Upgrading agricultural value chains in the face of migration: a case study of Tolma village in Uttarakhand
Student name: Ms Gauri Arora
Guide: Dr Chubamenla Jamir
Year of completion: 2018
Host Organisation: 5WARAJ
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Mr Gaurav Shorey
Abstract: The study identifies opportunities for upgrading the existing agricultural value chain in Tolma village, Uttarakhand, in the face of high migration. Rural to urban migration has increased alarmingly in high altitude regions of the state over the last decade, and the reasons causing extensive migration in a particular region are influenced by the circumstances transpiring in it. To understand the causal reasons for migration in the study sites, household surveys were conducted. After due analyses of primary data, it was observed that underemployment to a great extent influences the decisions of inhabitants to migrate to cities. Agriculture, which was the primary source of income for the farmers in these villages in the past, has shown a declining trend over the years that can be observed from the dwindling share of agriculture in the GDP of Uttarakhand. The factors reported for the declining interest in agriculture in the study site have a reinforcing relationship with migration and unless the trend is broken, large-scale migration would only increase, converting them to ‘ghost villages’ in a few years.
Inefficiency in the value chains governing the agricultural produce in the study sites, to a great extent influences the factors causing declining interest in agriculture. The study therefore analyses upgrading strategies by identifying opportunities and constraints with respect to various actors and activities associated with the chain at each step. Various aspects in cultivation, processing, procurement and marketing stages were identified and a comparison of the value chain with and without elements of upgrading was presented.
Keywords: Agriculture, value chains, migration, upgrading, consumers, marketing
