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 […]
Mongolia closed its borders as a measure to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country. This move resulted in many factories reducing their production. In effect, herders are not able to sell raw materials including wool, cashmere, as well as meat products to the factories. Herders rely on selling wool for their livelihood, but […]
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 […]
From July-December 2019, the Lao Farmer Network (LFN), member of the Asian Farmers’ Association (AFA) in Laos and national implementing agency of MTCP2/AFOSP project, piloted an organic soya production and processing in collaboration with the Agriculture and Food Nutrition (AFN), a project funded by the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP). The pilot project […]
“Coming from a poor family, feeding my children was a daily challenge for me, so I never really dreamt of becoming an entrepreneur. But today, I am a proud social entrepreneur. I am a RUDIben, selling grains, spices, and other products to rural households. These products are produced by informal sector producers and small and […]
