Is the Stage Set for Mainstreaming

Trade into National Development

Strategy of India?

Pramod Dev M
Policy Analyst, Cuts International
 Concept of Mainstreaming Trade into
National Development Strategy

Process of integrating trade policies and priority areas of action within

the overall national development plan or strategy

A process of bargaining among key stakeholders and establishing a

correct balance between trade liberalisation and companion policies.

Approaches can take place at three levels- Policy, institutional and

government-donor relations.

Source: Taufiqur Rahman (2004), Concepts and Approaches to Mainstreaming Trade

 Objective of the study

 Go beyond impact analysis of trade and enquire about the

prevailing conditions for mainstreaming trade into national
development strategy.

 To understand the benefit deficits in globalisation and

liberalisation.

 Why is there a pattern for winners and losers, especially in a

participatory democracy?

 How do the political and economic decision chains work? How

inclusive and responsive the processes are?

Hence the analysis of demand for and supply of support

policies and programs forms the basic frame work for this study
 Trade Policy Making in India

 Marred in secrecy - limited or selective public consultation

 Decisions taken by small group of officials with out enough
prior political consultation
 Process is still top-down and not in a position to factor in
ground realities.
 Influence of vulnerable agricultural stakeholders limited due to
their capacities and lack of organisation.
 Though the consultation processes have been initiated,
inclusiveness is still an issue.
 Methodology of the study

 Rajasthan and West Bengal as indicated by the project

proposal.
 Agriculture sector was selected for its economic, political
and social importance within the country.
 Impact of globalisation and liberalisation are most
noticeable in livelihoods and economic security in the
agriculture sector.
 Sectoral analysis deemed desirable as the mainstreaming
process could vary across sectors.
 Field Research

 Field research was conducted in three phases among three

broad stakeholder groups like:
Peoples’ representatives and political functionaries at the
local, state, and national levels and government officials on
the supply side
The households, and local community based organizations
on the demand side

 Separate questionnaires for government officials, peoples’

representatives, and households and gram panchayat.
 Criteria for Selection of Districts
 Analyse disaggregated HDI data to chose Best, Moderate and Worst
performing districts in terms of development.
 Percentage of Agricultural population, especially rural, in the total.
 Production of Agriculture- considerable contribution to the State’s
agricultural out put and variety of cultivation.
 Access to Public amenities like PHCs, education institutions, water
& sanitation etc.
 Allocation of government funds

Districts Selected
Rajasthan West Bengal
Best Hanumangarh Hughly
Moderate Bundi Jalpaiguri
Worst Banswara, Barmer Purulia, Malda
Criteria for the selection of Blocks from
the Districts
Tentative list of blocks- final selection on the basis of inputs
from the district level.

Select two blocks per district on the basis of following

selection criteria-
 Chose the best and worst blocks on the basis of
development indicators and poverty.
 High percentage of agricultural population (Agricultural
labourers + cultivators) in each block.
 Ensure that each block produce different crops; where
ever possible.
 To ensure heterogeneity not to select contiguous blocks;
unless there is stark difference in terms of development
or major crops cultivated.
 Distribution of funds
Criteria for the selection of Panchayats
from the Blocks

Select two panchayats from the selected block based on

 Ratio of agricultural population to total working population
in the villages.
 Concentration of agricultural activities.
 Based on the inputs from prior interviews and CBOs on
development and agricultural problems; choose the worst
and best performing panchayat on development
 Criteria for choice of Household from
Selected Panchayat

 Identify the prominent agricultural area using information

from the interviews at the district, block and panchayat
levels.

 Establish a direct link with agricultural like a) agricultural

labourers b) Cultivators c) Agricultural Land owners etc. If
the person is earning/earned part/ full of his income from
agriculture she/ he is eligible.

 Try to maintain 50:50 sex ratio of the interviewees, as far as

possible.

 Choose respondents according to the share of each social,

religious and occupational group in the total population of
the village to ensure an accurate representation of the
society and agricultural activity of the panchayat.
Why Focus on Pachayati Raj
Institutions (PRIs)?

 The three-tier PRI System was intended to provide the

people a larger role in political decision making.

 Expected to reduce the transaction costs and improve

efficiency of services delivery.

 First tier of signalling of needs and demands and last tier

of service delivery.

 Proximity to hot-spots of impact- testing the possibility of

swift action.
 Results of Field Survey
Basic Information
Raja West
Total
sthan Bengal
 Participation of the female
stakeholders in the survey was Total
366 412 778
Respondents
limited due to the prevailing
Female 30 65 95
socio-cultural aspects and their Male 336 347 683
lower level of awareness
SC 63 135 198
 Elected female representatives ST 92 74 166
operated in constraining Muslim/ OBC 177 122 299
environments that favored men as General 31 78 109
the only important actor
No Response 3 3 6
 Functional literacy was poor Education:
112 109 221
among the farmers Illiterate
Education:
178 260 438
10th or lower
Education:
56 38 94
Above 10th
 Occupational Profile
 The small- scale farmers constituted Rajastha West
almost 45 per cent of the total n Bengal Total
households surveyed
Agricultu
ral
 Multiple role in West Bengal Labour 30 64 94
indicates high incidence of outward Small-
migration and seasonal agricultural scale
employment. farmer 194 163 357
Medium
 Above 70% of the total respondents scale
depended on agriculture for more farmer 53 32 85
than half of their income- Large
susceptibility to the changes in the scale
international and domestic arena. farmer 56 33 89
Multiple
Role 26 118 144
 Is agricultural income sufficient for
survival?

Different responses according Rajasth West

to scale of activity: an Bengal Total

Large and Medium farmers Yes 105 113 218

receive sufficient income. No 207 222 429
Family
Members
Sufficiency for small farmers’ Work 43 53 96
depend on rain, local prices,
Others 2 5 7
affordability and availability of
credit.

 Coping measures- migration,

animal husbandry in Rajasthan
(walking cash reserves!)
 Knowledge on International Trade
Raj- West
 Awareness on international trade in asthan Bengal Total
agricultural trade and globalization Have
is abysmally low, even in the export Knowledge 37 38 75
zones. Don't know 240 316 556
 Lack of awareness amongst
Sell to
government officials and people’s exporters 6 2 8
representatives on trade and
globalization Don't Know
if it goes
 Domestic trade is misunderstood abroad 8 10 18
as international trade
Know
 Inability to trace the value chain Someone else 3 6 9
beyond the point of sale.
Better price
 Higher procurement price and for exported
stopping imports as desired items 16 4 20
government action against cheaper
imports.
 Reasons for Cultivating Current Crops

Propensity to try new crops low

West
due to availability of water, Rajastha Ben
concerns on subsistence. n gal Total
Increased vulnerabilities due to Traditional 254 324 578
dependence on traditional Government
varieties. subsidies and
incentives 0 2 2
Demonstration effect important in
Recent
cultivation of better varieties of Market
traditional crops. Demand 16 14 30
Timely incentives(especially input) Contract
induce shift to cash crops and Farming 1 2 3
vegetables Others 18 2 20
Market demand, government
incentives alone not enough
 Most Important Point of Sale

•Lack of marketing facilities for

Raja- West
agricultural goods as the important sthan Bengal Total
cause of underdevelopment Government
•Most small-scale farmers sell produce procurement 1 0 1
close to the farm due to high Local Private
transportation costs, lack of Agents 136 67 203

awareness about regulated Directly at

Mandis 114 208 322
markets(Rajasthan) and storage
Multiple
facilities(West Bengal). Points 46 28 74
•Result: low prices, wastage and Self
exploitation. Consumption 59 45 104

•Low awareness about government

procurement.
 Knowledge about Govt. Support
Programmes/ Subsidy for Agriculture

•Low: despite the ‘yes’ as most of

Raja- West
them could not single out specific sthan Bengal Total
support for agriculture or its size. Know
About
•Government support for housing Govt.
programs 227 260 487
was held as agricultural support
Don't
•Knowledge limited to ‘minikits’ and Know 133 127 260
subsidy for drip irrigation .

•Delivery of support inefficient-

untimely, insufficient; and corruption
 Access to Agricultural Credit

•Difficult to access government Raja- West

sthan Bengal Total
funds
•Unwillingness to pledge land Requested 169 118 287

•Local money lenders, traders Not

better Requested 182 229 411
source as corruption and delay
Difficult to
make the bank funds costly. get funds 124 100 224
•Sivana, Rajasthan medium and
large farmers have easy access to Not
credit: middlemen- bank officials difficult to
nexus. Indebted beyond their get funds. 58 79 137

means in anticipation of waiver.

 Primary Contact on Government
Support

•GP members best informants and

Rajas- West
primary access points. than Bengal Total
•Capacity of the GP members as
Approach
facilitators limited due to lack of Dept
information and dependence on Directly 124 78 202
govt. officials. Go through
•Outreach programmes of the Political
Leader 37 40 77
agricultural departments
ineffective Panchayat
Members 155 172 327
•Difference of opinion between
Others 36 59 95
officials and political functionaries
on the best access points.
 Who could deliver support at the time of
need?

•Farming has become speculative- Increased Vulnerability

•Uncertainties in the form of price shocks and crop loss
•More than profit margins, resources and time needed to recover
after a loss determine the impact of shock in the era of globalisation.
•Important to assess stakeholder confidence in the available
mechanisms

West
Wide variation in responses Rajasthan Bengal Total
•Rajasthan- Government, as Local
neighbours will also be affected. Panchayat 61 33 94
•West Bengal- Sceptical about Agri Dept./
State Govt. 121 20 141
government support- community
Neighbours 39 136 175
and self help.
None/self 27 109 136
Others 14 56 70
 Preferred form of Support

Raja- West
•West Bengal preference for sthan Bengal Total
monetary support Money 55 244 299
•In Rajasthan, the stakeholders
preferred food grains as the best
Food Grains 80 30 110
form of support in Banswara; input
subsidies in Barmer and work in Subsidy-
Bundi. Input 58 29 87

Work 66 39 105

Other 13 13 26
 NREGS as a Support Measure

Teething problems: Less than legal wages and work

Higher awareness, unforeseen transparency
Positives
•Just five percent of the willing respondents did not receive any work.
•General satisfaction with wages; not with work.
•Rural wage rate has gone up; and out-migration has come down
•Employment for women in the vicinity of their homes and equal wages.
•Creation of rural infrastructure

Points to Ponder
•The scheme needs to be reinvented to sustain- should not be too successful
•Should only supplement rural employment and not replace
•Incorporate labour mobility.
•Ward- off ensuing nexus and misuse with more transparency and audits.
Perceptions on NREGS

Experience with NREGS( 596 respondents)

Rajasthan West Bengal Total
Applied/ has Job Card 146 317 463
Did not seek work 22 22 44

Doesn't Know about NREGS 4 22 26

Less Than 100 Days Work
Received 106 234 340
No Work Received 3 47 50

Less than Stipulated Wage 107 7 114

Satisfied With Work Received 67 32 99

Not Satisfied with Work Received 44 112 156

Satisfied With Wage Received 61 36 97

Not Satisfied With Wage
Received 46 23 69
 Gram Sabha in Mainstreaming
Development

•High participation and information on Gram sabha; barring few exceptions

•Scepticism about its utility
•Functions of gram sabha are not well understood by polity- Requests largely relate
to personal needs.
•Idea as a tool to aggregate articulate demands has not caught up in the villages.
•Policy makers do not pay enough attention to the action plans of gram sabha.
• Predetermined thrust areas affect Grama sabha’s effectiveness in responding to
local needs
• Burueacratic- responsibility to draw plans and financial authority, limited authority to
people’s representatives.
•Misuse of gram sabha in West Bengal due to competitive politics.
•Process of elimination of requests problematic and snaps the signalling process.
Perceptions on Gram Sabha
West
Rajasthan Bengal Total
Attended
Gramsabha 197 262 459
Not attended 142 61 203
Not Interested 22 20 42
Don't Know about
Gramsabha 30 48 78
Proposed Activities 162 182 344
Recommendations of
Gram Sabha are
Implemented 85 119 204
Recommendations of
Gram Sabha are not
Implemented 131 116 247
 Funds Available to GP

•Considerable lack of knowledge and

secrecy about funds available at the Raja- West
sthan Bengal Total
GP level
Sufficient 80 68 148
•Available funds are insufficient.
Not
•Mostly, funds are underutilised due Sufficient 116 131 247
to untimely allocation and improper
planning Don't
Know 155 168 323
•More funds may not translate into
more development
 People as Policy Makers

Are common people capable of participating in governance?

•More than 60 per cent respondents had suggestions to offer.

•Most suggestions were on personal needs

Need to strengthen existing avenues of consultation and introducing

fool-proof methods to ensure effective stakeholder participation in
political decision making.
 Impediments to Mainstreaming
Development

•The Missing Opinion: Women in Decision Making.

•War & peace between government officials & peoples’
representatives at the GP level.
•Convenient Coalitions: Peoples representatives from Weaker
Sections
•Lack of reach and responsiveness of government support
mechanisms.
•Irrelevant eligibility criterion- misuse of BPL Cards
•Inefficient use of government funds
•Ignorance about issues related to globalisation and its impact
• Asymmetric information and adverse selection by stakeholders on
markets and prices.
 In retrospect…

•Lack of stakeholder participation in political decision making

•Gram panchayat cannot respond to contingencies
•Complex signalling process to gather information on demands from the
•ground with multiple actor involvement.
•Multiple layers of decision making often result in inefficient
implementation of support schemes.
• Absence of an inclusive mechanism that could reflect the ground
realities in the formulation of national development strategy.

The need is to mainstream development in the national development

strategy- democratisation of the process.

Development, when inclusive, is the best strategy to mainstream

trade.
 Way Forward?

• Strengthening the capacity of central government and its officials in

effective assimilation of poverty and livelihood concerns.
• Wider stakeholder consultation at the state and district levels.
• Strengthening State Governments’ capacities on trade issues.
• Raising awareness and ensuring transparency on old and new
development and support schemes at the GP level
• Contingency funds for GPs to act swiftly in the time of need.
• Enhancing the authority of people’s representatives at GP
• Enhancing the capacities of local civil society and media on trade
and globalisation.
Thank You