Is Peasantry Dead? Neoliberal Reforms, the State and Agrarian Change in Bangladesh

Misra, Manoj

doi:10.1111/joac.12172

Cited by 18 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…Both within and outside polders, marginal and small farms dominated in 2015, as compared to larger farms twenty years earlier. The number of medium and large farms for example also sharply declined in north-western Bangladesh since 2005 (Misra, 2017). Similar observations have been made for in population dense and intensively cultivated landscapes in parts of South East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa (Rigg et al, 2016;Jayne et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Past trajectories, current preferences, and alternative futures for the sustainable intensification of coastal farming systems in Bangladesh

Aravindakshan¹

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Coastal systems are facing natural and human-driven change coupled with a rising population. With increasing shifts in socioecological conditions during the past several decades, it is important to understand how socioecological drivers at different hierarchical levels: -micro, -meso, and -macro affect coastal farming systems, which play a crucial role in the livelihoods of coastal dwellers. Mixed rice-livestock-aquaculture farming in Southern Bangladesh exemplifies the rapid change occurring in many of the world's coastal farming systems in response to these drivers. We used panel data observations from the above study area and modelled trajectories of farm typologies, and the impact of multi-level socioecological drivers by a novel approach. Our approach integrates:(1) a well-articulated conceptual frame of change observed using (2) a temporal view of the potential drivers, change process and farm type outcomes, with the twenty years panel data of 502 households that is analysed by means of (3) multivariate statistics in conjunction with panel data models that operationalise the conceptual frame. Our approach allows (a) estimating dynamic effects over time that typically cannot be estimated in a cross-sectional data set, (b) distinguishing between timeinvariant fixed and time dependent random effects of multi-level socioecological drivers, and (c) controlling for omitted variables to a certain extent. Considering farming systems both within and outside of polder embankment systems intended to protect against oceanic water intrusion, we found a gradual shift from heterogeneous, rice-livestock farm types to more homogenous farms with less livestock and more off-farm activities. Micro-level factors including farm plot fragmentation, farmers' experience in cropping, machinery, salinity and soil fertility were influencing changes in farming systems. Meso-level factors including markets, road infrastructure, labour availability, access to extension and land tenure also affect the trajectory of farming systems change. Among macro-level drivers, increasing population density positively and significantly influenced cropping intensity among farms outside polder systems. Within polders, a positive but non-significant trend was observed for the influence of population density on cropping intensity. Our data also indicate negative and significant influence of cyclonic storms on cropping intensity over time in both areas. Our results underscore the importance of accounting for multiple levels of socioecological drivers of change when developing appropriate policy options for sustainable development in South Asia's coastal farming systems.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Past trajectories, current preferences, and alternative futures for the sustainable intensification of coastal farming systems in Bangladesh

Aravindakshan¹

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“…One of the main causes of depeasantisation is rural proletarianisation, or stripping the agricultural producer of their means of production (e.g., land; Araghi, 2009;Misra, 2017). This occurs in two possible ways.…”

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confidence: 99%

Disintegrating labour relations and depoliticised adaptation to climate change in rural São Tomé and Príncipe

Mikulewicz

2020

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That climate change is a major disruptor of rural livelihoods in the low-and middle-income countries, including sub-Saharan Africa, has been a key narrative for the continent's development for at least a decade. And while the severity of climate impacts on African development should not be underestimated, in this paper I argue that the vulnerability of smallholders in São Tomé and Príncipe should be considered in the broader political economic and historical context of progressing depeasantisation and proletarianisation of global agricultural labour. Moreover, I posit that certain smallholders' vulnerability can actually increase as a result of both autonomous and externally planned adaptation strategies, the latter most commonly promoted by governments and their international development partners. To substantiate these arguments, the paper combines theoretical insights from labour geography and critical adaptation studies with ethnographic data collected in Liberdadea village in the small island nation of São Tomé and Príncipewhich participated in a nationwide climate change adaptation project. I trace local smallholders' vulnerability back to the country's political economic history and complement this by an investigation of the changing labour relations at the community level. Here, I analyse the autonomous adaptation strategies pursued by the residents and critically assess the localised effects of planned adaptation embodied by the project, with a specific focus on how they affect local labour relations. I conclude by providing some reflections on addressing the current pitfalls of planned adaptation.

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“…Despite ongoing processes of economic liberalization, agriculture and subsistence remain central to Bangladesh's economic, political and social systems (Misra, 2016). The growth of the export shrimp sector (discussed further below) was born in part out of structural adjustment, driven by a range of economic policies that attracted private investment (Bhattacharya et al, 1999).…”

Section: National Governance and Political Economymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bangladesh was one of the first countries to engage in processes of structural adjustment in the 1980s, which included processes of trade and export liberalization and privatization, and cutbacks in the public sector, with a view to building economic growth (Bhattacharya, Rahman, & Khatun, 1999), by enhancing private-sector led, export-oriented industrialisation, and shifting away from agriculture (Misra, 2016). Despite ongoing processes of economic liberalization, agriculture and subsistence remain central to Bangladesh's economic, political and social systems (Misra, 2016).…”

Section: National Governance and Political Economymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Climate change adaptation in Southwest Bangladesh: vulnerability and gender inequality

MacMahon¹

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The threat of climate change looms large for Bangladesh, located between the Ganges Delta and the Bay of Bengal. Climate change is expected to impact the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people in Bangladesh, particularly those who live in coastal areas and are poor or disadvantaged. Women are considered to be particularly vulnerable as a result of gendered roles, responsibilities and limited entitlements. While there is a growing body of work regarding the ways in which gender, class, and livelihoods contribute to climate change vulnerability in Bangladesh, there is little scholarship examining adaptation in terms of its capacity to address the social and political aspects of vulnerability. In addition, much gender and climate change research suffers from static representations of women and gender relations.To address these gaps in the literature, this thesis uses adaptive capacity vulnerability theory, in conjunction with feminist political ecology, to examine the transformative capacity of adaptation initiatives in the Bagerhat region of Southwest of Bangladesh. By adopting a bottom-up approach to social enquiry, this thesis investigates, 1) The nature and community experiences of environmental and climate changes in the region; 2) The social factors that mediate experiences of environmental and climate change, including gender, class and governance; and 3) The ways in which adaptation initiatives interact with underlying causes of vulnerability, with a focus gender.Employing an embedded case study approach and utilising a range of participatory methods, this thesis makes four key findings. Firstly, climate change in Southwest Bangladesh is situated within local political, economic and ecological contexts. The impacts of climate change were found to be 'magnifying' a range of pre-existing environmental challenges that have occurred as a result of political and economic interventions in agriculture in the Southwest. Secondly, women's experiences of, and responses to, environmental change were being shaped by gendered roles, responsibilities and expectations. Gender in this context was undergoing changes as a result of material needs, and women's own agentic desires to help their communities. However, these shifts were having little impact on women's broader capabilities and entitlements. Thirdly, the adaptation initiatives observed were doing little to enhance community capacities in climate change adaptation, and were failing to respond to macro political and economic issues. Most adaptation initiatives, including small-scale improvements to farming and livelihoods, had largely failed to address poverty, gender inequality or the underlying causes of environmental change. Rather, these iii initiatives were assigning obligations to communities, allowing governments to abdicate their responsibilities. Finally, what these findings suggest is that in order to initiate adaptation measures that are sustainable and socially just, there is a need for an approach that is inclusive and transform...

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Is Peasantry Dead? Neoliberal Reforms, the State and Agrarian Change in Bangladesh

Cited by 18 publications

References 30 publications

Past trajectories, current preferences, and alternative futures for the sustainable intensification of coastal farming systems in Bangladesh

Past trajectories, current preferences, and alternative futures for the sustainable intensification of coastal farming systems in Bangladesh

Disintegrating labour relations and depoliticised adaptation to climate change in rural São Tomé and Príncipe

Climate change adaptation in Southwest Bangladesh: vulnerability and gender inequality

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