Policy Measures to Address COVID-19 Disruptions of the Agri-Food Sector

Assessing the Economic Impacts of COVID-19 on the Aquaculture and Fisheries Sectors in Relation to Food Security: A Critical Review

“…In Bangladesh, fish farmers followed a gradual reduction strategy due to decreased fish demand during the nationwide lockdown [15]. Similar instances were reported in the agricultural supply chain of China, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, and certain African countries, including Senegal, after COVID-19-related measures were imposed [12,[16][17][18][19][20][21]. In Europe, the business closure frequency in the form of complete shutdown or bankruptcy of agri-supply chain/operators increased during the lockdown period [22].…”

“…Similar instances were adopted for workforce reduction in the shrimp industry in Bangladesh when shrimp selling was reduced domestically and internationally [60]. Even though the Bangladeshi government has already withdrawn the COVID-19-related preventive measures from the entire country, the aquatic value chain actors are still adapting to the negative COVID-19 impacts previously affecting their operations, income, and livelihoods [15,16].…”

“…However, fish farmers in Bangladesh adopted several short-term strategies, such as overwintering, delayed fish stocking time, and feeding the overcrowded fish using lowpriced food [15,44]. Sometimes, the above-noted procedures were futile when the pandemic hit harder, resulting in severe financial and employment insecurity [16]. Hence, some were forced to seek a supplemental job for additional income.…”

“…Hence, some were forced to seek a supplemental job for additional income. In certain instances, low-income people changed their family's daily food consumption charts by reducing consumption of fruit and animal-sourced meat items [16,44,59]. Though the adoption of subsistence agricultural farming in their backyard can provide particular food security to landholders, it is not enough for the poorest, who do not own any land and still need to rely on the local markets for purchasing their foods [16].…”

“…In certain instances, low-income people changed their family's daily food consumption charts by reducing consumption of fruit and animal-sourced meat items [16,44,59]. Though the adoption of subsistence agricultural farming in their backyard can provide particular food security to landholders, it is not enough for the poorest, who do not own any land and still need to rely on the local markets for purchasing their foods [16]. Preservation of food, when surplus vegetables are available, could be one way for the poor to support their nutritional security [16].…”