Crop prices, farm incomes, and food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in India: Phone-based producer survey evidence from Haryana State

In March 2020, India declared a nationwide lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Such restrictions on mobility interrupted the normal functioning of agricultural value chains. For a sample of 1767 tomato and wheat producers in the state of Haryana, we study to what extent the lockdown limit...

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Main Authors: Ceballos, Francisco, Kannan, Samyuktha, Kramer, Berber
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: John Wiley & Sons 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142273
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author Ceballos, Francisco
Kannan, Samyuktha
Kramer, Berber
author_browse Ceballos, Francisco
Kannan, Samyuktha
Kramer, Berber
author_facet Ceballos, Francisco
Kannan, Samyuktha
Kramer, Berber
author_sort Ceballos, Francisco
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description In March 2020, India declared a nationwide lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Such restrictions on mobility interrupted the normal functioning of agricultural value chains. For a sample of 1767 tomato and wheat producers in the state of Haryana, we study to what extent the lockdown limited access to inputs, labor, machinery, and markets to produce, harvest, and sell their crops. We quantify crop income reductions during the first months of the lockdown and analyze to what extent these are associated with borrowing and food insecurity. We find that wheat producers, for whom state-led procurement guaranteed market access at fixed prices, suffered minimal declines in income. For tomato producers—an already more vulnerable population—income fell by 50% relative to their expected income in a normal year, largely due to a steep fall of tomato prices as they shifted from wholesale markets to local retail markets, resulting in a sharp increase in local supply. Relative to wheat producers affected by the lockdown, reduced income for tomato producers was associated with an increase in borrowing and reduced food security. We conclude that targeting producers of crops that face substantial price risk and introducing policies that stabilize market prices are important in efforts to aid recovery and build resilience of smallholder farmers.
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spelling CGSpace1422732025-02-24T06:46:39Z Crop prices, farm incomes, and food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in India: Phone-based producer survey evidence from Haryana State Ceballos, Francisco Kannan, Samyuktha Kramer, Berber risk coping strategies surveys covid-19 crops farm income food security food prices risk prices pandemics In March 2020, India declared a nationwide lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Such restrictions on mobility interrupted the normal functioning of agricultural value chains. For a sample of 1767 tomato and wheat producers in the state of Haryana, we study to what extent the lockdown limited access to inputs, labor, machinery, and markets to produce, harvest, and sell their crops. We quantify crop income reductions during the first months of the lockdown and analyze to what extent these are associated with borrowing and food insecurity. We find that wheat producers, for whom state-led procurement guaranteed market access at fixed prices, suffered minimal declines in income. For tomato producers—an already more vulnerable population—income fell by 50% relative to their expected income in a normal year, largely due to a steep fall of tomato prices as they shifted from wholesale markets to local retail markets, resulting in a sharp increase in local supply. Relative to wheat producers affected by the lockdown, reduced income for tomato producers was associated with an increase in borrowing and reduced food security. We conclude that targeting producers of crops that face substantial price risk and introducing policies that stabilize market prices are important in efforts to aid recovery and build resilience of smallholder farmers. 2021-06-07 2024-05-22T12:10:15Z 2024-05-22T12:10:15Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142273 en https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/connectivity-for-good/mobile-for-development/gsma_resources/covid-19-accelerating-the-use-of-digital-agriculture/ Open Access John Wiley & Sons Ceballos, Francisco; Kannan, Samyuktha; and Kramer, Berber. 2021. Crop prices, farm incomes, and food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in India: Phone-based producer survey evidence from Haryana State. Agricultural Economics 52(3): 525-542. https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12633
spellingShingle risk coping strategies
surveys
covid-19
crops
farm income
food security
food prices
risk
prices
pandemics
Ceballos, Francisco
Kannan, Samyuktha
Kramer, Berber
Crop prices, farm incomes, and food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in India: Phone-based producer survey evidence from Haryana State
title Crop prices, farm incomes, and food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in India: Phone-based producer survey evidence from Haryana State
title_full Crop prices, farm incomes, and food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in India: Phone-based producer survey evidence from Haryana State
title_fullStr Crop prices, farm incomes, and food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in India: Phone-based producer survey evidence from Haryana State
title_full_unstemmed Crop prices, farm incomes, and food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in India: Phone-based producer survey evidence from Haryana State
title_short Crop prices, farm incomes, and food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in India: Phone-based producer survey evidence from Haryana State
title_sort crop prices farm incomes and food security during the covid 19 pandemic in india phone based producer survey evidence from haryana state
topic risk coping strategies
surveys
covid-19
crops
farm income
food security
food prices
risk
prices
pandemics
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142273
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