COVID-19 and the 5 major threats it poses to global food security.

COVID-19 and the 5 major threats it poses to global food security. Virus risks undermining efforts to reverse trend of rising hunger. Entering 2020, the number of hungry and malnourished people around the world was already on the rise due to an increase in violent conflict and climate change impacts. Today, over 800 million people face chronic undernourishment and over 100 million people are in need of lifesaving food assistance. The novel Coronavirus, COVID-19, risks undermining the efforts of humanitarian and food security organizations seeking to reverse these trends. As former International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Director General Shenggen Fan, writes, “COVID-19 is a health crisis but it could also lead to a food security crisis if proper measures are not taken.” Every major outbreak in recent memory — Ebola, SARS, MERS — has had both direct and indirect negative impacts on food security. This is what the experts are saying about the likelihood and nature of such impacts from COVID-19: 1)COVID-19 poses a great threat to nations lacking robust social safety nets. Safety-net systems are critical lifelines to help stem the negative economic and nutritional impacts of COVID-19. Many developing countries, however, lack safety-net systems to fill that void. In fact, less than 20 percent of people living in low-income countries have access to social protections of any kind, and even fewer have access to food-based safety net. 2) COVID-19 may cause breaks in food supply chains, food shortages and food price spikes. So far, the novel coronavirus has not shown a major direct impact on the supply or price of staple foods in places affected by the virus or globally. During the SARS and MERS outbreaks in China there was also minimal disruption to markets and prices locally, owing to sufficient buffer stocks and measures taken to ensure the continued flow of goods. This has not always been the case, however, in sub-Saharan African. The Ebola outbreak in 2014, for example, led to dramatic increases in the prices of staple foods in countries impacted in West Africa. Furthermore, the food-price spikes of 2007/8 demonstrate that export restrictions, market speculation and panic behaviour were, in part, responsible for the dramatic increase in global food prices in that period — measures we are not protected against today. In many developing countries, millions of families already spend upwards of half of their income on food in normal circumstances. Countries that rely heavily on imported food to meet demand, including sub-Saharan Africa, face disproportionate risk from supply chain failures, especially in the face of border-crossing closures. Finally, it is the impacts of farmers leaving their fields fallow (or facing delays in planting and harvesting) because of sickness and breakdowns in non-food supply chains, like fertilizer and other critical inputs, that may ultimately most impact developing country economies. 3)COVID-19 may cause the global economy to slow or fall into recession, exacerbating extreme poverty and hunger. 4)COVID-19 may prove especially deadly for people suffering from chronic or acute hunger or malnourishment. 5) COVID-19 poses a great threat to nations suffering from pervasive poverty and poor healthcare infrastructure.

Preventing Global Food Security Crisis under COVID-19.

Preventing Global Food Security Crisis under COVID-19. The COVID-19 outbreak is showing a new trend. While the situation in China has improved dramatically, several countries, especially the Republic of Korea, Japan, Italy, and Iran, have been reporting more new cases. In fact, these countries have reported more new confirmed cases than China, most of which are in Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic in Hubei province. Global food security already faces challenges COVID-19 is a health crisis. But it could also lead to a food security crisis if proper measures are not taken. The world is already facing food and nutrition security challenges. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, more than 820 million people across the globe are already suffering from hunger, although the Chinese number reported by FAO is grossly overestimated. Close to 150 million children in countries around the world are stunted because of a lack of proper nutrition. And in many countries, hunger and malnutrition have been on the rise for the past three years due to conflicts and the refugee crisis, climate change, and worsening inequality, with the Middle East and Sub-Saharan regions being particularly vulnerable. Epidemics like HIV/AIDS, Ebola and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) have had negative impacts on food and nutrition security — particularly for vulnerable populations including children, women, the elderly and the poor. For example, when the Ebola epidemic hit Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone in 2014, rice prices in those countries increased by more than 30 percent and the price of cassava, a staple in Liberia, skyrocketed by 150 percent. Need to learn from previous epidemics The SARS and MERS outbreaks had relatively little impact on the economy and food and nutrition security of China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, largely due to the country’s resilience and ability to cope with emergencies. Countries such as Singapore, Vietnam, and Canada, too, showed such resilience, because they have enough food reserves and boast of vibrant value chains linking the domestic and international markets. Act now to prevent food security crisis The novel coronavirus is still spreading and it is difficult to say when it would be contained. So to ensure food security for all, we need to take urgent actions at the global and country levels. First, there is a need to closely monitor food prices and markets. Transparent dissemination of information will strengthen government management over the food market, prevent people from panicking, and guide farmers to make rational production decisions. And to nip market speculation over supply in the bud, the government should strengthen market regulation. Second, it is necessary to ensure international and national agricultural and food supply chains function normally. China has set a good example of how to ensure food security during the current epidemic by, for instance, opening a "green channel" for fresh agricultural products, and banning unauthorized roadblocks.