Food Consumption and Food Security during the COVID‐19 Pandemic in Addis Ababa

Hirvonen, Kalle; Brauw, Alan de; Abate, Gashaw Tadesse

doi:10.1111/ajae.12206

Cited by 142 publications

(139 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Our studies spanned a variety of locations and the timing of the surveys in relation to stringent restrictions varied. Except for the locations where restrictions were mild (Tanzania and Burundi; see also Hirvonen et al, 2021 ), mobility constraints were widespread, as were market access issues, price fluctuations, and income reductions. Almost all households who usually relied upon off-farm incomes reported reductions, on average by a half.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived effects of COVID-19 restrictions on smallholder farmers: Evidence from seven lower- and middle-income countries

Hammond

Siegal²,

Milner

et al. 2022

Agricultural Systems

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CONTEXT The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented global disruption and continues to wreak havoc. Dire predictions were made about the risks to smallholder farmers in lower- and middle- income, but hard data have been lacking. We present the results from 9201 interviews with smallholder farmers from seven countries. OBJECTIVE The objectives are to describe: i) how farmers perceive the key effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and containment measures on livelihoods and food security; ii) the effects on agricultural activities; iii) the coping strategies households deployed. METHODS Household surveys were conducted as part of ongoing monitoring programs during the latter half of 2020. Sites in seven countries were covered: Burundi; Kenya; Rwanda; Tanzania; Uganda; and then Vietnam and Zambia. Findings are representative of smallholder farmers across multiple districts per country. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Our results show that the effects of the COVID-19 containment measures were widespread and often perceived to be severe. Food purchase, off farm income, sale of farm produce, and access to crop inputs were all affected. In locations under more stringent restrictions during the time of the survey, up to 80% of households had to reduce food consumption or variety. Almost all households with off-farm incomes reported reductions, by half on average. A half to three-quarters of households (depending on the location) with income from farm sales reported losses compared to the pre-pandemic situation. In locations with more relaxed containment measures in place during the time of the survey, less frequent and less severe economic and food security outcomes were perceived by the respondent, with around 20% of households reporting negative outcomes. Mobility restrictions, reduced market access, crashes in sale price for agricultural goods, and soaring prices for food purchase were key factors. Sale prices generally dropped for all agricultural products in any given location, and affected not only high value perishable products, but also staple crops such as maize and cassava. Depending on the location, between 30% and 90% of the households applied coping strategies in response to the pandemic during 2020. There was an almost complete absence of official aid amongst households interviewed. SIGNIFICANCE Our results raise the thorny issue of how best to balance containment of COVID-19 against the wellbeing of the vulnerable rural population in lower- and middle-income countries. There is a risk that the buffering capacity of rural people will become exhausted. Possible policy measures to limit negative outcomes include i) tiered mobility restrictions with travel allowed for economic reasons; ii) short-term price guarantee schemes to stabilise the food system; iii) direct aid; iv) the timely re-installation of distribution channels for agricultural inputs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived effects of COVID-19 restrictions on smallholder farmers: Evidence from seven lower- and middle-income countries

Hammond

Siegal²,

Milner

et al. 2022

Agricultural Systems

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…By contrast, panel data collected in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, before and during the pandemic, found little change in food insecurity [ 16 ]. Ref.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food Insecurity, Safety Nets, and Coping Strategies during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Multi-Country Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

Dasgupta

Robinson

2021

IJERPH

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The COVID-19 pandemic has affected food security across the world. As governments respond in different ways both with regards to containing the pandemic and addressing food insecurity, in parallel detailed datasets are being collected and analysed. To date, literature addressing food insecurity during the pandemic, using these datasets, has tended to focus on individual countries. By contrast, this paper provides the first detailed multi-country cross-sectional snapshot of the social dimensions of food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic across nine African countries (Chad, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda). Econometric analysis reveals that female-headed households, the poor, and the less-formally educated, appear to suffer more in terms of food insecurity during this global pandemic. Importantly, our findings show that the negative consequences of the pandemic are disproportionately higher for lower-income households and those who had to borrow to make ends meet rather than relying on savings; impacts are country-specific; and there is considerable spatial heterogeneity within country food insecurity, suggesting that tailored policies will be required. These nine countries employ both food and cash safety nets, with the evidence suggesting that, at least when these data were collected, cash safety nets have been slightly more effective at reducing food insecurity. Our results provide a baseline that can be used by governments to help design and implement tailored policies to address food insecurity. Our findings can also be used as lessons to reshape policies to tackle the heterogeneous impacts of climate change.

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“…The pandemic heavily affected the livelihoods of the households in Ethiopia, by which the income is reduced by more than half ( Wieser et al., 2020 ). The subjective income measures indicated that a large proportion of households have been exposed to job loss or reduced incomes during pandemics ( Hirvonen et al., 2021 ). The negative impact of the pandemic will be severe on the welfare of vulnerable households ( Beyene et al., 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of COVID-19 on livelihoods of rural households: South Wollo and Oromia Zones, Ethiopia

Asegie

Tadesse²,

Asfaw³

2021

Heliyon

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Even though the COVID-19 pandemic is a global phenomenon that is heavily affecting the lives, livelihoods, and wellbeing of the entire population, the degree and severity of its effects are different among groups and sectors. In developing countries, where there is poor infrastructure coupled with a low level of education and a high incidence of poverty, the pandemic would result in increased unemployment, decreased income for daily labor, increased food insecurity, depletion of saving and relief measures, and disrupted the marketing system, among others. Recently, some studies have been conducted in Ethiopia regarding the impact of the pandemic on the people and the country as a whole by reviewing the literature and mobile call surveys. However, those studies fail to capture the representative sample and empirical data to forward informed decisions. To this end, the present study has investigated the effect of COVID-19 on the livelihood activities of smallholder farm households in South Wollo and Oromia administrative Zones, Ethiopia. A multistage random sampling procedure was employed to draw 275 respondents out of 32,214 household heads. Data were collected through interview schedules, key informants and case studies from September to November 2020. Descriptive statistics, econometric analysis and qualitative approaches were employed to analyze the data. The major livelihood activities in the study area are crop production (97.4%), livestock rearing (77.4%), daily work (47%), small business (31.4%), livestock trading (30.7%), remittance (24.8%), labor migration (14.8%), sale of firewood (11.1%) and income from Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) (17%). The study shows that the livelihoods of 88.89% of the households were affected by the pandemic. The pandemic significantly affected and forced households to cease their livelihood activities such as daily labor (34.82%), small business trade (26.3%), livestock trading (23.7%), income from remittance (21.49%) and labor migration (11.48%). This implies that the pandemic particularly affected non-farm and off-farm livelihood diversification strategies. Therefore, the government and other rural development partners should focus on immediate and long-term intervention strategies to recover the most affected households through social security programs, creating market linkage and revolve funding mechanisms.

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Food Consumption and Food Security during the COVID‐19 Pandemic in Addis Ababa

Cited by 142 publications

References 32 publications

Perceived effects of COVID-19 restrictions on smallholder farmers: Evidence from seven lower- and middle-income countries

Perceived effects of COVID-19 restrictions on smallholder farmers: Evidence from seven lower- and middle-income countries

Food Insecurity, Safety Nets, and Coping Strategies during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Multi-Country Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

The effects of COVID-19 on livelihoods of rural households: South Wollo and Oromia Zones, Ethiopia

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