Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV-2): A national public health emergency and its impact on food security in Peru

Abstract

On March 16, 2020, a policy of quarantine and social isolation initiated in Peru imposed by the declaration of National Public Health Emergency for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV-2), which is affecting everyone. The research aimed to collect information that anticipates the impacts on the quantity and the need to distribute food for food security. From a global point of view, fiscal, monetary, and macro-financial policies corresponding to approximately 7% of the National GDP. These efforts will be insufficient if they are not complemented by adequate planning to supply the needs of Peru with at least 484,402.1 kilos of food per month, concerning agricultural products contained in the index basket and that need to be distributed in all regions of the country, such as rice, potatoes and at least 14 other products. In conclusion, measures in four aspects are urgent: technological, scientific, humanitarian, and planning, in addition to those implemented, to mitigate the impacts on food security, now and postpandemic, it is suggested that the issue should be treated from a transdisciplinary perspective.

The vulnerability of a centralized food system: An opportunity to improve food security in times of COVID-19-Peru perspective

“…To improve the interconnection between each stage of the FSC and between each RFSC, Bakalis et al (2020), García et al (2020), Siche (2020), Vaio et al (2020), Chitrakar et al (2021) suggest implementing automation. This includes the application of digital and intelligent systems such as the internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and information and communication technologies (ICT).…”

Application of the Standardized Vegetation Index (Svi) and Google Earth Engine (Gee) for Drought Management in Peru

“…The values for extreme droughts (minimum SVI, ≤ -1.95) exceed up to 2.16 times the classification limit value (UN-SPIDER, 2020), as in the case of the Ayacucho Region (-4.23), or 1.57 times as in the case of the Tumbes Region (-3.08) (Table 2; Figure 1); this showed that these places deserve special attention due to their low water availability. Recalling that, in addition to this problem, there are the impacts caused by SARS-CoV-2 on the Peruvian agricultural sector, in terms of quantity and the need to distribute food for food security (García et al, 2020).…”

“…The agricultural sector is affected by increased water stress in Andean dryland crops, as well as by the delay in planting for November in the central and southern highlands of Peru (Fernández, 2020). The impacts caused by SARS-CoV-2 on the agricultural sector, affecting the agri-food chain, added to this problem (García et al, 2020).…”

Unveiling Peru’s Agricultural Diversity: Navigating Historical and Future Trends in a Post-COVID-19 Context

“…Factors such as global food demand, scarce cereal stocks, and climate change are emerging challenges to be confronted for the stability of food systems at the national and global levels [1][2][3]. Likewise, hunger has increased in Latin America and the Caribbean [4] and threatened a massive resurgence amid the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic [5][6][7]. Peru has a commodity-based economy in which agriculture plays an essential role in the nation's development [8,9].…”