Livelihood options are quite diversified and they vary over the space, in rural areas. It is mainly
the household's income, asset base, education, skill, influential contact, mobility and credit
access, which determine which type of livelihood option is undertaken by the households. It is
however apparent that livelihood options are driven by two factors, the `demand pull' and `distress
push'. In the former case, the household tries to go beyond mere consumption and livelihood, rather
it responds to new opportunities. While want of adequate on-farm opportunity, inadequate
farm output, land constraints, risk of farming, lack of irrigational facilities and lack of marketing
linkages for agricultural produces are the important factors, which partly drive the poor households to
seek non-farm employment. In most developing countries, the drawback in the operation of the
dual sector approach is reflected in the adverse terms of trade, and realizing the problem of
unemployment and livelihood in rural areas, there is high incidence of out-migration of rural labor force to
urban areas in search of employment and avenues of income.
Considering the limited capacity of the agricultural sector in providing gainful
employment to the increasing rural labor force and sustainable income to the farming households, it
would be necessary to initiate suitable environment in exploring the potential non-farm
economic activities. The diversification and growth pattern of different non-farm activities are directly
or indirectly influenced and determined by various fundamental factors across the region.
The structure and growth of these activities tend to vary according to the
socioeconomic characteristics of households and the locational characteristics of the non-farm units.
However, the overall contribution of different non-farm activities, have provided employment
opportunities to the labor force, as a result of which the pressure on agricultural land and the problem
of unemployment have reduced. A large body of literature also argues that the occupational
shifting of rural households is seen to be more in favor of non-farm economic activities. Further, a
mixed response has been observed that these livelihood options are associated with casualization
of labor and are driven by the seasonal and temporary rural-town and rural-urban migration.
To understand the changing pattern of the livelihood options and challenges in the context
of India or any specific state, we need to browse through the large pool of literature in this field. |
