The recommendations below are based on country examples from the World Bank, ILO and FAO country/regional offices:
-For farmers/fishers/foresters covered by social security, trigger insurance benefits and subsidize payouts for formally employed individuals (sick leave payments, unemployment benefits, free COVID-19-related tests and treatment, etc.)
-Provide tax and debt relief (and other payments for a specific period of time for low-income earners and vulnerable farmers (including youth, elderly and women)
-Strengthen community-based insurance schemes, many provided by rural or producer organizations
-Provide support and services for added costs related to child or elderly care
-For people in rural areas, who continue to perform essential duties, ensure proper protection and access to masks, disinfectant, etc (following basic OSH requirements)
-Improve access to micro loans in the community by providing financial and technical support to grassroots savings and loan groups and recapitalization of community banks and financial services associations
-Ensure the safety of agriculture inputs and equipment
Key resources:
https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/coronavirus/impacts-and-responses/lang--en/index.htm
https://www.ilo.org/sector/activities/sectoral-meetings/WCMS_626551/lang--en/index.htm
http://www.fao.org/social-protection/resources/resources-detail/en/c/1256369/
-China: Issuance of policies to expand rural labor employment and boost farmers' income as follows:
.Support returnees' innovation and entrepreneurship, issue one-time start-up subsidies for returnees, and implement support policies such as business guarantee loans;
-Also in China, the government has instructed that salary payments should be made to workers who are unable to work due to quarantine or illness (Source ILO).
-Austria and Germany: Development of platforms to match supply and demand of labour in the agricultural sector. Farmers can indicate their demand for labour/seasonal workers while those in search of work opportunities (e.g. those (already) affected by temporary or permanent unemployment or underemployment) can indicate their availability.
Sources: Austria: www.dielebensmittelhelfer.at; Germany: www.daslandhilft.de
-Republic of Korea (South Korea): Labour shortages due to the evacuation of undocumented migrant workers led to the following actions from local governments:Formal requests were made to the sending governments (China and Vietnam) for dispatch of seasonal workers after the COVID crisis. The control tower for monitoring the labour shortage situations and household incomes of farmers were installed
-Ireland, Singapore and South Korea have made sick pay/leave available for the self-employed.
-Philippines: Affected workers, regardless of status (i.e. permanent, probationary, or contractual) employed In private establishments whose operations are affected due to the Covid-19 pandemic to receive P5,000 from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) (Source: ILO and FAO Country office).
-European Commission helps Member States support local fishing and aquaculture communities, affected fishermen and women and aquaculture producers by allowing aid up to a level of €120,000 (Source: https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/press/coronavirus-european-commission-helps-member-states-support-local-fishing-and-aquaculture_en).
-Argentina: New scheme: The government announced a new measure to support ‘monotributistas’. This includes a transfer of AR$10,000 to informal workers (3.6 million people) (Source: World Bank).
-Ecuador: New cash transfer of $60 has been introduced for informal workers eraning less than $400 per month (Source: World Bank).
-Portugal: compensation and cash aid for 3 to maximum 12 months to self-employed workers. (Source: WFP and https://www.cmjornal.pt/sociedade/detalhe/saiba-como-vai-funcionar-o-apoio-aos-recibos-verdes-durante-a-epidemia-de-coronavirus).
-Italy - several measures have been in place from tax exemptions to independent workers’ and caregiver support transfers of maximum 600 euros. These are outlined in the recently released decree “Cura Italia” consisting of a 25 billion euro package (Source: WFP and https://www.corriere.it/economia/lavoro/cards/decreto-emergenza-misure-definitive-salva-economia-tutti-aiuti-famiglie-imprese-lavoratori-sanita/misure-sanita-famiglie-imprese-lavoratori_principale.shtml 9).
A few countries have extended or are considering extending unemployment benefits to informal workers. Italy has eased qualifying conditions for unemployment benefit for agricultural workers and a one-off payment of EUR 600 has been provided to vulnerable agricultural workers (Source: ILO. 2020. COVID-19 and the impact on agriculture and food security. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_dialogue/---sector/documents/briefingnote/wcms_742023.pdf). Costa Rica has launched the “Bono Proteger”, a three-month temporary financial aid for working population affected by COVID-19. Informal workers are covered and if their applications are approved, they can receive 125k colones (USD 223) per month for three months . Similarly, Brazil has extended the means-tested three-month emergency benefit for both formal and informal unemployed workers and micro-entrepreneurs by allowing those not yet registered to register online (Source: ILO. 2020. Social protection responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in developing countries: strengthening resilience by building universal social protection. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---soc_sec/documents/publication/wcms_744612.pdf). In Togo, the government, while quickly initiated a cash transfer programme targeting informal workers, is discussing how to build on this measure and incentivize informal workers to participate in a social insurance scheme expected to be launched in 2020 (ibid). Additionally, paid sick leave has also been granted to informal workers. Countries including the United Kingdom, Ireland and Italy have extended sick leave benefit to self-employed workers and those in the informal economy (Source: ILO. 2020. Sickness benefits during sick leave and quarantine: Country Responses and policy considerations in the context of COVID-19. https://www.social-protection.org/gimi/RessourcePDF.action?id=56377). Self-employed workers in Singapore will also enjoy a payment of SG$100 (US$68.5) per day during their quarantine (Source: ILO. 2020. Social protection responses to the Covid-19 crisis. Country responses in Asia and the Pacific. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/documents/briefingnote/wcms_739587.pdf).
