A longitudinal survey on changes in employment and food consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic in rural Bihar, India

Background: There is a need for empirical evidence on changes in employment and food consumption during pandemic situations in households belonging to the informal economy.

Objective: To examine changes in food insecurity, household diet diversity, and employment in agriculture during the pre-COVID-19 (2019-early 2020) and COVID-19 pandemic (September 2021) periods.

Methods: A total of 1632 households from a face-to-face pre-COVID-19 survey and 621 of those followed up by a telephonic survey during COVID-19 in Bihar, India, were included in the analyses. Household food insecurity, household diet diversity score (HDDS), and employment change (agriculture or nonagriculture) were assessed during both periods. Food insecurity and diet diversity in the 2 periods were examined by logistic regression. A change in the odds of being food insecure or having low HDDS was examined as an interaction between time and employment status.

Results: Prevalence of food insecurity increased from 21% to 55%, and low diet diversity increased from 47% to 69% in households assessed in both surveys. Employment status was not associated with food insecurity or low HDDS during the baseline survey. However, during the pandemic, ∼30% of households changed their employment from agriculture to nonagriculture and were more likely to be food insecure (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 2.77; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1. 78-4.32) and have low HDDS (aOR: 1.66; 95%CI: 1.05-2.61), than those who remained in agriculture. Similarly, those who retained nonagricultural employment during the pandemic were more likely to be food insecure (aOR: 2.23; 95%CI: 1.45-3.43) and have low HDDS (aOR: 1.73; 95%CI: 1.11-2.70), compared to those who remained in agriculture. In propensity score-adjusted interaction analysis of time and employment, food insecurity and low HDDS remained significantly associated with nonagricultural employment during the pandemic.

Conclusions: Enhanced support to rural households in agricultural occupations could buffer them from unexpected crises, which may also protect their nutritional intake.