Immediate impacts of COVID-19 on the aquaculture value chain in Ghana

Abstract

Ghana's aquaculture sector is among the recent success stories of fast-growing agricultural value chains in Africa south of the Sahara. The sector has also shown its vulnerability, with the infectious spleen and kidney necrosis virus spreading through tilapia farms in Lake Volta in late 2018. The global COVID-19 human pandemic reached Ghana in early 2020, affecting the sector directly and indirectly. Using a value chain approach, phone interviews were conducted with 369 small-scale fish farmers in six major producing regions, with 12 other value chain actors, and with 423 consumers in the capital, Accra, to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the sector. All value chain actors interviewed reported being affected directly by COVID-19 related restrictions on movement and indirectly by reduced demand for tilapia because of closures in the tourism and hospitality industries, important consumers of fresh tilapia. The crisis has reduced incomes for most actors along the aquaculture value chain and is anticipated to reduce future production. Most fish farmers surveyed were affected by disruptions in input and output markets. Two-thirds of the sample farmers were growing fish and 6 percent were harvesting when the COVID-19 crisis hit. Fifty-four percent of those growing fish experienced difficulties in accessing inputs -mainly fish feeds. Of those harvesting during the crisis, most experienced difficulty in selling their fish mainly because of low demand from buyers, lower tilapia prices, and higher transportation costs than before COVID-19. Income losses among fish farmers, including from other sources, such as crop farming, wage employment, and other own businesses, limits the funds that they have available to finance fish farming operations or to invest in future production capacity. Likewise, reduced incomes and purchasing power of consumers is causing a sharp decline in demand for fish.

Impacts of COVID-19 on Agri-Food Value Chains in the Global South

“…At the individual or community level, people strived to string together their different mechanisms to cope with the situation. A study in Myanmar showed that people resorted to borrowing from friends or selling their household assets such as gold, land, or jewellery (Ragasa et al, 2021). However, these alternatives typically were not sufficient to prevent increased food insecurity for extended periods.…”

“…A survey in Myanmar between January and June 2020 (n =1,072) showed that 51% of respondents lost jobs in various livelihood activities. People without land were mostly affected more by the crisis, mainly because of loss in farm incomes and the absence of non-farm employment (Ragasa et al, 2021). The authors also found that women and men in these landless households were equally affected by lower wages and lack of farm work during COVID-19.…”

“…Most fish farmers had difficulty selling their fish products because of low demand and higher transportation costs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis has diminished incomes for most actors along the aquaculture value chain and this could also affect future production (Ragasa, Amewu, & Asante, 2021). Likewise, the horticulture produces in Kenya too suffered.…”

“…Since all processes and stages in an agri-food value chain are firmly connected, a small delay or disruption in one stage can affect production in other stages, ultimately affecting the whole value chain. A study carried out by Love et al (2021) and Ragasa et al (2021) found that most fish farmers in China, Ecuador, Norway, and Ghana were affected by disruptions in input supplies. Studies show that about 54% of fish farmers experienced difficulties accessing inputs, mainly fish feeds.…”

The multifactorial aquaculture‐related COVID‐19 shock in Benin, West Africa: A socio‐economic perspective of mitigating the disruptive impacts on the small‐scale and subsistence producers

“…In the wake of the COVID‐19 crisis, other climatic calamities have affected ecosystems and livelihoods, especially those of fishers who depend on fishing as their sole source of income in Kenya (Aura et al., 2020 ) and also on a global scale (Sarà et al., 2022 ). In Ghana, the crisis has reduced incomes for most actors along the aquaculture value chain and is anticipated to reduce future production as there are disruptions in input and output markets (Ragasa et al., 2021 ).…”