Seasonal Hunger and Its Mitigation in North-West Bangladesh

Abstract

Seasonal hunger may result from seasonality of agriculture when households fail to smooth income and consumption. Using household survey data from the northwest region of Bangladesh, this paper examines alternative measures of seasonal hunger, and provides some evidence to support policies and programs needed to mitigate seasonal hunger. The results suggest that a large majority of food-vulnerable households are the perpetual poor, as opposed to a small percentage of households who are subject to food deprivation only during the lean period. Findings suggest that government safety net programs and microcredit provide a cushion for the poor to stave off seasonal hunger.

The impacts of integrated homestead pond-dike systems in relation to production, consumption and seasonality in central north Bangladesh

“…Health status was similar between genders in all locations, while worse‐off households were found to suffer more than better‐off households during the change over in seasons perhaps due to their lower immunity to disease as a result of poorer nutrition than richer people; this supports the findings of “Helen Keller International” in Bangladesh (HKI, ). In Bangladesh, food, nutrition and health factors are greatly influenced by the seasonal productivity (Abdullah, ; Abdullah & Wheeler, ; Chaudhury, ; Khander, Khalily & Samad, ), which are also indicative of the extent of vulnerability as well as poverty especially in rural areas (Chaudhury, ; Messer, ; Tetens & Thilsted, ; Tetens et al., ). However, year‐round cropping on pond‐dikes could reduce seasonal‐induced vulnerability for households from varied socioeconomic status and irrespective of location partly through smoothing of cash income, and makes it a highly acceptable food production system (Dercon & Krishnan, ).…”

Social capital as a coping mechanism for seasonal deprivation: the case of the Monga in Bangladesh

“…The northern districts also lag behind the rest of the country in terms of other development indicators. Per capita income is as low as 71%, the share of manufacturing is only 10% (BBS 2002), and the daily wage rate is 28% lower than the national average (Khandker, Khalily and Samad 2010). This situation exacerbates the vulnerability of food provision for agricultural day laborers during the lean season, resulting in a famine-like situation.…”

“…The situation is worse in the northern part of the country, where incidence of poverty is significantly higher and income seasonality is much more pronounced. For example, in 2005 approximately 56% of the population in the greater Rangpur region 3 lived below the poverty line and 40% lived under conditions of extreme poverty (Khandker, Khalily and Samad 2010), while the national averages in 2006 were 40% and 28.6%, respectively (BBS 2006). The northern districts also lag behind the rest of the country in terms of other development indicators.…”

Relating Seasonal Hunger and Prevention and Coping Strategies: A Panel Analysis of Malawian Farm Households

“…Several studies discuss seasonal hunger causes and mitigation strategies in selected geographies (Devereux, Sabates-Wheeler, & Longhurst, 2013; Devereux, Vaitla, & Swan, 2008; Hadley, Mulder, & Fitzherbert, 2007; Khandker, Khalily, & Samad, 2012; Mazid & Johnson, 2010; Swan, Hadley, & Cichon, 2010). Despite chronicles of seasonal hunger in SSA dating back to the 1700s (Park, 1799; as cited in Rijpma, 1996) and coverage of periodic seasonal hunger crises from climate or price shocks, however, no estimates of seasonal hunger are systematically compiled at the international level and its current prevalence in the region remains poorly understood.…”

“…Households may eat less preferable or lower quality foods during the hungry season or rely on collected wild foods to fill caloric gaps (D’Souza & Jolliffe, 2012; Daie & Woldtsadik, 2015; Edeh & Gyimah-Brempong, 2015; Hadley & Patil, 2008; Maxwell, 1996; Mayanja et al, 2015). In extreme cases, household members may skip meals or eat smaller portion sizes, or reduce household size through early marriage or sending members to live with relatives or friends (Edeh & Gyimah-Brempong, 2015; Hadley & Patil, 2008; Khandker et al, 2012; Maxwell, 1996; Mayanja et al, 2015; Rademacher-Schulz et al, 2014). Households have been observed to sell assets – including livestock – in order to purchase food (Heltberg,  Hossain, Reva, & Turk, 2013; Mayanja et al, 2015; Rademacher-Schulz et al, 2014; Rosenzweig & Wolpin, 1993; Zug, 2006).…”