Food system disruption: initial livelihood and dietary effects of COVID-19 on vegetable producers in India

作者：Jody Harris, Lutz Depenbusch, Arshad Ahmad Pal, Ramakrishnan M. Nair, Srinivasan Ramasamy · 发表于：Food Security · 年份：2020 · DOI：10.1007/s12571-020-01064-5 · 被引用次数：261 · 研究领域：COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts、Food Waste Reduction and Sustainability、Urban Agriculture and Sustainability

Disruption to food systems and impacts on livelihoods and diets have been brought into sharp focus by the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to investigate effects of this multi-layered shock on production, sales, prices, incomes and diets for vegetable farmers in India as both producers and consumers of nutrient-dense foods. We undertook a rapid telephone survey with 448 farmers in 4 states, in one of the first studies to document the early impacts of the pandemic and policy responses on farming households. We find that a majority of farmers report negative impacts on production, sales, prices and incomes. Over 80% of farms reported some decline in sales, and over 20% of farms reported devastating declines (sold almost nothing). Price reductions were reported by over 80% of farmers, and reductions by more than half for 50% of farmers. Similarly, farm income reportedly dropped for 90% of farms, and by more than half for 60%. Of surveyed households, 62% reported disruptions to their diets. A majority of farm households reported reduced ability to access the most nutrient-dense foods. Around 80% of households reported ability to protect their staple food consumption, and the largest falls in consumption were in fruit and animal source foods other than dairy, in around half of households. Reported vegetable consumption fell in almost 30% of households, but vegetables were also the only food group where consumption increased for some, in around 15% of households. Our data suggest higher...