Impacts of COVID-19 responses on the political economy of African food systems : relationships analysis workshop report
The project considers causes of changes in the food system under Covid-19, focusing on issues such as contracts, payment terms, credit arrangements, forms of trust and collective action in the food systems in Ghana, Tanzania and South Africa. It includes such factors as differences in food systems: the extent of informality and the size of the informal agri-food system which varies across the three countries; the nature of land inputs and produce markets. Differences in Covid-19 experiences also include the severity of infections, the different kinds of containment measures implemented, and the extent of mitigation measures which have been introduced.
Auteur ou autrice(s) : Hall, Ruth
Télécharger le PDF
Langage : Anglais
|
Tanzanian food producers, vendors and traders need direct relief measures in the face of the Covid-19
This policy brief is based on research conducted among food traders in nine key markets in three regions of Tanzania. The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed the fragility of regional and international trade frameworks and the critical need for top-level diplomatic and political solutions. Women and youth constitute the majority of food system actors, including in the production and trade of food, and were disproportionately harmed by the disruption of the system. When neighboring countries instituted border restrictions, food producers found themselves unable to trade. Disruption to international trade systems undermined the health of the broader economy at community and national levels.
Auteur ou autrice(s) : Sulle, Emmanuel, Kissoly, Luitfred, Qamara, Rose, Lukanga, Editrudith, Mbisso, Daniel, Mzinga, Joe
Télécharger le PDF
Langage : Anglais
|
Sink or swim? : how Covid-19 and the responses to it have affected small-scale fishers
This policy brief reports findings from research investigating the impacts of Covid-19 regulations and mitigation measures on small-scale fishers in the Western Cape, South Africa. It provides specific and doable recommendations. Lockdown regulations have highlighted the lack of resilience among small-scale producers and traders within the complex national food system. A more localised food system should be supported and prioritised with the assistance of the state. The informal sector of small-scale food producers, processors, and traders increasingly came to depend on buyers in the formal sector: big fishing companies and supermarket chains who could also afford to buy them out.
Auteur ou autrice(s) : Isaacs, Moenieba, Nangle, Maia
Télécharger le PDF
Langage : Anglais
|
Impacts of COVID-19 responses on the political economy of African food systems : social reproduction analysis workshop report
The report addresses preliminary findings on social reproduction and the food system during the COVID-19 pandemic. Social reproduction theory considers relationships between what happens at work and what happens at home and how they influence each other (for instance: how workers are produced, as well as how goods are produced). The pressures on women for child care, the provision of food, and their role in food systems, along with all domestic burdens have been enormous. Country studies focus on Ghana, Tanzania and South Africa.
Auteur ou autrice(s) : African Food Systems
Télécharger le PDF
Langage : Anglais
|
Impacts of COVID-19 responses on the political economy of African food systems : political economy analysis workshop report
Political economy research looks at how politics and economics shape one other: how power and resources are arranged among people, states and markets within an overall economic system. Where declining public investment in food and agriculture increases private sector control, governance of the food system becomes a product of power, politics and socio-economic inequality. The research examines politics of the responses being shaped by the structures of the food system in three countries (Ghana, Tanzania, South Africa) during the COVID-19 pandemic. What is the content and nature of national regulatory responses to the pandemic and how have these changed over time?
Auteur ou autrice(s) : African Food Systems
Télécharger le PDF
Langage : Anglais
|
Impacts of COVID-19 responses on the political economy of African food systems : food flows analysis workshop
The research interrogates how the functioning of the food system has changed under Covid-19, along with drivers of these changes, such as regulatory measures. It also aims to identify stakeholders that have benefited and those who have lost out, as well as the kinds of emerging impacts which are being experienced. The study interprets shifts in food flows from a political economy perspective. The workshops include consideration of changes that have affected different forms of social differentiation and related power dynamics, across factors including but not limited to: Social class; Race and perhaps ethnicity; Gender relations; Corporate versus informal and small business; Geography.
Auteur ou autrice(s) : African Food Systems
Télécharger le PDF
Langage : Anglais
|
Reflective report on final team meeting for the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) project on the impacts of Covid-19 responses on the political economy of African food systems
The workshop reflected on findings of researchers and civil-society activists from Ghana, Tanzania and South Africa. Key aspects of national food systems were neglected under Covid-19, particularly those where women, marginalised populations, and pastoralists were active participants. The pandemic and the responses to it exposed vulnerabilities to which little attention had previously been paid. In West Africa, food systems were vulnerable to shocks including in relation to climate change. Many challenges were experienced in cross-border trade. However, there was strong resilience at the local level during the crisis, while significant risks were related to extended supply chains.
Auteur ou autrice(s) : African Food Systems
Télécharger le PDF
Langage : Anglais
|
Impacts of COVID-19 responses on the political economy of African food systems : workshop report 4
The argument underpinning a political economy approach is that relationships between politics and economics are not neutral, value-free, or coincidental. The project’s consideration of economic outcomes of Covid-19 regulations aims to better understand the politics behind them, and how regulations have shaped distribution of benefits and risks at the local level. Another aspect of the political economy analysis may include how discourses over the availability of certain produce has been managed in the governance of the crisis. For instance, disruptions caused by lockdown restrictions have made it difficult for small-scale informal operators to acquire permits to continue their businesses as usual.
Auteur ou autrice(s) : Hall, Ruth
Télécharger le PDF
Langage : Anglais
|
Communications strategy : project - the impacts of COVID-19 responses on the political economy of African food systems
The project survey revealed that national ministries of land, agriculture and fisheries, as well as local governments, were considered to be the two most important targets for communication strategies. In general, results show that communications efforts should shift from one understanding of food systems (shaped largely by the idea of “food security” and the interests of big corporate players) to another perhaps more democratic, local, inclusive and sustainable conceptualisation. For example, in South Africa the response to food shortages under COVID was to deliver industrially farmed and manufactured food relief, which had the effect of reinforcing corporate power in the food system.
Auteur ou autrice(s) : Paterson, Mark, Hall, Ruth
Télécharger le PDF
Langage : Anglais
|
Towards a more resilient agri-food system in Ghana post COVID-19
The policy brief provides an overview of how pre-COVID-19 stresses in the agri-food system in Ghana have interacted with pandemic fallout. In focusing on production and large-scale agriculture, the state has once again ignored women’s s major role in the informal food system, and fails to address challenges they face. This inhibits their prospects of economic recovery. Although Ghana has survived the pandemic without experiencing a national food shortage, traders, distributors and farmers have struggled to ensure a continuous supply of food to the country’s markets. Production is only one element; just as important are food storage and market access.
Auteur ou autrice(s) : Darkwah, Akosua
Télécharger le PDF
Langage : Anglais
|
Building back better after Covid-19 : why South Africa needs an equitable food system for small-scale farmers and fishers, street traders and consumers – and how to build it
The research focuses on fresh produce in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal and fish in the Western Cape. A key effect of government regulatory response was to protect and insulate commercial farming and corporate-owned businesses. Vast sections of the informal sector were closed under the restrictions imposed by the government, reinforcing inequalities within the food system. Women were most marginalised. Artisanal fishers and small-scale traders were unable to sustain their operations. “Small-scale” includes 80,000 small-scale fishers and fish processors; and 750,000 street traders. The policy brief reports on findings from research investigating the impacts of Covid-19 regulations and mitigation measures in South Africa’s food system
Auteur ou autrice(s) : Hall, Ruth, Wegerif, Marc
Télécharger le PDF
Langage : Anglais
|
Impacts of COVID-19 responses on the political economy of African food systems
Ghana, South Africa and Tanzania are the focus of this study which covers a spectrum of different economies, food systems and Covid-19 responses. Regulatory impacts and mitigation interventions are analyzed. Local supply chains were found to be more resilient, and longer supply chains more vulnerable to lost markets and incomes. The closure of borders and interruption of cross-border trade aggravated these effects. Dispersed rather than concentrated spaces for trade provided more resilient options, suggesting that formalisation and congregation of food trade in cities may have anti-poor outcomes. The report points to special measures for vulnerable livelihoods and interventions to bridge disrupted market connections.
Auteur ou autrice(s) : Hall, Ruth
Télécharger le PDF
Langage : Anglais
|
