Food security among female migrant workers in Kerala returning from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries

Abstract

This paper seeks to enhance our comprehension of the interplay between COVID-19, international labour migration, and food security. The primary objective is to discern food security characteristics among female migrant workers (FMWs) returning to Kerala from Gulf countries, particularly under heightened social and economic uncertainties shared with male migrant workers (MMWs). This study conducted in the state of Kerala, India, examines the food security perceptions of Gulf migrants using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). Samples of both returning FMWs and MMWs were identified through snowball sampling from the latest Kerala Migrant Survey (KMS) 2018 and Return migrant survey 2021. Oversampling was conducted for return FMWs, otherwise only constituting 20 per cent of the random sample. A total of 1154 samples were collected across all 14 districts in Kerala. The analysis indicates that food insecurity was not prevalent among the majority but was significant among a minority of surveyed migrant workers. The results also show that while FMWs experience food insecurity as a lack of access to food variety, MMWs experience food insecurity in the access to food varieties and the absolute quantity of food.