• The coronavirus and desert locust invasion could spell doom for millions in East Africa and neighbouring regions, according to an EAC report.
• World Bank report shows that agricultural production is likely to reduce between 2.6 and seven per cent with food imports declining substantially by up to 25 per cent.
Image: FILE
While the world is grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic, countries in East Africa are facing an additional threat of desert locust invasion.
The situation, according to a report by the East African Business Council, has the potential to wreak havoc on the region’s food supply.
“Neither the virus nor the locust respect national borders, and either one could on its own cause people to go hungry. Together, they could spell disaster for millions in East Africa and neighbouring regions,” the report stated.
Food wastage, import and export restrictions, shortage of labour and supply and price fluctuations are some of the Covid-19 effects on agriculture in Africa.
According to the World Bank report, agricultural production is likely to reduce by between 2.6 and seven per cent with food imports declining substantially by up to 25 per cent.
The report stated that it is crucial to ensure the continued functioning of global and national food supply chains, preventing food crises and reducing the overall negative impact of the pandemic on the global economy.
“The majority of sub-Saharan Africa’s food production and processing is labour-intensive with informal and smallholder farmers making up more than 60 per cent of the population,” the report read.
"Therefore, government restrictions on travel and movement, as well as the health impacts of the virus will likely lead to a shortage of labour, raw materials and infrastructure. This, in turn, may significantly disrupt the harvesting and processing of raw food, impacting the supply chain across Africa."
The pandemic may also lead to food wastage because of restrictions on movement, which means farmers are unable to access markets.
Farmers are also unable to sell their produce in local markets, schools, restaurants, bars, hotels and other leisure establishments – some of which have been temporarily closed.
“There is the fear of massive loss of exports markets in East Asia, the Middle East and Europe due to the current trade and travel restrictions. The exports likely to be affected the most include horticulture, tea and coffee, mineral ores, fruits, among other products,” the EAC report stated.
In addition, prices of food, especially staples such as wheat and rice are likely to rise due to disruptions to the agriculture supply chain, reduced imports and closures of many informal markets.
According to the World Food Programme’s market monitoring data, there are no significant spikes in food prices yet, though there have been some issues with access to markets and occasional panic buying by consumers.
Maize prices in the region’s capital cities are trending in line with the seasonal patterns.
“Prices decreased slightly or remained generally stable month-on-month in all major markets between December 2019 and March 2020, reflecting steady trade supply and availability from the previous harvests in December- January. Stable prices could be due to reduced demand following restrictions on movements,” WFP data indicated.
Edited by A.N