Lockdown threw new hardships along nomadic herders’ paths
Their migration towards summer pastures coinciding with the first lockdown, and with severe restrictions on movement, pastoralists lacked access to pastures, water and fodder, besides facing discrimination
Jaga
Vashraam Rabari of Vrajvani village in Kutch migrates every summer with his
herd of animals for eight months. Villagers in Pattan, around 300 km from his
village, usually invite and welcome him but this time, they did not allow him
to enter the village due to myths around COVID-19.
“The
presence of police personnel also scared us and our mobility was seriously
restricted,” he said talking about sudden changes during the lockdown, evoked
on March 25 in the wake of the pandemic.
A
study from five states found that around 31% nomadic herders like Rabari were
stranded while 51% of the herders’ inter-state movement declined during the
lockdown. The drudgery of pastoral women, who were stranded outside the
villages multiplied because they had to walk longer distances to fetch water,
arrange for ration or to sell milk.
Around
93% herders reported increase in expenditure cost of livestock. Feeding cost
increased four to five times. Fodder and water had to be purchased while these
would have come for free if they had reached the pastures on time.
Pastoralist’s Life in Lockdown, a
study by ActionAid gives
details about discrimination, security issues, and financial and logistical
hardships that pastoralists faced during the lockdown.
Migration
restrictions
Nomadic
herders, whose livelihood depends on livestock travel in search of pasture
land. There are communities whose journeys start every year in April/June from
Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra states and pass through traditional routes
through different regions.
They
stop at fixed places where people accept them and allow their herds to camp on
their farms in exchange of manure. In the hill regions of Jammu & Kashmir,
Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, pastoral communities climb to the upper
reaches for the summer. They pass through the same route, stopping at
traditional resting places. The lockdown disturbed everything.
Restrictions
on movement made it difficult for these communities to manage their livestock,
as it was only through their travel that they could access feed. They had to
divert routes and spend more time and energy working out where they could move.
Expenses went up, and income from livestock through sale of milk, wool or
animals declined substantially.
Support
from the government and non-governmental organizations reached their families
in the villages. But being on the move, the pastoralists remained without help.
Access to health services was a particular issue, both for themselves and for their
livestock.
Inaccessible
pastures and water
The
lockdown coincided with the pastoralists’ season of migration, when they move
with their animals towards summer pasture. Around 32% pastoralists interviewed
said they reduced their migration, while 30% delayed it.
After
relaxation in the rules of the first phase of lockdown, some of the
pastoralists proceeded for summer grazing. The remaining 38% did not change
their usual timing of travel and started on their usual routes. However, they
faced a lot of problems en route. Around 90% of the respondents found decline
in accessibility to grazing lands and water; 80% felt decrease in access to
fodder.
Most
of them felt that any lockdown in future should not have restriction on their movement
and access to pasture, since their animals depend on grazing. Around 94%
pastoralists said they faced problems getting food and ration items while on
the move.
New
challenges
When
Naagji Bhai from Kutch was migrating to Mehsana district with his family this
year, around 40 of their sheep were stolen at night. They reported it to the police,
but no one was caught. After moving from pillar to post, they lost hope and
stopped following up the case.
When
herders travel on a known route every year, they develop their own social network
and safety system. This also becomes a mutually beneficial exercise for
villagers en route. However, around 57% of the herders interviewed said that they
had to change their routes during the lockdown.
In
the changed route, there were hardly any human habitations and they could not
get food items easily. They could not use their mobile phones they kept to
remain in touch with other group members and family because no shop was open
where they could recharge their phones. And there was no network available for
days.
The
rise in thefts on unknown routes meant they had to monitor their livestock day
and night. They did not have such issues on their usual routes.
There
was, however, a positive side of lockdown as overall incidents of theft of
animals or robbing of pastoralists declined. Around 67% of herders found
decline in crime which could be attributed to enhanced security and
restrictions on movement of people.
Reduced
income
Livestock
rearing involve a lot of investment in terms of money, labor and contacts to
purchase medicine and fodder. The study found that while the rates of cattle
feed went up, there was also an increase in livestock diseases which
complicated the situation.
For
62% of the pastoralists, the delay or reduction of migration days had a huge
impact on their income. Since the annual sustenance of these families is
dependent on migration on a rotational basis, a setback for one complete year
means that the flow is disturbed for a couple of years in future.
At
the same time, cost of milk and other dairy products crashed amid fear of COVID-19
spread through animals. In Uttarakhand, Van Gujjars dumped 5,000 liters every day in April because nobody wanted to
buy from them.
Usually
pastoralists don’t carry cash. While traveling, they purchase things by selling
products like milk, meat, wool or woolen products. This year, they had less
income and it was difficult to meet the needs of the animals. Around 80% faced income
crunch from all animal products while 90% mentioned decline in income from
wool.
Discrimination
Around
84% of the pastoralists faced difficulties in camping near villages. In
previous years, farmers and villagers welcomed and invited them to graze the
animals on the post-harvest residue. However, this year due to the pandemic,
people were scared and did not allow herders to camp near the villages.
There
were also instances of physical attacks on Muslim herders in Punjab. More than 50%
interviewed for the study said that they faced discrimination from villagers
while 30% experienced increase in discrimination by local police and government
authorities. In some cases, the pastoralists also avoided populated villages to
escape harassment.
Government
support
Livestock
markets from where people purchase bullocks for agriculture purpose were shut.
In many instances people were forced to abandon big livestock like cow and
bullock as they had no resource to stall feed the animals. Access to basic
health services for the livestock was affected. Around 89% experienced a big
challenge accessing health services for animals during lockdown.
Availability
of fodder and veterinary medicine was limited and whatever was available was
too high priced. “Even after paying money, we were not getting cattle feed, due
to scarcity,” said Bharat Gokul Bharwad of Manwarpur village.
“When
we ventured to collect grasses from a nearby grassland, police stopped us. The
price of cattle feed went up by more than 60%,” said Bharwad. Many of them said
governments should provide support for livestock during these times like they
gave ration support to people.
In
response to this crisis, people felt, there should be relaxation and scope for
collection and sale of their products without any restriction during any such
lockdown in future. Government procurement may be arranged if there is no
facility for local sale. This will help people to protect their income.
Manu
Moudgil is a journalist based in Chandigarh. Views are personal.