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Since the declaration by WHO of the COVID-19 as a Global Pandemic on 15 March, governments of the Near East and North Africa region have imposed a series of measures to slow down the spread of the disease. This policy brief aims at summarizing the potential impacts of COVID-19 and associated measures on agriculture and food security in the region and proposes measures to mitigate the impacts on food security and nutrition with special attention to the most vulnerable segments of societies. Ample food supplies exist globally despite COVID-19’s impacts. COVID-19 has considerably disrupted the world supply chains around the world [...]

This topic addresses the resilience of agricultural livelihoods and the food system to COVID-19. Lessons learned by those who have had to manage disasters indicate that it is critical to understand, monitor, and anticipate the impacts of crises on agriculture and agricultural livelihoods early on. Timely and accurate monitoring enables evidence-based policy decisions to be made; acting in advance enables unwanted impacts on food security and nutrition to be avoided. Managing this crisis requires a targeted and concrete — yet holistic — approach focused on ensuring availability, and stabilizing access to food.

Across the world the COVID-19 crisis is compromising agri-enterprises’ ability to continue business as usual and, in some cases, is threatening the survival of some firms beyond the crisis, particularly small businesses comprised of farm enterprises, traders, food manufacturers, distributors and retailers across food chains. The brief highlights the critical role that these companies play in maintaining functioning food systems during the crisis. Recommendations target a mix of ministries, public institutions, food industry associations, local business service providers and chambers of commerce. Also available in Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, French and Russian.

The COVID-19 pandemic is threatening the food security, nutrition and climate resilience of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which share many traits, including a reliance on international trade and imported foods; vulnerability to climate change and malnutrition. This brief highlights some of the identified and potential impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on the food systems of SIDS, as well as examples of rapid response measures adopted by SIDS, regional bodies, financing institutions and FAO. It proposes a series of recommendations from policy and fiscal measures to ensure food supply chains are kept alive to actions to meet the needs of [...]

Many countries in the region already resort to adopting standard sets of measures for natural disasters or economic downturns to minimize food insecurity challenges. These include food price monitoring, food stock inventory assessments, but in other cases price controls and building up of strategic food stocks. Efforts are being undertaken to minimize logistics challenges by reducing or eliminating direct and indirect trade barriers and transportation costs. Other countries are implementing export restrictions to ensure local food availability. Finally, some countries expand safety nets and social protection systems if resources are available.

Even if roots and tubers are generally tolerant to poor soils and droughts, they can be affected by climate variability and change. In order to address climate risks, value chains’ actors require timely and accurate information systems, including data on market prices, and a set of crop-specific climate risk management strategies. This policy brief indicates four main interventions to reduce risks and mitigate their impact on roots and tubers: (i) integrating climate risk management into agricultural development policies and planning; (ii) develop an inclusive strategy for the provision of climate related services; (iii) facilitate contract farming arrangements to promote climatic [...]

Even before the pandemic struck, the ambitious path that was laid out by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was going to require a concerted effort to stay on track; COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the context in which Agenda 2030 was being pursued and we now risk a reversal of gains made in the last few years. The poorest and most vulnerable groups will experience the most negative effects of the current pandemic. This demographic includes subsistence farmers as well as smallholder farmers’ enterprises. This policy brief is intended for decision-makers in developing Member Countries where food security and nutrition are [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting urban food systems worldwide, affecting the food security and nutrition of urban populations. With up to 70% of the global food supply destined for urban consumption, the disruption of urban food systems has particularly affected the food distribution and the food retail sectors. The management of the crisis by city and local governments can therefore play a major role in preventing the spread of the virus and, at the same time, in mitigating the disruptions in their food systems and any negative effects on vulnerable populations. It was consequently deemed very important for FAO to [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic is a major economic and labour market shock, presenting significant impacts in terms of unemployment and underemployment for informal workers. In rural areas, the livelihoods of especially the self-employed and wage workers are at risk, because agri-food supply chains and markets are being disrupted due to lockdowns and restrictions of movement. Families might resort to negative coping strategies such as distress sale of assets, taking out loans from informal moneylenders, or child labour. Specific groups of workers, including women, youth, children, indigenous people, and migrant workers, who are overrepresented in the informal economy, will experience further exacerbation [...]

The document presents FAO's component of the COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Appeal, focusing on maintaining operations in food crisis contexts, anticipating the secondary impacts of the pandemic and related containment efforts on the world's most vulnerable people and sustaining critical food supply chains to avert future food crises.