African countries are beginning to reopen borders, and this is finally enabling many citizens to resume their normal life. However, there is still an urgent need for African countries to prioritize, the agricultural work to tackle food insecurity issues that have been exacerbated by COVID-19 and will continue to be an issue for the coming indefinite time.
According to the latest estimates by the United Nations World Food Programme, COVID-19’s compounding effects could drive 270 million people into food insecurity.
“While re-opening is something we have all been looking forward to, the truth is, without a COVID-19 vaccine yet, and without implementing strict safety measures, new waves of COVID-19 may emerge, as has been seen in the United States. Forcing countries to shut down again and again, and go through new waves of hunger and food insecurity, seem vicious circle for many citizens,” Inter Press Service (IPS) reported.
Given this uncertainty, it is extremely important for countries to have well thought out actions, initiatives, strategies and articulated plans on how to address the on-going COVID-19 related food insecurity and future challenges.
Doing so will result in improved food security and more efficient and resilient agricultural and food systems. Implementing these plans will allow countries to address shortage of their citizens’ basic needs arise due to lockdown because of COVID-19.
Few suggestions regarding what some of the actions that can be taken are provided here.
First, start building resilient social safety nets. Indeed, the presence of or lack of existing food banks and other social safety net programs such as school feeding programs and social pensions was key during the shutdown as all countries grappled with finding immediate ways to provide food for their citizens. COVID-19 has drawn the attention to the importance of these safety nets to ensure food security for all citizens and to reduce vulnerability of families.
According to a 2018 World Bank report, most African countries have recently established these social safety net initiatives as part of a broader strategy to protect the vulnerable and assist the poor. As the report reveals, these social safety net programs are reaching only 10 percent of the African population. Majority of these initiatives target children, orphans and the elderly, through school feeding, nutrition interventions and old-age social pensions.
Left out are the youth, women, people with disabilities and other groups that are equally vulnerable. Clearly, much more need to be done to ensure the existing programs can deliver the necessary support now and for the future.
Time is ripe for countries to scale up protective safety nets or to think of alternative approaches to meeting immediate and future food security needs. There is a need to rethink implementing equivalent of food banks across African countries.
Food banks, which are diverse-from small operations to large facilities act as food and grocery storage and distribution depots. Stored food is then distributed to people who need it through food pantries, and meal programs. In 2019, over 3.6 billion meals were distributed by Feeding America, a national network of food banks. A recent report suggests that because of COVID-19, these numbers may have increased, by over 70 percent.
One way is to build food warehouses in cities and rural areas. These warehouses could in turn be used as food banks, where citizens can collect food when they need it. In the United States, during the pandemic, food banks and government funded food programs have been main points through which Americans received food when they needed it.
Typically, food banks receive funding from several sources including government grants, donations from individuals, corporate and foundation grants. A similar model can be implemented in African countries with modifications.
Another suggestion is to continue to invest in agriculture. African countries have the potential to produce safe, abundant, and nutritious food to meet the continent’s food needs, especially, when food systems are disrupted. But to get there, there is need to invest and improve the agricultural production methods and post-harvest technologies that farmers are using.
Accompanying improved methods is the need for farmers to easily access soil fertility assessment and management initiatives, improved seed varieties, agricultural inputs such as fertilizers to ensure that farmers make the most out of their farming enterprises for the rest of the 2020 year.
Equally, there is a need to focus on longer term investments to enable the over 500 million small holder farmers in developing countries to grow more food, thus increasing their incomes and resilience. These investments include improved access to water and water conservation technologies, financial services, better infrastructure such as roads, internet and cell phone technologies, and functioning markets.
Undoubtedly, there is evidence that clearly shows that with the right knowledge, tools and resources, smallholder farmers based in the African continent can become dynamic players in agriculture. They have the potential to not only feed the world, but become the game changers of 21st century agriculture.
Accompanying the aforementioned initiatives is the need for continued surveillance, monitoring and evaluation of this food insecurity mitigating action plans and enhanced coordination among all food security stakeholders. Data driven surveillance and monitoring will continue to be key and invaluable in helping governments to predict food insecurity crisis while guiding their formulation of initiatives to tackle food insecurity.
Moving forward in these uncertain times, and learning from food insecurity challenges that have been exacerbated because of the pandemic, African countries should make it a priority to build and establish strong national food safety systems and assistance programs so as to ensure citizens are food secure.
According to the recent World Bank report, the primary risks to food security are at the country level: As the corona virus crisis unfolds, disruptions in domestic food supply chains, other shocks affecting food production, and loss of incomes and remittances are creating strong tensions and food security risks in many countries.
Food producers also face large losses on perishable and nutritious food as buyers have become limited and consumption patterns shift. Though food insecurity is by and large not driven by food shortages, disruptions to the supply of agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, seeds or labor shortages could diminish next season’s crop. If farmers are experiencing acute hunger, they may also prioritize buying food today over planting seeds for tomorrow, raising the threat of food shortages later on.
The Ethiopian Herald July 21, 2020
BY ESSEYE MENGISTE
