Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agricultural production, livelihoods, and food security in India: baseline results of a phone survey

Lindsay M. Jaacks (), Divya Veluguri, Rajesh Serupally, Aditi Roy, Poornima Prabhakaran and Ramanjaneyulu Gv
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Lindsay M. Jaacks: The University of Edinburgh
Divya Veluguri: The University of Edinburgh
Rajesh Serupally: Centre for Chronic Disease Control
Aditi Roy: Public Health Foundation of India
Poornima Prabhakaran: Public Health Foundation of India
Ramanjaneyulu Gv: Centre for Sustainable Agriculture

Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, 2021, vol. 13, issue 5, No 16, 1323-1339

Abstract: Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on agricultural production, livelihoods, food security, and dietary diversity in India. Phone interview surveys were conducted by trained enumerators across 12 states and 200 districts in India from 3 to 15 May 2020. A total of 1437 farmers completed the survey (94% male; 28% 30–39 years old; 38% with secondary schooling). About one in ten farmers (11%) did not harvest in the past month with primary reasons cited being unfavorable weather (37%) and lockdown-related reasons (24%). A total of 63% of farmers harvested in the past month (primarily wheat and vegetables), but only 44% had sold their crop; 12% were still trying to sell their crop, and 39% had stored their crop, with more than half (55%) reporting lockdown-related issues as the reason for storing. Seventy-nine percent of households with wage-workers witnessed a decline in wages in the past month and 49% of households with incomes from livestock witnessed a decline. Landless farmers were about 10 times more likely to skip a meal as compared to large farmers (18% versus 2%), but a majority reported receiving extra food rations from the government. Nearly all farmers reported consuming staple grains daily in the past week (97%), 63% consumed dairy daily, 40% vegetables daily, 26% pulses daily, and 7% fruit daily. These values are much lower than reported previously for farmers in India around this time of year before COVID-19: 94–95% dairy daily, 57–58% pulses daily, 64–65% vegetables daily, and 42–43% fruit daily. In conclusion, we found that the COVID-19 lockdown in India has primarily impacted farmers’ ability to sell their crops and livestock products and decreased daily wages and dietary diversity.

Keywords: Food production; Farmers; Food security; COVID-19; Pandemic; South Asia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1007/s12571-021-01164-w

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