PL-480, Title II, Food for Work impact evaluation : recipient profile study; Catholic Relief Services (Cochin Zone)

480, Title II Food for Work (FFW) program in India's Cochin Zone. Impact evaluation covers the period 2/80-1/83 and presents results of a sample survey of 337 recipients - 258 of them currently active - in 19 FFW projects such as vocational training and the construction of roads, schools, tanks, dams, and low-cost housing. Of the recipients surveyed, 72% were male and 83% were between 21 and 50 years of age, 64% between 21-40. By landholding category, 87% were marginal farmers. By occupation, however, 31% were in agricultural and 37% in nonagricultural labor; only 5% regarded agriculture as their main occupation. Unemployment appears to have been the main motive for working on FFW project. Most (70%) acknowledged payment of their wages on time, and of the 66% of the recipients who provided consumption information, 60% shared the commodities with family members. On average, employment from FFW contributed 39% of the total employment of each recipient. However, increases in income were modest - only Rs. 33. Active recipients generally had a lower level per capita of calorie consumption, but a higher level of protein consumption than inactive (prior) recipients. Calorie/protein consumption did not vary notably with caste, income, or size of land-holding. In a weight-for-age analysis by Indian standards, 78% of the children of active recipients were normal and 22% mildly malnourished against respective figures of 34% and 42% for children of inactive recipients, with girls having a better nutritional status than boys; by the American norm, however, malnutrition was high regardless of these differences. Height-for-age analysis by Indian standards showed that children of both active and inactive workers were near normal, with boys showing a relatively higher status than girls; again, however, by American norms malnutrition was severe among all children, but relatively higher among girls and among children belonging to inactive families. Finally, by both Indian and American norms, the weight-for-height and the combined height-for-age and weight-for-height indexes showed extensive and at times severe malnutrition.