Women Farmers: The Pillars of Food Security in Kerala

Usha Rao Krishnan4 (name changed) used to work as an agricultural labourer on a farm in the area under her gram panchayat, Thirunelliin, in the district of Wayanad in Kerala. She used to own some land but it did not suffice even for subsistence. Thus, she was forced to work in the fields of a rich landowner. She was soon joined by her husband. The daily wage at the time was Rs 200–250 and since the wages were seasonal in nature, the couple’s income was irregular. There was no certainty regarding the availability of work and they had no say in the kinds of crops to be grown. A year after Usha had started working for the landowner, he suddenly moved to the district of Kottayam to work as a clerk, having sold off his land at a good price to a cash crop producer. Meanwhile, other landowners who did not find their cultivable land remunerative enough preferred to leave their land fallow. Thus, they did not need labourers to work on their land on a regular basis. This meant that Usha and her husband were deprived of a source of livelihood. With hardly any cultivable land of their own, no alternative sources of income in Thirunelli and no skills to take up a new job, the family was struggling. To add to their woes, foodgrains like paddy were not available at cheap rates due to the lack of food security in Kerala. Usha recollects how she felt the pinch while serving her children, husband and other family members as they sat down to eat.