COVID-19 and resilience innovations in food supply chains: Two years later

Reardon, Thomas; Swinnen, Johan; Vos, R. de

doi:10.2499/9780896294226_13

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 5 publications

(5 reference statements)

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“…As we look to a future with more frequent covariate shocks, the South Asian experience shows that multiple crises can occur contemporaneously and without warning. Just as routine investment in both the physical and institutional infrastructure of value chains (their “bones” and “blood”) is needed to make food systems resilient to shocks (Reardon et al, 2022), continuous investments in public safety nets and private household capacity may be needed to build broad resilience to wide‐scale shocks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lessons from a time of upheaval: COVID‐19 in South Asia

Narayanan,

Raghunathan,

Rashid

et al. 2023

Applied Eco Perspectives Pol

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Numerous structural vulnerabilities put developing regions at a disadvantage as they confront the prospect of increasingly frequent extreme shocks. Typical of these regions, South Asia had several characteristics that suggested it would be badly hit by COVID‐19: a sizeable informal sector, growing inequalities in access to health services and social protection, and high levels of hunger and malnutrition. This Special Issue focuses on the South Asian experience through COVID‐19 and distills forward‐looking lessons for the developing world. Included papers point to the importance of strengthening individual resilience, building basic infrastructure and institutional capacity, and implementing inclusive social protection measures.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lessons from a time of upheaval: COVID‐19 in South Asia

Narayanan,

Raghunathan,

Rashid

et al. 2023

Applied Eco Perspectives Pol

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“…Addressing them successfully involves developing crossdisciplinary research that innovates at their intersections to provide different solutions that address the social, economic, technological and policy components of these issues (Daher et al, 2021). The pandemic offered lessons, innovations (such as e-commerce, worker benefits and automation) and opportunities for food systems to become more robust to future shocks while becoming more inclusive, efficient, sustainable and healthy (Reardon et al, 2022). Building resilience allows countries and communities to overcome and recover from food shocks, whether natural (floods, droughts, climate change), man-made (conflicts, social unrest, trade restrictions), market-based (market volatility, increased prices) or healthrelated .…”

Section: Limitations and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic: an exploratory study in four Near Eastern countries

Hassen

Bilali

Allahyari

2022

JIMA

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Purpose During a pandemic, risk and uncertainty are the most important factors affecting consumer behavior. Near Eastern marketplaces are undergoing dramatic change during the COVID-19 global pandemic. As a result, this paper aims to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on food shopping habits in four countries of the Near East sub-region, namely, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Oman and Qatar. Design/methodology/approach The research is based on an online survey conducted on 1,456 subjects using a snowball sampling technique. The questionnaire consisted of 24 different questions (multiple-choice, one option) regarding the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on food habits such as food shopping, preparation, eating and food waste. Findings The findings show that consumers’ shopping habits and food sourcing in the region changed due to the risk and uncertainty connected with the COVID-19 pandemic. Firstly, respondents decreased their shopping frequency and, as a result, increased the amount of food purchased each trip. Secondly, because of food safety concerns, respondents boosted their purchases of local products. Thirdly, the data revealed an increase in online food shopping, mainly in high-income countries, namely, Qatar and Oman. Fourthly, the findings revealed significant disparities in food stockpiling behavior across the countries investigated. Research limitations/implications The major limitation of this study is the survey bias. The survey respondents were randomly hired. The questionnaire was completed by volunteers who were not rewarded. Only those motivated by a personal interest in the topic took part in the study. The sample had a high number of educated individuals, which does not represent the overall populations of the studied countries. In this case, generalizing the findings is inaccurate. A segment of the population with lower accessibility, such as individuals who are not web-literate, as well as the elderly, poor households and informal workers, especially in the Near East and North African (NENA) region, is often underrepresented in online surveys. Practical implications The findings provide insight into how consumers’ food shopping habits have changed due to the pandemic. This and other research will help governments and other organizations better prepare for future disasters and pandemics. The study’s results will also be useful in formulating evidence-based policies for the four countries studied and the NENA area as a whole throughout the post-pandemic recovery phase. The findings, for example, emphasized the necessity of encouraging online shopping by upgrading information and communication technology infrastructure and internet speed, particularly in middle-income and developing countries like Lebanon. Furthermore, in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, the findings provide insights to international organizations (both humanitarian and development ones) to pay more attention to issues of food and nutrition security to avoid the financial and political crises combined with the COVID-19 health crisis, become a humanitarian crisis for locals as well as the hundreds of thousands of refugees (primarily Syrians in Lebanon). Finally, the pandemic’s long-term impact on food activities and food security must be mitigated by including agricultural and food systems in recovery efforts. Several issues are posing a threat to food systems. Addressing them successfully involves developing cross-disciplinary research that innovates at their intersections to provide different solutions that address the social, economic, technological and policy components of these issues. Originality/value The paper’s findings indicate that the pandemic’s consequences will most certainly differ from country to country, based not just on the epidemiologic condition but also, inter alia, on the level of pre-COVID socioeconomic development.

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“…Initial responses like export bans on staple food exports or restrictions on the mobility of seasonal migrant agricultural labor have been removed or mitigated over the course of 2020 (Laborde et al 2020a). In yet other instances, market disruptions were addressed by adjusting business models or reorienting supply to different market segments, including through a notable expansion in the use of digital technologies to facilitate home delivery or through adjustment of market channels toward retail in response to closures of restaurants and other food services (Reardon & Swinnen 2020, Reardon et al 2022.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 and Global Poverty and Food Security

Vos

McDermott

Swinnen

2022

Annu. Rev. Resour. Econ.

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The impacts of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on food systems, poverty, and nutrition have been caused by generalized economic recession and disruptions in agrifood supply chains. This article reviews a growing empirical literature assessing those impacts. The review confirms that income shocks and supply disruptions have affected food security and livelihoods more where supply chains were poorly integrated and poverty where market informality had a greater presence before COVID-19. Yet, as the pandemic persists, outcomes remain uncertain and reliable data are still sparsely available. This review also reveals how methodological approaches have evolved during the pandemic, ranging from model-based scenario analyses, telephone survey evidence, case-study analyses, and data collection on policy responses and their effects. This review concludes that while we have good insight into the COVID-19 pandemic's impacts on food security, there is still much that we do not know, requiring much more rigorous hypothesis testing based on reliable and observed data. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Resource Economics, Volume 14 is October 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

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COVID-19 and resilience innovations in food supply chains: Two years later

Cited by 6 publications

References 5 publications

Lessons from a time of upheaval: COVID‐19 in South Asia

Lessons from a time of upheaval: COVID‐19 in South Asia

Food shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic: an exploratory study in four Near Eastern countries

COVID-19 and Global Poverty and Food Security

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