Labour and livelihoods

Drawing on empirical data from ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Bangladesh, this paper examines intra-household relations, and the roles and responsibilities of children in this context. The findings offer several contributions to current debates and approaches in child protection. First, there is a need for greater recognition of intergenerational interdependence both within households among children and their parents, and outside among wider networks in the community. Second, children's work is revealed as having a protective function within these relationships.

This paper critically examines policy in Benin against child trafficking. Drawing on interviews and participant observation with adolescent labour migrants and their communities, it problematises both the assumptions underpinning anti-trafficking policy and the appropriateness of the initiatives that comprise it.

Food security is a key aspect of human development. The present article explores the shortcomings of agricultural interventions in two districts in eastern Uganda. Our study shows that these interventions have achieved only minor successes in relieving rural poverty and strengthening food security. Programmes that support prominent farmers with the aim of commercial development are unlikely to touch the poor. Food insecurity is related to the gendered division of agricultural work, control of cash income and the cycle of planting, harvest and crop sales for poor farmers.

The present article provides evidence from a collaborative research programme in Nicaragua that suggests that Fairtrade is falling short of its equity-promoting potential. Providing an alternative framing of Fairtrade based on the gendered social determinants of health, it suggests how Fairtrade can be optimised towards equity. The programme is based on experiences of community-based organisations and women coffee producers who perceive contradictions in the rhetoric of gender equity in Fairtrade.

In recent years, increasing attention has been given to home herbal gardens (HHG) and numerous projects have been carried out. Despite this, the active participation of villagers in the cultivation of medicinal plants in HHGs is not very high. The present article analyses the challenges faced by local communities in participating in HHG programmes, paying particular attention to cultural aspects and caste and gender components.

This paper examines the extent to which the key elements of globalisation, such as international trade, investments, foreign aid, transnational labour migration and tourism have been mainstreamed into the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) in the Asia-Pacific region. Using a content analysis, the paper finds that trade openness gained the highest priority in the PRSPs, followed by foreign investment, aid, tourism and, lastly, migration.

Microfinance practices were originally developed in offline contexts. Modern microfinance practices were based on development models for the financial and social empowerment of the poorest of poor in developing countries. Several of these practices drew from existing traditions of money lending within local communities that were reformed to be in sync with rural development and the empowerment of the underprivileged individual.

An international project called PADS promoted participatory learning and action research with inland valley rainfed rice farmers in West Africa. All countries received the same training, similar funding, and the same leadership. Although the staff in Ghana were conscientious and gave much training to the farmer beneficiaries, the Mali staff explicitly encouraged farmers to experiment. Farmers in Mali responded to this favourable attitude by experimenting more than those in Ghana, and in qualitatively more interesting ways.

This paper addresses the question of whether microfinance and conditional cash transfers can be effective in alleviating poverty in the Latin American region, and provides a comprehensive assessment of each of these programmes using data and evaluation reports from 19 countries in the Latin American region, analysed in the context of six operational and impact criteria. The research shows that microfinance may be better suited for those living on US$2 per day or higher, while conditional cash transfers may be more beneficial for those living in extreme poverty.

Agricultural wage labourers in the Philippines were especially vulnerable to the food-price increases of 2007–08. Their wages do not cover the costs of food, clothing, and shelter, much less healthcare and their children's education. Food-price inflation reached 17.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2008. Farm workers had to spend most of their average daily wage of US$ 3 on buying rice, which meant foregoing the purchase of other foods and key necessities. Measures to reduce the price of calories for landless labourers are of critical importance to poverty alleviation.