A Case Study of Socioeconomic Inequalities of Young Agricultural Migrant Workers in District Kewra, Haryana
Abstract
Rural-to-urban migration is an ongoing process under the current circumstances. 54% of the world's population lives in urban areas and has access to per capita employment resources. India and Nigeria have the highest growth rates, according to a United Nations report. This study is being conducted with the aim of analyzing the access to health care of the migrant population in Kewra Village, Haryana. Interstate immigrants are coming to Haryana and other metropolitan areas of India in hopes of a better quality of life, higher incomes, better education and better health facilities. But the harsh reality is that these development indicators are not readily available to the majority of the immigration-dependent Indian population. In Haryana, migrant workers are generally absorbed into the agricultural sector. These migrant workers are forced to work on the land of other farmers and landlords. They only contribute to the production of agricultural products and do not own any land within the state for their own consumption or farming. Some of these migrant workers tend to work in the same fields for long periods of time, earning a daily wage as a reward for their loyalty, but some are also promoted to share in the harvest. These migrant workers are an important source of capital and contribute significantly to the production of landlords and farmers.
Downloads
References
UN DESA, 2009. Trends in International Migrant Stock: The 2008 Revision, New York: United Nation Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), Population Division. Available at: http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/migration/UN_MigStock_2
pdf.
United Nations, 2009. International Migration Report 2006: A Global Assessment. Available at: http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/2006_MigrationRep/report.h tm.
IOM, 2008. “‘Chapter 1: Low and Semi--‐ skilled Workers Abroad.’”
World Migration 2008., Geneva: International Organization
for Migration. Available
at:http://www.iom.int/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/pu blished_docs
/studies_and_reports/WMR2008/Ch3_WMR08.pdf.
UN DESA, 2004. World Economic and Social Survey 2004: International Migration, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), New York, UN. Available at: http://www.un.org/esa/policy/wess/wess2004files/part2web/preface.pdf.
Reeves, M. & Schafer, K.S., 2003. Greater risks, fewer rights: U.S. farmworkers and pesticides. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 9, pp.30–39.
Abella, M., 2006. Policies and Best Practices for Management of Temporary Migration. In Paper Presented at the International Symposium on International Migration and Development, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), Population Division, 28--‐ 30
June, 2006. Turin. Available at: http://www.un.org/esa/population/migration/turin/Symposium_Turin_files/P03
_SYMP_Abe lla.pdf.
Ahonen, E., Benavides, F. & Benach, J., 2007. Immigrant populations, work and health – a systematic literature review. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 33(2), pp.96–104.
Arcury, Thomas A, Quandt, S. A & Mellen, B.G., 2003. An Exploratory Analysis of Occupational Skin Disease Among Latino Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers in North Carolina. Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health, 9(3), pp.221–232.
Bazylewicz--‐ Walczak, B., Majczakowa, W. & Szymczak, M., 1999. Behavioral effects of occupational exposure to organophosphorous pesticides in female greenhouse planting workers. NeuroToxicology, 20(5), pp.819–26.
Blake, J., 1969. Ocular hazards in agriculture. Ophthalmologica, 158, pp.125–135.
BLC, 2000. Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in 1999, Washington, DC: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Bollini, P. & Siem, H., 1995. No real progress towards equity: Health of migrants and ethnic minorities on the eve of the year 2000. Soc Sci Med, 41(6), pp.819–828.
Cabrera, N.L. & Leckie, J.O., 2009. Pesticide Risk Communication, Risk Perception, and Self--‐ Protective Behaviors Among Farmworkers in California’s Salinas Valley. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 31(2), pp.258–272.
Cameron, L. et al., 2006. Occupational health survey of farm workers by camp health aides. Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health, 12(2), pp.139–153.
Carballo, M., Divino, J.J. & Zeric, D., 1998. Migration and health in the European Union. Tropical Medicine & International Health, 3(12), pp.936–944.
Ciesielski, S. et al., 1994. Pesticide exposures, cholinesterase depression, and symptoms among North Carolina migrant farmworkers. American Journal of Public Health, 84, pp.446– 451.
Das, R. et al., 2001. Pesticide--‐ related illness among migrant farm workers in the United States. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 7(4), pp.303–312.
Earle--‐ Richardson, G. et al., 2003. Occupational injury and illness among migrant and seasonal farmworkers in New York State and Pennsylvania, 1997–1999: pilot study of a new surveillance method. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 44(1), pp.37–45.
Forst, L. et al., 2004. Effectiveness of community health workers for promoting use of safety eyewear by Latino farm workers. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 46(6), pp.607–613.
Frank, A.L. et al., 2004. Issues of Agricultural Safety and Health. Annual Review of Public Health, 25(1), pp.225–245.
Garcia, J.G.., Dresser, K.S.. & Zerr, A.., 1996. Respiratory health of Hispanic migrant farmworkers in Indiana. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 29(23--‐ 32).
Gomes, J., Lloyd, O.L. & Revitt, D.M., 1999. The influence of personal protection, environmental hygiene and exposure to pesticides on the health of immigrant farm workers in a desert country. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 72(1), pp.40–45.
Hansen, E. & Donohoe, M., 2003. Health issues of migrant and seasonal farmworkers. Journalof Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 14(2), pp.153–164.
Hard, D.L., Myers, J.R. & Gerberich, S.G., 2002. Traumatic injuries in agriculture. Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health, 8(1), pp.51–65.
Kamel, F et al., 2007. Neurologic symptoms in licensed pesticide applicators in the Agricultural Health Study. Human & Experimental Toxicology, 26(3), pp.243–250.
Kamel, Freya et al., 2003. Neurobehavioral Performance and Work Experience in Florida Farmworkers. Environmental Health Perspectives, 111(14), pp.1765–1772.
Kirkhorn, S. R & Schenker, M.B., 2002. Current health effects of agricultural work: respiratory disease, cancer, reproductive effects, musculoskeletal injuries, and pesticide--‐ related illnesses. Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health, 8(2), pp.199–214.
Kowalski, K., Hoffman, C.J. & Mcclure, A., 1999. Nutritional patterns and needs of migrant farm workers in Northwest Michigan. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 99(2), pp.221–224.
Krejci--‐ Manwaring, J. et al., 2006. Skin Disease Among Latino Farmworkers in North Carolina.
Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health, 12(2), pp.155–163.
Larson, A., 2001a. Environmental/Occupational Safety and Health. In Migrant health issues monograph series no. 2. Buda, TX: National Center for Farmworker Health. Available at: http://www.ncfh.org/docs/02%20--‐
%20environment.pdf.
May, J.J. & Kullman, G.J., 2002. Agricultural safety and health in a new century. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 42(S2), pp.1–2.
McConnell, Rob, Keifer, Matthew & Rosenstock, Linda, 1994. Elevated quantitative vibrotactile threshold among workers previously poisoned with methamidophos and other organophosphate pesticides. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 25(3), pp.325–334.
McCurdy, S.A. et al., 2002. Injury risks in children of California migrant Hispanic farm worker families. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 42(2), pp.124–133.
McDermott, S. & Lee, C.., 1990. Injury among male migrant farm workers in South Carolina. Journal of Community Health, 15(5), pp.297–305.
Moses, M. et al., 1993. Environmental equity and pesticide exposure.
Toxicology and industrial health, 9(5), pp.913–59.
Muniz, J.F. et al., 2008. Biomarkers of oxidative stress and DNA damage in agricultural workers: A pilot study. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 227(1), pp.97–107.
Myers, J., 1997. Injuries among farmworkers in the United States, 1993, Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Mysyk, A., England, M. & Gallegos, J.A.A., 2008. Nerves as Embodied Metaphor in the Canada/Mexico Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program. Medical Anthropology, 27(4), pp.383–404.
Parrón, T., et al., 1996a. Clinical and biochemical changes in greenhouse sprayers chronically exposed to pesticides. Human & Experimental Toxicology, 15, pp.957–963.
Parrón, T., et al., 1996b. Increased risk of suicide with exposure to pesticides in an intensive agricultural area. A 12--‐ year retrospective study. Forensic Science International, 79(1), pp.53– 63.
Quandt, Sara A et al., 2001. Eye Symptoms and Use of Eye Protection Among Seasonal and Migrant Farmworkers. Southern Medical Journal,
(6). Available at: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/410804.
Robinson, J.C., 1989. Exposure to occupational hazards among Hispanics, blacks and non--‐ Hispanic whites in California. Am J Public Health, 79(5), pp.629–630.
Rohlman, D.S. et al., 2001. Assessment of Neurobehavioral Function with Computerized Tests in a Population of Hispanic Adolescents Working in Agriculture. Environmental Research, 85(1), pp.14–24.
Rohlman, D.S., Anger, W. Kent & Lein, P.J., 2011. Correlating neurobehavioral performance with biomarkers of organophosphorous pesticide exposure. NeuroToxicology, 32(2), pp.268–276.
Rosenstock, L. et al., 1991. Chronic central nervous system effects of acute organophosphate pesticide intoxication. The Lancet, 338(8761), pp.223– 227.
Salvatore, A.L. et al., 2008. Occupational behaviors and farmworkers’ pesticide exposure: Findings from a study in Monterey county, California. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 51(10), pp.782–794.
Schenker, M.B., 2010. A global perspective of migration and occupational health. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 53(4), pp.329–337.
Schenker, M.B., Ferguson, T. & Gamsky, T., 1991. Respiratory risks associated with agriculture. Occupational Medicine, 6, pp.415–428.
Schenker, M.B., Lopez, R. & Wintermute, G., 1995. Farm--‐ related fatalities among children in California. 1980 to 1989. American Journal of Public Health, 85, pp.89–92.
Stueland, D. et al., 1995. The Relationship of Farm Residency Status to Demographic and Service Characteristics of Agricultural Injury Victims in Central Wisconsin. The Journal of RuralHealth, 11(2), pp.98–105.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation .
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.