The study, which also included scientists from the city-based International Crops Research Institute in Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), showed that Hyderabad had up to 26% unemployment during the pandemic. over 70% houses Borrowed money to survive and the food security of 40% of families deteriorated. The findings of the study, which included the city of Hyderabad and its suburbs, appeared in the scientific journal, Frontiers in Public Health.
The findings were compared to data collected before the pandemic and after the city’s debilitating waves, the unprecedented troubles thrown by Covid-19 and the restrictions imposed to contain the spread. The research team adopted the Standardized Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) for the study. It was found that nearly 40% of the households surveyed experienced deterioration in the state of food security during the pandemic.
included in the research team ravula padmajaSwaziland Nedumaran, Padmanabhan Jyothana, Kasala Poem, Assem Abu Hatabi and Karl-Johann Lagerqvist. In addition to ICRISAT, researchers were drawn from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden and the Department of Economics and Rural Development, Arish University, Egypt.
“To reduce the impact on food security, our sample households adopted a variety of consumption-suggesting strategies, including obtaining credit from formal and informal sources and eliminating savings. Compared to households with severe or moderate levels of food insecurity, households that suffered mild injury relied on stored food as a strategy to reduce consumption to mitigate the income shock,” the researchers said.
The study noted that 24% of households, however, experienced a reduction in income status, probably due to pay cuts. About 5% of the households improved their income status as their primary earners worked in the health sector or secured jobs offering higher salaries,” it said.
About 25% of households experienced mild food insecurity, and 17% experienced moderate food insecurity. About 15% of households reported an improvement in their food security situation, while about 40% said it had worsened.
Families with poor food security had the highest number of unemployed days on average. More than 70% of the households in the “moderate” and “worsening” categories borrowed money to tackle the pandemic. About 60% of households experiencing “mild food insecurity” do not have access to savings.