Between collapse and resilience: Emerging empirical evidence of COVID-19 impact on food security in Uganda and Zimbabwe
| dc.contributor.author | Trotter, Philipp A. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Mugisha, Michael B. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Batidzira, Bothwell | |
| dc.contributor.author | Renaldi, Renaldi | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-03-19T08:29:52Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-03-19T08:29:52Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2020-02-16 | |
| dc.description.abstract | There is widespread agreement that COVID-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge for food security in low-income countries. Strict lockdown rules to contain the spread of the virus have made food production, distribution and access difficult. However, the scarcity of consolidated data on COVID-19-induced food supply and demand interruptions in low-income countries exacerbates the challenge of effective short-term and long-term food security responses. This paper is among the first to present emerging empirical evidence of the food supply-side and demand-side impact of COVID-19 in low-income countries. We interviewed 36 food suppliers and public sector stakeholders involved in the COVID-19 response in Uganda and Zimbabwe and collected household survey data in Uganda’s Central Region to analyse four food types, namely staple food with long shelf life, staple food with intermediate shelf life, perishable fruit and vegetables, and perishable animal products. We find a negative, albeit highly varied impact of COVID-19 on both food supply and household impact. Some food supply chains like matooke and fish in Uganda or tomatoes and lettuce in Zimbabwe have largely collapsed, and urban slum respondents in our sample report a reduction of average daily meals consumed from 2.4 to 1.3. At the same time, mediated by structural value chain differences, domestically produced staple crops, certain fresh vegetables, the Ugandan dairy value chain have been more resilient, the decrease in average number of daily meals consumed is limited for our rural household survey respondents. While there is an urgent need for short-term action to avert acute food insecurity in both countries, they offer lessons how long-term structural resilience against external shocks can be improved. | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Trotter, P., Mugisha, M. B., Mgugu-Mhene, A. T., Batidzirai, B., Jani, A. R., & Renaldi, R. (2020). Between collapse and resilience: Emerging empirical evidence of COVID-19 impact on food security in Uganda and Zimbabwe. Available at SSRN 3657484. | |
| dc.identifier.other | DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3657484 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://nru.uncst.go.ug/handle/123456789/10152 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Plos | |
| dc.title | Between collapse and resilience: Emerging empirical evidence of COVID-19 impact on food security in Uganda and Zimbabwe | |
| dc.type | Animation |