In Kaptel village, Tedim township, Chin State, Myammar, a wedding has been arranged years back. A young man returned to Yangon from the United States on the 13th of March 2020 for his wedding. He took photos for his pre-nuptial and head home for the traditional dinner to celebrate his engagement. Later, the would-be groom […]
GUJARAT, INDIA – Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) has produced and distributed as many as 5 lakh masks for use in the battle against COVID-19. The organization, with about 1.7 million women workers in about 18 states, started making masks as early as March 18, ahead of the nationwide lockdown. “Women living in rural areas can’t […]
Purnimaben of Bodeli Taluka of Gujarat says that the farmers from Panej and Chundali villages of Chota Udaipur district grew cotton. The harvested cotton was in the field when the lockdown was announced. It was peak harvest time and farmers were waiting for the labourers. With the lockdown, the movement of the male farmers was […]
I. COVID-19 and the Informal Sector Presently, India is passing through the local transmission stage of the COVID-19 pandemic where SEWA’s informal sector workers are hardest hit among all. With no income for the daily wage earners, they fear hunger will kill us before the virus. The country is under a total lockdown with only […]
MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Bayanihan Para sa Agrikultura laban sa COVID-19, composed of civil society organization and national federations of farmers, calls on the Department of Agriculture (DA) to expedite the release of Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) and the immediate implementation of programs supported by the rice fund. It is imperative that the RCEF […]
March 23, 2020 On behalf of 93.7 % of the workforce of the informal economy, we appreciate the prompt initiatives taken by the Central and State Governments to curtail the effects of COVID-19. In India, there are 50 crores poor and vulnerable informal workers who are daily wagers like contractual workers, casual workers, construction workers, agriculture workers, home-based workers especially in textile and garment manufacturing, beedi workers, self-employed workers […]
An appeal to International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) President Gilbert F. Houngbo from Asia-Pacific Farmers Farmers and fishers all over the world are most affected by COVID-19 pandemic. Due to lockdowns and quarantines in effect in many countries, farmers and fishers now face problems including how to sell their produce when there are no transportation available […]
We are leaders and members of the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development, with 20 member organizations and cooperatives in 16 countries [1] in Asia, comprising around 13 million small scale women and men family farmers, fishers, forest dwellers, indigenous peoples, pastoralists, and herders. As a regional family farmers’ organization, we work with […]
