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Strengthening smallholder agriculture is essential to defend food and nutrition security and rural livelihoods in Myanmar against the COVID-19 threat: Elements for a proactive response

Author

Listed:
  • Boughton, Duncan
  • Goeb, Joey
  • Lambrecht, Isabel
  • Mather, David
  • Headey, Derek D.

Abstract

There is an urgent need to anticipate and mitigate the threat posed by COVID-19 to Myanmar’s agricultural sector and to rural households that depend on farming for income and for food and nutrition security. We evaluate options to address the threat and to support farmers to prepare their land and plant their crops on time in the short window before the start of the 2020 monsoon cropping season. Recognizing that no single intervention can address the full range of vulnerabilities faced by rural households, we recommend a combination: • Expansion of access to seasonal farm credit with extended loan repayment schedules; • Limited agricultural input subsidies targeting certified seed; and • Implementation of a cash transfer program to smallholder farmers. Despite the high cost of a cash transfer program, there are good reasons to expect that the benefits of such support to farm households will outweigh program costs in monetary terms – even more so if the economic benefits from the consequent lower incidence of malnutrition to which the program would contribute can be measured.

Suggested Citation

  • Boughton, Duncan & Goeb, Joey & Lambrecht, Isabel & Mather, David & Headey, Derek D., 2020. "Strengthening smallholder agriculture is essential to defend food and nutrition security and rural livelihoods in Myanmar against the COVID-19 threat: Elements for a proactive response," Myanmar SSP policy notes 2, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    • Handle: RePEc:fpr:myanpn:2
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    Cited by:

    1. Swift, Peter & Htoo, Saw Eh & Klay, Saw Min & Rueff, Henri, 2024. "COVID-19 migrant returnees, access to land, and subsistence under uncertain times in Karen State, Myanmar," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    2. Ullah, Ayat & Zeb, Alam & Liu, Jinlong & Mahmood, Nasir & Kächele, Harald, 2021. "Transhumant pastoralist knowledge of infectious diseases and adoption of alternative land use strategies in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan (HKH) region of Pakistan," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    3. Bekhzod EGAMBERDIEV, 2021. "Household Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic From A Development Economics Perspective - A Review," Regional Science Inquiry, Hellenic Association of Regional Scientists, vol. 0(1), pages 15-30, June.
    4. Kamal Vatta & Shruti Bhogal & Adam S. Green & Heena Sharma & Cameron A. Petrie & Sandeep Dixit, 2022. "COVID-19 Pandemic-Induced Disruptions and Implications for National Food Security and Farm Incomes: Farm-Level Evidence from Indian Punjab," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-13, April.
    5. Goswami, Rupak & Roy, Kalyan & Dutta, Sudarshan & Ray, Krishnendu & Sarkar, Sukamal & Brahmachari, Koushik & Nanda, Manoj Kr. & Mainuddin, Mohammed & Banerjee, Hirak & Timsina, Jagadish & Majumdar, Ka, 2021. "Multi-faceted impact and outcome of COVID-19 on smallholder agricultural systems: Integrating qualitative research and fuzzy cognitive mapping to explore resilient strategies," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    6. Boughton, Duncan & Goeb, Joseph & Lambrecht, Isabel & Headey, Derek & Takeshima, Hiroyuki & Mahrt, Kristi & Masias, Ian & Goudet, Sophie & Ragasa, Catherine & Maredia, Mywish K. & Minten, Bart & Diao,, 2021. "Impacts of COVID-19 on agricultural production and food systems in late transforming Southeast Asia: The case of Myanmar," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    7. Grigorescu, Ines & Popovici, Elena-Ana & Damian, Nicoleta & Dumitraşcu, Monica & Sima, Mihaela & Mitrică, Bianca & Mocanu, Irena, 2022. "The resilience of sub-urban small farming in Bucharest Metropolitan Area in response to the COVID-19 pandemic," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).

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