Trade Liberalisation and Inter- and Intra-household Food Security: An Empirical Investigation into the Tea Plantations of the Nilgiris

In this article, we explore the state of food security of people engaged in the plantation sector that has high participation in international trade besides meeting domestic requirements. While doing so, we investigate whether there exist any differences in intra- and inter-household food security. This has been carried out by analysing the state of food security, specifically of female workers, across tea plantations in the Nilgiris, with small tea growers (STGs) representing farm households and Tamilnadu Tea Plantation Corporation Limited (TANTEA) labour representing labour households. The results reveal that the state of food security among farm households is better than what it is among labour households. Across genders, the state of male food security is better than female. Besides, labour households are seen as susceptible to poor living conditions, while farm households are subject to frequent fluctuations in the price of green (tea) leaf and a poor price-sharing formula.