Abstract
In this paper we present a situated analysis of the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the life of small-scale farmers and agricultural laborers in India, Algeria, and Morocco. We draw on data collected through phone interviews since April 2020. Inspired by feminist scholars, we analyze our findings thinking with—and entangling—the concepts of intersectionality, resilience and care. We firstly document the material impacts of the lockdown measures, focusing particularly on the experiences of single women farmers and laborers, whose livelihood and well-being have been notably compromised. Secondly, we unfold how different agricultural actors have come up with inventive ways to respond to the unexpected situation which they are facing. In doing so, we highlight the importance of considering the multiple and entangled socionatural challenges, uncertainties, and marginalizations that different agricultural actors experience, as well as the transformative potential of their inventive practices, which are often motivated and informed by notions of care.
Highlights
In March 2020, when lockdown measures were announced in many countries across the world, people were urged, if not obliged, to stay home and keep distance from each other in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19
It felt somehow sad and surreal to leave the places where we conduct our empirical research, because we knew about the many challenges that the small-scale farmers and the agricultural laborers1 we regularly spent time with were facing both because of the COVID-19 health threat itself and because of the implications of the lockdown measures
For us it was relatively easy to work from home and we would still receive our salaries. Those who depend on farming to make a living faced more challenges: when local markets are closed, where are they supposed to sell their produce? And if agricultural laborers cannot travel to their workplaces, how can they continue to sustain themselves and their families? How are they dealing with this situation? How have they reinvented the everyday organization of their livelihoods in these troubled times? In other words: what are the short-term implications of the pandemic for the farming practices and livelihoods of people relying on small-scale agriculture?
Summary
In March 2020, when lockdown measures were announced in many countries across the world, people were urged, if not obliged, to stay home and keep distance from each other in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19. It felt somehow sad and surreal to leave the places where we conduct our empirical research, because we knew about the many challenges that the small-scale farmers and the agricultural laborers we regularly spent time with were facing both because of the COVID-19 health threat itself and because of the implications of the lockdown measures. For us it was relatively easy to work from home and we would still receive our salaries Those who depend on farming to make a living faced more challenges: when local markets are closed, where are they supposed to sell their produce? In other words: what are the short-term implications of the pandemic for the farming practices and livelihoods of people relying on small-scale agriculture? Those who depend on farming to make a living faced more challenges: when local markets are closed, where are they supposed to sell their produce? And if agricultural laborers cannot travel to their workplaces, how can they continue to sustain themselves and their families? How are they dealing with this situation? How have they reinvented the everyday organization of their livelihoods in these troubled times? In other words: what are the short-term implications of the pandemic for the farming practices and livelihoods of people relying on small-scale agriculture?
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
