Caritas India: Lockdown hits
income of 80% of migrants, small farmers
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| Caritas India's online meeting to present its finding on migrants and small farmers |
During a recent online meeting, Caritas India presented to
India’s Church leaders the findings of its studies on small-holder farmers and
migrants during the Covid-19 lockdown.
By Robin Gomes
“80 percent of the small and marginal farmers said that
their income is reduced after Covid-19 outbreak,” says research conducted by
Caritas India in 18 different states of the country.
In an online meeting on 6 June 2020, Caritas India shared
the results of its two studies on internal migrants and small and marginal
farmers during the Covid-19 lockdown.
The meeting was attended by Cardinal Oswald Gracias of
Bombay, the President of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, the Presidents
of the Regional Bishops’ Councils, and Forum Directors across India.
The pandemic lockdown has created an unprecedented
situation, which has impacted every section of society, with migrants and small
farming communities paying a heavy price.
The loss of livelihood was very tangible not only in urban
areas but also in rural areas during the lockdown, with serious implications on
people's lives.
Migrants’ livelihood
The Caritas India study showed that as much as 95.2 percent
of migrants surveyed lost the means of their livelihood. Around 10.6 percent
have lost a family member in the pandemic.
When the Indian government ordered a nationwide lockdown on
March 24 to prevent the spread of Covid-19, millions of daily wage earners,
many of them migrants, were suddenly caught off-guard without any livelihood,
food and shelter.
States such as Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha,
Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are the main sources of migrants who are mostly
employed in construction, factories, domestic work, textiles, brick kilns,
transportation and agriculture.
Caritas India presented the rapid research on distressed
migrants to gauge the impact of the pandemic and lockdown on the livelihood of
the migrant community. The study focused on basic needs, livelihood, the rights
and entitlements, discrimination and exploitation of migrants.
The study was conducted in the 10 most impacted states of
India - Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana,
Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Assam.
Figures show that 28.7 percent of migrants do not want to
return to the cities. 32.1 percent expressed willingness to return when the
situation is back to normal, while other 31.3 percent are undecided.
The education of migrant children has also been hit hard,
with around 46.4 percent forced to discontinue their studies.
Under the government’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), only a meagre 6 percent could find
employment, whereas 37.8 percent were disqualified because of the lack of job
cards.
Small-time farmers
In another rapid survey, Caritas India presented the impact
of Covid-19 on the smallholder farming sector. With the income of 80.4
percent of farmers reduced drastically, they are faced with a very grim
upcoming harvest season. Already under the burden of heavy loss in the past
season, they dread investing in the next.
Around 424 farmers were contacted for this research across
18 states through 45 diocesan partners. The study focused on the impact of the
pandemic on agricultural production, distribution, availability of food and
nutrition, income generation and expenses.
The study revealed only 55.4 percent of the affected farmers
received support from both the government and NGOs, whereas 9.4 percent have
not.
Food insecurity among smallholder farmers is high with 49
percent of the households surveyed saying they have limited food stocks and
16.5 percent skipped a meal in the last 10 days because of food shortage.
Road accidents kill migrants
Meanwhile, a separate study by an NGO has revealed that
nearly 200 stranded migrant workers have been killed in their desperate bid to
return home under the Covid-19 lockdown.
SaveLIFE Foundation (SLF), which focuses on improving road
safety and emergency medical care across India, said there were at least 1,461
accidents between March 25 and May 31, killing at least 750 people including
198 migrant workers.
With all transport shut down, the exodus of migrant workers
from several states during the lockdown has become a humanitarian crisis, with
thousands walking on roads and railway tracks to reach their homes hundreds of
kilometres away.
Out of the four-phase lockdown, phase four was the deadliest
overall in terms of road deaths with 322 fatalities (43 percent), and phase
three was the deadliest in particular for migrant workers.
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