Vol. 10, Special Issue 12 (2021)

Author(s):
U Krishnaveni, MS Chaitanya Kumari, K Bhagya Lakshmi and S Prasanthi

Abstract:
The disruptions in economic crisis and the food supply triggered by the Covid-19 virus brought millions into food-insecure conditions and indebtedness. The situation of tribals worsened because of disruptions in food supply chains, loss of livelihoods and earnings, and fluctuations in food price. A study was conducted in Visakhapatnam district with an objective to study the changes in food consumption pattern of tribals in COVID-19 pandemic. The data was obtained utilising a schedule from a sample of twenty tribal respondents from six villages in two mandals of Visakhapatnam district. Results indicated that more than half (62.50%) of the respondents were male belonged to middle age group (67.50%), illiterate (54.17%), and nuclear family type (70.83%). More than half (60.00%) of the respondents had medium socio-economic status with livelihood systems agriculture + wage work + Non Timber Forest Products (51.67%), belonged to low annual income (67.50%) and don’t have any official position in socio-political organizations (68.33%). With regard to shifting cultivation, great portion of the respondents were with marginal farm size (52.50%) while in normal cultivation majority (50.00%) of the tribal respondents had small farm size. In terms of farming experience, half (50.00%) of the tribals had medium farming experience in shifting cultivation and normal cultivation (48.33%). The results showed that consumption of protein foods like meat, milk & milk products and eggs and also green leafy vegetables were slightly increased during lockdown period. Another observation made in the diet pattern of tribals was incorporation of millets in the tribal daily diets.