COASTAL LIVELIHOOD SECURITY OF MARINE FISHING COMMUNITIES IN GANJAM (ODISHA); ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

1. Background and Rational of the Study: Fisheries sector occupies a very important place in the context socio-economic development of the state. It has been recognized as a powerful income and employment generator as it helps in growth of a number of ancillary activities, and is a source of nutritious food besides being a foreign exchange earner. Most importantly, it is the source of livelihood for a large section of economically backward population of the state and country. Development of fisheries can ensure food security as well as tackle unemployment in this region. Odisha is endowed with rich marine water reserves, perennial rivers and substantial water bodies. The State has enormous scope and potential for inland, brackish water and marine fisheries. The State has a long coastline of 480 km with continental shelf area of 24,000 sqkms along the Bay of Bengal. It offers tremendous opportunities for development of freshwater, brackish water and marine fisheries with scope of fish production together with employment and income generation for socio economic prosperity. According to the Fishery Survey in India (FSI), the fisheries potential of Odisha is 5, 13,667MT. About 4 percent population (16.96 lakh) depends upon fisheries for their livelihood. Of them, 8.90 lakh depend on inland fisheries and 8.06 lakhs on marine fisheries.

2. Objectives of the study: The broad objective of the study is to assess the livelihood security of fishing communities in Ganjam district of Odisha.

• To analyse the actors and factors affecting socio- economic condition of fishing communities in Ganjam.
• To analyse the livelihood of marine fishing communities in Ganjam, Odisha using the Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA).
• § To analyse the policies, programs and institutions in implementing the development agenda of fishing communities in Ganjam, Odisha and its impact on their livelihood
• § To suggest key areas of intervention along with the strategy.

 3. Scope and Research Methodology: The study of livelihood security of marine fishing communities was conducted in 20 coastal villages of Ganjam, Odisha. From these 20 coastal villages, samples were selected on the basis of simple random sampling and then attempt was made to analyze the issues, challenges and opportunities confronting them. The primary survey was carried out by administering structured questionnaire to different livelihood groups in fisheries sector. Data from primary sources include focus group discussion and individual interaction with key stakeholders (fisher folk, producers, processors, traders, ancillary workers, government officials, PRI members and members of civil society).The secondary sources include review of policies, plans, programs and reports from government and private agencies, and literature review of previous studies conducted by different organizations.

4. Livelihoods Context Analysis : The tools such as environment analysis and stakeholder analysis was undertaken for identifying actors, factors, and key issues, challenges affecting the livelihood security of the fisher folk community. The institutional web for identifying roles and responsibilities of different institutions, institutional stakeholder meeting involving the government, on-governmental organizations (NGOs), bilateral and international aid agencies, banks and other civil society organizations. The PRA tools like resource map analysis, seasonal Calendar, ranking exercise; etc was used to successfully undertake the study. The study analyses the livelihoods of marine fishing communities in the Ganjam district of Odisha, using the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA). The study analysed the key issues and challenges affecting the livelihoods of the poor and identified possible areas of intervention in the coastal fishing communities in Ganjam district of Odisha. The wide array of ―assets – i.e. the natural, physical, social, human and financial and the impact of the policies, programs and functioning of institutions related to the subsector was studied and analysed in the context of availability as well as access to the assets for the stakeholders. The study developed qualitative indicators with the help of review of secondary literature, to monitor changes in livelihood and possible factors hindering the growth of the subsector. The rationale of the study to tap the untapped potential for livelihood security for marine fishing communities in Ganjam, taking into consideration the development challenges that have evolved overtime, there is a serious need to assess and study the challenges faced by Odisha in general and Ganjam in particular in the context of livelihood security and enhancement strategies for fisheries sub-sector.

5. The key findings out of the livelihood analysis:

•  High dependence on open-access or common property resources (CPRs). The open access nature of resources resulted in too many fishermen chasing too few fish, and consequently wide fluctuations in supply. Thus lack of steadiness in supply and a high degree of perishability makes development of standards and perfect market very difficult.
•  The lack of boat and other necessary fishing gear in the context of traditional/artisanal restricts their access to the sea, despite the open-access or common property resources. Moreover, inadequate investment in modernizing traditional systems and competition from latest technologies affect the livelihood security of small scale fishermen.
•  The wage- or share-earning fish workers in production, fish processing and trade-related activities and shared owners of motorized fishing craft suffer the effects of a poor asset base, because of declining production(fish catch) and subsequently fluctuating income that are barely sufficient to meet subsistence needs year round.
•  The boat owner is always indebted to the trader and often he is forced to sell his catch at the rate demanded by the trader. The source of the credit is mainly relatives and moneylenders. But it is observed that the relatives help in mobilising credit from the moneylenders and sometimes they also pay from their own pocket. The cost of the credit is very high and often it hovers around 36% to 40% per annum.
• The unclear terms of ownership of homestead land characterizes the poor. The kutcha house roof is often blown away in cyclone and is also affected in flood. Lack of ownership also means that the poor can be evicted from their place of residence whenever the Government decides to change land use.
• Fishing activities are affected by seasonal lows. This is reflected in poor intake of food, poor health care, increased alcoholism, gambling and fights among men, dependence on credit at exorbitant rates of interest. The number of boats lying idle on the beach is also an indicator of seasonal unemployment.
• Fishing is characterized by long and difficult physical labour, uncertainty of catch, high risk (vulnerability to disasters) and lack of insurance. The owners of non-motorized artisanal craft and all wage/share earning crew members are subject to these characteristics. The livelihood groups affected by volatility in income are fish processors and petty traders, who have to compete with larger traders for the landed fish.
• Minimal return to the fishers in marine value chain. The perishability of the fish, along with limited access to market and lack of credit, favour of buyers in the value chain
• v Absence of transport and storage facilities. The fishers lacked cold storage, processing and packaging facilities as well as transportation to reach other markets.
• The traditional customs and traditions in a way come in conflict with the modern technology and thus impede the development of the fisherman. The class conflicts between the communities prevent them from uniting and presenting a united front before their exploiters and mighty stakeholders.
•  Survival Migration or diversification of occupations on a seasonal basis to meet basic subsistence needs is another coping mechanism. Seasonal migration of men (and sometimes women). In this context it is observed that the children education and up bringing get affected and the older people in the households also receives less attention and care. The living conditions at the new working area are often pathetic and full of difficulty. Moreover, the cost of migration is much more than the gains from migration and it indicates that migration was undertaken out of necessity rather than opportunity. Migrant workers also have to contend with partial payment (or sometimes non-payment) of wages.
• In households headed by single women, women‘s earnings through manual wage labour meet the family‘s needs regularly or seasonally. Single-woman-headed families are among the most burdened families in fishing villages. Their access to fish declines because of competition and low investment capacity. This is particularly so during lean periods.
• The exploitative nature of fishing markets and the increased emphasis on technology undermined the conventional role of women played in the value chain the fishing trade became a male dominated activity with women reduced to being daily wage labourers.
• The fishing communities in coastal Odisha suffered from poor health. According to state of health report in Odisha, Ganjam district has highest number of people suffering from AIDS. The fact has been verified and validated during the field segment study. It is also observed that many teenagers and adult people migrate to big cities in search of alternative occupation, as they find fishing as an occupation is no longer as remunerative as they expect it to be, and often they get affected to this fatal disease.
• Lack of space inside the house forces many people to cook in the open or under the hut during the rainy season.
• Lack of access to private or public latrines to all households in several villages in Ganjam, irrespective of the social and economic status of a family.
• Large families, including households with at least two couples that have a low proportion of earning members to dependents fall in the poor category.
• Poor families are usually unable to send their children to schools, either because they cannot afford it, or because of their dependence on children‘s earnings
• A family‘s economic health can be damaged by the chronic ill health of the main wage earner, disproportionately high expenditures on health care for the family, and poor access to affordable and effective health care. The consumption of alcohol by the fishermen is a part of their daily diet plan. From the field level group discussion and one to one interaction with the fisher folk community validates that on an average they spent around Rs 1200-1500 per month on alcoholic drinks. Sometimes to quench their thrust they borrow from others (moneylenders & relatives) at a monthly interest rate to consume alcohol. The presence of habitual drunkards ultimately drains out the family resources and assets, if at all created.
•  The rise in marine exports followed by instant cash payments to fishers led to men retaining control of earnings and spending their income on alcohol. The food security of the households gets affected, alcoholism led to wife beating and ill health among men.
• Marginalization occurs among people when traditional livelihoods are threatened by competition from more efficient systems of production and trade. Traditional boat owners, crew members with no asset base, basket traders, net weavers and menders, are the most vulnerable population in this category.
• Information gap on price and market has reduced the bargaining power of the fisherman. The lack of asymmetry in information on prices and demand of the various species in the bigger markets is the prime reason behind reduced margins to the fisher folk community and particularly small scale fishermen. The player has to completely depend on the middleman to fix the price of the catch and hence has to compromise on the income aspect In the Ganjam district, the lack of adequate infrastructure like storage depot with ice chamber and weighing facility at village level and transportation facilities etc. has forced the phenomenon of ―distress selling‘. This has been one of the crucial factors limiting the profitability of the fisherman.
• The low pricing of the catch is prevalent in Ganjam district. The consortiums of middlemen through their respective auctioneers deliberately play with the existing prices thus reducing the price of the catch.
•  Inefficient execution and implementation of government policies and programs, in a way has delayed the development of the fisher class.

 Concluding remarks and way forward: The key recommendations from the analysis of issues and challenges are as follows:

 a)     Production/Sustainable use

For maintaining the sustainability and health of the Ecosystem:

• The property rights over basic resources have to be clearly defined. In this context, the successful models in dairy and poultry has to be replicated in fisheries. In case of the above mentioned sub-sector the production, process and marketing have a clearly defined property right which is hardly true for fisheries resources. Thus, a clearly defined property right is the need of the day.
• Community based and co-managed institutions for sustainable coastal fisheries management.
•  An efficient and effective MCS programme (Monitoring, control and surveillance systems) is the key to sustainable fisheries. MCS tools such as participatory management plans, data collection systems, communication systems need to be developed.

b)     Policy and Institution

• The linkages among the institutions of innovation triangle comprising community based organisations R & D organisations and academic establishments and markets should be strengthened
• Primary producers‘organizations need to be promoted and strengthened to protect small scale fishers to participate successfully in modern competitive markets. Producers‘ organizations help fishers to lower transaction costs for sellers and buyers, besides providing technical help in production and creating social capital.
• Existing SHGs need training on financial management, record keeping.
• Efforts should be made to replicate SAMUDRAM success, as a self managed and self generated organisation.
• The dependence syndrome should be eliminated from the members
• An efficient and effective MCS programme (Monitoring, control and surveillance systems) is the key to sustainable fisheries. MCS tools such as participatory management plans, data collection systems, communication systems need to be developed.
• Subsidised interest on NCDC Loan: The NCDC Loans are given to the farmers at 4% interest whereas it is 12% for fishers. So, in this context fishers should be given same status as the farmers.
• A network of small scale fishermen, international funding agencies, government research and training institutions, national fish workers forum and processors and exporters can be developed
• The network can lobby with the government for providing supporting infrastructure, policies and incentives for the growth of the fisheries sub –sector.
• The network can help in development of local databases regarding different species availability and landings, indigenous knowledge systems, standardised processes and selling. So, information dissemination at the local level is the call of the day.
• The network can develop community based institutions, strengthen their capacity and support in meeting the market demand in a competitive and sustainable manner
• The policy advocacy should be in terms of the strict enforcement of regulatory mechanisms by the regulatory bodies.
•  Lobbying for enacting of act for creation of fishery produce marketing committees.
•  Setting up of FPMC yards at select locales within easy reach of smaller landing centres looking at financial viability and volumes.
• Establishment of a transparent and streamlined auction mechanism under supervision of a committee consisting of fishermen representative, trade representative and government officials.
• Advocacy for establishment of community property rights over near shore fishing activities
•  Enacting legislation for disbursement of credit using formal channels, i.e., regional rural banks, micro credit organizations.

c)     Processes

Cost effective technologies to reduce wastage of harvested fish and inexpensive solutions to storage facilities for marine fisheries.

•  The primary infrastructure is the key challenge facing the marine fishery sector in Odisha. The government need to facilitate more pre-processing units with state of art technical know-how, proper communication system for utilizing the available modern facilities and international standard laboratories need to be established to ensure quality.
•  Infrastructure for secondary marine fishery activities requires improvement of the marketing systems and the cold storage chains supporting the landing centres in the state including a frozen logistic system through roads and sea routes.
• The fish workers organization needs to develop standard process for post-harvest primary processing, manufacturing and quality assurance.

d)    Marketing & Enterprise Development

•  Developing a robust long term business plan for small scale fisheries. In this regard, the fishing cart business (the cart would cater the demand for hygienic and delicious marine value added and ready to eat products, prepared by the poorest of the poor women) should be promoted as a part of micro-enterprise development. There is a tremendous market opportunity in Gopalpur beach and the adjoining areas for value added marine fish products.
• Given highly perishable nature of the commodity in consideration, an effective and efficient cold chain management of fisheries product with a proper interlink with value chain management to facilitate seamless movement of fisheries product; is essential and instrumental for the growth of the sector.
• Expanding the market through investment in logistical development
• Establishing marketing as well as financial linkages in a program mode for active fishermen
• Reduce transaction costs for small scale fisheries through ready and affordable access to credit.
• Reduce the influence of intermediaries through improved infrastructure for transport and icing, as well as provision of credit;
• Enhance flow of trade information to the producer communities; the recent efforts at setting up potential fishing zone (PFZ) boards at different points along the coast can be a good opportunity to set up market information systems.
• The growth of new supply chains and makes provision for (i) their continued survival in the markets (e.g., through cooperative marketing or provision of affordable credit) and (ii) their diversification into other activities has to be the call of the day.

About VIEWS: Voluntary Integration for Education and Welfare of Society (VIEWS) is a registered grass roots development organisation, was initiated 2002 by a group of development professionals, academicians & social workers drawn from various social development field working to create last change in the lives of poor & building transformed communities. it works towards bringing significant changes in the children's education, women empowerment & livelihoods security of the poor through innovation & creative programs in a right based approach among poor SC & ST, fisher folk, dalits and other backward communities in the remote villages of Odisha in India.