COVID-19 and food security: Panel data evidence from Nigeria

Amare, Mulubrhan; Abay, Kibrom A.; Tiberti, Luca; Chamberlin, Jordan

doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2021.102099

Cited by 153 publications

(142 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…The incomes generated through these coping strategies were seen as less than usual (due to low sale prices) and the money obtained did not go as far as usual (due to increased food purchase prices). The link between more stringent restrictions, food insecurity, and off-farm income reduction has also been established using a robust statistical analysis to compare areas of Nigeria which experienced differential restrictions ( Amare et al, 2021 ). In a comparison between two Indian states, it was established that market price stabilisation was limited the food security impacts on smallholder farmers, and reduced panic selling of commodities and assets, thus preventing further price de-stabilisation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two papers report on multi-national survey datasets, which can claim nation-level representation (the RECOVR dataset – Egger et al, 2021 ; and the LSMS-ISA dataset – Josephson et al, 2021 ). Two more papers report on nationally representative datasets for single countries ( Adjognon et al, 2021 ; Amare et al, 2021 ), and the remainder report on subnational regions generally, but not entirely, within a single nation. The majority of those studies use panel datasets with pre-pandemic rounds, and make use of validated indicators of self-reported food security status to compare against the pre-pandemic counterfactual (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Perceived effects of COVID-19 restrictions on smallholder farmers: Evidence from seven lower- and middle-income countries

Hammond

Siegal²,

Milner

et al. 2022

Agricultural Systems

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CONTEXT The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented global disruption and continues to wreak havoc. Dire predictions were made about the risks to smallholder farmers in lower- and middle- income, but hard data have been lacking. We present the results from 9201 interviews with smallholder farmers from seven countries. OBJECTIVE The objectives are to describe: i) how farmers perceive the key effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and containment measures on livelihoods and food security; ii) the effects on agricultural activities; iii) the coping strategies households deployed. METHODS Household surveys were conducted as part of ongoing monitoring programs during the latter half of 2020. Sites in seven countries were covered: Burundi; Kenya; Rwanda; Tanzania; Uganda; and then Vietnam and Zambia. Findings are representative of smallholder farmers across multiple districts per country. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Our results show that the effects of the COVID-19 containment measures were widespread and often perceived to be severe. Food purchase, off farm income, sale of farm produce, and access to crop inputs were all affected. In locations under more stringent restrictions during the time of the survey, up to 80% of households had to reduce food consumption or variety. Almost all households with off-farm incomes reported reductions, by half on average. A half to three-quarters of households (depending on the location) with income from farm sales reported losses compared to the pre-pandemic situation. In locations with more relaxed containment measures in place during the time of the survey, less frequent and less severe economic and food security outcomes were perceived by the respondent, with around 20% of households reporting negative outcomes. Mobility restrictions, reduced market access, crashes in sale price for agricultural goods, and soaring prices for food purchase were key factors. Sale prices generally dropped for all agricultural products in any given location, and affected not only high value perishable products, but also staple crops such as maize and cassava. Depending on the location, between 30% and 90% of the households applied coping strategies in response to the pandemic during 2020. There was an almost complete absence of official aid amongst households interviewed. SIGNIFICANCE Our results raise the thorny issue of how best to balance containment of COVID-19 against the wellbeing of the vulnerable rural population in lower- and middle-income countries. There is a risk that the buffering capacity of rural people will become exhausted. Possible policy measures to limit negative outcomes include i) tiered mobility restrictions with travel allowed for economic reasons; ii) short-term price guarantee schemes to stabilise the food system; iii) direct aid; iv) the timely re-installation of distribution channels for agricultural inputs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived effects of COVID-19 restrictions on smallholder farmers: Evidence from seven lower- and middle-income countries

Hammond

Siegal²,

Milner

et al. 2022

Agricultural Systems

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, in Liberia, Ebola tended to be in specific locations, thus affecting food availability more severely in those regions [31]. In general, for both crises, the first affected factor was felt through a decline in crop production due to the reduction in the labour force and workforce mobility (e.g., for Ebola [34,35]; for COVID-19 [36]). This is exacerbated for women and girls facing a higher burden of childcare and household responsibilities since the pandemic (Zambia, Kenya and Ghana [37], and Nigeria [38]).…”

Section: Impact Of Pandemics On Each Of the Four Pillars Of Food Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similarly, phone survey results indicated that off-farm work was inaccessible to more than half of the households in Ghana and Nigeria during the first wave of the pandemic [37]. These conditions also reduced the possibility to cultivate or to continue to be employed in the agricultural industry and ultimately contributed to rapidly reduced food availability due to limited workforce, seeds, and agrochemicals [36,40].…”

Section: Impact Of Pandemics On Each Of the Four Pillars Of Food Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Pandemics on the Vulnerability of Food Security in West Africa—A Scoping Review

Vasseur

VanVolkenburg

Vandeplas³

et al. 2021

Sustainability

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The purpose of this paper was to show the effects of the Ebola and COVID-19 pandemics on food security vulnerability in West Africa. The methodology is based on a scoping literature review using the PRISMA method. The study showed that food security was affected by the restrictive measures in the different West African countries. In addition, it shows that this region is highly vulnerable to such crises, which can combine their effects with those of other events such as climate change and civil unrest. In both pandemics, all pillars of food security were affected. The effects on urban and rural centers may be very different. The study suggests a better understanding of the differences between rural and urban centers and between men and women and how long-term restraint measures can affect rural areas where agriculture is the main lever for reducing food insecurity. Food security must be seriously considered by governments when implementing restrictive measures during a pandemic. Consideration of health factors alone at the expense of food security can greatly exacerbate health problems and even increase cases of disease.

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“…At present, several studies have shown that the shortage of labor affected by the epidemic has had many adverse effects on food supply and production. For example, factory shutdowns led to the loss of work for workers engaged in food processing, which in turn affected the food supply to a certain extent [25]; blockades and restrictions on cross-border movement caused seasonal labor and shortages, which in turn affected agricultural production [26][27][28]; mental and physical health problems caused by the pandemic will also reduce the working hours of skilled workers, which will affect agricultural production efficiency [29]. In addition, it is worth noting that studies have shown that labor shortages have different effects on food security in different regions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Epidemic-Affected Labor Shortage on Food Safety: A Chinese Scenario Analysis Using the CGE Model

Qin

Jiang

et al. 2021

Foods

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Human food safety should be given priority during a major public health crisis. As the primary element of agricultural production, labor tends to suffer the most during a period of public health concern. Studying the impact of epidemic-affected labor shortages on agricultural production, trade, and prices has important implications for food security. This study used a calculable general equilibrium model to study the changes in agricultural production, trade, and prices under different labor damage scenarios. The results showed that agricultural production was less affected under a scenario where the epidemic was controlled locally. The output of agricultural products decreased by about 2.19%, and the prices of agricultural products increased slightly. However, the nationwide output of agricultural products decreased by only 0.1%, and the prices remained largely stable. In the case of the spread of the epidemic, the output of agricultural products in the epidemic area decreased by 2.11%, and the prices of certain agricultural products increased significantly. For example, the price of vegetables increased by 0.78%, the price of pork increased by about 0.7%, and those of agricultural products in other parts of the country also increased slightly. Compared with the national spread scenario, the local outbreak scenario had a smaller impact on Chinese food security, indicating Chinese effective policy against the epidemic. Although the impact of labor shortage under the influence of the epidemic on China was relatively limited, and considering its stable food security, we should pay attention to the increase in the process of agricultural products and changes in agricultural trade in the epidemic area. The residents in the epidemic areas could not effectively obtain nutritious food, which affected their health. Thus, the government should also completely mobilize agricultural resources to ensure the nutrition safety of residents during major public health incidents.

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COVID-19 and food security: Panel data evidence from Nigeria

Cited by 153 publications

References 46 publications

Perceived effects of COVID-19 restrictions on smallholder farmers: Evidence from seven lower- and middle-income countries

Perceived effects of COVID-19 restrictions on smallholder farmers: Evidence from seven lower- and middle-income countries

The Effects of Pandemics on the Vulnerability of Food Security in West Africa—A Scoping Review

Impact of Epidemic-Affected Labor Shortage on Food Safety: A Chinese Scenario Analysis Using the CGE Model

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