🎓The role of social capital and formal social protection in influencing resilience to food insecurity among smallholder cattle-rearers in Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad, India

PhD Candidate: Sanjana Rajasekar

This doctoral research examines the role of social capital and government social protection in food security among smallholder cattle-rearers in Gujarat, India. Smallholders in the agriculture sector were affected during the COVID-19 pandemic due to their marginality and the slow adaptation of formal social protection to the crisis. This mixed-methods study uses primary data from a cross-sectional survey of 445 women from cattle-rearing households, in-depth qualitative key-informant interviews, expert interviews, and a focus group discussion. This study aims to answer the following specific questions:

a) How does social capital accrued through membership in dairy cooperatives, particularly women's membership, influence household access to health insurance and food security schemes?
b) How do gender and intersectionality affect marginalized women's access to formal social protection?
c) What is the combined influence of social capital and access to formal social protection on increasing a household's resilience to food insecurity?