Impact of COVID-19 outbreak in NENA region
How does/did the COVID-19 outbreak exacerbate the challenges faced by small-scale family farmers (SSFF)?
The effect was mainly because of lack of exportations to the usual markets that is normally with large inversors, the local market was full with products and with very cheap prices and of higher appeard quality to the consumers as compared with small hoders whose produces is more or less (though in reality of better nutrutional quality as it is mostly landraces) of less uniformity and may of some pests infections that make it non marketable in big stores in the city. Moreover, due to the lock downs in several occasions the farmers couldnt market their products through their local chains and for the lack of storage facilities they lost their products in many cases. The good thing in FF was the accessibility to their small scale interprices whilst challenges of large scale farmers reaching their farms.
And what are the main areas of interventions that could efficiently build SSFF resilience and ensure sustainable livelihood?
Mainly markets and fairs through which they could sell their goods and sustaining a good seed sources at affordable prices and/or hosting seed storage facilities or platforms of exchange, On the other hand, provisions of good agricultural extension and supporting regulatory farmers associations.
Can you share success examples in the region?
women's associations in the north of Jordan were able to manufature farm products at homes and send to the market whenever the lock down is released.
2) Sustainable transition towards more sustainable agri-food systems
Can you give brief description of key CC impact factors on productivity of main farming systems in the region?
The impact in Jordan is mainly lack of water and in the rainfed agricultural even the distribution of pricipitation. Moreover, the different waves of dust and heat that are recently occuring caused and will cause different adverse impacts on the produce as direct or indirect by increasing the pests infections
How can innovation and digital solutions accelerate such transition of the agi-food systems?
The innovative solutins and technology could enable early warning to possible catastrofic events and sesible tools toward better predection of precipitation and heat waves for example and better communitation between the small holder farmters and the technical platforms or relevant institutions that will end up in better results of any action. Also, enables accessibility to different data bases and information sources to markets of products and seeds.
How can the UNDFF provide tools and measures that help SSFF facing the climate and socioeconomic challenges?
By supporting goverments to enhance guided institutional changes and stragegies to support FF systems as well as to support local law toward better orginizations and farmer's representing agencies.
Dr. Khaled Abulaila