What drives migration in northern Gujarat?

In a new IGC working paper, Ram Fishman, Meha Jain, and Avinash Kishore investigate factors that drive environmental migration and the economic impact of geographical mobility

Gender Dimensions on Farmers’ Preferences for Direct-Seeded Rice with Drum Seeder in India

This study measures the willingness of male and female farmers to pay for climate-smart technology in rice. Rice is the most important crop in India in terms of area, production, and consumption. It is also the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions among all crops. Direct-seeded rice (DSR) with drum seeder, a climate-smart technology, requires less labor and water and is more climate friendly than transplanted rice; yet, its adoption is slow in India. The authors of this study carried out a discrete choice experiment with 666 farmers from the Palghar and Thane districts of Maharashtra to measure their willingness to pay for drum seeders—a key piece of equipment for adopting DSR. Both male and female farmers were surveyed to capture the heterogeneity in their valuation of the key attributes of drum seeders. Although both male and female farmers prefer cheaper drum seeders, the marginal valuation of different attributes of the drum seeder varies by the farmers’ gender. The authors also used the Women Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), developed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), to collect self-reported data on the role and say of women in agriculture. The respective gender roles in the family and on the farm seem to explain some of this difference. Men have a greater say over how the family spends the cash. Accordingly, men tend to have a higher willingness to pay for attributes that increase income (increase in yield) or reduce cash costs (reduction in the seed rate). Women contribute a large share of the labor for transplanting rice, much of which is unpaid work on family farms. Not surprisingly, therefore, women seem to value labor saving significantly more than their male counterparts. Further, the WEAI data show that although men in the family have more say, women do have an influence on decisions regarding crop production and the adoption of new technologies, to an extent. Therefore, to enhance the adoption of drum seeders, the product designers and extension workers should also target women

Availability of data on diets in South Asia: A data availability assessment for Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan

ABOUT THIS NOTE This research note presents findings on the availability of diet-related data in publicly available population-based surveys conducted in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan in the last decade. It is intended to be used by researchers and policymakers to understand the data landscape and identify measurement priorities for future surveys. KEY FINDINGS • Data on diets for older children and adolescents are captured less frequently than for younger children and women of reproductive age. • Data are mostly available on food group consumption and for infants and young children; data on consumption of unhealthy foods is poor. • Few surveys capture quantity of foods consumed; estimating nutrient intake from population-based surveys is therefore not possible. • Only Bangladesh currently has large-scale publicly available and repeated rounds of data on dietary intakes for multiple age groups. • Dietary data are essential to shape public policy on nutrition; financial and technical investments are needed to scale up data availability in South Asia

Situation report on Nepal’s agrifood systems : February 2023

Our assessment of the status of the agri-food system in Nepal during February of 2023 is ‘green’, with data suggesting that prices have remained relatively stable or have followed expected seasonal trends that are unlikely to have caused unusual challenges for smallholder farmers and poor consumers. In December and January of 2022, food prices were generally stable (rice, pulses, and edible oils) or declining (potatoes and tomatoes). The exception was wheat flour, whose price continued its upward trend since mid-2022. This will adversely affect consumers of wheat products, but the availability and stable price of rice as a cereal substitute could to some extent reduce the negative economic impact consumers. The price of lentils and black gram have remained stable, while the prices of potatoes and tomatoes have declined, following an expected seasonal pattern. Edible oil prices have also been stable. As a result of high transport costs, prices for foods generally remain higher in remote areas of the mid-hills, negatively affecting poor consumers that lack significant opportunity for production and marketing

Situation report on Nepal’s agrifood systems : May 2023

In April 2023, Nepal experienced high prices for both food and non-food items. The inflation rate for food and beverage prices on a year-on-year basis stood at 6.9 percent. Although this is lower than the 7.4 percent recorded in March and April 2022, it still signifies a considerable rise in the cost of food from its already elevated levels

Situation report on Nepal’s agrifood systems : January 2023

The macroeconomic situation of Nepal remains largely stable. In the absence of new shocks, price fluctuations are likely to remain relatively small. Moderate increases in rice prices have a slight negative effect on consumer welfare but may benefit farmers: Although rice farmers who produce a surplus for sale gain from higher prices, urban households and net buyers in rural areas are more numerous and lose from higher prices. Wheat prices are increasing: In November 2022, food prices were generally stable (rice, pulses, and edible oils) or declining (potatoes and tomatoes). The exception was wheat flour, whose price continued its upward trend since mid-2022 into January. This will adversely affect consumers of wheat products, but the availability and stable price of rice will mute the impact on consumers. The urban poor feel the consequences of price changes most acutely: The most adverse effect of higher rice prices is on the urban poor, who spend a relatively large share of their budget on rice and other staples

Role of Physiotherapy in Hospitalised Patients of COVID-19 disease

Introduction: Respiratory physiotherapy is one of the therapeutic methods in various respiratory viral infections. Breathing exercises with other interventions, could enhance the total lung capacity and symptom alleviation in patients with virus-related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Aim: To study the clinical evaluation of the role of physiotherapy in hospitalised patients of covid-19 diseases. Method: This was an Observational (prospective, cross-sectional) study. 187 patients were recruited and diagnosed as COVID-19 as per RTPCR at NSCB Medical College, Jabalpur (MP). Patients were randomised into the physiotherapy group and controlled group. Patients in the physiotherapy group were undergone positional changes, prone ventilation, Breathing exercise, Resistive training, Passive joint motion, Muscle stretching, Bedside standing training, endurance exercise by a specialized physiotherapist. Mean cough severity index, MMRC grade, respiration rate and peripheral blood saturation were recorded before and after intervention and compared with the controlled group. Result: There was significant improvement found in MMRC grade and respiration rate after physical therapy in the physiotherapy group (p-value < 0.05). Exertional dyspnoea and cough severity index significant deceased in physiotherapy group. The positive change was found in peripheral blood saturation. There was decreased in hospitalization stay in the physiotherapy group as compared to the controlled group. Conclusion: Our study revealed the positive effect of physiotherapy on covid-19 disease in terms of symptoms and hospitalization duration among the physiotherapy group. Physiotherapy exerts a beneficial role in the management of the covid-19 disease

Situation report on Nepal’s agrifood systems : March 2023

As in the previous month, available data suggest Nepal’s agrifood system remained economically stable during March of 2023. Prices largely followed anticipated trends. Despite minor challenges that are likely to have been caused by other factors such as credit access problems for small businesses, no major threats to food or economic security were observed during the last month. Inflation in food and beverage prices is marginally higher than the previous year: The cost of food and beverages increased by 6.2 percent in February 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. This was marginally higher than the 5.6 percent annual inflation in January 2023 and 5.9 percent in December 2022. Cereal prices remain high even after a decent paddy harvest: Annual inflation in the price of cereals and their products increased from 9.6 percent in January 2023 to 12.4 percent in February 2023. This is despite a 7 percent increase domestic paddy production compared to the last year. The continuing embargo on the export of broken rice and quotas on wheat exports by India may contribute to high prices for cereals in Nepal. Rice growers, especially those with larger landholdings who are net sellers of the crop, are likely to gain from high prices. High cereal prices will affect poor households. The average household in Nepal spends one fourth of its food budget on cereal-based products. Poor households spend a larger share of their food budget on cereals. Persistently high prices of cereals will hurt them more. Ongoing liquidity challenges and access to finance: A range of challenges related to lending, purchase of agricultural inputs, purchase of agricultural products, repayment of loans, and were reported during the last month, although they do not appear to be usually intense compared to previous months. Although farmers seem to be on track for maize and vegetable plating in the spring, these issues loom and are could affect farmers’ ability to reliably profit from the upcoming wheat crop and potentially the spring maize and vegetable crops. This could in turn negatively affect loan repayment rates