Covid-19 causes unprecedented Migrant Crisis in India : Assessing the impact of lockdown measures on migrant workers during the first wave of Covid-19

The second wave of Covid-19 is sweeping across India at an immense speed. India recorded the highest number of single-day Covid-19 cases in the world (354,531), surpassing Brazil and the USA (as of 25 April 2021). The Indian government was caught unaware by this sudden surge in new Covid-19 cases, after early stringent lockdown measures had succeed in delaying the first wave of infections. While infection rates during the first wave were considerably lower, the containment measures had a major negative impact especially on millions of migrant workers who suffered the most during this period of lockdown. Many saw their incomes drop significantly and struggled to access sufficient quality food. To support vulnerable populations, the central government put in place a series of packages, but most of these barely reached migrant workers. Existing social safety measures urgently need to be revised to mitigate negative effects of the much more serious second wave

Comparing African Countries and Indian States : Lessons for promoting agricultural growth, employment and food security

What may be learned from Africa and India on how they transform their food and agriculture sectors to provide affordable and healthy diets for all? And what are potential insights that may inform future strategic directions in food system strategies? These are the questions behind a food and agriculture policy research program reported here. In 2020, India and Africa constituted around 35 percent of the world population and three-quarters of the world’s poor (World Bank, 2020). In 1980 population growth in India was 2.3 percent but came down to 1 percent in 2020, whereas in Africa it was 2.8 percent and only reduced to 2.5 percent. Africa’s population is expected to surpass India’s in 2022. The African agriculture sector needs to grow sufficiently to address the fast growing demand for food with diversified diets. Comparing the agriculture sectors of India and Africa at an aggregate level would not be meaningful. Sectoral characteristics – such as natural resource endowment, production potential, agro-climatic zones, farming systems, the contribution of agriculture to GDP and the share of the workforce employed in agriculture – vary substantially within India and across Africa. Therefore, a comparison between Indian states and African countries may offer opportunities to study distinct agricultural growth trajectories. This analytical approach may help to identify lessons for mutual learning between and across India and Africa for the pathways towards sustainable and higher growth trajectories for improved food and nutrition security

COVID-19: Emergence, spread and its impact on the Indian economy and migrant workers

This study examines the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the related nationwide lockdown on the Indian economy, particularly on food systems. It also takes up an important issue of millions of migrant workers in India who seem to have suffered the most during this period. The loss of their livelihood, incomes, and food insecurity are captured through a survey of 2917 migrant workers in six different states of India. At the end, the study gives recommendations on how to broaden the support for migrant workers nationwide. Due to the pandemic-induced lockdown, the Indian economy contracted 24 percent in the first quarter of the financial year (FY) 2020-21 (April-June). The worst affected sectors were construction, trade and hotel and other services, and manufacturing. Consequently, the unemployment rate surged to 23.5 percent in April 2020. Given the easing of lockdown and measures taken by the government in the wake of the first wave of the pandemic, the economic growth revived to -7.5 percent in the second quarter of FY 2020-21. The food processing industry particularly manufacture of grain milling products, dairy products and animal and vegetable oil, were resilient during the lockdown. However, the pandemic adversely impacted the processing and preservation of meat, fruits and vegetables. Notably, the agricultural sector is the only sector that recorded a positive growth rate of 3.4 percent during the first two quarters of FY 2020-21. Nevertheless, the disruption of the agri-food supply chain, particularly during the initial period of the lockdown, pushed food inflation from 8.8 percent in March 2020 to 11.7 percent in April 2020, but it came down to 3.4 percent by the end of the third quarter (December) of FY 2020-21. The unprecedented migrant crisis was one of the major catastrophes that emerged during the pandemic. The sudden imposition of the lockdown had a severe impact not only on employment but consequently on the earnings and savings of the migrants once they reached their villages. At their native place, with no proper employment opportunities, the household income of migrants fell by 85 percent during June-August 2020, as per the survey findings. With the revival of economic activities post-lockdown, we found that 63.5 percent of migrants have returned to the destination areas by February 2021, while 36.5 percent were still in their villages at their native places. Although the migrant’s household income has increased after remigration, there is still a contraction of 7.7 percent relative to the pre-lockdown level. The household income of the migrants who are still at their native place post-lockdown contracted more than 82 percent compared to pre-lockdown. To revive the economy and provide support to vulnerable populations, the central government announced a series of packages. These included an additional quantity of subsidised food-grains under the Public Distribution System (PDS), cash transfers through Jan Dhan Yojana, free gas supply under the Ujjwala scheme, an ex-gratia to widow/senior citizen as well as income transfer to farmers under PM-Kisan. Overall, our survey showed 84.7 percent of the migrants had access to subsidised cereals under PDS, while the percentage receiving pulses was much lower at 12 percent during November-December 2020. Moreover, only 7.7 percent of migrants in their native place reported being engaged in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) or any other public work. The demand-driven skill training under GKRY reached only 1.4 percent of migrants at their native place in our survey. Many workers reported a fall in the quality of food consumed during the lockdown and post-lockdown compared to the pre-lockdown level. With no access to relief measures and entitlements, a quick recovery of the migrant workers seems grim