The fishing community, is almost solely dependent on the sea resources for their livelihood (Krishna Srinath. 1987) and the roles that a fisherwoman plays are integral for the maintenance of the family. With intensification of the fishing effort and the decrease in production per unit resuhed in fluctuations in the income of fishermen. The s ignificance of employment of fisherwomen is paramount for the sustenance of fisher families

Gopal, Nikita

Srinath, Krishna

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A Study of Women in Fish Marketing in Kerala Nikita Gopa/ & Krishna Srinath* Introduction The fishing communit), is almos t so lely dependent on the sea resources for their livelihood (Kri shna Srinath. 1987) and the ro les that a fisherwoman plays are integral for the maintenance of the family. With intensification of the fi shing effort and the decrease in producti on per unit resuhed in fluctuations in the income of fishermen. The s ignificance of employment of fisherwomen is paramount for the sustenance of fi sher families. The woman's ro le has traditionally been shore-based . post- harvest acti vi ti es including auctioning. marketing. pre-process ing and processlllg (Anbarasan Karuna. 1985). Marginalisation of the these traditional roles has been observed with increasing mechanisation of fishing operations and large volume of fish being landed. increase in the money transactions and the basic landing centre activities such as auction ing, wholesale and retail purchase etc. pass ing into the hands of men . With almost all activities of post-harvest fisheri es becoming capital-intensive women have been placed at a d isadvantage s ince their access to resources. particularly capital, is poor. affecting their capaci t)' to invest as well. They are no longer able to purchase the necessary fresh fish for marketing or processing (DFID-PHFP. 1998). They have little or no access to institutional ised credit. chiefly due to their own ignorance or reluctance to approach credit institutions. Credit institutions. particularly those in the cooperati ve sector. thus have an important rol e to perform in empowering fi sherwomen. A study was undertaken to rev iew the working of fi sh marketing systems in Vaddy-Thangasherri region of Kerala. *Central Insli lu\c of Fisheries Tcchnolog) . Cochin- 682 029 (Kerala) \Vomcn in Fisheries 57 Role of MATSY AFED MATSY AFED. a Kerala State Cooperat ive Federat ion for Fisheries Development Ltd. is an agency under the State Department of Fi sheries . has been financing women in fis h vendi ng si nce 1989. through the Vaddy-Thangasherri Fi shermen Development Welfa re Cooperative Soc iety. \faddy. The credi t extended by the agency is Rs. 3000 with Rs. 300 as the beneficia ry contri but ion. A 22.5 % subsidy was pro" ided in this scheme. The loan had to be repaid \\'i thin three yea rs at an interest of 12 %. The women fi sh venders purchase the containers. whi ch are usuall y made of aluminum for keeping the fi sh and the raw material. ice etc. So fa r 600 \\'omen have been financed under thi s scheme. Data collected from 35 women respondents has been used for this study. Family and Work profile The fi sher families in the Vaddy-Thangasherri reg IOn be lo ng to the Chri stian community. The average age o f the respondents was 49. Most o f the respo ndents have been in the trade for several yea rs. The average family size is s ix and an a erage o f three members inc luding the res pondent. a rc engaged tn some form o f employment or o the r. Mos t of the male members a re in volved 111 fi shing or a llied acti vities. The respo ndents are engaged In fi sh marke tin g fo r s ix days a week and take a brea k o n Sunday. Im port ant festi ve occas io ns a re al so no n-work days. The respondent s are all in volved in fi sh based work and when no t marke ting . engage in other post harvest acti v iti es like salt ing and dry ing. The dry fi sh is gene ra ll y marketed by the agents. The responde nts purchase fish for marke ting from Vaddy-Thangas he rri landing centre ly ing within a range o f 0.5 to 2 km from th e ir res idences . Usua lly the women purchase one head load o f fi sh th at ca ters to the popular tas te of the ir regul ar custo mers. The ty pe o f fi sh purchased also depends o n th e fi sh landed at \Vomcn in Fi~heri~ 58 the landing centre. The most common species preferred arc sardine, mackerel. seer, prawns etc. The women buy fish from wholesalers or form groups and directly bid during auction. Seventy one per cent of the respondents are engaged in door-IO-door marketing of fish. Only 29% of women vendors sell thei r fish in nearby markets. Sixty six per cent of the respondents reach their area of operation on foot and the res t use either public transport or a group of women hire an aulO. the fare being shared. 10 reach a common poilll from where they disperse 10 their respective areas. When marketing is done door-to-door. the women cover an average of 36 houses every day. The respondellls spent an average of 8 hours in the whole marketing process. from the purchase 10 the sa le of fish. Economics MATSYAFED financed the initial requirements of the trade - the cOlllainer 10 carry the fi sh and the raw material. It has also given the much needed impetus fo r the women to rema in in the trade. The repaymelll capacity of the fisherwomen is high with all the respondellls havi ng repaid the loan w ithin the stipulated period and no defaults being reponed. The respondents earned an average profit of Rs 44 per day. Profits in genera l ranged from Rs 40 to Rs 50. The profits accruing to the fish vendors were high when the day-to-day investment was high or when the fi sh purchased had high value like seer etc. The average family income per month was Rs. 2588 and that of the respondents Rs. 1063. The average percentage contribution of the respondents to the family income was 41 per cenl. Two of the respondents were the only earning members in their family. \Vomcn in Fishcric.s 59 The auction agent also finances the daily purchase of fish. It is an informal arrangement w ith the loan being repaid the next day after the fish is so ld. It usually draws an interest of 10%. inety one per cent o f the respondents are dependent on thi s form of credit. An average expenditure of Rs 500 is incurred per day for fish and ice. Problems faced The women engaged in door-to-door fi sh marketing have to spend long hours on foot" with head loads while the women in retail markets are forced to remain in a squa!!ing position. This affects the general health of the women. Most of the respondents complained of pain in the legs, head and lower back. The infrastructural facilities in markets are generally poor and this adds lO the inconvenience of the market vendors. They are also facing increasing competition from cycle vendors who have the advantage of greater mobility. However. the women form an important link in the marketing chain carrying the fish to the doorsteps of the consumer (Nikita Gopal el al .. 2000) . Though the respondents availed the benefit of an instilut ional ized credit scheme lO begin the venture. their daY-lO-day business is still financed by loans from the informal sector. Only 9 % of the respondents have been able to re-invest Iheir profits inlO the marketing process. The household siluation does not permit the fisher families in developing a saving habit. since Ihe incomes Ihat the menfolk bring in are not regular or fixed . Conclusion The loan scheme by MATSYAFED has helped the fisherwomen from Vaddy-Thangasherri region lO take up marketing of fi sh as a means of supplementing the family income in the fa ce of fl uctuating incomes of Iheir menfolk from fishing. However. a majority of women are still dependent on the infomlal credit sec tor for financing their daily transactions. Therefore. there is a \Vomcn in Fisheries 60 need to develop a better alternative to cater to this need. 0'he women can be organized into self-help groups to encourage the saving habit and to develop a corpus fund that can be used to meet their immediate financial requirements. Synergy is needed between credit. savings and marketing issues for the venture to /' be economically viable and sustainable (PHF News, 1997).(,financial security and independence is often the f irst step towards empowerment of any section of society. References Anbarasan. Karuna. 1985. Factors that influence the role and status of fisherwomen. BOBP/WP/33. DFID-PHFP, 1998. Small-scale fish marketing in Tamil Nadu - An alternate fish container for women petty fish rraders. Information Bulletin 13. Krishna Srinath. 1987. Role of women in small scale fisheries - A case study. Marine Fisheries Information Service, T & E Series, No. 72, pp: 12-1 7. Nikita Gopal , V. Annamalai , ·M.P. Ramesan and Prem Kumar, 2000. Marketing efficiency of fresh fish trade in Cochin and Veraval (un published), CIFT. PHF News, 1997. DFID-BOBP, p. 15. Women in Fisheries 61 

A Study of Women in Fish Marketing in Kerala

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A Study of Women in Fish Marketing in Kerala

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