IFAD’s new multi-donor fund, the COVID-19 Rural Poor Stimulus Facility, will mitigate the effects of the pandemic on food production, market access and rural employment.  As part of the broader UN socio-economic response framework, the Facility will ensure that farmers in the most vulnerable countries have timely access to inputs, information, markets and liquidity. On top of its own contribution, IFAD aims to raise at least $200 million more from Member States, foundations and the private sector.

“We need to act now to stop this health crisis transforming into a food crisis,” said Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of IFAD. “The fallout from COVID-19 may push rural families even deeper into poverty, hunger and desperation, which is a real threat to global prosperity and stability. With immediate action, we can provide rural people with the tools to adapt and ensure a quicker recovery, averting an even bigger humanitarian crisis.”

With their movements restricted to contain further spread of the virus, many small-scale farmers are unable to access markets to sell produce or to buy inputs, such as seeds or fertilizer. Closures of major transport routes and export bans are also likely to affect food systems adversely. As entire production chains are disrupted and unemployment rises, the most vulnerable include daily labourers, small businesses and informal workers, who are very often women and young people. The return of workers from cities affected by lockdowns will put further strain on rural households, which will also stop receiving much needed remittances.

About 80 percent of the world’s poorest and most food insecure people live in rural areas. Even before the outbreak, more than 820 million people were going hungry every day. A recent United Nations University study warned that in a worst-case scenario, the economic impact of the pandemic could push a further half-billion people into poverty.

“This pandemic is threatening the gains we have made in reducing poverty over the past years. To avoid serious disruption to rural economies, it is essential to ensure agriculture, food chains, markets and trade continue to function,” said Houngbo.

“A majority of the world’s most impoverished people are already suffering the consequences of climate change and conflict. An economic downturn in rural areas could compound these effects, generating more hunger and increasing instability, especially in fragile states.”

The Rural Poor Stimulus Facility will focus on the following activities:

• Provide inputs for production of crops, livestock and fisheries to small-scale producers so that they can weather the immediate effects of the economic crisis.
• Facilitate access to markets to support small-scale farmers to sell their products in conditions where restricted movement is interrupting the functioning of markets, including providing logistics and storage support.
• Provide targeted funds for rural financial services to ensure sufficient liquidity is available and to ease immediate loan repayment requirements to maintain services, markets and jobs for poor rural people.
• Use digital services to share key information on production, weather, finance and markets.

IFAD has significant experience in working in fragile situations improving the resilience of rural populations. For example, in Sierra Leone during the Ebola outbreak, IFAD-supported banks were the sole providers of banking and financial services in affected areas. They provided timely assistance during the outbreak and supported the renewal of the rural economy after the crisis passed.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, IFAD was already stepping up its programmes and calling on member states to increase investments in rural development to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 – ending hunger.

“A timely response to the pandemic is an opportunity to rebuild the world’s food systems along more sustainable and inclusive lines and build the resilience of rural populations to crisis, whether related to health, climate or conflict,” said Houngbo.

IFAD has received requests from governments in more than 65 countries to help respond to the impact of the pandemic. It has already adapted its projects and diverted funds to support this.

Source: IFAD

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16 April 2020, Rome – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the African Union (AU) and international partners today described the food and agriculture system as “an essential service that must continue to operate during periods of lockdown, emergency, curfew and other containment measures”.

In a joint declaration, they committed to supporting access to food and nutrition for Africa’s most vulnerable; providing Africans with social safety nets; minimizing disruptions to the safe movement and transport of essential people, and to the transport and marketing of goods and services; and keeping borders open on the continent for the food and agriculture trade.

The document was adopted at a gathering co-organized by the AU and FAO and convened virtually. All 55 AU member states were represented, 45 at minister level. The debate was moderated by the AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, Josefa Sacko.

In his opening remarks, Director-General QU Dongyu said quick, strategic action was needed to lessen the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security in Africa. “Border closures restrict trade and limit food availability in many countries, particularly those dependent on food imports,” he said. He expressed support for measures that do not lead to disruptions in food supply chains: these must be “kept alive,” he stressed.

Angela Thoko Didiza, Minister for Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development of South Africa, joined Qu in opening the debate. The Minister, whose country currently chairs the AU, cautioned against any moves to weaken inter-regional trade. Both officials highlighted the toll taken by lockdowns in a continent where informal markets, rather than supermarkets, provide a lifeline for most consumers.
FAO’s Chief Economist, Maximo Torero, pointed to growing evidence of logistical strains in food markets – strains which Qu suggested should be mitigated by “shortening the chain”: producing more, better, and locally if possible.

Minister after minister intervened to outline the challenges posed by the pandemic, in a region of the world where a fifth of the population is undernourished. The CEO of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Ibrahim Mayaki, warned of risks to social stability if food and cash were to run low among Africa’s urban residents. Many government representatives described strenuous efforts to bolster welfare benefits, often at great cost to national budgets.

Echoing these concerns, the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, outlined an EU support package for Africa that should eventually exceed $20 billion. The World Bank’s Simeon Ehui also detailed support initiatives, including the possibility of re-purposing $3.2 billion in uncommitted funding. Speaking for the African Development Bank, Martin Fregene concluded with details of a COVID-19 response programme that includes targeted technical and financial support.

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A genuine fear that the worst is yet to come in regards to food and nutrition security is looming. The months of April, May and even the proceeding ones could pose some of the worst disruptions in food supply chains ever since the Global Food Crisis of 2007-2008 sparked off by rising food prices. The crisis reached an unprecedented peak in 2011 prompting ASARECA in partnership with the CGIAR to undertake evidence-based advocacy to curb food prices. The approach then was to keep policy-makers well informed of the food trends and their implications to avoid ad-hoc policy actions, which could have worsened the situation.

Policy options

Some of the recommendations given to the leaders at the time included: Working collaboratively as a region to allow food to move from production zones and areas of surplus to areas of deficiency; and making efforts to turn the crisis into a stimulus for domestic production, regional trade and integration. The arithmetic of doing this in the face of the Coronavirus is complicated since a balance has to be made between stopping the spread of the disease through restricted person-to-person contact on one hand, and ensuring emergency movements to provide families with food on the other hand. But the balancing act can be done.

A good example is the approach taken by Uganda. In his regular briefings, on measures to contain the spread of the disease, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has literally shut down all functions that could compromise social distancing. He, however, has consistently been careful not to extend restrictions to cross-border and internal cargo movement, especially the movement of food supplies. Inbound and outbound cargo has been spared the travel ban, just as internal deliveries have been. This is a move that Governments across the world could exercise since, according to FAO, “there is still enough food to feed all people.”

Open markets like this in most African suburbs get supplies from rural farms

Where things are going wrong

The CGIAR, the largest global AR4D grouping, has highlighted key areas where things could go haywire if not addressed. They include The food systems which have been significantly affected, and whose impacts will grow if processing enterprises cannot restart production in a near future; production of staple food crops if the outbreak continues into critical planting periods; domestic and international trade disruptions, which may trigger food price panics; restrictions on mobility which may lead to labour shortages, among others.

Resourcing the rural food baskets

Luckily, the African rural areas are not as vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19 as are the cities. Many Governments have already taken measures to stop the urban populations from transferring the virus to the rural areas, which are naturally the food baskets. However, there is a danger that restrictions of movement could affect farm productivity due to shortage of fertilizers, veterinary services and other inputs, while the closure of food cooking businesses could curtail fresh produce and fisheries products, affecting producers and suppliers. The Governments should, therefore, move to ensure that the rural areas are resourced with agricultural inputs and resident extension services to encourage them to produce more to feed the urban populations. Given the currently favourable rain patterns, this could turn out to be an opportunity for farmers to reap big from their urban folk who have been grounded and are requiring more food supplies.

Logistics for movement of food

There is also a need to put in place logistical systems including storage, transport and protective gear, to move food from places of production and surplus to places of deficiency. Noting that the Corona pandemic could escalate before it calms down, governments could besides securing lives from the virus, invest in postharvest facilities to store, and move food where it is most needed.

Areas for emergency action

According to the CGIAR, action now needs to focus on: Increasing support for production entities; ensuring the smooth flow of trade and making full use of international markets to secure food supply and demand; ensuring smooth logistical operations of regional agricultural and food supply chains; monitoring food prices and strengthening market supervision; explaining issues related to wet-markets and livestock-wildlife interface and how to mitigate future zoonotic disease and supporting one-health approaches; increasing resilience and mitigation of social disruptions by increasing local food productivity and water access. It is clear from this list that coordinated regional action towards production and keeping food circulation has an important place in pushing back the impacts of COVID-19.

It  is arguable that if policy leaders desist from interrupting food exports and imports, the impact of Corona Virus on food and nutrition security will be minimal
Finally, as the world grapples with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the FAO has attempted to answer critical questions in the face of the pandemic globally. Some of the key questions posed and answered by FAO are:

• Will COVID-19 have negative impacts on global food security?
• Whose food security and livelihoods are most at risk due to the pandemic?
• What are the implications of the COVID-19 situation – now and in the future – for food production, agricultural and fishery/aquaculture supply chains and markets?
• How will the pandemic affect food demand?
• What is the connection between COVID-19 and animals?

Source: fao.org , asareca.org

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