop the AFPR, but it will help ensure that the form it takes isless favorable for growth, poverty alleviation, and sustainability in the developing countries.

Source: IFPRI (1999)

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Policy

1. Inclusion of any village within the municipallimits makes the community suffer in severalways. While the taxes are to be paid at urbanrates, government administered developmentprogrammes stop and credit availabilityespecially through the cooperative sector ends.This makes the population, especially the poor,depend on money lenders. Whenever municipalauthorities expand their city limits, they needto keep the existing population in the area inmind, which by no means is urban in its nature.

By a mere administrative decision, thesevillages should not be prevented fromaccessing existing support programmes ofcredit, veterinary services, fodder developmentand agriculture extension services. Thisnormally happens because of a shift ofresponsibility from the Zilla, Taluk and GramPanchayats to the corporation or themunicipality. As the Panchayati Raj system ismore development oriented than themunicipal administration, the ‘villages insidethe cities’ have the service support to theirexisting livelihoods withdrawn. The urbandevelopment programmes need to recognizethis and plan appropriate infrastructure andservices for these villages. Livelihoods of thevillage and the overall economic and socio-cultural well being are likely to change withthe shift in administrative structures.Participatory studies can help understand thepotential negative effects of these changes.

2. The community at present does not seem tohave any say in the decision to be part of thecity, rendering them unable to bargain for thedouble loss through lost facilities andincreased tax. It is necessary that they are

consulted and allowed to frame the plan forthemselves in the new setting.

3. Land is lost for non-agricultural purposes,eroding the natural resource base of thecommunity. Livestock emerges to be moreimportant a livelihood than agriculture as oneapproaches the city. This means, more livestockhave to be managed with less land. But thisinverse proportion of livestock and land cannot go beyond a limit without both beingaffected. Hence a strategy to preserve a certainminimum area of agricultural land to supportlivestock, needs to be put in place. Efforts toincrease the carrying capacity of land by shiftingto tree based farming system and incorporatingwatershed development will help insustainable livestock management (Box 7.7)

4. Livestock (buffalo in case of Hubli-DharwadPUI) development should become the core oflivelihood programmes in the peri-urbancontext. The study shows beyond doubt thatthis is what happens naturally. Any drastic shiftin livelihood may find the community to beinadequate in its skill. Though moderndevelopment programmes tend to believe thatany skill can be imparted in the short term,such examples are rare. Skills take generationsto be honed. Time-tested and relevant skills inlivestock rearing should be preserved andupgraded.

5. Diversity of demand in the milk market hashelped the community to develop its nichebased livelihood strategy. Temptations to‘modernize’ dairy industry, making every onebuy pasteurized milk, should be resisted ifthese livelihoods are to be preserved (Box 7.8).

6. The need for organizing the community tocontrol free grazing is urgent. This being anarea of social engineering needs to be done

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involving the NGOs and other socialorganizations. Half-hearted efforts could bemore harmful than no efforts. Fortunatelythere are examples where communities havedeveloped controlled grazing and arecommitted to it.

7. Government veterinary health care andbreeding services are grossly inadequate. Thereseems to be no way by which the governments

can improve it until the norms change forveterinary staffing and the funding increases.Hence it is imperative that the community beempowered to take care of these servicesthemselves. Training of local youth as para-vetto perform vaccinations, artificial insemination,pregnancy diagnoses and first aid will be ofimmense use in achieving this.

Box 7.7 Tree Based Farming System: The BAIF Model

Agriculture systems with the complex relation between different enterprises are referred to as farmingsystems. The synergism between different crops, animals and trees makes the system sustainable.The synergistic effect makes the system more than the sum of all enterprises it consists of. Modernagriculture, with its tendency for monoculture, has in several ways weakened these systems.

Trees are an important link in the energy cycle of the system. Trees yielding biomass for manure,fodder, fuel and timber make the system more self reliant in its input supply.

Tree based farming, developed by more than a thousand small and marginal farmers associatedwith BAIF Development Research Foundation, is a good example of making the system versatile.Farmers near Sushettykoppa and 20 other villages near Hubli-Dharwad are experiencing thebenefit of such systems.

Each farmer develops a single acre of his land on the following lines:

● Live hedge fence around the farm

● Soil and water conservation by physical and live bunding across the slope

● Harvesting of runoff water in farm ponds

● Planting horticulture plants (40 plants per acre) for diversification

● Planting of 500 forestry plants of about 15 species per acre

Entire communities work together on common lands and each others’ lands to achieve this..

Within three to four years, things that are normally difficult for a small farmer start happening asif on their own:

● Availability of fodder makes farmers confident of taking care of more and better livestock

● Availability of biomass and dung results in more and better manure

● Better manuring results in better crops and decreased import of inputs.

Source: BAIF

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Box 7.8 Critique of India’s Livestock Policy

India’s livestock legacy has four dimensions:

1. Cows and bulls are treated as sacred and hence are protected.

2. The conservation of farm animals is essential for the sustainability of agriculture and the survival ofsmall farmers.

3. The conservation and utilisation of farm animals is based on diversity - both diversity ofbreeds as well as diversity of function of farm animals.

4. The sustenance of cattle comes from diverse sources of fodder and feed - agricultural by-products such as straw and oil cake, fodder trees planted on farms and common propertyresources such a village pastures and forests.

The indigenous approach to livestock is based on diversity, decentralisation, sustainability andequity. Our cattle are not just milk machines or meat machines. They are sentient beings whoserve human communities through their multidimensional role in agriculture.

This policy proposal recognises that the livestock economy is the economy of the pooresthouseholds in India.

As stated in Section 2.3 (of the Livestock Policy Perspective 1995-2020 developed by theGovernment of India and the Swiss Development Cooperation) : About 630 million people residein rural areas (74% of total population) of which 40% have incomes which place them below thepoverty line. Some 70 million households (73% of total rural households) keep and own livestockof one kind or another and derive on average 20% of their income from this source. Small andmarginal farmers and landless labourers constitute almost two-thirds of these livestock keepinghouseholds. The importance of the livestock sector can therefore not be measured purely interms of its contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but it plays a very crucial role ingenerating income and employment for the weaker sections of the economy.

However, all the analysis in the policy is totally insensitive to the systems which allow cattle toserve the needs of the poorest. As a result the recommendations are a direct assault on thissurvival base of the poor.

For the livestock policy to be ecologically sound and socially just the following elements must beurgently addressed.

1. Protection of native breeds and conservation of animal biodiversity

2. Strengthening the role of farm animals in sustainable agriculture

3. Stopping the slaughter of cattle for exports.

4. Stopping the export of oil cake and cattle feed

5. Taking urgent steps to improve the fodder situation through planting appropriate crop speciesand trees and by rejuvenating the commons-

6. Preventing the import of environmentally unsound methods of intensive factory farming ofanimals which degrade and pollute the environment and cause health hazards to consumers

Shiva, (1996)

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END NOTES

1 Within 8 km from city - Gabbur, Kelageri, Bidnal and Dasankoppa.

2 Between 10 to 18 km from city - Inamveerapur, Pudakalkatti, Shiraguppi,Mandihal and Channapur.

3 Big farmers (BF)- Land holding above 2 hectares.

4 Small farmers (SF)- land holding between 1 to 2 hectares.

5 Marginal farmers(MF) –Land holding less than 1 hectare

6 By this is meant villages less influenced by urban centres.

7 Cattle includes cows and bullocks.

8 SNF stands for Solids-not-Fat, which is the remnant content afterremoval of water and fats.

9 In villages most people produce their own milk and this low demand aswell as the low price paid by middlemen in the villages both drive downthe price.

10 BAIF Development Research Foundation, an NGO.

REFERENCES

IFAD (1994) “Women’s Roles in Livestock Production” in Women LivestockManagers in the Third World: A Focus on Technical Issues Related to GenderRoles in Livestock Production, IFAD, by M. Niamir-Fuller.http://www.ifad.org/gender/thematic/livestock/live_2.htm

IFPRI (1990) The Growing Place of Livestock Products in World Food Products inthe 21st Century, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington

Nunan F. (2000) ‘Waste Recycling through Urban Farming in Hubli-Dharwad’in Growing Cities, Growing Food: Urban Agriculture on the Policy Agenda, editedby Nico Bekkar, Marielle Dubbeling, Sabine Gründel, Ulrich Sabel-Koschellaand Henkde Zeeuw. Deutche Für Ernährung and Landwirtschaft, Feldafing,Germany

Shiva, Vandana (1996) A Policy Of Ecocide Of Indigenous Cattle Breeds AndA Policy Of Genocide For India’s Small Farmers, January, http://www.mcspotlight.org/campaigns/countries/ind/shiva_ecocide.html

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Water Resources AroundHubli and Dharwad

M Hollingham and S G Joshi

Introduction

Concerns have been raised in recent years thatgroundwater levels are dropping, groundwaterquality is worsening, and additionally the existingmain water supply is unable to provide sufficientwater to the cities, especially in summer. It washypothesised that excessive water abstractionwithin Hubli-Dharwad was resulting in loweringof water tables in the surrounding peri-urbanvillages. The objective of the study reported herewas to assess whether the above were true forHubli-Dharwad and the surrounding district, asother research has indicated for other peri-urbanareas (Box 8.1). This was achieved throughsurveys, interviews, village visits, a survey of waterquality at the point of supply, and secondary datasources.

A village open tank

Topographically, Hubli-Dharwad is situated upona broad ridge running north-west to south-easton the north Karnataka plateau inland of theWestern Ghats. The elevation of the study arearanges from 600-755mm. This information isimportant, in that no surface water flows intoHubli-Dharwad. The NH4 highway betweenHubli and Dharwad marks the watershedbetween rivers flowing to the east and the west.Dharwad occupies the high ground, 710m onaverage, which extends to the north and west.Hubli is situated on lower ground (620m). Hubliis primarily drained by the Hire nalla (stream),and Dharwad by the Chaul nalla and the Biratikalnalla. Bidnal and Gabbur lie directly on the Hirenalla, and Inamveerapur lies on a separatetributary.

88

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The main water sources for the cities of Hubliand Dharwad and the surrounding district are acombination of traditional and modern. Before1956 there was little difference in water sourcesbetween urban and rural areas. Both relied onhand dug wells and tanks (large water harvestingdams). Most villages had a tank to collect thesurface runoff during the monsoons. Since 1956,Hubli and Dharwad cities have relied on piped

reservoir sources, while the rural areas haveincreasingly relied on borewells, pumped first byhand pumps (HP) and then motorized pumps aselectricity became available to the villages.Motorized borewells that supply water to storagetanks around the village are known as MinorWater Supplies (MWS), while those borewellsthat supply a piped network are known as PipedWater Supplies (PWS).

Box 8.1 Water Resources in Peri-Urban Areas

The need for water is universal, for domestic and industrial uses, for irrigation, etc. Water is anessential element, becoming increasingly scarce due to contamination and other circumstancesand is not always easy to conserve. A water system consists of the water resources, conveying anddistribution systems and the sewage systems and can be a cause of contamination itself. A largeurban center including industrial areas and nearby intensive agricultural production systems,may cause contamination of the aquifer by nitrates coming from cow sheds, poultry houses, citygarbage, from excess nitrogen fertilizers and from products derived from the decomposing processof plant residues. Contamination may also come from chemical solubles used in industry andfrom heavy metals found in industrial sewage.

If the resource is underground water, it will be distributed by pumping from wells. Intensivepumping of water can lower the groundwater levels and, if the aquifer is close to the sea, theintrusion of saline water will be allowed. These factors will eventually cause salinization of theaquifer and reduce the quality of the water for drinking, industrial or farming purposes.

The intensive use of water has led to water shortages in many areas. As a result large watersupply projects have had to be constructed, carrying water over great distances, and also makingwater more expensive. Other water resources, such as lakes and rivers, are also facing deteriorationdue to the common occurrence of drought years. The main problem, however, remainscontamination caused by sewage water produced by the population and by industrial activities.

Normally, the sewage from cities and industry reaches the lakes and rivers, located in low lyingareas, by discharging into them. As a result of the sewage water reaching surface aquifers andrivers and lakes, an intensive growth of algae is produced. Later, with the decomposition of thealgae, oxygen is absorbed from the water, destroying microorganisms and other living agents inthe water, causing it to become sterile. Such a situation will prohibit the use of this water forhuman consumption. Sewage water also contains detergents and salts, due to human use, andusually the salinity rate is higher than the original water.

Katzir (1996)

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Water Provision

There is a wide variation in the supply andavailability of water across Dharwad district, andwithin rural and urban areas. The provision ofsufficient household water of reasonable qualityhelps prevent disease. The World HealthOrganization (WHO) recommends a dailyminimum of 50 lpcd1 (WHO, 1984), and theIndian Government (OM Consultants, 2001) hasset a minimum target of 40 lpcd.

The availability of water across the Dharwaddistrict is severely limited by availability ofelectricity. Despite assurances of the KarnatakaPower Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL)(Joshi, 2001), load shedding does occur across thedistrict. As many water supply systems dependupon electricity, water at best is only available fora few hours each day from water sources thatdepend on electric pumps. In Dharwad district,half the villages (49%) do not even meet thegovernment standards of 40 lpcd (Fig 8.1), and4% of the villages have less than 10 lpcd.

Among the villages in the district, whilst everyvillage has at least three hand-pumps, only twoout of three villages and four out of five villageshave a PWS and MWS respectively (OmConsultants, 2001).

Figure 8.1: Villages Catagorised by

Level of Water Access (in lpcd)

1975

149

49

202

<10 lpcd 10-20 lpcd 20-40 lpcd

40-55 lpcd >55 lpcd

Figure 8.2 Water Supply Units in Dharwad

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

1995-1996 1996-1997 1997-1998 1998-1999 1999-2000-

Un

its

Piped Water Supply Minor Water Supply Hand Pumps

A total of 2,341 water supply units (inclusive ofhand pumps, PWS and MWS) have been installedin Dharwad district from 1995-2000 (Fig 8.2).

Water Supplies for Hubli-Dharwad

Initially Hubli and Dharwad had only two tanksas sources of water supply; Unkal Tank for Hubliand Kelageri Tank for Dharwad. As both citiesgrew the existing water supply became

inadequate and newer sources had to bedeveloped.

Neersagar reservoir supplies drinking waterto a part of Hubli city. Malaprabha reservoirmeets the water needs (both drinking andirrigation) of both Dharwad and Hubli(Fig 8.3). Currently about 10,000-12,000 m3/day is lost from the Malaprabha source due toleakage and power failure, before reachingHubli-Dharwad2. The water main wasconstructed of concrete, which was easilydamaged and readily broken by villagers alongthe pipeline trying to gain access to free water.These pipes have now been replaced with

bitumen lined steel pipe considerably reducingthe leakage. Although steel pipes are less prone

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to deliberate breakage, they may corrode, somains leakage may continue to rise, as indicatedin Figure 8.7. Current resources are notconsidered adequate and a third stage of the

Figure 8.3 Total Number of Water Supply Units

Installed in Dharwad 1995-2000

298

392

1651

Piped Water Supply Minor Water Supply Hand Pumps

Malaprabha reservoir has now been approvedand is designed to supply a further 61,000 m3/dby approximately 2003 (Kulkarni, 2001).

The population of the HDMC area has grown ata rate of 2.5% p.a. from 525,000 in 1981 to786,000 in 2001 (Census of India, 2001), andwater use per head is also increasing, as modernplumbing fittings and water using machines areinstalled. The projected population figures of thetwin cities will reach 1 million by 2010 anddemand for water is expected to reach 150,000m3/day at 150 lpcd. Industry only uses a smallamount of water (approximately 4500 m3/day)compared to household water consumption.Figure 8.5 shows the amount of water availableper person allowing for losses from 1981–2020.The figures used assumes that 10,000m3 issupplied to villages along the Malaprabrapipeline and that there is also another 10,000m3

estimated loss along the pipeline fromMalaprabha to Hubli Dharwad.

The actual amount of water supplied per person isscheduled to reach the 150l/d, the minimumrecommended by the Ministry of Urban

Development (Kulkarni, 2001) by 2004 when thethird stage of the Malaprabha scheme begins tosupply water, and then will fall below this by 2009due to population increase (Fig 8.5). The gapbetween gross water supplied and actual waterreceived is due to leakage from the waterreticulation system within the city, which isnotoriously difficult to control. As the populationincreases, it may be assumed that many will live innew housing developments in the space betweenthe twin cities, in which case new pipes will be laidwhich will be less prone to leakage, so it could beargued that the assumption of leakage within theurban area may be a slight over-estimate.

Mains water is normally only piped every two tothree days during the monsoon, increasing toevery five to seven days at the end of the summer(Deccan Herald, 2001). Because of the intermittentwater supply, most buildings have large tanks onthe roof to store water. Households at the top of

Figure 8.4 Volumes of Water Supplied and

Leakage in the HDMC Area

0

10

20

30

40

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60

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

Date

Vo

lum

e

(mil

lio

ns m

3/y

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Neersagar Malaprabha

Total Water Supplied Mains Leakage

Gross water supplied Actual water received

Figure 8.5 Daily Water Consumption per Capita

Vo

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e o

f w

ate

r (m

3d

ay)

0

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1981 1986 1991 1996 2001 2006 2011 2016 2021 2026

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hills find themselves with inadequate waterpressure and are the last to be supplied with water(Polisgowdar, 2001). When water is not supplied,people obtain water free from a 3m3 governmenttanker or pay Rs 125 for a private tanker(Polisgowdar, 2001). In districts without a well ora piped supply, water is tankered and people getas much water as they can collect at a cost ofRs 20 /month (Goroji, 2001).

Irregular water supply has led citizens of Hubliand Dharwad to look increasingly atgroundwater as an alternative supply. Atleast twoboreholes a week are drilled by one well drillingcompany alone. There is no borehole-licensingscheme and boreholes can be installed andabstract as much water as they like with no regardfor neighbouring boreholes or the amount ofrecharge available. Boreholes cost between Rs25,000-50,000 to drill and install a pump andwater treatment equipment (Basavaraj, 2001).Typically the wealthier people and those livingin apartment blocks have private boreholes.

Public boreholes are used where there are nowater mains. Nearly 600 boreholes were drilledby 1991 by the HDMC and the KSWSDB(Karnataka State Water Supply andDevelopment Board), of which two-thirds arenot in working condition, because the handpumps are broken, and a majority of the electricpowered pumps do not work (Polisgowdar,2001). The number of private wells far exceedsthe number of public wells.

The remaining tanks in the cities are still usedby the inhabitants for washing clothes, wateringanimals and washing vehicles. However, manytanks within Hubli and Dharwad have becomederelict. As the tanks silt up, the catchment areasare developed for housing. Hirekeri tank in

Dharwad is now partially filled by a landfill site.Barakotri and Saraswatpur are being covered byhousing developments. On the other hand, UnkalTank near Hubli has undergone restoration,sewers have been diverted and people arediscouraged from washing vehicles in the tank.Kelageri tank is now owned by the University ofAgricultural Sciences and no water is allowed tobe abstracted by anyone other than the university.These urban developments have directimplications on ground water levels and rechargefor the surrounding PUI. The Government ofKarnataka has a World Bank funded tankdesilting programme to improve surface storagecapacity and recharge aquifers for irrigation anddrinking water and dilute any existing chemicalcontamination. However recent experience hasshown that where the actual watershed is locatedboth in the urban and peri-urban areas, urbanauthorities are not willing or able to do the workwhich the rural authorities have been assignedto undertake in watershed development.3

Domestic Rural Water Supplies

It is generally reported that water levels in the wellsin more distant villages are dropping. InPudakalkatti it was reported by respondents thatthe dug wells still had water in them during therabi season five years ago, but by 2001 they tend tobe dry by the end of the monsoon. Alongside thistrend, overall village water consumption isincreasing. This is largely due to the introductionof modern bathroom and kitchen fittings.Population growth rates vary with each village,some of the remoter villages having static ordeclining populations, while others especially thosenear roads and Hubli-Dharwad are increasing.

Rural villages typically have several watersupplies. The traditional supplies are hand dug

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wells mainly 4-5m wide and 15m deep, and tankswhich are impounded by small water harvestingdams. These sources are still used, predominantlyfor watering animals and washing. However insome villages water from the tank is drunk,as the villagers prefer the taste to groundwater,as this tends to be brackish.

There have been many successive governmentwater supply projects.The first governmentschemes installed theIndian made hand pumps(HP) with a concreteapron and a channel toremove spilt water awayfrom the pump. In the last20 years minor watersupply (MWS) schemeshave been implemented.These consist of 2–3m3

tanks sited around thevillage, supplied from asingle pumped boreholepowered by electricity.Piped water supplies(PWS) have also beendeveloped for villages

without a suitable borehole, some like Kelageriand Gabbur are supplied sporadically with waterfrom the city, and others like Shiraguppi obtainwater from boreholes situated outside the village.

The storage tanks and standpipes around thevillages are reliant on electricity for theiroperation. When there is no electricity, handpumps are used. Electricity is generally suppliedfor 4 or 5 hours a day in villages, and the time ofsupply is not consistent each day. As a resultpeople leave taps open, as it is difficult to detectwhen water is being supplied if the taps areclosed. Water is collected when it flows from thepipes until everyone has enough, and then theremainder is allowed to flow to waste.

Some of the wealthier rural households haveopted for a piped supply costing Rs500 forinstallation. Water is free but there are plans tometer the water supply and charge Rs250/m3.Water supplies are constructed and maintainedby the Gram Panchayats (village councils), and asmall annual fee of Rs 5 is charged per household.Villagers have little incentive to maintain andrepair their water supplies as they see this as theresponsibility of the Gram Panchayats.

Rural Drinking Water Quality

The water sources in the eight project villageswere tested in 2001 as part of this study. It wasfound that excluding HDMC treated watersupplies, the majority (71%) of drinking watersupplies failed the Government’s MaximumPermissible Limits in the Absence of anAlternative Source (MPLAAS) (BIS, 1991) andas such were not suitable for drinking. This wasmainly because the faecal coliform counts,conductivity, total hardness or calciumconcentrations were too high (Fig 8.6); all non

Women taking water from the village tank

An overhead tank

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HDMC treated water supplies failed the GOI ‘sHighest Desirable Limits (HDL) (BIS, 1991).

Quality of water in the eight project villages isbased on the quality of ground water found inborewells and in the village piped water supply.Based on a sample of 34 drinking water points, innear urban villages 29% of the water is potablecompared to 27% of water being potable in moredistant villages. It should be noted that there istreated water from HDMC being supplied in somevillages that fall within its boundaries. In thevillages close to urban areas, groundwater haslower mineral content compared to more distantvillages. This implies that in near-urban areas morerecharge than abstraction is occurring relative tothe rural areas causing a dilution of solutes. Thiscould be a result of mains water and sewageleakage within the HDMC urban area, andover-abstraction for irrigation in the rural areas.

Agricultural Water Supplies

Irrigation is mainly required in the ‘rabi’ (post-monsoon) and summer seasons. The mainsources of water during this time are pumpedboreholes and public tanks. Some water is alsoabstracted from dug wells, industrial sewers andperennial nallas. Private boreholes have no costs

other than installation, butpublic boreholes cost Rs300 per hand pump peranum. Water can also bebought by the hour fromthose with boreholes, theprice is typically Rs30/hr.Water is supplied frompublic boreholes for 4–12hours a day when there iselectricity. Timings changeevery 15 days. The erratic

and limited supply of electricity accentuates thewater shortage and ironically even leads to waterwastage.

The main irrigation method used is furrowirrigation, which is very inefficient. Farmers havelittle appreciation of the correct amount of waterto apply and tend to irrigate whenever power fortheir pumps is available. The gradual drift fromlabour intensive arable crops to tree crops alsohas increased the length of the irrigation periodfrom 240 days to 360 days. The average crop waterrequirement is 300 mm /120 days in the ‘kharif’(south west monsoon, or main growing season)season and 350 mm /120 days in the rabi andsummer seasons.

Statistics of the different types of groundwaterabstraction structures for irrigation for the Hubliand Dharwad taluks are shown in Table 8.1.Assuming an annual growth of 2%, by 2001 thenumber of borewells had increased by 164 inseven years. However, this would appear to bean under estimate, as one drilling company basedin Dharwad installs at least two borewells perweek (one for irrigation and one domestic)(Basavaraj, 2001).

Figure 8.6 Water Quality Parameters

2

4

1

13

3

8

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Colour pH TDS Hardness Calcium Turbidity

Parameters

No

of

Sam

ple

s E

xeed

ing

MP

LA

AS

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Table 8.1 Numbers of groundwater abstracting structures for irrigation in the Hubli and Dharwadtaluks, historic and projections4

Borehole Dug well Dug cum Others Totalborehole

1994 Hubli 414 111 3 49 577

Dharwad 1102 222 19 1343

1999 Hubli 457 123 3 54 637

Dharwad 1217 245 21 1483

2001 Hubli 476 128 3 56 663

Dharwad 1266 255 22 1543

2011 Hubli 580 156 4 68 808

Dharwad 1543 311 27 1881

2021 Hubli 707 190 4 83 984

Dharwad 1881 379 33 2293

2031 Hubli 862 232 5 101 1200

Dharwad 2293 462 40 2795

The conductivity of the groundwater is generallyhigh (1500–3000 µS/cm) and presents asignificant salinity risk requiring carefulmanagement to prevent adverse effects on somecrops (Lenka, 1999).

Tanks are the other main means of irrigation. Waterfrom tanks has low conductivity (<600 µS/cm) andcan be used for all crops. Smaller tanks aremaintained by the Zilla Panchayat (District Council),however, the Minor Irrigation Department hasresponsibility for tanks irrigating areas larger than40ha. There are about 100 such tanks in theDharwad district, mainly to the west of Hubli andDharwad. Many tanks are not maintained by thevillagers and have fallen into disrepair as themaintenance is seen as the responsibility of the ZillaPanchayat. The Zilla Panchayat does not havesufficient funds to repair tanks unless there is aspecific aid for this purpose. Tanks are mainly usedto irrigate rice crops, but are also used for wateringanimals and washing clothes.

Industry

There are five main industrial sites located alongNH4 highway at Tarihal, Sattur, Rayapur,Lakamanahalli and Belur. The site at Belur, northwest of Dharwad, is expanding and is utilisingabout 607,660 litres per day (0.22 million m3 ayear or 0.018 million m3/month), a fraction ofwhich is used domestically in the cities of Hubliand Dharwad. The details from other industrialareas were not available.

Other industries in the cities include tea blenders,granite cutters, edible oil refiners, wheat and riceflour mills, electrode manufacturers, mosaic tilemakers, limestone pulverizers, cotton ginning,pressing and spinning. There was a tanningfactory at Lakamanahalli, which operated for twoyears. Before closing, it used to producechromium. All these industries are capable ofcausing localized pollution if there is no provisionfor the correct disposal of effluents and waste.New larger scale industries need to have

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measures specified by the Karnataka StatePollution Control Board (KSPCB) for properwaste control, before they commence operations.

Future GroundwaterProspects

The general opinion of hydrogeologists andvillagers is that the water table in rural areas isdropping and water quality is worsening. Theshale aquifer to the north-east is known to besaline and in the west the situation is alsodeteriorating (Hegde, V S, 2001). The Departmentof Mines and Geology in Dharwad is worriedthat all ground water will become salineespecially to the north-east. As sweet, fresh wateris limited to a small pocket in the west and waterdemands are increasing, they have plans todevelop within the HDMC area two water supplysystems, one for brakish water for washing, andone for sweet water that would be reserved fordrinking (Hegde, G, 2001).

To mitigate the drop in water levels and theincrease in salinity of ground waters, theDepartment of Mines and Geology, Dharwad, iscurrently experimenting with a recharge well inMungol that catches runoff and filters it througha horizontal roughing filter before flowing downa well filled with stones (Hegde G, 2001).

Estimation of ArtificialRecharge in the City due toLeakage

Artificial measures to improve recharge in ruralareas based on detaining runoff are as yet onlyminor; however large amounts of artificialrecharge are occurring within the HDMC areabecause of leakage from the water mains, sewersand cesspits. Figure 8.4 gives details of the net

water balance for the whole land area of Hubliand Dharwad taluks. Calculation of leakage isbased on the amount of water supplied to HDMCarea. Leakage from water mains is assumed to be40% based on an estimate made by Anglian Water(Reddy, 2001). Leakage from the sewers can beassumed to be far worse, however leaking sewerscan also act as drains for the water table, so thenet effect may be nil. The total amount of sewagegenerated is assumed to be equal to the amountof mains water supplied by the city, of which 30%goes to cesspits, the remaining 70% flows throughthe sewers to the nallas (Hegde, V 2001). For thepurpose of estimating total leakage it is assumedthat leakage from cesspits is contained within theHubli and Dharwad taluks. Leakage from thesewers is ignored, for the reasons given above.

Figure 8.4 shows the net water balance betweenabstractions and total leakage. Generally the netbalance over the area of Hubli and Dharwadtaluks is 0 to 10 million m3/yr, as the volume ofmains and cesspit leakages is less than netabstractions. When the third stage of theMalaprabha scheme starts to supply water thenet balance becomes briefly positive, increasingto 5 million m3/yr. However this is predicted tolast for eight years before the net balancebecomes negative again and by 2025 would beback at the same level as 2001. From then on theamount of sewage will be slightly more than halfthe mains leakage.

However, the effects of this leakage locally withinthe HDMC area would be much greater than this,as these calculations are averaged out over theentire area of Hubli and Dharwad taluks.Combined mains and cesspit leakage is asignificant volume of water if concentrated withinthe HDMC area. In 2001 this was equivalent to64mm of rainfall, or about two thirds of natural

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recharge. This will result in rising water tableswithin the HDMC area. Leakage will take timeto permeate into the ground and migrate tooutlying areas. The majority of this water willhave lower conductivities than the naturalgroundwater. In terms of dissolved mineralcontent, groundwater around the HDMC areawould be expected to improve; howeverpollutants from sewage could make thegroundwater non potable. Results from the waterquality survey shows that villages near theHDMC area have water with lower conductivities(lower mineral content) than those more distant.Meanwhile in the areas more distant fromHDMC especially in Dharwad taluk, whereabstractions are greatest, water tables would beexpected to fall and groundwater quality worsen.This contrast between the urban and rural areaswill increase as water supplies to the city andabstractions in rural areas increase. Furtherresearch is required to assess the situation.

Conclusions

The water supply situation in and around Hubli–Dharwad is unsatisfactory in a number ofrespects. Drinking water is limited in rural villagesand is often not potable. In some villages peopleprefer taking water from the open tank as it isless brackish, despite high levels of pollutantsarising from watering and washing livestock,laundry and vehicles. Water tables are falling inperi-urban villages, particularly more distantfrom the city, but this is not a direct effect ofurbanisation rather is due to excessive localabstraction. Indeed, leakage from mains andcesspits and possibly the sewers in the city iscalculated to be raising the water table withinthe city and is flowing underground out to near-urban villages.

Due to Hubli–Dharwad’s topographic locationastride a broad ridge, water flows outwards, bothbelow and above ground. Evidence forunderground flow is the decreasing conductivitiesin boreholes in villages near to the city boundary.However, this underground flow is likely to becontaminated with sewage, and there wasevidence for this (increased chloride levels) insome village borewells. Wastewater flow into thenallas that drain the city is perennial due todischarge of the sewers into them. As the supplyof mains water increases, flow through the nallaswill increase, as will availability of this water forfarmers who use it for summer irrigation ofvegetables. This will result in a cash benefit forthe farmers (Chapter 4 on Sewage Irrigation) butthe health implications are very serious for bothfarmers and consumers. However, given the likelypositive ground water balance within the HDMCarea (due to mains and cesspit leakage, possiblyleading to flooding), it might be worthwhile toassess the feasibility of lowering the water tableunder the city by sinking bore wells and pipingthe water to villages where currently irrigationwith sewage contaminated wastewater ispractised, to be used to irrigate vegetable crops.This would have the advantage of lowering thewater table within the city, supplying cleaner waterfor irrigation of vegetables, and the run-off fromfields would flow into the nallas, so diluting thewastewater stream. The capital costs would besignificant, but these could be discounted againstthe health benefits.

It is probable that the findings of the study inHubli-Dharwad will be applicable to many otherlocations. For example, in every city leakage frommains and cesspits is likely to be significant. Theissue of water resources is a good example ofwhere division of responsibility for management

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between urban and rural authorities hindersprogress towards improvement of supply for allcitizens. Inevitably, it is the poorest sectors ofsociety who suffer most from inadequate supplies

Box 8.2 Water Harvesting

Tarun Bharat Sangh (TBS) has done pioneering work building over 300 water harvestingstructures (called Johads) in rural Rajasthan. In 1984, the economy and the ecology of thearea were both in shambles. People were alienated from the natural resources of the area.Industrialisation and modernisation had further destabilized livelihoods. With forest coverfast depleting, the groundwater level receded at an alarming rate and the area was declareda ‘dark zone’ (where ground water falls below recoupable levels). Distress migration tourban areas resulted as people were deprived of their traditional occupations which werecritically dependent on water. The crisis intensified as people lost motivation to maintaintheir Johads and the land became barren.

The main purpose in reviving Johads is to bolster three fundamental livelihood systems,i.e. agriculture, forest produce and livestock. Since water is critical to all three systems,they built on people’s traditional wisdom to evolve a sustainable technology for waterresource management. As the idea of reviving Johad system of water management emergedfrom the people in a remote village, Gopalpura, in 1985 every household felt a need for acollective effort. The initial success at Gopalpura bred further success as people could seefor themselves the radical changes brought about by Johads.

Migration was the first hurdle that the organisation had to encounter as there was a dearthof able-bodied men and women and people were suspicious about getting involved infresh construction work. The key strategy in achieving the goal was to work through aprocess of community mobilisation and ownership. Villagers contribute the major share ofconstruction cost through cash, voluntary labour and locally available materials. All thetechnical and human resources needed for the construction of Johads came from withinthe community as the initiative was geared towards reviving a native system rather thanintroducing any external concepts. This also imparted a sense of ownership on the part ofthe village community and ensured post construction maintenance of the structure.

Within a year of the construction of Johads, water availability for drinking and irrigationincreased. The increased water and fodder availability improved economic status and savedwomen’s time spent on fetching water. With recharged wells people who used to migrateto cities have returned to cultivate their lands which were earlier lying barren. Besidesincreasing food production, improving soil and water conservation and increased biomass

or low water quality. Increasing communityownership and management of water resourcesis an essential first step towards addressing thisissues (Box 8.2).

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productivity, the cumulative effect of Johads in the catchment of at least 5 rivers haveconverted seasonal rivers into perennial rivers giving them a new lease of life.

People found employment locally, and migration to urban areas has considerably reduced.This has benefited the ecology of the area. Since the work has been done in and aroundSariska Tiger Sanctuary, it has benefited the flora and fauna a great deal. The water policyof the State and the Central Government is being influenced to accommodate buildingsmaller water harvesting structures due to a far-reaching advantageous impact. The mostimportant lesson learnt by TBS while working on Johads has been the realisation that thesolution to people’s problems lies in their own traditions, knowledge and systems.Traditional and simple technologies have an edge over modern techniques in solvingpeople’s problems and also giving them stakes and ownership over the initiative.

The UN Habitat’s Best Practices Database website: http://www.bestpractices.org

END NOTES

1 Litres per capita per day.

2 A recent survey by Anglian Water UK estimated that 40 percent of watersupplied to the distribution network was lost through leakage and illegalconnections (Reddy, 2001).

3 Personal communication with the watershed development officials inDharwad district (February, 2003).

4 Based on the Department of Mines and Geology (1995) census of groundwater abstraction structures in 1994.

REFERENCES

Basavaraj, A (2001) Personal communication, Consultant Hydrogeologist.

BIS: Bureau of Indian Standards (1991). IS 10500. Government of India.

Census of India (2001) Office of the Registrar General, India, http://www.censusindia.net/

Deccan Herald (2001). Delay in water supply. (23/5/01).

Department of Mines and Geology (1995) Groundwater sources of DharwadDistrict as of 31/12/1994. Department of Mines and Geology ,Governmentof Karnataka, Bangalore.

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Hegde, G (2001) Personal communication. Geologist, Department Minesand Geology, Dharwad.

Hegde, V (2001). Personal communication. Environmental Pollution Officer,KSPCB, Dharwad

Hegde, V S (2001) Personal communication. Geologist, SDM College,Dharwad

Joshi, S (2001) Recommendations of Bhageerath workshop on Water andSanitation Problems in Hubli Dharwad Cities. (30/5/01)

Katzir, (1996) “Agro-Ecological Aspects of The Peri-Urban Process”, paperpresented at a workshop entitled: Market Gardening, Farm Associations, andFood Provision in Urban and Peri-Urban Africa, Netanya, June 23-28, 1996,Published by City Farmer, Canada’s Office of Urban Agriculture.

Kulkarni, S (2001) Status of Sewage Treatment and Solid Waste Disposal inHubli Dharwad City. Bhageerath workshop on Water and Sanitation Problemsin Hubli Dharwad Cities. (30/5/01)

Lenka, D (1999) Irrigation and Drainage. Kalyani Publishers. New Delhi.

OM consultants India Pvt. Ltd. Bangalore (2001) Study on Rapid SectorAssessment in Karnataka. Draft final Report, Project Planning and MonitoringUnit. RD and PR Department of Govenment of Karnataka.

Goroji, P T (2001) Personal communication, Research Assistant, UASDharwad.

Polisgowdar, S (2001) Long term perspective planning of water supply andsanitation to Hubli Dharwad Twin Cities. Bhageerath workshop on Waterand Sanitation Problems in Hubli Dharwad Cities. (30/5/01)

Reddy, S (2001) Water supply and sanitation problems in Hubli- DharwadCities. Bhageerath workshop on Water and Sanitation Problems in HubliDharwad Cities. (30/5/01)

UN Habitat’s Best Practices Database website: http://www.bestpractices.org

WHO (1984) Guidelines for Drinking Water. World Health Organization.Geneva

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The peri-urban interface: A meeting of the rural and the urban

A great deal of literature, research, policy analysisand implementation exists on either the urbanor rural spheres. Where the two meet howeveris no man’s land, where it is most needed forurban and rural institutions to cooperate. Insteadwhat is found is that both sets of institutions tendto neglect the PUI. The PUI thus represents aspace crying out for attention. However for policymakers to address the peculiar needs of the PUI,first and foremost is that its specific needs,characteristics, and features should be known andbetter understood. This book has attempted tobring out the uniqueness of the PUI with respectto natural resources and livelihoods and thischapter tries to bring together the inter-relatedness of the issues and the most importantpolicy highlights.

ConclusionsRobert Brook, Sangeetha Purushothaman and Simone Purohit

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Agricultural Systems

As mentioned in Chapter 1, Hubli–Dharwad liesin a predominantly agrarian zone, so it ispertinent to first consider what perturbationsarise from the location of an urban conurbationof almost 0.75 million in this rural scenario.

The first observation to be made about croppingsystems is their great diversity. This diversity canbe attributed to soil type, rainfall, irrigation andurban demand. In particular, irrigation is themajor determinant of vegetable production in thePUI. Hubli–Dharwad lies almost astride a changefrom ‘red’ inceptisol (paddy) soils in the west to‘black’ vertisol soils to the east. Additionally,climatically the city is situated in a transition zonefrom the well watered west to the semi-arid east,but the isohyets (i.e. the contours that link

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locations with the same rainfall) run south tonorth. So two major factors that determinecropping systems are orientated in differentdirections to each other. Superimposed upon thisare the effects of urbanisation and availability ofirrigation. Therefore, almost any village sampledwould have a number of unusual or even uniquecharacteristics, so detecting changes against suchbackground variation was not easy. Thus, to anextent, this project can only be regarded as fillinggaps in knowledge in those villages actuallystudied. Despite the diversity, it is notable thatstaple crops were not an important use of land,particularly in the kharif season (south-westmonsoon, when most rain falls), except inMandihal where rice dominated (Fig 3.6.,Chapter 3). Most crops grown were arable cashcrops, particularly pulses, cotton and chilli, andorchard fruits. It should be noted that Hubli-Dharwad is not a major marketing centre foreither cotton or chilli, so these crops are notnecessarily evidence of effects of urbanisation.Indeed, the reverse might be the case, as bothcrops are harvested by hand in this area, whichis very labour intensive (see below on wage rates).

Nevertheless, some trends were evident. To thewest, two land uses dominated: mango and grass(post rabi summer fallow used for rough grazing).Area devoted to mango rose to a peak 2.5kmfrom Kelageri (occupying 100% of land for one500m stretch) and rapidly declined to 20% or lessof land by 5km (Figure 3.1, Chapter 3). There areseveral reasons for the intensity of mangocultivation. The soils and the rainfall regime tothe west of Hubli-Dharwad are considered to beparticularly suitable for cultivation of mango. Themost widely grown variety, ‘Alfanso’, is valued asa dessert fruit and is consumed locally and is alsoexported. Besides fresh sales in the market or at

roadside stalls, there is a mango canning factoryin Hubli. Orchards benefit from a favourabletaxation regime and is a favourite form of ‘annuity’for retired high ranking public servants who livein the city. Instances of this have been recordedaround Delhi (Bentinck, 2000), where wealthyurbanites buy country properties, retaining thedesignation ‘farmhouse’ to suggest agriculturalland use because the owner intends to maintainit as untaxed agricultural property.

Around Hubli-Dharwad, there is also evidencethat tree fruits are being planted by farmers dueto labour shortages. Contractors take onmanagement of the orchards and supply labourfrom more distant areas to harvest the crop, andthis is shared between the owner and thecontractor on a mutually agreed basis. This is aconsequence of competition for wage ratesbetween urban and rural areas. A typical dailywage rate for unskilled labour in the city is Rs80for men and Rs60 for women, whereas therespective rural rates are Rs50 and Rs25.

The other main effect of urbanisation evident wascultivation of vegetables and fruits. Vegetableproduction was observed at Gabbur, south ofHubli, where irrigation with sewage pollutedwaste-water was practised, and north ofDharwad where farmers around Pudakalkatti hadinvested in borewells (Fig 3.2, Chapter 3). In bothvillages, vegetables were raised in the summermonths when prices were three to five timesthose obtained during the monsoon.In Kelageri and Inamveerapur, fruitproduction isi m p o r t a n t(Figs 3.7 and3.15, Chapter3). Thus, thepresence of

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urban markets combined with availability ofirrigation created an opportunity for farmers toraise cash crops.

The other system where a clear effect ofurbanisation was evident was dairying, which hasturned out to be an important livelihood for theperi-urban landless. Near the city, buffalo numbershave increased over the past decade (Figs 7.1, 7.2Chapter 7), particularly in landless households. Thisphenomenon has a number of parallels withvegetable cultivation, which is also on the rise. Bothproducts are perishable, particularly milk, and soneed to be produced near markets. Also, efficientmarketing chains exist (Figs 6.1 and 6.2, Chapter6). For the peri-urban poor, direct sales have helpedcut out middlemen allowing them a better priceand greater profit margins.

In 2000, the mean number of buffalo perhousehold in distant villages was 1.4, whilst invillages near the city it was 3. In 1990 therespective figures were 1.2 and 2.1, (Fig 7.1Chapter7) but in Bidnal, the landless sectorowned an average of 4.0 buffalo per householdin 2000. Buffalo can be stall-fed or grazed on non-cropped land such as field margins and so aresuitable for households with little or no land.Indeed, within the city urban dairies exist whereall fodder is bought and animals are stall-fed(Nunan, 1999). Hubli-Dharwad is a huge marketfor milk which is not being met by current supply

chains and thusrepresents as i g n i f i c a n topportunity, butthe majorconstraint for theperi-urban pooris lack of fodderavailability and

grazing land. Thus for the fodder bottleneck tobe addressed, a fodder belt is required in the PUI.Formal credit is available to peri-urban producersthrough rural credit schemes. Informal credit istypically available to peri-urban milk producersfrom their customers, free against the futuresupply of milk. However, for the peri-urban poorcoming under the municipality, formal creditbecomes a bigger constraint than for thosevillages outside the municipal area.

The peri-urban milk producer is flexible inaddressing market demands. For the urban poorwho can only afford small quantities or lowquality (adulterated) milk, peri-urban producersare the only source which caters to theserequirements, while for other classes as well,these producers cater to all sections of marketdemand. Programmes to promote dairyproduction that facilitate milk delivery credit,fodder and veterinary care for peri-urban areasmay be a factor which will increase livelihoodopportunities for the poor in the PUI.

Implications for poverty reduction exist for bothmilk and vegetables. Irrigated vegetables requireboth land, a bore-well or a pump for lifting wastewater from open streams. Thus, the landless areexcluded directly from this activity, although theymay be employed as agricultural labourers or inmarketing of vegetables. However, keepingbuffalo for milk does seem to be a livelihoodstrategy adopted by the landless sector. In ruralareas in India, the landless are traditionallyregarded as being among the poorest. In the peri-urban interface this is not always true. Theseresults contrast with those from more ruralenvironments in India (Thomas et al., 2002),where the landless and those with little land (<0.2ha) keep few ruminants per household, butthereafter the number of large ruminants

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increases with size of land holding, these changesbeing related to availability of crop residues andby-products. Like milk, vegetable demand iscurrently not fully met by peri-urban producers.Therefore there is scope for increasing vegetableproduction to meet urban demand andpromoting vegetable selling by the peri-urbanpoor. Promotion of this livelihood option couldbe through revolving funds of SHGs (Self HelpGroups or Sanghas) or cooperatives or formingof vegetable boards. For women in particular,promotion of dairy, vegetable selling, goats, andsheep rearing are important livelihood options.Exposure of women to markets and the role ofNGOs becomes important (Box 3.5, Chapter 3)in mobilizing women and building theircapacities in this regard.

Livelihoods

Consideration of livelihoods showed that in thedescription of characteristics of the poor (asperceived by others in the village), the landlessor small land holders were often assumed byothers to be agricultural labourers (Chapter 5).Other occupations, apart from construction andquarry labour, were rarely mentioned. In thelivelihood analysis study it was found that thepoor tended to rely on a far more diverse rangeof activities but continued to depend moresignificantly on others for employment. This isan indication that even within the samecommunity, perceptions of the poor and theiractual circumstances may differ to quite an extent.It also indicates that knowing the poor and theircircumstances takes some effort; a point whichgovernment departments need to heed, and evenless is known about the peri-urban poor. Forexample, many landless or small landholderswere found to have developed their own dairy

or vegetable production enterprises, even on verysmall plots of land, gaining advantages ofindependence.

In general, the poor and the poorest in the PUIhad the following characteristics:

● No or few productive assets, or assets thatcould be used for security (land, houses,cattle); i.e., low natural assets.

● Low skilled, low waged labourers; those moredependent on others for source of income,insecure casual work, seasonal; i.e. low humanassets, but may be taking advantage of socialassets. Social assets may be stronger in ruralareas compared to the PUI but theopportunities for the peri-urban poor to usethese social assets are higher.

● Dependence on diverse sources of income toearn a living throughout the year and/or tosupplement income from main occupations;i.e., insecure financial assets.

● Households with high dependency ratio, and/or physical weaknesses are poorest, oftenhaving no choice but to rely on one source ofincome only; i.e., low human assets.

● Those who have incurred large debts to bepaid back through provision of labour to themoney lender; i.e., low financial assets.

● Opportunities to spend money in the city isanother cause of poverty in the PUI.Furthermore these groups reported that beingclose to urban centres, attracted in-migratingrelatives seeking employment, which requiredthat they spend even more towards familyconsumption which further impoverished them.

● Diversity of occupations, where the poor andvery poor relied on urban employment in

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times when agricultural employment wasunavailable.

It is concluded that the poor and very poor werecharacterised by deficiencies in a whole range of

assets, not just financial.

Did proximity to the cityhave an effect upon theproportions of rich topoor? Following acomparison made

between the pairs of villages along the fourtransects, it was not possible to say that the relativeextent of poverty was greater nearer to or furtherfrom the cities (Table 5.1, Chapter 5). Factors suchas:

● Access to transport and markets andconsequently the availability of betterlivelihood alternatives (physical assets),

● Agricultural potential (natural assets),

● Ability to utilize urban opportunities or not(skills, health and mobility);

were found to have a greater influence than justdistance from the city. However, a note of cautionmust be sounded: it should be noted thatbetween-village comparisons were made byusing wealth ranking. This method is comparativeand so cannot provide data on absolute levels ofpoverty. Indeed, in research work conductedmore recently in another large peri-urban village,those considered to be wealthy in one part ofthe village were considered poor in another part.1

Quantitative estimates of poverty were not madein this study, but such discrepancies indicate thatit would be appropriate to include thesemeasures, also, to enable direct comparisons.

Livelihood activities of the poor and very poorderived from case studies of 32 such households

in the eight case study villages had the followingcharacteristics:

● Livelihood strategies composed of small scaleagricultural or livestock production, tradingof products (craft, wood, dairy products, fruitor vegetables), labouring activities (inagriculture, construction or commerce) orartisanal trades such as carpentry or plumbing(Table 5.3, Chapter 5).

● More of the poor category households wereinvolved in activities with a greater level ofindependence and higher rates of income andgreater diversity than the very poor group.

● The very poor had fewer employed in thebetter paid unskilled labouring jobs such asbrick making and quarry labour than the poor,and less diverse sources of income, mostlybecause they had less capacity to carry outthe more arduous work, fewer workingmembers in the family and/or feweralternatives due to reduced mobility.

Therefore one way to address poverty in the PUI isthrough capacity building of the very poor,increasing livelihood opportunities which can becarried out in or near their homes. One mechanismis by formation of SHGs which can provide thefinancial, moral and marketing support needed.

One effect of urbanisation was that of the 32 poorand very poor households, nearly twice as manychanges in livelihood activities were made in thenearer villages than the further villages (30,compared to 18), demonstrating a faster rate ofchange closer to the urban centres (Table 5.4,Chapter 5). However, there was no differencebetween the nearer and further villages in termsof diversity of livelihood strategies, as estimatedby the Shannon – Weiner index. Twenty-one ofthe poor interviewed had changed their

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occupations away from agricultural labour tonon-agricultural unskilled employment, andanother 24 moved into self employment, intocommercial activities or new trades (11) or theirown livestock (11) or agricultural (2) enterprises.This indicates that at least some of the poor maybe benefiting from opportunities arising fromurbanisation rather than becoming poorer,although some of the very poor remainintractably poor due to home circumstances (e.g.,high number of dependants, infirmity). Thereforeone option for the peri-urban poor is to increasethe capacity and skills to take advantage ofmarket demand driven opportunities.

Environmental and HealthEffects

The effects of urbanisation processes upon healthneed to be understood. Some effects are obvious,such as faecal bacterial contamination or highorgano-phosphate pesticide residues in sewageirrigated vegetables (Table 4.3, Chapter 4). Thesetwo factors should be of considerable concern toconsumers, but there is no means of notifyingpurchasers of vegetables in the market of thecircumstances of their cultivation. These includethe cultivation of crops through sewage irrigationand the use of chemical pesticides in sewagecultivation. Thus advising urban consumers tocook well or disinfect vegetables beforeconsuming them is one solution. In the long termhowever, treatment of sewage is a requirementand treatment plants are most important for safervegetables and for the health of vegetableproducers. There were also some indications (butnot proven) of sewage contamination of groundwater underneath Hubli-Dharwad finding its wayalong fractures in the aquifer rock strata to peri-urban wells and bore wells. Additionally, pressure

to market produce toearn money may haveadverse dietaryeffects. Data onconsumption of milkby the landlessshowed that in villages near the city, they soldnearly all their produce and their householdconsumption had declined (Chapter 7). Thisoccurred against a background of consumptionof milk and milk products in India increasing by6 percent p.a., more than three times the annualpopulation growth rate (Delgado et al., 1999).

The study also found evidence of environmentaldegradation attributable to influence of the city.Two examples are mining of clay in fields formaking bricks (particularly prevalent in Kelageri)and quarrying for building blocks and road stones(particularly in Mandihal). These result indegradation of the top soil and loss of some landfor farming. Data procured during the livelihoodstrategies component showed that in Mandihalthere were 21 quarries occupying a total of22.2ha, which is 5 percent of the cultivated landlost directly, but villagers complained that thedust coated vegetation over a wide area.

In Kelageri there were 23 operating brick kilnsat the time of the survey. Area affected was notdetermined, but annual output of bricks from thisvillage alone was 10 million, equivalent to17,000m3 of baked clay removed every year, or0.6ha (1.5 acres) mined to a depth of 1m. Thevolume calculation does not allow for shrinkageduring the baking process nor for shallower pitsoccupying a larger area, but it does give a firstorder approximation of the scale of land lost toproductive use every year by this means. Thiseffect is by no means confined to Hubli-Dharwad,and similar brick kilns may be observed near any

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urban area in south Asia where suitable clay canbe mined. Bentinck (2000) described how leasingof land for brick making operates near Delhi.Operators lease in about 5ha of land, and mine1.5ha a year to a depth of 1.5m. He found thatdespite the removal of the most productivehorizons of soil, about half the clay mining sitesin Alipur Block, Delhi, were returned eventuallyto agricultural use. In 1997, by order of theSupreme Court, all kilns within the NationalCapital Territory boundary were forced to closedown for being polluting industries (Bentinck,2000). This is not the case within the Hubli-Dharwad MunicipalC o r p o r a t i o nboundary, asbrick makingc o n t i n u e sunhindered in Kelageri.

Another possible effect of anurban area upon thesurrounding peri-urbanzone would be onwater supply.Conversat ions with farmersduring the Baseline Study(project R6825) revealed that thewater table in peri-urban areas was falling, andtube wells were having to be sunk deeper to accessground water. Besides an unknown number ofprivate, domestic borewells within Hubli-Dharwad, there are a number of industries with arequirement for water, and all these have their ownwells as the municipal supply is irregular. It washypothesised that the reason the water table wasfalling in peri-urban areas was because ofabstraction within the city (Chapter 8).

In contrast, the water resources study foundstrong evidence that there is considerable

recharge of the aquifer under the city due toleakage.

Calculations of leakage from the municipal waterreticulation system and septic tanks (Fig 8.4,Chapter 8) indicated that rather than groundwaterbeing depleted under the city, there was a netrecharge of the aquifer. This was supported by dataindicating dilution of groundwater beneath near-urban villages, but also with possible faecalcontamination from septic tanks and leakagesfrom the sewage system. Therefore, the hypothesisthat abstractions within the city was responsiblefor declining water tables in peri-urban

villages was rejected. Thesource of the reported

declining watertable levelsmust havebeen due to

over-abstractionwithin the villages

themselves, whichis likely to be ageneral rural issue

rather than a peri-urban one (except where

growing vegetables for urban markets is a strongincentive to sink boreholes; Table 8.1, Chapter 8).

Sewage irrigation was found to be a lifeline forvegetable producers but resulted in what farmersrefer to as “soil sickness”, leading to poor cropgrowth, low seed germination and lower waterinfiltration rates into the soil. Furthermore theattraction of pests resulted in excessive use ofpesticides which further contaminated vegetablesused by urban consumers. Unlike other urbancentres, in Hubli Dharwad fortunately industrialeffluent is not a major source of contaminationalthough hospital waste does continue tocontaminate the sewage used for irrigation.

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Land Use

Increases in urban populations and the need forbetter connectivity to the cities results in thegrowth of urban related infrastructure in the PUI.Thus the expansion of housing developments,railways, highways, by-passes and other roadsare the “push” factors that lead to changing landuse patterns in the PUI. This tends to drive upland prices and change land use patterns(Fig 2.3, Chapter 2). The concurrent shortage oflabour is also a “push” factor in the PUI and canlead to the neglect or abandonment of land orincreased land sales.

“Pull” factors that change land use would includeincreasing land prices as urban infrastructuredevelops, better urban employment opportunitiesfor those who would be otherwise engaged inagriculture, tax holidays for urban investors(examples include farm houses and horticulturalplantations), and selling or leasing of the land orthe top soil for brick making and quarrying dueto the demand from the construction industry. Itis interesting to note that Hubli appears to be astronger force for change than Dharwad. Landprices around Hubli are higher (Table 2.1,Chapter 2), as is the number of land sales. It isthe larger of the two cities and is morecommercialised, which may be the reason for theeffects described.

The issue that needs to be addressed is the impactof these push and pull factors on natural resourcesin general, and on land use and the top soil inparticular. A second factor is the impact onlivelihoods, on urban sprawl and on poverty.Routing of the by pass, for instance, sometimescut a productive piece of land into two sections,making it difficult and more expensive for farmersto cultivate. The shift to horticulture has decreasedemployment among agricultural labourers. Thus

during the construction of urban infrastructureauthorities need to pay heed to the livelihoods ofperi-urban populations as much as attention isgiven to urban needs.

Spatial Extent of Urbanisation

How far does the influence of urbanisationextend? The effect of urbanization is not purely afunction of distance from the city. The effect ofurbanization on perishables can be seen invillages close to the city. For instance, milk andvegetable production is higher in villages closeto the cities, given their perishability. The moreperishable the product, the greater theconcentration of production activity close to thecity, as was observed for dairying.

In contrast, the effect on labour flows is farreaching well into the interior. Anecdotalevidence gathered during the DFID BaselineStudy (project number R6825) indicated that inthe village of Gudageri, 25 km south east of Hubli,larger landowners were not able to find sufficientlocal labourers for harvesting crops (at a wagethey were willing to pay) and they had to bringin workers by tractor-drawn trailer from evenfurther away2. This was because unskilledlabourers were commuting to Hubli each day towork for higher wages, both by train and bus.

The impact of urbanization can be felt directly interms of distance or indirectly in terms of degreeof connectivity to the cities, by which is meantthe degree or transportation infrastructure, be itin the form of roads or railways.

Thus, ‘frictional distance’ may be a more importantfactor than linear distance (Map 2.1). Thus thisresults in villages experiencing a high “frictional”distance when badly connected despite being closeto the city in terms of linear distance. Varoor for

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example represents the converse case where theactual distance is 17km south of Hubli, howeverit has all the peri-urban characteristics of villagescloser to the city because it is situated on theBangalore to Pune NH4 (Box 7.3, Chapter 7) Thereare also petrol pumps, small industries andcommercial establishments such as shops andhotels that bring urban influences into this village.Like Varoor, Pudakalakatti, to the north ofDharwad, also lies on a main road connected toNH4. The roads in both villages greatly assistedmarketing of milk and vegetables respectively.There was little evidence of these activities inDasankoppa, within 8km of Dharwad, due to itspoor road access.

Some villages also are less suitable for certainaspects of urban influences for various reasons.For instance in Bidnal, black soils (which swellwhen wet and shrink when dry, therefore damagedeep building foundations) are not conducive toconstruction. Similarly the lack of undergroundwater in Dasankoppa does not allow vegetableproduction. Also for example, farmers inChannapur, while being 12km from Hubli, dueto poor access roads cannot transport fresh milkbut have adapted their production systems to dealwith this frictionality by supplying curds instead.Thus what would seem at the outset to be distinctperi-urban features may or may not all exist inany one village. Rather it is various processes ofchange that defines the extent to which a villageis more or less peri-urban. Thus the “peri-urbaneness” of a village depends not only onactual distance, but also on the existence of urbaninfrastructure, the conduciveness of the villageto particular peri-urban developments, and theeffect being considered. Not only that, but thefrontier moves as the urban area expands andthe effects of urbanisation ripple outwards.

This inability to state categorically which effectsof urbanisation will be present at any particulardistance from a city, and to what degree,complicates matters when a dichotomous systemof administration (urban and rural) operates, asin the case of Hubli-Dharwad. Management ofsuch an inherently complex interface requiresmore flexible administrative structures than existaround most cities.

Processes of Urbanisation

In Chapter 1 it was argued that the peri-urbaninterface is not best defined as being a location,it is better regarded as being a process. Theevidence produced in this study shows thaturbanization processes are largely market driven.These processes have resulted in simultaneousprocesses of change in livelihoods, land use,natural resources including water, soil, andforests, and often reactive changes in localgovernance. The market forces are of two kinds:one that caters to the needs of individuals andurban households and the second that caters tourban commercial institutions from small hotelsto large industrial/commercial complexes.

Urban needs and the resultant market demandleads to a series of changes in the peri-urbanproduction systems to meet these demands. Inagricultural systems, the most tangible peri-urban feature is the increase in production ofperishables such as vegetables, fruit, milk andother dairy products. A feature of milk andvegetables is that of direct marketing for smallscale producers, given their proximity to urbanconsumers. A large amount of natural resourceuse also caters to urban industrial andcommercial activities including brick making,quarries, paper mills and agro processing units.

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These changes in production systems result inconcurrent changes in livelihood patterns for theperi-urban communities. This is reflected morestarkly in the shift in employment of the peri-urban labour force or through a simplediversification of products or even through anexpansion of sales of the same product for peri-urban producers. The shift or expansion of dairyproduction in the PUI for instance is due to easymarket availability. The shift towards urbanemployment due to the seasonal nature ofagricultural employment is an option for workerswith the right skills, good health and mobility.

Consequently poverty takes on a different set ofcharacteristics in the PUI. It becomes a functionmore of the capacity of the peri-urban populationto utilize urban opportunities, in contrast todeterminants commonly observed in rural areassuch as low social status and stocks of naturalcapital. Thus the poverty in the peri-urbaninterface is more a function of poor health, highlevels of dependents, less mobility, poorconnectivity to the cities, or skills sets that donot match urban needs.

Urban needs also result in changes in land usepatterns whereby urban residents start to buy upland for residential or commercial purposes or toavail of tax holidays. Commercial needs from theconstruction industry result in setting up of brickkilns, paper making units, quarries and so on. Thisthen has an effect on the use of natural resources,often in terms of their degradation or neglect.

Finally the outward expansion of municipalboundaries often results in areas beingtransferred to new instruments of localgovernance. In the Indian context this means achange from the rural based three tier PanchayatiRaj system to the municipal administrations. This

leads to incongruities. This project found farmersleading essentially rural lifestyles but within themunicipal boundary, thus being deprived ofaccess to extension services and rural creditschemes on favourable terms. Lack of access torural credit sources and government programmespotentially results in greater impoverishment ofthe very poor peri-urban populations that fallwithin the municipality. Another example ofincongruity is where one sub-catchment(Mangundi) is divided between the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation and DharwadDistrict administration. The ‘urban’ part of thesub-catchment falls within an administration thathas no watershed management policy whilst the‘rural’ section is within the remit of the WatershedDevelopment Department. The only sensibleapproach to catchment management is to treatit as a whole.

Policy Implications of the Study

Although it was not the primary purpose of thisstudy to inform policy, some individual chapterauthors have made some policy suggestions andin any case several findings do have relevance tomanagement and administration of the peri-urban interface, particularly in regard to naturalresources and livelihoods of people that dependon them. This volume will end by consideringsome broad principles applicable to policy, ratherthan attempting to be prescriptive.

Firstly, it has to be recognised that adichotomous approach to administration andplanning (i.e, administrations largely divided intourban and rural) is inappropriate in peri-urbanareas. In India, the 74th Amendment to theConstitution3 stipulates the setting up of DistrictPlanning Committees (DPCs) and MetropolitanPlanning Committees (MPCs) for integration of

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rural and urban planning and spatial andeconomic development for the entire district. TheKarnataka manifestation of this is the JointPlanning Boards, which were created (at least intheory) to bridge urban and rural planning withineach district. In practice there is only one exampleof such a Board (also referred to as a DistrictPlanning Committee) having been effectivelyconstituted in Karnataka, in Bellary4. The Hubli–Dharwad Urban Development Authority(HDUDA; section on Institutional StructuresChapter 2), whose scope extends severalkilometres beyond the boundary of HDMC, isalmost exclusively focused on physical aspectsof planning. As demonstrated by this study, aholistic approach to planning and administrationof the peri-urban interface is required, cognisantof economic factors, people’s livelihoods andaspirations, use of natural resources,environmental and health issues, and zoning andphysical planning.

Secondly, the study discovered a great deal ofdiversity within the PUI, in terms of agriculturalsystems, dominating characteristics, access toresources, levels of wealth and consequentlivelihood strategies, of each village. There issome evidence of greater diversity in villagescloser to the city than those further away (thepoor change livelihood strategies more frequentlyand cropping systems show more diversity). Oneconsequence of diversity is that a ‘one size fitsall’ approach to management is unlikely to beeffective in achieving objectives. Programmes toalleviate poverty ought to take into account thedifferent nature of poverty in the PUI comparedto rural areas and the very diverse livelihoodstrategies of the poor here, particularly as theyseek to take advantage of the opportunities thaturbanisation provides. Similarly, agricultural

development programmes will be more effectiveif they take into account diversity in farmingsystems and sometimes the rapid changes thatoccur. For example, would it be possible to devisea programme to encourage risk-averse smallscale farmers to experiment with new croppingsystems by under-writing the risks involved?Such schemes to encourage people to remain onthe land will contribute to lessening the numbersof rural dwellers who migrate to cities in anattempt to escape poverty.

Thirdly, the non-static nature of the PUI needsto be factored into administration. As the title ofthis book implies: the frontier moves on. Today’speri-urban area will be tomorrow’s suburbs;today’s rural area will be tomorrow’s peri-urbaninterface. Thus, for a given locality, the peri-urbaninterface is a temporary state. Additionally, it isimportant to recognize that the extent of theeffects of urbanisation depends on the nature ofthe influence. For milk production, for eg., thereis evidence that the reach into the interior is quiteshallow, whilst competition between rural andurban wage rates extends much deeper.Therefore, any administrative mechanismdeveloped will have to allow it to expand overtime; otherwise it risks becoming fossilised asanother anachronistic tier of administration.

No one pretends that addressing the issues raisedabove will be a simple matter. But ignoring theexistence of the peri-urban zone is not an optioneither. It is not just a matter of correcting thenegatives such as health risks arising fromsewage irrigation of vegetables, for instance; butignoring the special circumstances prevailing inthe PUI runs several risks. The first of these,concerns the fact that most existing solutions arepiece meal. These address at best half of theproblem. Urban solutions often have serious

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rural repercussions and vice versa.. Thus,integrating rural and urban planning will firstand foremost result in more holistic solutions.The second is that of future expansion and theneed to plan effectively for the future PUI. Thethird is around the need to address poverty inthe PUI, and to plan poverty reduction byfacilitating new enterprises such as zero-grazingdairying and vegetable vending, to take but twoexamples.

If this volume has stimulated some to thinkafresh about that belt that surrounds all our cities,if it has sparked the idea of some new line ofenquiry in a researcher’s mind, if it hasencouraged a government officer working withfarmers to find ways of helping them make themost of opportunities presented by living nearthe city; then its purpose will have been achieved.

END NOTES

1 Survey conducted by the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad and India DevelopmentService, Dharwad, in Mugad village in 2002.

2 Interviews of land-owning farmers by R. M. Brook, 1997.

3 The Constitution (74th Amendment) Act 1992, Government of India

4 Personal communication: Secretary to Government of Karnataka, Urban DevelopmentDepartment, to A. Allen, October 2002.

REFERENCES

Bentinck, J. V. (2000) Unruly Urbanisation on Delhi’s Fringe: Changing Patterns of Land Use and Livelihood.Doctoral thesis, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Netherlands. Obtained from: http://www.ub.rug.nl/eldoc/dis/rw/j.v.bentinck/

Delgado, C., Rosegrant, M., Steinfeld, H., Ehui, S. and Courbois, C. (1999) Livestock to 2020. The NextFood Revolution. Food, Agriculture and the Environment Discussion Paper 28. International Food PolicyResearch Institute, Washington; UN Food & Agriculture Organisation, Rome; International LivestockResearch Institute, Nairobi.

Nunan, F. (1999). Urban Agriculture in Hubli-Dharwad, India. Netherlands: ETC.

Thomas, D., Zerbini, E., Parthasarathy Rao P. and Vaidyanathan, A. (2002) Increasing animal productivityon small mixed farms in South Asia: a systems perspective. Agricultural Systems 71: 41 – 57.

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APMC Agricultural Produce MarketingCorporation

BH Bore Hole

BF Big Farmer

BIS Bureau of Indian Standards

BOD Biological Oxygen Demand

BQ Blackquarter

CB Cross Bred

CEO Chief Executive officer

Dalal Commission Agents

DfID Department for International Development

DPC District Planning Committee

DMUL Dharwad Milk Union Limited

DSCs Dairy Cooperative Societies

DZP Dharwad Zilla Panchayat

F&MD Foot and Mouth Disease

FYM Farmyard Manure

GIS Geographical Information System

GP Gram Panchayat

GPS Global Positioning System

GoK Government of Karnataka

Gowli A caste which specialises in the dairyindustry, either producing or vending,although milk production and sales is by nomeans limited to this group

HDMC Hubli–Dharwad Municipal Corporation

HD Hubli–Dharwad

HP Hand Pump

HDUDA Hubli–Dharwad Urban DevelopmentAuthority

HS Hemorrhagic Septicaemia

IPM Integrated Pest Management

Kharif Monsoon season, main rain fed crop growingperiod

KPTCL Karnataka Power Transmission CorporationLimited

KMF Karnataka Milk Federation

KSPCB Karnataka State Pollution Control Board

MF Medium Farmer

MoST Ministry of Surface Transport

MPC Metropolitan Planning Committees

MPLAAS Maximum Permissible Limits in the Absenceof An Alternative Source

MUL Milk Union Limited

MWS Minor Water Supplies

LL Landless

Nalla Natural water course

NGO Non-Government organisation

NH National Highway

NRM Natural Resource Management

NRSP Natural Resource Systems Programme

OECD Organisation For Economic Cooperation andDevelopment

OVI Objectively Verifiable indicator

PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal

PUI Peri-Urban Interface

PWS Piped Water Supply

Rabi Post-monsoon season with light rain, somecrops grown on soils which retain moisture

RNRRS Renewable Natural Resource ResearchStrategy

RSC Residual Sodium Carbonate

SF Small Farmer

SGH Self Help Group

TAPMC Taluka Agricultural Produce MarketCommittee

TDS Total Dissolved Solids

TI Target Institution (typically a governmentline department)

TP Taluk Panchayat

UAS University of Agricultural Sciences,Dharwad

WHO World Health Organization

Glossary and Abbreviations