Landless farm laborers in South Asia have little economic leverage as they compete for low-paying work.

Despite minimum wage levels set by governments for agricultural workers, wages remain low—less than $1 per day.

In India, between 31% and 35% of the total agricultural labor force is landless.

In Bangladesh, at the time of liberation, 37% of the population was landless. In the 1990s, this figure rose to between 62% and 75%.

In much of South Asia, landholdings are concentrated among a privileged few. There has been a steady shrinkage in the land available to individual families.

Women in particular are almost always denied a share of their father's or husband's land, which goes to the sons. This practice persists, despite national and religious laws which enable them to inherit land.

In South Asia, where women usually contribute more of their income to family well-being than men, this has harsh consequences for the persistence of hunger.