IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ags/ajaees/402821.html

Role of Rural Non-Farm Employment in Enhancing Food Security and Livelihoods of Rural Households in Karur District, Tamil Nadu, India

Author

Listed:
  • G, Harshavardhini
  • L, Umamaheswari
  • Thirumarudhan, L T

Abstract

Rural livelihoods in India are undergoing a significant transformation, with non-farm activities emerging as a key source of employment and income beyond agriculture. The Rural Non-Farm Sector (RNFS) has become central to livelihood diversification and economic resilience in rural areas. The present study was conducted in Karur district of Tamil Nadu, a region with predominant non-farm activities, to examine the impact of Rural Non-Farm Sector participation on employment, and food security of rural households. However, district-level empirical evidence linking rural non-farm employment, occupational choice, and household food security in Tamil Nadu remains limited. Primary data were collected from 120 rural households. The results indicated that manufacturing accounted for the largest share of non-farm employment (34.62 per cent), followed by construction (17.95 per cent) and transport services (14.10 per cent). Econometric analysis revealed that household size, proportion of working members, organizational membership, distance to workplace, and household income significantly influenced participation in Rural Non-Farm Sector, while age and landholding size had a negative effect. The occupational choice analysis showed that households with higher levels of education and income were more likely to engage in self-employed or regular non-farm activities. The mean food security index was highest for non-farm households (1.11), compared to farm (1.05) and off-farm households (1.01). Food-secure non-farm households exceeded calorie requirements by 10 per cent, while food-insecure households experienced calorie shortfalls ranging from 17 to 25 per cent. Probit results showed that education and non-farm income positively influenced food security, whereas age, household size, and distance to markets had a negative effect. The study highlights the Rural Non-Farm Sector as an important livelihood safety net and emphasizes strengthening farm–non-farm linkages through productivity enhancement and rural infrastructure development to reduce distress migration.

Suggested Citation

  • G, Harshavardhini & L, Umamaheswari & Thirumarudhan, L T, 2026. "Role of Rural Non-Farm Employment in Enhancing Food Security and Livelihoods of Rural Households in Karur District, Tamil Nadu, India," Asian Journal of Agricultural Extension, Economics & Sociology, Asian Journal of Agricultural Extension, Economics & Sociology, vol. 44(2).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:ajaees:402821
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/402821/files/Harshavardhini4422026AJAEES152519.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Abu, Godwin Anjeinu & Soom, Aondonenge, 2016. "Analysis Of Factors Affecting Food Security In Rural And Urban Farming Households Of Benue State, Nigeria," International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics (IJFAEC), Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Department of Economics and Finance, vol. 4(01), pages 1-14, January.
    2. Liu, Jing & Shively, Gerald E. & Binkley, James K., 2014. "Access to variety contributes to dietary diversity in China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(P1), pages 323-331.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alao, O. T. & Bamiwuye, O. A. & Adedokun, J. A., 2020. "Poverty Status Among Farming Households in Ogbomoso South Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria," Nigerian Journal of Rural Sociology, Rural Sociological Association of Nigeria, vol. 20(01), September.
    2. Dawuni, Peter, 2024. "Achieving Food Security Through Agricultural Water Security of Smallholder Farmers in Ghana," International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics (IJFAEC), Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Department of Economics and Finance, vol. 12(01), January.
    3. Ho, Shuay-Tsyr & Qu, Mingyang & Rickard, Bradley & Costanigro, Marco & McLaughlin, Edward, "undated". "Retail Alcohol Availability and Product Diversity," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235913, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    4. Shinoj Parappurathu & Anjani Kumar & M. Bantilan & P. Joshi, 2015. "Food consumption patterns and dietary diversity in eastern India: evidence from village level studies (VLS)," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 7(5), pages 1031-1042, October.
    5. Signorelli, Sara & Haile, Beliyou & Kotu, Bekele Hundie, 2017. "Exploring the Agriculture-Nutrition Linkage in Northern Ghana," IFPRI discussion papers 1697, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    6. Chiwuzie Augustina & Daniel Ibrahim Dabara & Adebayo Olusegun Ogunba & Olusegun Joseph Omotehinshe, 2021. "Sustainable Land and Food Security in Female-Led Agrarian Households of Tula, Nigeria," AfRES 2021-020, African Real Estate Society (AfRES).
    7. Yingying Huang & Hui Wang & Xu Tian, 2016. "Changing Diet Quality in China during 2004–2011," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, December.
    8. Priyanka Parvathi, 2018. "Does mixed crop‐livestock farming lead to less diversified diets among smallholders? Evidence from Laos," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(4), pages 497-509, July.
    9. Ren, Yanjun & Li, Hui & Wang, Xiaobing, 2019. "Family income and nutrition-related health: Evidence from food consumption in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 58-76.
    10. Marenya, P. & Kassie, M. & Teklewold, H. & Erenstein, O. & Qaim, M. & Rahut, D., 2018. "Does the adoption of maize-legume cropping diversification and modern seeds affect nutritional security in Ethiopia? Evidence from panel data analysis," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277170, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    11. Upev, Samuel Ka’ase & Onu, Justice Inyanda & Mshelia, Shuaibu Iliya & Michael, Amurtiya, . "Poverty and its Alleviating Strategies among Rural Farming Households in Benue State, Nigeria," Problems of World Agriculture / Problemy Rolnictwa Światowego, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, vol. 21(2).
    12. Pavel Ciaian & Andrej Cupák & Ján Pokrivčák & Marian Rizov, 2018. "Food consumption and diet quality choices of Roma in Romania: a counterfactual analysis," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(2), pages 437-456, April.
    13. Luke Oyesola Olarinde & Adebayo Busura Abass & Tahirou Abdoulaye & Adebusola Adenike Adepoju & Matthew Olufemi Adio & Emmanuel Gbenga Fanifosi & Awoyale Wasiu, 2020. "The Influence of Social Networking on Food Security Status of Cassava Farming Households in Nigeria," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-35, July.
    14. Dawuni, Peter, 2024. "Achieving Food Security Through Agricultural Water Security of Smallholder Farmers in Ghana," International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics (IJFAEC), Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Department of Economics and Finance, vol. 12(01), January.
    15. Akolgo, James Anaba & Osei-Asare, Yaw B. & Sarpong, Daniel Bruce & Asem, Freda Elikplim & Quaye, Wilhemina, 2024. "Examining the Nexus between Dry Season Vegetable Production and Household Food Security in the Upper East Region of Ghana," International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics (IJFAEC), Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Department of Economics and Finance, vol. 12(01), January.
    16. Pokrivcak, Jan & Cupak, Andrej & Rizov, Marian, 2015. "Household food security and consumption patterns in Central and Eastern Europe: the Case of Slovakia," 2015 Fourth Congress, June 11-12, 2015, Ancona, Italy 207287, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA).
    17. Baral, Nayana & Paria, Bidur & Behera, Bhagirath & Mishra, Pulak, 2021. "Household behaviour and nutrition-sensitive agricultural practices: Experiences of smallholder farmers in Northern West Bengal, India," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 21(C).
    18. Ajisafe, Oluwaseun Gabriel & Idiaye, Chuks Onyeka & Oluwatayo, Isaac Busayo, . "Agricultural commercialization and smallholder farmers’ food security in Nigeria," Western Balkan Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development (WBJAERD), Institute of Agricultural Economics, vol. 7(1).
    19. Xu Tian & Li Zhong & Stephan von Cramon-Taubadel & Huakang Tu & Hui Wang, 2016. "Restaurants in the Neighborhood, Eating Away from Home and BMI in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(12), pages 1-16, December.
    20. Rudkin, Simon, 2015. "Supermarket Interventions and Diet in areas of Limited Retail Access: Policy Suggestions from the Seacroft Intervention Study," MPRA Paper 62434, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:ajaees:402821. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journalajaees.com/index.php/AJAEES/index .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.