Covid -19 impacts on food security and livelihoods in the poor countries, where agricultural production systems are more labour-intensive. During the pandemic time demand collapse from restaurants, hotels and catering, the closure of open markets, and a surge in demand from supermarkets.
Due to limitations of people mobility during the Covid-19 the below bad impacts was found in the Farm Agriculture Sector:
- labour shortages for agricultural sectors. Specially for those countries which has Labour Intensive Production system.
- High prices of Pesticides, Fertilizers and other agricultural seasonal materials.
- Hamper of seed supply chains and lack of on-time delivery of seed.
Limitations of Food habit during Covid 19
- The closure of restaurants and food service providers in schools, hotels and catering businesses has stopped.
- Fast food supply limitations to supermarkets example, potatoes for French fries, seafood, and dairy products etc.
- Shifted away from higher value items and towards staple and ready-to-eat foods that can be stored.
Disruptions of supply chains
- Delays and disruptions to transport and logistics services. To avoid the spread of Covid-19 Border of most of the countries were closed and additional procedures delayed, affected the transit of perishable products.
- Social distancing requirements have reduced the numbers of import and export.
- The grounding of airlines, and the increasing cost of international freight as a result of lower trade volumes.
- Air freight costs have risen.
Increase food prices decline food security:
- Due to hamper of Import Export system food prices.Global food prices continued rising especially food import-dependent countries, struggle to have the needed resources to buy food.
- According to UN reports (Ref. https://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1297810/icode/) additional 83 million people, and possibly as many as 132 million, may go hungry in 2020 as a result of the economic recession triggered by the pandemic.
- When people suffer from hunger or chronic undernourishment, it means that they are unable to meet their food requirements – sudden crises that may put their lives and livelihoods at risk.
- According to the UN report (Ref: https://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1297810/icode/) almost 690 million people got hungry in 2019 – up by 10 million from 2018, and by nearly 60 million in five years.
- Vulnerable groups also include small scale farmers, informal worker or migrant, pastoralists, and fishers who were engaged with working their land, caring for their livestock, or fishing. The challenges of accessing markets to sell and buy their products, or struggle due to higher food prices and limited purchasing power.
- Millions of children are also missing out on the school meals they have come to rely upon, many of them with no formal access to social protection, including health insurance.
