LĒDU LINK ‘MISSING LINK’ A Policy Revision by Bethany Rote. ‘Skills 2 U’ was created in collaboration with Bethany Lamb and Sarah Brophy.
LĒDU LINK Introduction This document outlines a policy procedure on effective marketing of existing business structures to diversify incomes in the fishing village of Giripuram. It's widely acknowledged in academic literature and the international development arena that income diversification is a sound strategy for reducing the vulnerability of communities in poverty (Brugere, Holvoet, Allison, 2008). Lēdu Link will use diversification goals by first giving fishers the risk taking ability to participate in complimentary income ventures.
Program Goals:
COLLECTIVE SELLING
BUSINESS DIVERSIFICATION
LĒDU LINK
MARKETING Figure 1. program elements
LONG TERM INCOME DIVERSIFICATION ............................ EMPOWERING WOMEN IN THE WORKFORCE TO MAKE FINANCIAL DECISIONS. ............................ PROVIDING THE MISSING LINK BETWEEN SOCIAL AND FINANCIAL SYSTEMS CURRENTLY WORKING SEPARATELY. ............................ PROVIDING MARKETING STRATEGIES THAT MAKE CONCURRENT INCOME A VIABLE OPTION. ............................ ALLOWING FISHERMEN AND WOMEN TO HAVE THE RISK TAKING CAPACITY TO INVEST TIME AND FUNDS IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
HIGHER PROFIT MARGINS
GROUP INVESTMENT OF SAVINGS
Main elements include: - Collective marketing of fish by fisherwomen group. - The pooling of a percentage of profits for marketing hub running networking workshops for complimentary income ventures.
VISION Diversification? “Rural livelihood diversification is defined by the process by which rural households construct an increasingly diverse portfolio of activities and assets in order to survive and improve their standard of living� (Ellis, 2000). Diversification is not to substitute, it is to create range. Diversification goals are not solely reached through up-skilling (Brugere, et al., 2008). It has been concluded that there are a number of deterrents to diversification activity in poor villages, such as lack of time or finances to partake (Saha, 2015). Lēdu Link provides a program to bridge this gap.
Figure 2. Diversificaion (Author, 2018)
Figure 3. Diversification (Author, 2018)
Figure 4. Diversification (Author, 2018)
CONTEXT Research
PO
Krishna District Research was conducted in the Krishna region of Andhra Pradesh in urban and rural slums in the form of interviews, informal conversations and academic lectures alongside World Vision.
Figure 6. Diversification (Author, 2018)
Diagram of findings overall:
LOCATION - ANDHRA PRADESH
Cheveturu Mandal co-ordinator shramikanagar (Agricultural)
Cheveturu Mandal co-ordinator shramikanagar (Agricultural)
Thumalapalem (Fishing)
NO JOBS FOR GRADUATES
Thumalapalem (Fishing)
Thummalapalem (Fishing) DISTANCE TO EDUCATIONAL FASCILITIES
G. Kondoru (Tribal)
UNSUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MODELS INCONSISTANT POLICY ADOPTION
Thummalapalem (Fishing)
2018)
G. Kondoru (Tribal)
Thumalapalem (Fishing)
Thummalapalem (Fishing)
MIGRATION MENTALITY
FINDINGS
UNSUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MODELS INCONSISTANT POLICY ADOPTION
FIELD RESEARCH
ISSUE
G. Kondoru (Tribal)
Kotikalapudi (Farming)
I S S U E
UNSUSTAINABLE LIVLIHOODS
Cheveturu (Agricultural)
Tarakaramanagar (Urban Slum) Figure 5. Location (Wikipedia,
DECLINING INCOME SOURCESS
Kotikalapudi (Farming)
I S S U E
MIGRATION MENTALITY
Thummalapalem (Fishing) DISTANCE TO EDUCATIONAL FASCILITIES
DECLINING INCOME SOURCESS
UNSUSTAINABLE LIVLIHOODS
Cheveturu (Agricultural)
NO JOBS FOR GRADUATES
Thummalapalem (Fishing) Tarakaramanagar (Urban Slum)
Figure 7. Research Diagram (Author, 2018)
Thumalapalem (Fishing)
Thummalapalem (Fishing)
FIELD RESEARCH FINDINGS ISSUE
G. Kondoru (Tribal)
POLICY GAPS FEDERAL AND STATE CONTEXT OLICY CONTEXT Focus Village Giripuram: Giripuram is a fishing village in the Krishna district, 7km from Manchilipatnam township and enclosed within the Manchilipatnam mandal. The total population is 1276. During a meeting with the Fishermen’s Society, women's Self Help Groups and children, questions were asked pertaining to livelihoods, alternate business models, functioning of the fishermen’s society and womens' self help groups. Afterwards individual interviews were conducted with specific village members to understand the needs of those who were already skill diverse.
LIVLIHOODS?
GAPS?
ENVIRONMENT? C ONTE
XT
GILIPURAM
SKILL DIVERSE?
Figure 8. Research Elements (Author, 2018)
VILLAGE LEADERS?
Figure 9. Giripuruam (Google Earth, 2018)
POLICY GAPS CONTEXT Livelihoods
FEDERAL AND STATE
Economy - Livelihoods “depend on the ocean”, yet families are unable to make “a good enough living”. Loans fishers obtain result in large debts and as “money lenders control profit” fishermen are unable to sustain themselves. - An annual 61 day ban of fishing by the government ensures a breeding season for species. During this, parents turn to nearby labour jobs to feed children as the government loan of 2000 rupees received as part of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (2005) is not sufficient compensation.
Environment - Giripuram is vulnerable to tsunamis and cyclones and in the past boats and nets were lost without insurance. As fishing was the sole livelihood this caused immense pain for villagers.
Figure 10. Manchilipatnam Dried Fish (Author, 2018)
Figure 11. Boat Building (Author, 2018)
Figure 12. Salt Harvesting Giripuram (Author, 2018)
POLICY GAPS CONTEXT Livelihoods
FEDERAL AND STATE
Self Help Groups
Skills & Alternate business Identified:
Formed from women in similar social and financial positions SHG's allow for the empowerment of women in making financial decisions. Loans are said to be taken mainly for investing in individual womens fish selling business.
Members of the self help groups interviewed expressed their desire to branch out into other business and learn new skills but did not have access to any government schemes or NGO’s who would support them. They asked:“How can we develop our business?” And expressed that they are “Waiting for an NGO”.
Fishermen's Society The main role of the fishermen society in Giripuram is to compile government schemes and find and inform eligible candidates so they can gain access to these.
Possible diversification options lay in: Women who sew - No market yet Salt harvesting - Market is national and possibly global.
LIVLIHOODS?
Mobile Cool Drinks - Local market Vegetables - Wider market GAPS?
ENVIRONMENT?
Sweet Vending - Currently only a local market C ONTE
XT
Fish Processing - Global market but no connections.
GILIPURAM
SKILL DIVERSE?
VILLAGE LEADERS?
CONTEXT Fish Marketing The marketing system deals with fresh fish and daily selling of high value fish at the market (Figure 13) or low value fish door to door via women (figure 14) who face a unique set of challenges. The system is organised in the private sector and intermediaries operating at the primary markets are able to cheat producers by agreeing on the price of fish amongst themselves (Kumar, 2008).
High Value (most common)
Low Value GOVT POLICY
PRIVATE MONEY LENDERS
PRIVATE MONEY LENDERS
Fishermens HIGH VALUE CATCH
Women bring to market
WHOLESALER
Works with commision specialist
SELF HELP GROUP LOANS
RETAILERS
SELF HELP GROUP LOANS
Fishermens LOW VALUE CATCH
Women distribute
DOOR TO DOOR RETAILING
LOCAL CONSUMER
GOVT POLICY
Figure 13. Current marketing Supply Chain (Author, 2018)
COMMISSION SPECIALISTS
To offer to
CONSUMER
Figure 14. Current marketing Supply Chain (Author, 2018)
Fish marketing starts with the auction system which is highly unorganised. There are a large number of intermediaries between the producer and consumer which results in smallest profit for the fishermen & women. Women, who have poor access to credit are rarely able to compete with large scale traders, commission specialists and export agents. To be able to access fish they need to procure credit from the middlemen and money lenders which come with very high interest rates (Sripathi, 2014).
CONTEXT Low Risk Economy Fishermen and Fisherwomen Roles and Schedules: The current fish marketing system (figure 13, 14) and workers schedules (figure 15) are not allowing individuals the finances or time to partake in income diversification. It seems that individuals are locked into cycles of low risk taking ability, low investment, weak market orientation, low value orientation - low risk taking ability (figure 16). 3AM
MEN OUT FISHING
LOW PROFIT MARGINS
12PM
LOW BUSINESS INVESTMENT
CYCLE OF LOW RISK ECONOMY
DAILY LIVES WOMEN CARRY TO MARKET
HOUSEHOLD DUTIES
LOW RISK ABILITY
LOW VALUE ADITION
LOW PRODUCTIVITY
4PM 5PM
MEN REPAIR NETS Figure 15. Daily Schedules (Author, 2018)
WEAK BARGAINING ABILITY
Figure 15. Risk Cycle (Author, 2018, adapted from Bowander, 2002 p. 1 )
LĒDU LINK Problem Statement The lack of fisherwomen’s ability to negotiate fair prices in the current marketing strategy is entrapping families in a survival cycle which doesn’t allow for the credit and time needed to invest energy into income diversification activities which would strengthen economy. The process of diversification is already happening and policy is needed to assist business models to grow. It was found through research that instead of a lack of diverse skills the gap lay in the ability for these skills to be turned into viable complimentary income due to poor marketing strategies. LOW RISK ABILITY
LOW PROFIT MARGINS
LOW BUSINESS INVESTMENT
CYCLE OF LOW RISK ECONOMY LOW VALUE ADITION
LOW PRODUCTIVITY
WEAK BARGAINING ABILITY
Figure 15. Risk Cycle (Author, 2018, adapted from Bowander, 2002 p. 1 )
LÄ’DU LINK Scalability Matrix Scale of Problem There is no one size fits all, so overarching policies will become ineffective upon implementation. However there are scalable and applicable elements of Giripuram's context. The scale of the problem is local to Giripuram in specific characteristics such as population and social and cultural makeup. However, the process of fish marketing in coastal fishing villages on Indias' east coast is similar (Biswas et al., 2014). Thus, the following policy has the potential to be applied in other villages if extensive research is given to their specific social and economic makeup.
NO DO RESIDENTS WISH TO BECOME ENTREPRENEURS OR ARE THEY ABLE TO?
Policies that address barriers to entrepreneurship such as cultural beliefs or education, time restraints and lifestyle.
- Identified Gap in time restraints and credit.
YES DO THE RESIDENTS HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS ASSOCIATED WITH ENTREPRENEURSHIP?
NO
Policies that prepare residents to be entrepreneurs..ie Adult training in skills development.
YES ARE MOST RESIDENTS SUCCEEDING AS ENTREPRENEURS?
YES
NO
Policies that support business growth - (Financial, structural, marketing)
Identified gap in the marketing of new business.
AN ENREPRENEURIAL ECONOMY Figure 16. Scalability Matrix for an entrepreneurial economy. (Author, 2018) Adapted from Kayne (2000) cited in Sheirif (2008)
POLICY Merits and Gaps In Andhra Pradesh there are no direct policies on the welfare of fisherwomen in the marketing process. A gap in fishery and entrepreneurial policy is the inconsistent adoption of these policy bodies within different Mandal's and villages, and entrepreneurial policy remains more in theory than practice (Biswas, 2015).
Policy
ANDHRA PRADESH STATE SKILL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE MARKETING COMMITTEE ACT (1996) & ANDHRA PRADESH AGRICULTURAL MARKETING POLICY, 2015.
Merits and Gaps Aimed at up-skilling the workforce of Andhra Pradesh to increase employability and promote entrepreneurship alongside the industrial growth of AP (SES, 2017). Villagers in Giripuram have been up-skilled by government in boat building and women were taught to sew, which have been valuable assets supported by this scheme. The entrepreneurship focus in on university students through facilities that begin journeys and take ideas through to fully fledged businesses (APSSDC, 2016). While this is positive, the entrepreneurial aspect may miss rural poor adults.
Fish is not listed as a ‘commodity’. With other agricultural commodities, commission charges are paid by traders but in fisheries, all commission charges are paid for by fishermen which reduced their share in consumer rupee. It has been suggested that changes need to be made to overcome this gap in policy (Kumar et al., 2008).
POLICY Merits and Gaps Policy
FISHERIES POLICY OF ANDHRA PRADESH 2015-2020
ANDHRA PRADESH STATE SOCIAL SECURITY BOARD UNORGANISED WORKERS’ SOCIAL SECURITY ACT, 2008 AND A.P. RULES, 2012
Merits and Gaps Schemes help fishers with production and marketing of fish. Its vision includes the building of skills for women to take more productive roles through cooperative societies in processing and marketing (SES, 2017). This has been successful in parts, yet fishermen cooperatives focus is on the provisions of facilities to keep fish fresh and hygienic in the marketing process rather reducing the impact of intermediaries. There are training and capacity building schemes that through the State Institute of Fisheries Technology aim to upgrade the skills of fishers, farmers, fisherwomen, and entrepreneurs in the capture, culture and post-harvest fisheries sectors. (SES, 2017)
Provides social security for ‘unorganised sectors’. Fisherwomen are self-employed and form part of the unorganised sector. Due to the unique threats and risks within the sector, this act was cause for hope. However, Kumar (2012) writes that concerns have been put forward by organisations of workers. It is said that it is not truly directed at social security benefits to unorganised workers but rather social welfare schemes and the act provides for those below the poverty line and as a result most unorganised workers are actually ineligible (Kumar, 2012). These gaps mean that fisherwomen in Giripuram will miss out on many potential benefits of the act as it stands.
PROCEDURE E Choupal
E -Choupal by ICT limited - Eliminating power of intermediaries. E Choupal is a rural market ‘e-hub’. It attempts to bridge the marketing gap of farmers in rural villages by eliminating intermediaries. ICT achieves this through installing computers with internet to offer farmers up to date information on market prices and agricultural trends. Thus farmers are able to negotiate the price of their produce directly with ITC. Since eE Choupel farmers have seen a rise in their income, yields, and a fall in transaction cost, and ICT limited saves in its procurement costs (Bowonder et al. 2002).
Figure 17. (Chandwani, 2015)
Figure 18. (Chandwani, 2015)
Figure 19. (Chandwani, 2015)
PROCEDURE IFAD
Fish marketing society - IFAD South India - Cooperative Power There have been efforts to sell fish collectively in order to reap the best profit for the fishermen under IFAD India (International Fund for Agricultural Development). Fishermen were in the clutch of traders who act as auctioneers. Because they were in debt to these traders, fishermen were unable to negotiate a rate. The marketing society provide the credit necessary to pay off these money lenders and enable them to set up their own system of auctioneering. They are run by fishermen (not women) in mutual help groups and as a formal body they can negotiate loans with credit institutions, redeem loans and sell fish collectively at higher prices. (IFADTTV, 2017)
Figure 19. (IFADTV, 2017)
LĒDU LINK Program Eliminates intermediary power
Harnessing The Power Of The Collective There are reasons that residents of Giripuram aren't income diverse and it’s not from lack of effort, understanding or skills. Rather it is from a lack of time, profit, and lack of connection to other consumer markets. Without first supporting fishing business, income diversification programs will not be successful. Lēdu Link provides a method to pool profit from selling fish through the formation of a women’s run marketing committee. This profit is then able to be utilised for providing the necessary credit to invest in a marketing hub that supports the growth of local entrepreneurship.
WOMEN SELL CATCH AS ONE
COLLECTIVE POWER
HIGHER PROFIT
WOMEN RUN COLLECTIVE
Business Investment
COLLECTIVE PROFIT % POOLED FOR
Repaying Loans
Program Target: Fisherwomen in Giripuram. It’s the women that are involved in the fish marketing process, and the women who expressed the desire to grow alternate incomes.
NETWORKING MARKET CONNECTION HUB
Figure 20. Ledu Link - (Author, 2018)
Supports Diversification
For families
Figure 21 (Author, 2018)
CONSUMER
LĒDU LINK Collective Collective Marketing WHAT? A fisherwomen’s marketing collective formed through SHG's that sell fish collectively to reap best profits by eradicating the power of middlemen. Collective marketing has been a successful method to increase income in developing countries (Markelova et al., 2009) A proportion of collective profit is taken to pay off loans that are enslaving fisher families. Once loans are paid off, money can start to be used for providing necessary credit in for investing in marketing hub activities or infrastructure.
Utilising existing social and financial networks through connecting their powers:
SELF HELP GROUPS
FISHERWOMEN
SELF HELP GROUPS
COLLECTIVE MARKETING
FISHING ASSOCIATION
Proposed
FISHERWOMEN
INDIVIDUAL MARKETING
FISHING ASSOCIATION
Current
FORMATION: Fisherwomen's disconnection from SHG's is been a hindrance to successful marketing processes (Biswas et al., 2014) In Giripuram Self Help Groups, Fisherwomen and Fishermen’s association work separately. The committee brings them together in a functional way that utilises their collective knowledge and power (figure 22).
COLLECTIVES RESPONSIBILITY:
INVOLVEMENT: Policy Ambassador: Responsible for meeting with the Self Help Groups to introduce the concept of collective marketing. Self Help Groups: Leaders in self-help groups circulate information amongst fisherwomen and those that wish to sell catch collectively form a formal entity.
- Appointing leaders - Dispute resolution - Implement and source legislation in relation to fish marketing and women vendors. - Understanding the current market price - Pooling Profit for necessary credit - Understanding their rights - Negotiating prices at markets for the entire catch
Figure 22. (Author, 2018)
Once the collective is formed the entity also has the responsibility of:
LÄ’DU LINK Collective
CURRENT: INDIVIDUAL BARGAINING
PRIVATE MONEY LENDERS
Fishermens HIGH VALUE CATCH
Women bring to market
WHOLESALER
Works with commision specialist
SELF HELP GROUP LOANS
COMMISSION SPECIALISTS
To offer to
RETAILERS
GOVT POLICY
Individual Power: CONSUMER
Figure 23. (Author, 2018)
PROPOSED: COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: Collective Power:
GOVT POLICY
CREDIT FROM COLLECTIVE
SELF HELP GROUP LOANS
This process provides Giripuram with higher risk taking ability, which has been proven to aid the diversification process (Saha, 2015). Bargaining as a collective gives power, for example traders will pay more for larger quantities rather than many small (Robbins, et al., 2004)
HIGH VALUE CATCH
Women sell as whole
WOMEN COLLECTIVE
GOVT POLICY
CONSUMER
Figure 24. (Author, 2018)
Women Bargain with
INTERMEDIARIES
LÄ’DU LINK Marketing
CONSUMER
Marketing Hub WHAT? This program responds to the identified missing links between entrepreneurs and profitable marketing strategies. A marketing hub is set up in Giripuram real estate that harnesses collective power through social networking. Fisherwomen's marketing Committee leaders run networking workshops alongside marketing professionals and successful entrepreneurs. Focus is placed on creating up business plans and learning about local markets or methods of connecting to other markets.
Eliminates intermediary power
WOMEN SELL CATCH AS ONE
FORMATION: Leaders from the fisherwomen's marketing committee, self help groups and fishermen’s Society are briefed by policy ambassadors. Residents apply for meetings that would help them connect to market. Locals apply for strategic partnerships who are paid a wage for their time. INVOLVED: Employs a local who is able to use the internet. Strategic connections are made with a local university such as Krishna University in Manchilipatnam. Local entrepreneurs are encouraged to engage in talks to share business plans. Networking events could involve: Local University Graduates host talks on marketing strategies and business plans Entrepreneurs share their own business plans.
COLLECTIVE POWER
HIGHER PROFIT
WOMEN RUN COLLECTIVE
Business Investment
COLLECTIVE PROFIT % POOLED FOR
NETWORKING MARKET CONNECTION HUB
Figure 25. (Author, 2018)
Repaying Loans
Supports Diversification
For families
LÄ’DU LINK Marketing Socialising helps individuals build ideas, skills, services and inform information which has an impact on the decision to diversify their income sources (Johny et al. 2014) . Results from an extensive study in the Wayanad District in Southern India concluded that the diversification of a households social network has a significant positive effect on its income diversification (Johny et al. 2014). For this reason, the hub is a place to grow ideas and connect to markets by growing social networks.
Hubs Functions: Funding and leaders
Strategic connections
FISHERMEN ASSOCIATION
LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS
Business Plan Creation SELF HELP GROUPS
MARKETING COLLECTIVE
HUB FOR MARKETING
GOVERNMENT SCHEMES
LOCAL UNIVERSITY
COLLECTION OF RAW MATERIALS
TRANSPORT TO GIRIPURAM
LEDU LINK
HUB SOCIAL NETWORK
QUALITY CONTROL
UNIVERSITY STALLS?
SALES
ONLINE?
Giripuram Entrepreneurs
AQUACULTURE
Figure 26. (Author, 2018)
SWEETS BUSINESS
SALT PROCESSING
LABOUT PRODUCT CREATION
Figure 27. (Author, 2018)
MARKET TRANSPORTATION
BRANDING PACKAGING
FINANCIAL Analysis
DIVIDING INCOME & SAVINGS: - A proportion of collective profit is taken to pay off loans that are enslaving fisher families. - Once loans are paid off, money can start to be used for providing necessary credit in for investing in marketing or infrastructure for businesses. - The collective agrees on the amount of collective profit to pool for investment in entrepreneurial activity. - The group may decide to split proceeds according to the amount contributed my members. - Some proceeds will be used to pay for expenses incurred - ie. transport and/or the payment of individual group members who have carried out jobs for the collective.
FINANCIAL Analysis Partial Funding to come from government schemes such as the recently enacted 'Scheme of Support to NGOs for Adult Education and Skill Development'.
MONITORING Success IMPLEMENTATION
HIGHER RISK ABILITY
OBJECTIVES & ACTION PLANNING
COMMUNICATION TO GIRIPURAM, SELF HELP GROUPS, FISHER-MENS SOCIETY AND WOMENS MARKETING COLLECTIVE.
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF LEDU LINK MANAGEMENT & GOVT AGENCIES.
HIGHER PROFIT MARGINS
HIGHER BUSINESS INVESTMENT
VISION THROUGH COLLECTIVE POWER
NEW STRATEFIC GOALS CORRECTIVE ACTIONS
HIGHER VALUE ADITION
HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY
TRAINING & EDUCATION
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
OPTIMISATION PREVENTATIVE ACTION
PLAN
DELIVER
REVIEW
MONITOR
ADVOCACY & AWARENESS CAMPAIGNES
COMMUNICATION WITH TARGET GROUP FINANCIAL ASSESSMENT VILLAGE MEETING AND MEETINGS WITH MARKETING COLLECTIVE TO DISCUSS CONCERNS. INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY INTERVIEWS
STRONG BARGAINING ABILITY
Figure 29. (Author, 2018)
LEADERS ABLE TO RESPORT ISSUES TO MANAGEMENT VIA INTERNET
Figure 28. (Author, 2018)
Monitoring the effectiveness of LÄ“du Link is ongoing with viability based on social, financial and organisational success or failures. The plan should be assessed against the vision of a Giripuram that is able to support entrepreneurial activities (figure 28). It is important that regular meetings are held to hear any concerns from the community.
SWOT Strengths Through eliminating the power of intermediaries and increasing the bargaining power of women there will be more consumer rupee for the fishers. Instead of turning to private money lenders credit from the collective will allow for a formal process. This process provides Giripuram with higher risk taking ability, which has been proven to aid the diversification process (Saha, 2015). The social aspect of the collective marketing committee have been shown to increase the diversification process (Johny, et al., 2014)
Weaknesses
Robins (2004 p. 59) summarised some hiderences to marketing collectives in Africa, yet many of these apply to the formation of Lēdu Link. If collective marketing proves to be beneficial, the fisherwomen involved need to continue these activities. There may be factors that prevent this, such as a very bad transaction, or investment and this could discourage further activities. As Lēdu link provides support in initial stages, once policy discontinues support, the group may not feel confident to continue. If all training is given to one individual who leads the group, if they are to leave the group may fall apart if this leader doesn't share and teach their skills. Thus, Lēdu link must never have an indespensable member.
Opportunities If the procedural structure of Lēdu Link proves effective at achieving its goals, there are opportunities to apply its structure to other fishing villages, if the appropriate research and review of contextual differences is carried out. Once Giripuram learns of the power of collective action and social networking, these concepts may be utiilised in other areas of their lives in beneficial ways.
Threats
The reliance on social cohesion and networking in Lēdu link is a threat to monitor as it has been shown that collective marketing activity is most likley to success if debate and discussion is natural and equal as possible. It is necessary that the group is formed naturally and without force as creating the essential trusting environment from members previously strangers would be difficult (Robine, et al., 2004) It has been shown that not all members of fishing households benefited equally from diversification policies. Those who were very poor in terms of assets and land faced more difficulty in overcoming barriers of entry and investment opportunities to engage in income diversification activity and they remain caught in a poverty trap (Barrat, 2005). Thus, it is imperative that their current working life gives them the credit to access diversification activities, and whilst Lēdu link addresses this, it is a long term policy goal.
CONCLUSION This document outlined the context that lead to Giripuram's economic instability, before providing an alternate program under current policies that seeks to support processes of income diversification. It is proposed that fisherwomen of Giripuram band together and market their fish as a collective in order to gain higher profits. Through this process Giripuram will have the risk taking capability to engage in a marketing hub that provides the missing link to markets through educational social networking events. The process will be monitored rigorously through using the plan, deliver, review matrix at all stages of LÄ“du Links implementation.
Figure 29. (Author, 2018)
Figure 30. (Author, 2018)
Figure 31. (Author, 2018)
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