Proposed SNA of farmers Network in Suicide Prone Belt of India

Name: SHAMS TABREZ
Proposed SNA Blog Entry
Not taking Second Part of Course

Overview:

The rapidly emerging economies are moving through a flux of economic change, societal upheaval and new class formations. No doubt the economic growth is changing the landscape of countries like India and China, but the most difficult question to be answered is - that is it changing for all? There is a new divide that is emerging based upon the haves and have-nots, not on the classical Marxian dichotomy but a different one – those who are benefiting from the new age growth phenomena under globalization and those who are not. The boom in manufacturing & services, is adding to a strong and emerging middle class but a larger portion of small and medium farmers, who for ages formed the backbone of these economies, are unable to reap the benefits from this growth story.

Practically the growth in consumption within the economy must trickle down to the prosperity of the farmer community but the pattern is elusive. If the farmers are not better off someone else has to be – are these the traders and intermediaries or the money lenders and micro-finance institutions or the people from the government and local politicians. Someone for sure is eating a pie that belongs to the farmers, so the question is who or who all and how can this be prevented? Can the farmers be strengthened to claim what is legitimately their own. Another question remains that in the age of globalization and free flowing information why still farmers are unable to optimize their produce or reap the best from what they do. Can anything be done to make the farmers more effective through channelizing inputs more efficiently or building important connections between them and with other helpful organizations?

The Study:

To understand this deeply I would like to do a Social Network Analysis of farmer network and of other players in the cotton producing region of Vidharbh, India which was supposed to benefit from the boom in production and consumption, especially due to its close proximity to the production facilities and markets of Bombay. But it has remained to be among the poorest regions within the country affected with highest rates of farmer suicides.

The analysis would be aimed at finding out

1.       From the farmers:

a)      Are farmers well connected within to form a potent force having strong bargaining powers vis-à-vis other players, i.e. traders, financers and government officials

b)  Is there a divide between the conditions of large and small farmers and how well are they networked? Do we see cliques and clumps within that shows presence of other societal barriers in integration?

c)     Do leaders exist within the network? Do these leaders have higher outdegree as well? Are they well connected with other actors in the network, i.e. traders and government?

d)   Can new leaders be developed who are well connected and well informed, who use better technology and resources that can benefit the farmer community at large.

2.       From Middlemen who buy from farmers to sell to others

a)   Do we have monopolistic traders that dictate the buying price of cotton produce from the farmers? Are these middlemen having higher centrality within the network and process all the flow of information, thus depriving the farmers their share of benefit?

3.       From Money Lenders, Micro Finance Institutions and Banks

a)     What financial inclusion the farmers have? Whom they turn to for lending? Are money lenders controlling the business of lending instead of authorized banks?

b)    Do we have connections between the money lenders and traders, and are they collaborating against the farmers to deprive them the fruits of their hard work.

4.       From Government Agencies

a)   Are the officials better connected with the farmer network or the middlemen and traders network? How strong these connections are?

b)    Where to put the checks and balances to prevent malpractices.

5.       Other issues:

a)    Do farmers have access to technology, information and opportunities that can help them better their produce, storage and selling capacity.

b)    Is the level of education a factor in the farmer’s success?

c)   Can the successful farmers be knit into a network to share knowledge that benefits others.

Attribute Date:

The attribute data to help analyze the network include

1.       Farmer land holding size

2.       Per Hectare yield of cotton

3.       Farmer’s per year income

4.       Debt to Income ratio

5.       Technological sophistication of the farmer

6.       Level of education of farmer

7.       Selling through middlemen or directly to market

8.       Access to storage facilities

9.     Financial services through moneylenders, MFIs or banks

10. Do they use local information centers for help regarding growing, storing, harvesting & marketing their produce. 

Questionnaire: 
Questionnaires must be built to collect data for a farmer network in 4-5 villages on the following lines.

1. Farmers to pick 5 persons within the village (could be farmers, villagers, govt officials, others) whom they connect best for information and guidance
2. Farmers to pick 5 persons outside the village (could be farmers, villagers, govt officials, others) whom they connect best for information and guidance
3. Farmers to pick 5 trading corporations / Middle Men / government agency whom the farmers sell their produce most often
4. Farmers to pick their most important source of financing (say 1=moneylenders, 2=Micro Finance Institutions, 3=Banks)

Although it will be difficult to find information from middlemen, moneylenders and government officials on their connections with each other, the local information from the villagers can be used to construct the data. A higher connection between moneylenders, middlemen and government officials could be a cause of concern since they have little business to be together.

This analysis will give us the understanding that where does the theme of the issue lies. Why are farmers not able to maximize their gains which were supposed to happen? Is it deficiencies within them or externalities in the form of middlemen and moneylenders that are causing them the suffering? With the data and attributes one can analyse that how the farmers’ network are, and are they constrained in their access to markets by middlemen or government officials. Further what role can factors like technology and education play in the way farmers behave? Can it solve the issues the farmers face?

The analysis will be the first step in diagnosing a complex problem. It may not give exact answers but can definitely give us the correct directions about where to look for answers. Answers that are important not just for the farmers but for the society as a whole in order to make our development inclusive, thus making the world a peaceful and happy place for all.