Skillful, Marketable but Constrained

The economically underprivileged, in many cases, possess unique skills that are highly marketable. However, their livelihoods are impeded by a set of constraints. Roadside food vendors serve as an illustration - while the juices or paani-puris or sweets they sell taste extremely nice, one is never sure whether they are hygienic. Also, these vendors are at the mercy of law enforcers.

An indicative list of constraints faced by workers has been presented in the table below.

Non-Farm Sector Constraints

Farm Sector Constraints

●      Inability to interact constructively with local government agencies ●      Lack of identification documents for business activity ●      Lack of basic legal and tax compliance ●      Lack of compliance with quality standards ●      Issues related to reliability and timeliness ●      Safety, security and mobility issues (particularly among those who do street vending) ●      Limited capacity for design, presentation and promotion ●      Lack of access to major markets

●      Small agricultural land holdings ●      Low productivity - suboptimal use of inputs ●      Low investment capabilities ●      Adverse terms of trade for farmers - high cost of raw materials and poor price realization on produce ●      Very high vulnerability to weather related risks ●      Limited access to formal financial services (common constraint for farm and non-farm) ●      Low financial literacy (common constraint for farm and non-farm) ●      Limited branding and marketing capabilities (common constraint for farm and non-farm)