COVID-19 Impact on Household Food Security in Urban and Peri-Urban Areas of Hyderabad, India

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security and on coping-strategies in urban and peri-urban areas of the Hyderabad, India. Household survey data were collected before (October 2018) and during (January 2021) the onset of the pandemic. Results from logistic regression with the standarized Food Insecurity Expecience Scale (FIES) as dependent variable reveal that close to 40% of the households surveyed experienced a deterioration in food security status during the pandemic. In particular, we find that food security is closely related to the sector of employment in which the primary income- earning member of a household is engaged. To mitigate the impact of the pandemic on their food security, our sampled households adopted a variety of consumption-smoothing strategies including availing credit from both formal and informal sources, and liquidating their savings. Compared to households with severe or moderate level of food insecurity, households facing a mild level of food insecurity relied on stored food as a strategy to smoothen consumption in response to the income shock imparted by the pandemic. In addition, the results indicate that urban households, who adopted similar coping strategies as those adopted by peri-urban households, tended to be more food-insecure. Finally, the duration of unemployment experienced during the pandemic significantly influenced the status of household food security. These findings can inform the formulation of immediate and medium-term policy responses, including social protection policies conductive to mitigating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and ameliorating the governance of urban food security during unexpected events and shocks.

Spatial and temporal trends in food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia Pacific countries: India, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Vietnam

“…These results helped to identify vulnerable populations during the pandemic. Similar findings were found in other Asia-Pacific countries [ 19 20 21 ]. Many reports pointed out that women were more vulnerable to losing their jobs and income due to economic recession during the pandemic than men in the UK, US, and Germany [ 22 ] and were at higher risk of food security across regions.…”

Impacts of COVID-19 on Food Access: An Examination of People’s Food Shopping Methods Change

“…Studies suggest that COVID-19 has disrupted the global food system in a number of ways, including trade restrictions, supply chain disruptions, and reduced access to markets and labor (Kubatko et al 2023). Local food, the food produced locally through community gardens, backyard gardens, and local farms, is promising to enhance the food system resilience (Padmaja et al 2022). Our survey also found that many respondents (79 percent) considered local food a critical component of the food system.…”

Impact of Pandemic COVID-19 towards Food Insecurity and Dietary Diversity Among B40 Mothers Living in Urban Areas in Selangor

“…According to Wertheim-Heck et al (14) food and nutrition insecurity is widely recognised among metropolitan Asia's low-income populations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, highly populated, economically challenged metropolitan areas were impacted the hardest (15).…”