Short-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the livelihood of smallholder rice farmers in developing countries

The COVID-19 pandemic is a major international health crisis which has resulted in simultaneous economic, social and food security crises. This study aimed to provide a snapshot of the short-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on smallholder rice farmers in Côte d’Ivoire. Using three survey types (village-level, farmer association level, and household level), a total of 585 rice farmers were interviewed nine months after the starting of the pandemic in Cote d’Ivoire. Multivariate probit and Poisson regression models were used to analyze the determinants of the impact of the pandemic on farmers and the intensity of the impact, respectively. Results showed that all rice farmers were aware of coronavirus disease, and television and radio were the main sources of knowledge of the pandemic. After one growing season, the pandemic had negative impact on access to inputs, access to hired labor, yield, income and food security. Around 43% of farmers experienced at least one negative impact of the pandemic. About 30% of farmers perceived that the rice yield and income decreased due to the pandemic. Access to inputs and hired labor became more difficult and expensive for about 28% of farmers. Surprisingly, farmers in more remote villages were also affected by the pandemic as well. The main factors that influenced significantly and positively the intensity of the pandemic impact were the household size, being married, being producer of foundation seed, access to credit in the past, facing drought or flood as constraints. The facilitation of credit access for smallholder farmers could be one strategy to avoid food shortages and deficits among value chain actors.