A Multi-Phase Assessment of the Effects of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Kenya

Kenya confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on 12 March 2020. Like many governments across the world, the Kenyan government implemented various measures aimed at slowing down local spread of the virus and cushioning the population against the negative economic effects of the pandemic and the associated policy restrictions. International organisations and researchers postulated that the measures would negatively affect economic activities and livelihoods, with undesirable implications for poverty and food insecurity. Particularly vulnerable would be populations in developing countries such as Kenya, where many people depend on food systems for their livelihoods, and the majority of those are smallholder farmers who often have low economic power. The objective of this rapid assessment was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the food system and the sub-set of the population largely dependent on agriculture in Kenya to inform actions that can assure protection of rural livelihoods and continued access to adequate and affordable food of acceptable quality to the population. This report presents results of that rapid assessment.

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A Multi-Phase Assessment of the Effects of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Zimbabwe

10.19088/apra.2021.034 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Vine Mutyasira

Keyword(s):

Food Systems ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Rapid Assessment ◽

Policy Research ◽

Rural Livelihoods ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Response Measures ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Multi Phase

The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to affect agri-food systems around the world and lay bare its fragility, worsening the welfare of millions of smallholder farmers whose livelihoods are anchored on agricultural activities. For the vast majority of sub-Saharan Africa, COVID-19 has coincided with a number of other macroeconomic shocks, which have also exacerbated the impacts of the pandemic on food security, nutrition and general livelihoods, as well curtailed policy responses and mitigation strategies. In Zimbabwe, the COVID-19 pandemic struck at a time the country was experiencing a worsening economic and humanitarian situation. This study focused more on community and household dynamics and response measures to cope with the pandemic. This paper presents a summary of findings emerging from a series of rapid assessment studies undertaken by the Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) Programme in Mvurwi and Concession areas of Mazowe District in Zimbabwe to examine how COVID-19 is affecting food systems and rural livelihoods in our research communities.

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A Multi-Phase Assessment of the Effects of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Nigeria

10.19088/apra.2021.042 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Adebayo B. Aromolaran ◽

Milu Muyanga ◽

Fadlullah O. Issa ◽

Oladele Oladeji

Keyword(s):

Food Systems ◽

Rapid Assessment ◽

Rural Livelihoods ◽

Well Being ◽

Health Crisis ◽

Nutrition Security ◽

First Case ◽

Food And Nutrition ◽

Multi Phase ◽

Death Cases

The first case of COVID-19 in Nigeria was reported on 27 February 2020. By 30 March 2020, Nigeria had recorded 131 confirmed cases and two deaths. To mitigate the impending health crisis, the Nigerian Government quickly commenced a series of COVID-19 lockdowns across states in Nigeria on 30 March 2020. These lockdowns lasted for three months before a gradual relaxation began on 1 July 2021. However, infection and death cases in the country increased substantially during the months of substantial relaxation of restrictions between October 2020 and March 2021. This paper presents the results of the rapid assessment study in Nigeria between July 2020 and February 2021, which sought to document and understand the differential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on agricultural commercialisation, food and nutrition security, employment, poverty, and well-being in rural households.

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A Multi-Phase Assessment of the Effects of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Tanzania

10.19088/apra.2021.038 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Gideon Boniface ◽

Christopher Magomba

Keyword(s):

Infection Rate ◽

Food Systems ◽

Prime Minister ◽

Economic Impacts ◽

Rural Livelihoods ◽

Trade Barriers ◽

First Case ◽

The Government ◽

Multi Phase ◽

Second Wave

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 at the end of 2019, the pandemic has brought both social and economic impacts to global communities, although to varying degrees. Since the onset of the pandemic, different regions have responded in various ways by taking different measures to fight the pandemic and its effects. In Tanzania, the first case was recorded on 16 March 2020 and, to contain the spread of the virus, on 17 March 2020, the Prime Minister announced measures including the closure of all education institutions, the suspension of public gatherings and international passenger flights, and mandatory quarantine for individuals entering Tanzania. However, in June 2020, the government announced the easing of the restrictions after observing a significant decrease in the COVID-19 infection rate and, despite a subsequent ‘second wave’ of the virus, the government declined to re-institute movement restrictions. This decision led to the implementation of non-tariff trade barriers which were imposed on cargo carrying grain and other exports to neighbouring countries, especially Kenya. The situation became so bad that diplomatic intervention had to be sought. In order to understand the resulting socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis in Tanzania, data were collected in three waves during mid-July2020, October 2020 and February 2021. This paper presents a synthesis of the results of these three survey rounds.

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Rapid Assessment of the Impact of Covid-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa – Synthesis Report 2

10.19088/apra.2020.023 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Marco Carreras ◽

Amrita Saha ◽

John Thompson

Keyword(s):

Food Systems ◽

Rapid Assessment ◽

Policy Research ◽

Rural Livelihoods ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Data Collection And Analysis ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Synthesis Report ◽

June July ◽

The Impact

This report presents a summary of findings emerging from the second round of a three-wave rapid assessment led by the Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) Programme of the Future Agricultures Consortium (FAC) in October-November 2020 to examine how COVID-19 is affecting food systems and rural livelihoods in eight countries – Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It builds on a set of phone-based household surveys and key informant interviews conducted in those countries in June-July 2020, which served as the baseline for this research.1 APRA will continue to monitor the situation as the response to the pandemic unfolds through the third round of data collection and analysis planned for the first quarter of 2021.

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A Multi-Phase Assessment of the Effects of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Ghana

10.19088/apra.2021.041 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Louis Hodey ◽

Fred Dzanku

Keyword(s):

Food Systems ◽

Policy Research ◽

Rural Livelihoods ◽

African Countries ◽

Commercial Activities ◽

Potential Impact ◽

Socio Economic Impact ◽

June July ◽

Multi Phase ◽

The Impact

The COVID-19 crisis has disrupted food systems in Ghana since its emergence in the country in March 2020. According to the United Nations World Food Programme, the socio-economic impact of the pandemic caused by the imposition of restrictions on social and commercial activities appears to be more devastating than the actual virus in many countries. This study is part of the Agricultural Policy Research in Africa programme’s assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on food systems and livelihoods in Ghana and seven other African countries – Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Conducted between June–July 2020 and February–March 2021, the study seeks to estimate the potential impact of COVID-19 on food systems and livelihoods in south-western Ghana.

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Rapid Assessment of the Impact of Covid-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa – Synthesis Report 1

10.19088/apra.2020.008 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Marco Carreras ◽

Amrita Saha ◽

John Thompson

Keyword(s):

Food Systems ◽

Rapid Assessment ◽

Policy Research ◽

Rural Livelihoods ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Data Collection And Analysis ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Synthesis Report ◽

June July ◽

The Impact

To gain a better understanding of the impact that COVID-19 is having on food systems and rural livelihoods in the region, researchers in the Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) Programme of the Future Agricultures Consortium (FAC) are conducting a rolling series of telephone-based household surveys and key informant interviews in selected study locations across multiple countries. This report presents results from the first round of that research in seven countries – Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zimbabwe – from interviews conducted in June-July 2020.1 APRA will monitor the situation as the pandemic unfolds through further rounds of data collection and analysis in late 2020 and early 2021.

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Impact of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Kenya – Round 1 Report

10.19088/apra.2020.004 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

John Olwande

Keyword(s):

Food Systems ◽

Food System ◽

Rural Livelihoods ◽

First Case ◽

Acceptable Quality ◽

The Government

Kenya confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on 12 March 2020. Since then, the government has been providing daily updates on the number of new COVID-19 infections, recoveries and deaths in the country, as well as implementing several interventions to manage the disease. The cumulative numbers as of 12 August 2020 were 27,425 new infections, 13,867 recoveries and 438 deaths, and rising. The objective of this assessment was to understand the effects of COVID-19 on the food system and the sub-set of the population largely dependent on agriculture. The findings were intended to inform actions to assure protection of rural livelihoods and the continued supply of adequate and affordable food of acceptable quality to the population.

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A Multi-Phase Assessment of the Effects of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Malawi

10.19088/apra.2021.035 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mirriam Matita ◽

Masautso Chimombo

Keyword(s):

Food Systems ◽

Rapid Assessment ◽

Rural Livelihoods ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Middle Income ◽

Middle Income Countries ◽

Multi Stage ◽

Livelihood Systems ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Multi Phase

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions to national and global economies with devastating effects on food systems and livelihoods across the globe. These effects of the pandemic on poverty, hunger, and malnutrition, among others, are likely to be greater among low and middle-income countries like those in sub- Saharan Africa, including Malawi. This is because even before the COVID-19 pandemic began the proportion of people facing poverty, and food and nutrition insecurity were already high. It is, therefore, imperative to understand the effects of COVID-19 on food systems and rural livelihoods. Using a multi-stage ‘rapid assessment’, this study provides real-time insights into how the COVID-19 crisis unfolded in Malawi and how rural people and food and livelihood systems respond.

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The Role of Research and Innovation in the Transformation of Agri-Food Systems

Annals ”Valahia” University of Targoviste - Agriculture ◽

10.2478/agr-2018-0019 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 60-63

Author(s):

Mariana Sandu ◽

Stefan Mantea

Keyword(s):

Technological Progress ◽

Food Systems ◽

Food System ◽

Agricultural Research ◽

Research And Innovation ◽

And Performance ◽

The Impact ◽

Determinant Factor ◽

Rapid Transformation

Abstract Agri-food systems include branching ramifications, which connect in the upstream the input suppliers with farmers, and downstream farmers, processors, retailers and consumers. In the last decades, at the level of the regions, food systems have undergone rapid transformation as a result of technological progress. The paper analyzes the changes made to the structure, behavior and performance of the agri-food system and the impact on farmers and consumers. Also, the role of agricultural research as a determinant factor of transformation of agri-food system is analyzed. The research objective is to develop technologies that cover the entire food chain (from farm to fork) and meet the specific requirements of consumers (from fork to farm) through scientific solutions in line with the principles of sustainable agriculture and ensuring the safety and food safety of the population.

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Changes in Consumers’ Food Practices during the COVID-19 Lockdown, Implications for Diet Quality and the Food System: A Cross-Continental Comparison

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu13010020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 20

Author(s):

Blain Murphy ◽

Tony Benson ◽

Amanda McCloat ◽

Elaine Mooney ◽

Chris Elliott ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Diet Quality ◽

Food Systems ◽

Online Survey ◽

Food System ◽

Vegetable Intake ◽

Saturated Fat ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Food Practices ◽

The Impact

COVID-19 has led to dramatic societal changes. Differing movement restrictions across countries have affected changes in consumers’ food practices, with a potentially detrimental impact on their health and food systems. To investigate this, this research explored changes in consumers’ food practices during the initial COVID-19 phase and assessed the impact of location on these changes. A sample of 2360 adults from three continents (Island of Ireland (IOI), Great Britain (GB), United States (USA), and New Zealand (NZ)) were recruited for a cross-sectional online survey (May–June 2020). Participants completed questions in relation to their cooking and food practices, diet quality, and COVID-19 food-related practices. Significant changes in consumers’ food practices during the pandemic were seen within and between regions, with fewer cooking practices changes found in the USA. Food practices, which may put added pressure on the food system, such as bulk buying, were seen across all regions. To prevent this, organisational food practices, including planning ahead, should be emphasized. Additionally, while positive cooking-related practices and increases in fruit and vegetable intake were found, an increase in saturated fat intake was also seen. With the additional pressure on individuals’ physical and mental health, the essentiality of maintaining a balanced diet should be promoted.

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