The impact of COVID-19 on livelihood assets: a case study of high-value crop farmers in North-West Bangladesh.

Autor: Salma U; Department of Agribusiness and Marketing, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, 2202, Bangladesh., Alam MJ; Department of Agribusiness and Marketing, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, 2202, Bangladesh. alambau2003@yahoo.com., Begum IA; Department of Agricultural Economics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, 2202, Bangladesh., Sarkar MAR; School of Economics, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan, 430073, China.; Agricultural Economics Division, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Gazipur, 1701, Bangladesh., Jackson T; School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 5005, Australia., Mastura T; Department of Agribusiness and Marketing, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, 2202, Bangladesh., Palash MS; Department of Agribusiness and Marketing, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, 2202, Bangladesh., McKenzie AM; Department of Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA., Kishore A; Development Strategies and Governance Unit, International Food Policy Research Institute, New Delhi, 110012, India.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Scientific reports [Sci Rep] 2024 Aug 29; Vol. 14 (1), pp. 20121. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Aug 29.
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-71242-4
Abstrakt: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a catastrophic impact on public health, extending to the food system and people's livelihoods worldwide, including Bangladesh. This study aimed to ascertain the COVID-19 pandemic impacts on livelihood assets in the North-Western areas (Rajshahi and Rangpur) of Bangladesh. Primary data were collected from 320 farmers engaged in high-value agriculture using a multistage sampling method. The data were analysed using first-order structural equation modelling. The findings reveal a significant impact (p < 0.01) of the pandemic on all livelihood assets in Bangladesh. Notably, human assets exhibited the highest impact, with a coefficient of 0.740, followed sequentially by financial (0.709), social (0.684), natural (0.600), physical (0.542), and psychological (0.537) assets. Government-imposed lockdowns and mobility restrictions were identified as the major causes of the pandemic's negative effects on livelihoods, which included lost income, rising food prices, decreased purchasing power, inadequate access to food and medical supplies, increased social insecurity, and a rise in depression, worry, and anxiety among farmers. The effects of COVID-19 and associated policy measures on the livelihoods of high-value crop farmers have reversed substantial economic and nutritional advances gained over the previous decade. This study suggests attention to the sustainable livelihoods of farmers through direct cash transfer and input incentive programs to minimize their vulnerability to a pandemic like COVID-19 or any other crisis in the future.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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