IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i20p8556-d429007.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Growing and Eating Food during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Farmers’ Perspectives on Local Food System Resilience to Shocks in Southern Africa and Indonesia

Author

Listed:
  • Nicole Paganini

    (Centre for Rural Development (SLE), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
    Societal Transition and Agriculture, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany)

  • Kustiwa Adinata

    (Indonesian Farmers Community Network (JAMTANI), Jawa Barat 4037, Indonesia)

  • Nomonde Buthelezi

    (Cape Town Research Farmer Club, Cape Town, South Africa)

  • David Harris

    (Pusbinlat Motivator—GT, Sangalla’, Tana Toraja, South Sulawesi, Indonesia)

  • Stefanie Lemke

    (Societal Transition and Agriculture, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
    Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience, Coventry University, Coventry CV1 5FB, UK)

  • Alberto Luis

    (Associação pela Agricultura Biológica, Biodiversidade e Desenvolvimento Sustentável, Maputo, Mozambique)

  • Jennifer Koppelin

    (Centre for Rural Development (SLE), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany)

  • Abdulrazak Karriem

    (Institute for Social Development, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town 7535, South Africa)

  • Fezile Ncube

    (Hope Tariro Trust, Masvingo, Zimbabwe)

  • Enzo Nervi Aguirre

    (Development Practice, University of California—Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA)

  • Tandu Ramba

    (Pusbinlat Motivator—GT, Sangalla’, Tana Toraja, South Sulawesi, Indonesia)

  • Inês Raimundo

    (Center for Policy Analysis and Department of Geography, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo 3453, Mozambique)

  • Nedim Sulejmanović

    (Centre for Rural Development (SLE), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany)

  • Haidee Swanby

    (Critical Food Studies, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town 7535, South Africa)

  • Daniel Tevera

    (Department of Geography, Environmental Studies and Tourism, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town 7535, South Africa)

  • Silke Stöber

    (Centre for Rural Development (SLE), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany)

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak forced governments to make decisions that had adverse effects on local food systems and supply chains. As a result, many small-scale food producers faced difficulties growing, harvesting, and selling their goods. This participatory research examines local small-scale farmers’ challenges as farmers but also as consumers and their coping strategies during the month of April and one week in June 2020. The study was initiated and conceptualized in collaboration with small-scale farmer members of an existing research network in selected urban and rural areas in South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Indonesia. Participants co-designed the research, collected and uploaded data through digital survey tools, and contributed to data analysis and interpretation. A common observation across regions is that the measures imposed in response to COVID-19 highlighted and partly exacerbated existing socio-economic inequalities among food system actors. Strict lockdowns in Cape Town, South Africa, and Masvingo, Zimbabwe, significantly restricted the production capacity of small-scale farmers in the informal economy and created more food insecurity for them. In Maputo, Mozambique, and Toraja and Java, Indonesia, local food systems continued to operate and were even strengthened by higher social capital and adaptive capacities.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicole Paganini & Kustiwa Adinata & Nomonde Buthelezi & David Harris & Stefanie Lemke & Alberto Luis & Jennifer Koppelin & Abdulrazak Karriem & Fezile Ncube & Enzo Nervi Aguirre & Tandu Ramba & Inês R, 2020. "Growing and Eating Food during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Farmers’ Perspectives on Local Food System Resilience to Shocks in Southern Africa and Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-26, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:20:p:8556-:d:429007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/20/8556/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/20/8556/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ron Martin, 2012. "Regional economic resilience, hysteresis and recessionary shocks," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 12(1), pages 1-32, January.
    2. Sen, Amartya, 1983. "Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198284635.
    3. Jeff Moyer, 2020. "A time of reflection: a time for change," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(3), pages 581-582, September.
    4. Stephen Devereux & Christophe Béné & John Hoddinott, 2020. "Conceptualising COVID-19’s impacts on household food security," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(4), pages 769-772, August.
    5. Jules Pretty, 2020. "New opportunities for the redesign of agricultural and food systems," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(3), pages 629-630, September.
    6. Lowder, Sarah K. & Skoet, Jakob & Raney, Terri, 2016. "The Number, Size, and Distribution of Farms, Smallholder Farms, and Family Farms Worldwide," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 16-29.
    7. Saru Jayaraman, 2020. "Building power through crisis," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(3), pages 663-664, September.
    8. Edward Mukiibi, 2020. "COVID-19 and the state of food security in Africa," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(3), pages 627-628, September.
    9. Jane Battersby, 2020. "South Africa’s lockdown regulations and the reinforcement of anti-informality bias," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(3), pages 543-544, September.
    10. Cameron McCordic & Ezequiel Abrahamo, 2019. "Family Structure and Severe Food Insecurity in Maputo and Matola, Mozambique," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, January.
    11. Miguel A. Altieri & Clara Ines Nicholls, 2020. "Agroecology and the emergence of a post COVID-19 agriculture," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(3), pages 525-526, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Brenda Cardoso & Luiza Cunha & Adriana Leiras & Paulo Gonçalves & Hugo Yoshizaki & Irineu de Brito Junior & Frederico Pedroso, 2021. "Causal Impacts of Epidemics and Pandemics on Food Supply Chains: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-28, August.
    2. Coopmans, Isabeau & Bijttebier, Jo & Marchand, Fleur & Mathijs, Erik & Messely, Lies & Rogge, Elke & Sanders, Arthur & Wauters, Erwin, 2021. "COVID-19 impacts on Flemish food supply chains and lessons for agri-food system resilience," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    3. Nishant Saravanan & Jessica Olivares-Aguila & Alejandro Vital-Soto, 2022. "Bibliometric and Text Analytics Approaches to Review COVID-19 Impacts on Supply Chains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-33, November.
    4. Clement Mensah & Abdulrazak Karriem, 2021. "Harnessing Public Food Procurement for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in South Africa through the National School Nutrition Programme: A Qualitative Assessment of Contributions and Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-14, December.
    5. Oyedolapo A. Anyanwu & Elena N. Naumova & Virginia R. Chomitz & Fang Fang Zhang & Kenneth Chui & Martha I. Kartasurya & Sara C. Folta, 2022. "The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Nutrition, Health and Environment in Indonesia: A Qualitative Investigation of Perspectives from Multi-Disciplinary Experts," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-20, September.
    6. Bélair, Joanny & van der Haar, Gemma & Wieckardt, Chantal & Wangu, James & Githuku, Fridah & Atukunda, Judith & Sebbanja, Junior Alves & Mudinga, Emery & Nghitevelekwa, Romie Vonkie & Bichehe, Júlio &, 2023. "COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa: Impacts on land, governance, and livelihoods," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    7. Damilola Giwa-Daramola & Harvey S. James, 2023. "COVID-19 and Microeconomic Resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Study on Ethiopian and Nigerian Households," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-25, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tougeron, Kévin & Hance, Thierry, 2021. "Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on apple orchards in Europe," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    2. Bekhzod EGAMBERDIEV, 2021. "Household Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic From A Development Economics Perspective - A Review," Regional Science Inquiry, Hellenic Association of Regional Scientists, vol. 0(1), pages 15-30, June.
    3. Tomas Baležentis & Mangirdas Morkūnas & Agnė Žičkienė & Artiom Volkov & Erika Ribašauskienė & Dalia Štreimikienė, 2021. "Policies for Rapid Mitigation of the Crisis’ Effects on Agricultural Supply Chains: A Multi-Criteria Decision Support System with Monte Carlo Simulation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-31, October.
    4. Rivera-Ferre, Marta G. & López-i-Gelats, Feliu & Ravera, Federica & Oteros-Rozas, Elisa & di Masso, Marina & Binimelis, Rosa & El Bilali, Hamid, 2021. "The two-way relationship between food systems and the COVID19 pandemic: causes and consequences," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    5. Justin Doran & Bernard Fingleton, 2014. "Economic shocks and growth: Spatio-temporal perspectives on Europe's economies in a time of crisis," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93, pages 137-165, November.
    6. Patil, Vikram & Ghosh, Ranjan & Kathuria, Vinish & Farrell, Katharine N., 2020. "Money, Land or self-employment? Understanding preference heterogeneity in landowners’ choices for compensation under land acquisition in India," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    7. Marina Capparucci & Emanuela Ghignoni & Alina Verashchagina & Natalia Vorozhbit, 2015. "The Drivers of Innovation in the Italian Manufacturing Sector," Economia & lavoro, Carocci editore, issue 3, pages 111-128.
    8. Vinko Muštra & Blanka Šimundić & Zvonimir Kuliš, 2020. "Does innovation matter for regional labour resilience? The case of EU regions," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(5), pages 955-970, October.
    9. Agunyai Samuel Chukwudi & Ojakorotu Victor, 2022. "Budgetary Allocations and Government Response to COVID-19 Pandemic in South Africa and Nigeria," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-18, June.
    10. Nina Hangebruch & Frank Othengrafen, 2022. "Resilient Inner Cities: Conditions and Examples for the Transformation of Former Department Stores in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-25, July.
    11. J.C. Gaillard, 2010. "Vulnerability, capacity and resilience: Perspectives for climate and development policy," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(2), pages 218-232.
    12. Ricardo Serra Borsatto & Vanilde Ferreira Souza-Esquerdo & Henrique Carmona Duval & Fernando Silveira Franco & Fabio Grigoletto, 2022. "Winning hearts and minds through a policy promoting the agroecological paradigm in universities," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(1), pages 5-18, March.
    13. Tapio Riepponen & Mikko Moilanen & Jaakko Simonen, 2023. "Themes of resilience in the economics literature: A topic modeling approach," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(2), pages 326-356, April.
    14. Luis Bauluz & Yajna Govind & Filip Novokmet, 2020. "Global Land Inequality," PSE Working Papers halshs-03022318, HAL.
    15. Kiran Sharma & Subhradeep Das & Anirban Chakraborti, 2017. "Global Income Inequality and Savings: A Data Science Perspective," Papers 1801.00253, arXiv.org, revised Aug 2018.
    16. Roberto Antonietti & Ron Boschma, 2021. "Social capital, resilience, and regional diversification in Italy [Social capital, innovation and growth: evidence from Europe]," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 30(3), pages 762-777.
    17. Boglárka Anna Éliás & Attila Jámbor, 2021. "Food Security and COVID-19: A Systematic Review of the First-Year Experience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-18, May.
    18. Ugo Fratesi & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2016. "The crisis and regional employment in Europe: what role for sheltered economies?," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 9(1), pages 33-57.
    19. A D Adom, 2016. "Resilience of developing countries to shocks: Case study of WAEMU countries with SUR and VAR Approaches," Economic Issues Journal Articles, Economic Issues, vol. 21(2), pages 105-138, September.
    20. Hong, Harrison G & de Paula, Aureo & Singh, Vishal, 2015. "Hoard Behavior During Commodity Bubbles," CEPR Discussion Papers 10441, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:20:p:8556-:d:429007. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.