Gender and Globalization

Situational Analysis of Cotton Farming in Pakistan in collaboration with IKEA Services AB and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi, India

The transnational furniture company IKEA procures cotton from Pakistan. The company considers awareness of the socio-economic conditions in the area from which this input is purchased and their improvement as part of its corporate social responsibility. The objective of this study is to identify needs and constraints in Pakistan's cotton sector through a socio-economic analysis. Its findings will be utilized in the formulation of programs for improvement of socio-economic conditions in the cotton belt, in particular regarding the situation of women and children.

In a first step, a literature review on "Emerging socio-economic issues in Pakistan's cotton belt" was conducted. It highlighted the multi-faceted face of poverty in the region that produces the fuel for Pakistan's export engine. The first stakeholders in cotton cultivation, i.e. growers and agricultural workers, are characterized by poor bargaining power. Their work environment holds high risks for cultivators, laborers and their communities, from volatile climate, via pest infestation to health hazards that are associated with the intensive pesticide application on the cotton crop. All these problems are compounded by severe gender inequalities in resources access.

Based on these findings, a study on "Situational Analysis of Cotton Farming in Pakistan" was conceptualized. Field work took place in eight villages in the Rahimyar Khan and Khairpur districts. Whereas information for village profiles was gathered in September/October 2007, ten percent of the villages' households were sampled and interviewed based on three structured questionnaires from November/December 2007. In addition, focus group discussions with women and children were conducted. The project report is currently under revision.