1) The document discusses the impacts of drought on household crop production, food security, and gender relations in India, based on a study in Odisha and Gujarat. 2) It finds that drought has multiple adverse effects including loss of crops, income, and assets which disproportionately impact women. 3) Household coping strategies like dietary changes, borrowing, and migration are found to not be gender neutral and can worsen gender inequalities during times of drought and food insecurity. 4) Strengthening local adaptations, women's participation, and long-term drought preparedness policies are needed to better ensure food security and gender equity in drought-prone areas.

1. I
Policy Dialogue on ‘Gender-Just Food and Nutrition Security in India’’
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), New Delhi 29th
August 2016,
Food Insecurity and Gender in Drought Prone Areas:
A study of Odisha and Gujarat
Basanta K. Sahu,
(Faculty, Economics Area)
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade
(Deemed University)
New Delhi-110016

2. Drought, Food Security & Gender
• Drought-food insecurity-gender links: recurrence of
drought; uncertain food & agri-production; rising women participation in
agriculture, unequal access & control over resources by women,
• Drought induced adversities: loss of crop output,
income, employment, assets; scarcity of food, water, fodder; decline non-
food exp.
• Coping with drought: HH capability, asset holdings, resource
uses; non-market coping tools (ex- ante & ex-post); vary regions & groups
• Food insecurity: loss of food crops; low or no food storage; more
depend on market; food price hike; constraints in food arrangement;
adjustment in food consumption;
• HH strategy: subsistence farming (Dangar- unirrigated upland),
borrowings, migration, intra-household risk sharing; change in labour use
(women), food consumption coping (dietary change; decline in food
consumption quantity & quality);
• Drought interventions & food provisioning: region &

3. HH Coping with Drought & Food Scarcity
• Subsistence Farming: Dangar lands (unirrigated
upland), lean season distress, frequent dry spells, no or
limited alternate water sources, lean season distress,
• Intra-HH Risk Sharing: change in labour use (women),
• Food Consumption Strategy: dietary change; decline
in food consumption quantity & quality,
• Public food provision: diverse impacts (region & group
specific impacts, timings, quality, changing criteria & coverage)
• Borrowings: consumption exp. farming, health exp. repaying old
debt, social exp.
• Migration: seasonal & involuntary; with and without
family
• Displacement: separates poor rural people and tribal from their
productive land, water, forest and other natural resources

4. Vicious cycle of poverty
Impacts on
Gender
Food
Consumption
coping
Food
Arrangement
Agrl/Food
production
Drought
induced
Scarcity
Drought, Food & GenderDrought, Food & Gender
Migration &
Borrowing
HH Drought
Coping &
Gender

5. Objectives
• To study impact of drought on household crop
production, labour use, food and livelihood security –
are they gender neutral?
• To analyze household coping with food consumption
shortfalls during drought, intra-household risk
sharing with focus on gender equity
• To understand region and group specific adaptation
& coping with food insecurity, food consumption
and the changes in gender relations

6. Study Areas, Methodology & Data
• Sample sizes: 163 sample HHs from two states (Odisha and
Gujarat) - four districts and eight villages (tribal backward
areas and irrigated agriculturally developed areas)
• Selection of study areas: resources based area approach
on the scale of agriculture and regional development.
– Odisha (high rainfall but backward agriculture) and
– Gujarat (low rainfall but high non-farm activities) represent different
agro-climatic and ecological zones that experienced frequent drought
and food insecurity in recent years.
• Key Information: drought induced risks with focus on food &
water scarcity, HH coping methods, drought interventions,
alternate food arrangement, change in HH occupation &
resource uses, borrowing, migration etc.
• HH food consumption and management given priority with
local adaptations to drought and its impact on gender.

7. Study Areas
State/District Taluka/
Block
Drought
Area
Regions Type of Irrigation
Odisha
Bolangir Turekala DPAP Tribal
Community well
(Pani-Panchayat)
Kendrapada Rajnagar DPAP Coastal
Community well
(Pani-Panchayat)
Canal, River, pond
Gujarat
Surendranagar Lakhtar DDP Inland Well, pond
Panchmahal Halol DPAP Tribal Well, pond

8. Features of Sample Village
Particular Odisha Village Gujarat Village
Landless HH (%) 17 (7 with forest land) 22
Land holding size (Acre) Own holding (2.8)
Operation holding (1.6)
Own holding (1.8)
Operation holding (1.7)
HYV Rice (%) 55 96
Irrigation (%) 15 (community pond, WSP) 55 (canal, well, river)
Drought during last 10 yrs Severe(3), high (2),
moderate (1)
Severe(2), high (1),
moderate (3)
Water and Land
Development Activities
Rural road and land dev. Land dev. Drought proofing
Migration Within and outside state &
with family and in group
Within and outside state &
without family, in group &
individual

9. Household Food Consumption Coping
1. Dietary Change: Consuming less preferred and less expensive
foods (low quality cereals and coarse cereals in the place normal cereals)
More frequent during drought: switching from preferred foods
to cheaper, less preferred substitutes:
2. Augmenting Short-Term Food Availability:
purchasing food on credit; Borrowing Grains; Distress sale of
assets to buy food; Skip payment of earlier credit; consuming
wild foods, immature crops & seed stocks;
3. Reduce Nos of Family Members: temporary
migration, sending members to neighbours house, schools
(MDM), women (Angawadis), abandoning few family.
4. Rationing Food Consumption: by reducing quantity
of meals, reducing the number of meals; skipping meals,
favouring some members over others

10. Household Food Consumption Coping
Odisha Gujarat
Tribal
Non-
Tribal
Tribal
Non-
Tribal
1.Dietary
Change
Consuming less
preferred and less
expensive foods
97.1 85.4 91.1 88.1
2.
Augmenting
Short-Term
Food
Availability
Borrowing Grains 45.7 43.9 37.8 38.1
Purchase food on credit 82.9 82.9 86.7 66.7
Gather wild food, hunt,
harvest immature crops
34.3 14.6 31.1 11.9
Consume seed stock for
next season
60 58.5 77.8 9.5

11. Household Food Consumption Coping
Odisha Gujarat
Tribal
Non-
Tribal
Tribal
Non-
Tribal
3. Reduce
Numbers
of Family
Member
Sharing
Food
Migration 68.6 41.5 31.1 38.1
Abandon or Separation of family
member
14.3 0 6.7 7.1
4.
Rationing
Food
Consumpt
ion
Reducing Quantity/Size of daily meals 94.3 75.6 77.8 64.3
Reducing consumption of adults for
small children
94.3 80.5 84.4 52.4
Feed working members at the expense
of non-working members
54.3 53.7 66.7 52.4
Stop buying prepare/cooked food 40 63.4 53.3 47.6
Reducing number of meals time daily 88.6 61 84.4 71.4
Stay few days without eating 57.1 14.6 35.6 23.8

12. Key Findings
• Recurrence of drought has multiple adversities on HH:
women share hardships disproportionately, across
regions & groups (crops, food, income, expenditure,
assets, resource use)
• Increasing role of women in agriculture & HH food
production & arrangement.
• HH food consumption coping found not gender neutral
(dietary change, short term food availability, food
rationing)
• Gender inequality gets pronounced during drought: HH
labour use, non-food expenditures, local adaptations
(intra-HH risk sharing, borrowing, migration, use of
non-market tools)

13. Concluding Remarks
• Adequate access to and control over resources (land, water,
credit, new tech. & practices) critical for the poor HH and
women to cope with drought & food insecurity.
• Existing Drought interventions and public food provisioning
seem not enough to ensure HH food security and gender
equity across region and groups.
• Poor adaptation and risk coping ability among the poor and
women continue to challenge food consumption and gender
neutrality in drought areas
• Increasing role of women in resource uses, decision makings,
conservation and management, local institutions etc. need
more policy attention.
• Strengthening local adaptation, long term drought
preparedness, augmenting participation of women in resource
use decision making, particularly in land, water, credit, food
production etc. are crucial and need adequate policy attention.