COVID-19 has drastically impacted the agricultural production and livelihoods of Myanmar’s farming communities. To measure the immediate impact of the pandemic, researchers Isabel Lambrecht, Catherine Ragasa, Kristi Mahrt, Zin Wai Aung, and Michael Wang surveyed farming communities in Myanmar’s Central Dry Zone which were focus pilot sites of the Myanmar Agricultural Development Support Project. They utilize the findings from this survey to create policy recommendations to help Myanmar farmers sustain their livelihoods.
The full policy note by Isabel, Catherine, Kristi, Zin Wai Aung, and Michael is available to view in English here and in Burmese here.
မြန်မာဘာသာဖြင့်ရေးသားထားသော စာတမ်းအပြည့်အစုံကို ဤနေရာတွင် ဖတ်ရှုနိုင်ပါသည်။
Background
Myanmar Agriculture Policy Support Activity (MAPSA) interviewed farming communities in Myanmar’s Central Dry Zone using baseline data from January 2020 and follow-up phone survey data. The first round of the phone survey was conducted in mid-June and inquired about the effects of COVID-19 on agricultural production and other livelihood sources from February to May 2020.
Effects of COVID-19
Impacts on crop production and marketing. Two-thirds of the households surveyed grew crops between February and May 2020 and few farmers had altered their planting times or cropping area due to COVID-19. However, about 16 percent of respondents experienced additional difficulties in purchasing inputs such as farm machinery services, pesticides, and inorganic fertilizer. Additionally, about a quarter of farmers experienced difficulties in finding labor and five percent of all farmers reported that labor was more expensive than usual.
Nearly two-thirds of farmers who harvested between February and May 2020 experienced difficulties selling their harvest, particularly for green gram and chickpea. More than half of these farmers reported receiving lower prices and many reported suffering from poor demand, market closure, movement restrictions, and lack of transportation to markets.
Effects on nonfarm businesses, employment, and migration. Aside from farming, households with and without land both rely on other sources of income, including wage or salary employment, nonfarm enterprises, and remittances. Of those usually employed in farm wage labor, 61 percent of women and 51 percent of men had difficulty finding work during the recent crisis because of less available work than usual, lower pay, or temporary movement restrictions. Additionally, 65 percent and 36 percent of women and men, respectively, who normally work in nonfarm wage employment did not engage in any nonfarm wage employment during this period (Figure 1).
For nonfarm businesses, 60 percent were affected by COVID-19. Half of these businesses reported having no work at all and the other half reported less demand during the COVID-19 disruptions between February and May 2020.
Households relying on remittances also suffered significant reductions in income. Whereas respondents reported receiving MMK 980,000 (USD 680) over a four-month period in the January 2020 baseline survey, they reported receiving only MMK 790,000 (USD550) between February and May 2020.
Impacts on income loss and coping mechanisms. 57 percent of rural households experienced income loss in the first four months of the COVID-19 crisis and a larger share of landless households than landed households were affected. The main coping mechanisms used to manage these reductions in income included using savings, reducing food expenditures, borrowing from friends and informal lenders, and selling assets (Figure 2).
More than a third of households surveyed also received a cash or in-kind transfer from the government. Though these transfers were more often given to landless and women-adult-only households, which are typically more vulnerable during shocks, the research team also found geographical variation in transfer recipients.
Effects on nutrition. The frequency and quantity of meat and fish consumed by the surveyed households fell during the COVID-19 crisis, but there was strong evidence for increased vegetable consumption. Overall dietary diversity was significantly higher than that of the baseline survey. However, skepticism on this improvement is warranted given the change in survey method from face-to-face to phone interviews and the major role that seasonality plays in dietary diversity. Additionally, there is evidence that information campaigns regarding nutritious foods may have contributed.
Policy recommendations
- Health and nutrition-related information are at least partly effective and reach large parts of the population. Therefore, information campaigns should be continued and can include new messages as required.
- Households depended more on informal sources for borrowing, which may offer greater flexibility but at the risk of exposing households to exploitative loan schedules and interest rates. Government should continue building momentum generated in the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Plan and continue to support official and safe access to loans while staying vigilant to protect households from harmful loan arrangements.
- Targeted interventions are trying to reach more vulnerable households such as landless or women-adult-only households. However, geographical balance and inclusion can still be improved. Where possible, cash transfers should explicitly be targeted to women producers and entrepreneurs.
The current blog post highlights one of the many recent surveys and policy notes that MAPSA has conducted to assess the emerging constraints that key agricultural actors face and to mitigate the possible impacts of COVID-19 on rural livelihoods and food security. Additional blog posts are available highlighting MAPSA’s research on the impact of COVID-19 on key actors in Myanmar’s agri-food system. Surveys are ongoing, and findings and recommendations will be periodically updated.
Isabel Lambrecht is a Research Fellow in the Development Strategy and Governance Division (DSGD) of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), based in Yangon, Myanmar. Catherine Ragasa is a Senior Research Fellow in DSGD of IFPRI, based in Washington, DC. Kristi Mahrt is a Senior Research Analyst in DSGD of IFPRI, based in Colorado, USA. Zin Wai Aung is a Research Consultant, based in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. Michael Wang is a Mickey Leland International Hunger Fellow in DSGD of IFPRI, based in Yangon.
This blog post was prepared by Michael Wang. The analysis and opinions expressed in this piece are solely those of the authors.
