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Small-scale farmers’ responses to COVID-19 related restrictions

2021-01-22

Dr. Silke Stöber

Dr. Judith Henze

Prof. Dr. Markus Hanisch

Seminar für Ländliche Entwicklung (SLE)

In early 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic started spreading around the globe, many countries experienced the implementation of contact, travel and/or trading restrictions, curfews, or even complete lockdowns. In order to assess the challenges that small-scale farmers experienced, and their coping strategies developed during the initial phase of the pandemic, the Centre for Rural Development (SLE) at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin initiated a joint research study with partners in Indonesia, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Market vendors in Sunyani © GIZ / Folke Kayser, Ghana

Dr. Silke Stöber

Silke Stöber is a senior researcher at Centre for Rural Development (SLE), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, with many years of experience in academic research, consultancy and teaching, covering the areas of food security and climate change adaptation. Her research and training is driven by transdisciplinarity and co-research with smallholder farmers. She is experienced in communication and management of junior research teams and supervises up to three Master or Bachelor theses per year. She has specialised on mixed methods research methodologies and designs, including representative household surveys, historical weather analysis, randomised field experiments, inter-farm comparison trials and participatory co-research with smallholder farmer groups.

Dr. Judith Henze

Judith Henze is a post-doctoral consultant for sustainable innovations in agriculture, focusing on ICTs. She currently explores how AI can be employed to support farmers, food systems and to minimise human-wildlife-conflicts.

Prof. Dr. Markus Hanisch

Prof. Dr. Markus Hanisch is the Director of Centre for Rural Development (SLE) Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. He has a PhD. in agricultural and resource economics. Many years of experience as a chairholder, project manager, and university lecturer at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Particular expertise in the field of rural cooperatives, international/national. Professional experience as a consultant and expert for various international organisations, including the GIZ, FAO, World Bank, Conservation International, and UN-DESA.

Seminar für Ländliche Entwicklung (SLE)

Using the open access tool KoboToolbox, a smartphone-based digital data survey was conducted with more than 700 (peri-) urban farmers in Cape Town (South Africa) and Maputo (Mozambique), as well as rural farmers of Masvingo (Zimbabwe), Java and Toraja, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Farmers played an active role as co-researchers and engaged in data collection and analysis and contributed with own stories. Between April and June, the team managed to send out surveys five times.

Small-scale farmers answered survey questions about food security, challenges of farming and marketing, and how they cope with the crisis. Observations on food price development, its implications on household diets and major fears were also reported on.

The remote and digital data collection included also some challenges. As many of the Maputo urban farmers do not own smartphones, enumerators had to be engaged to conduct telephone interviews with the farmers. Data were entered after the telephone interview. Due to instable and weak internet connection, farmers in Zimbabwe and the remote mountainous Toraja responded by WhatsApp to a regional coordinator, who then transferred the data into KoboToolbox.

The results reveal that the level of imposed restrictions had a corresponding impact on the small-scale farmers. In South Africa and Zimbabwe, a strict lockdown was imposed. As small-scale farmers were not regarded as ‘essential services’, farmers were often unable to access their farms. In South Africa, the government introduced permits for farm access, which were difficult to obtain. As a results, 46% of the responding farmers in Cape Town were not able to access their farms during the lockdown. Similarly, a third of the respondents in Zimbabwe reported difficulties accessing their farms. Restricted access to farms, shutting markets and the closing of borders, meant both cities experienced reduced access to food, spikes in prices of particular food products, and a looming hunger crisis. In Masvingo, a prolonged drought affecting maize harvest intensified food insecurity.

In contrast, small-scale farmers in Indonesia and Mozambique were deemed essential, and almost all participants could access their farms and were able to sell their produce. In fact, as closed borders inhibited the regular food imports, Maputo, generally strongly dependent on food imports from South Africa, saw a growth in demand for local vegetables and local unrefined sugar.

In Indonesia, small-scale farmers are usually important players in the local food systems. This crucial status prevailed in the crisis, and the majority of farmers had access to their farms. However, farmer markets closed down in Sulawesi, where consequently 38% of respondents were unable to buy and sell food produce. In Java, marketing of fresh products like cabbage became a major issue, as logistic channels to the capital Jakarta broke down. Farmers had experience with previous epidemics, such as SARS, and feared the health consequences of Covid-19. Because of this, along with the increased meat prices, many people in Toraja chose a healthier diet rich in vitamins and increased their consumption of vegetables and even of fruits

From this research five lessons stand out:

The severity of the national COVID-19 restrictions correlated with the impacts in all five food regions. The harsher the constraints the more severe the impacts reported by the farmers. Impacting on food insecurity, a rise in poverty and unemployment, the situation led to hunger and higher levels of crime in Cape Town, and to food shortages, food price spikes and an increase in thefts in Masvingo. In the countries with less strict restrictions, farmers experienced less severe impacts. Yet, some farmers in Maputo, claimed that the COVID-19 interventions lowered their incomes due to a decline in customers. In Java, farmers reported fewer farming related outcomes apart from rising fertilizer prices. Marketing was also affected by travelling restrictions to other regions of the country.
Farmers adapted to market restrictions. In Cape Town, farmer respondents reported selling their products to local communities more frequently, to compensate for the loss of demand from and sales to restaurants and high-end markets due to COVID-19 containment measures. Similarly, urban farmers responded to the temporary cessation of NGO retail markets by establishing neighbourhood-wide WhatsApp marketing groups, and initiated word-of-mouth advertising for their produce. Farmers in Masvingo followed a similar pattern, actively compensating for the reduction of sales to restaurants, high-end markets, and farmer markets, by marketing 37% more often to local communities.
Rural farmers with multiple marketing channels and a diversity of crops grown had fewer difficulties to market their produce. While those depending on one product and one trader, such as marketing cabbage within Jakarta, had serious problems. This resulted in some having to let part of their harvest rot back into the fields.
As consumers, the urban poor, living in slums or shantytowns, were most affected. Concerning financial means, many lost their limited income as day labourers and/or, have few to no financial buffers to stockpile or bulk-buy food products during the lockdown. Access to food products became restricted as formal and informal markets were closed, and most urban dwellers were unprepared and lacked the resources (e.g. land) to grow vegetables or keep small livestock such as chicken to self-support their families (unlike most of their rural poor counterparts).
Mobile phones and mobile phone applications were an important part of local strategies employed to navigate the COVID-19 restrictions. Communication apps - such as WhatsApp – linked farmers with consumers and gave access to new markets. However, inadequate or expensive local mobile data networks and the investment costs of smart phones hinder many small-scale farmers to sell their products digitally.

We have asked small-scale farmers of five food regions to share impressions on what they have on their dinner plates during COVID-19 restrictions. Some plates were less diverse and some plates even remained empty those days.

Digital research was vital to assess the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic on the ground. Probably this type of inquiry will become more common and increasingly utilised by nutrition and food security projects not only in crisis regions, due to a range of factors: first, new software has made mobile surveys a cheaper and a scalable option; second, real-time data can contribute to rapid responses for policy actions and decision-making; third, it can give a voice to the often unheard, such as small-scale farmers; and fourth, participants do benefit from the exchange with other participants if the results are relayed back to the participants (in this case a South-South exchange where a joint learning process was enabled).

Since many of the projects of the SEWOH initiative are concerned with the development of small-scale farmer market access and value chains, the comparative experience with local food systems in the pandemic must be further evaluated and taken seriously. Subsequent projects should strengthen and help farmers to further develop their own means and instruments for making food systems more robust and resilient against external shocks. Local and federal governments, as partners of such projects, have to be made aware of the “systemic relevance” and general importance of small-scale farmers for maintaining quality nutrition and food security, but also food justice in times of crisis.

The authors would like to thank all farmers who participated as co-researchers – for initiating the study, collecting data, and contributing to the analysis. Thanks to the colleagues in Southern Africa and Indonesia for contextualising the data. We thank Foundation fiat panis and Freunde und Förderer des SLE e.V. for providing financial support.

This text is a summary of following publications:

Paganini, N., Adinata, K., Buthelezi, N., Harris, D., Lemke, S., Luis, A., Koppelin, J., Karriem, A., Ncube, F., Nervi, E., Ramba, T., Raimundo, I., Sulejmanović, N., Swanby, H., Tevera, D., Stöber, S. (2020). Growing and Eating Food during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Farmers' Perspectives on Local Food System Resilience to Shocks in Southern Africa and Indonesia. In:Sustainability. 12. 8556. 10.3390/su12208556.
Henze, J., Paganini, N., Stöber, S. (2020). Chapter 8. Switching over instead of Switching Off: A Digital Field Research Conducted by Small-scale Farmers in Southern Africa and Indonesia. In book: Researching in the Age of COVID-19 Volume I: Response and Reassessment. Publisher: Policy Press and Bristol University Press.
Buthelezi, N., Lemke, S., Karriem, A., Paganini, N., Stöber, S., Swanby, H. (2020). Invisible Urban Farmers and a Next Season of Hunger -Participatory Co-research during Lockdown in Cape Town, South Africa. In:Critical Food Studies Collection. 10.13140/RG.2.2.34845.54247/1.
Stöber, S., Adinata, K. Ramba, T. Paganini, N. Sulejmanović N. (under review). Coping with COVID-19 containments: insights from smallholder farmers on food security and farming in Indonesia. AFJAND, Nairobi, Kenya.

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"Extreme is the new normal"

A report by Alexander Müller and Jes Weigelt (TMG)

As the climate changes, the population of Africa is growing and fertile land and jobs are becoming scarcer. New ways are currently leading to urbanisation of agriculture and a new mid-sized sector in the countryside

This is how developing countries can adapt better to droughts

A contribution by Michael Brüntrup (DIE) und Daniel Tsegai (UNCCD)

Droughts are the natural disasters with far-reaching negative consequences. While rich countries are still vulnerable to drought, famines are no longer found.

(c) Christof Krackhardt/Brot für die Welt

Together and resourceful against worldwide hunger

A contribution by Brot für die Welt

Climate change disturbs the climate in Ethiopia. The answer from small farmers in the northern region is convincing: diversify!

Microinsurance against climate change

A contribution by Claudia Voß

Climate change is destroying development progress in many places. The clever interaction of digitalisation and the insurance industry protects affected small farmers.

What do you expect from this Pre Summit, Mr. Haddad?

Interview with Lawrence Haddad (GAIN)

Nutrition experts from all over the world are coming together in Rome. They are not only distilling 2000 ideas to improve food systems - they are also preparing for the big UN summit in New York in September. An interview.

Mr. Campari, how do we create sustainable food systems?

Interview with Joao Campari (WWF)

Journalist Jan Rübel spoke with Joao Campari ahead of the UNFSS Pre-Summit. The Chair of Action Track 3 highlights key challenges in transforming existing food systems towards sustainable production and shares his expectations for the Summit.

Land Rights, Gender and Soil Fertility in Benin

A contribution by Dr. Karin Gaesing and Prof. Dr. Frank Bliss (INEF)

Especially in densely populated areas, land pressure leads to overexploitation of available land and a lack of conservation measures. The West African country of Benin, with heavily depleted soils in many places, is no exception.

How do you campaign “Food Systems”?

Interview with Paul Newnham, Director of the SDG 2 Advocacy Hub.

The UN Food Systems pre-Summit in Rome dealt with transforming the ways of our nutrition. How do you bring that to a broad public? Questions to Paul Newnham, the Director of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 Advocacy Hub.

Mr. Marí, what happened at the alternative summit?

An Interview with Francisco Marí (Brot für die Welt)

Brot für die Welt (Bread for the World) did not attend the UNFSS pre-summit. Instead, the organisation took part in a counter-summit that took place at the same time. A conversation with Francisco Marí about the reasons, the process - and an outlook for the future

UNFSS Pre-Summit: What did it achieve?

Interview with Martina Fleckenstein (WWF), Michael Kühn (WHH) and Christel Weller-Molongua (GIZ)

After the summit means pre-summit: It was the first time that the United Nations held a summit on food systems. Martina Fleckenstein, Michael Kühn and Christel Weller-Molongua reviewed the situation in this joint interview.

What is wrong with our nutrition in Germany, Mr. Plagge ?

An interview with Jan Plagge (Bioland)

Vitamin-poor nutrition must become more expensive, in-vitro meat is not a panacea, and agricultural systems should be more decentralised. Bioland President Jan Plagge in an interview about the challenge of (future) world nutrition.

Food System Transformation Starts and Ends with Diversity

A Contribution by Emile Frison and Nick Jacobs (IPES-Food)

While having failed to solve the hunger problem, industrial agriculture appears to be causing additional ones both in environmental and health terms. Emile Frison and Nick Jacobs call for a transformation.

Fair Trade and Climate Justice: Everything is Conntected

A Contribution of the 'Initiative for Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains' (INA)

Fair Trade organisations and the Initiative for Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains (INA) have launched the #ichwillfair campaign during COP26 to highlight the link between global supply chains and climate change.

Sustainable Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture in Rural Areas

Fish is important for combating malnutrition and undernourishment. But it is not only notable for its nutritional value, but also secures the livelihoods and employment for 600 million people worldwide.

A Project of GIZ

Land Rights for Secure Livelihoods: My Land is My Life

Three quarters of the world's population do not have secure land rights, which hinders investment and innovation. The project "Improvement of Livelihood and Food Security" supports smallholder farmers in acquiring land.

A project of GIZ

No Food Security Without Climate Protection

A Contribution by Michael Kühn (WHH)

Climate change already affects the daily lives of people in the Global South. What are the challenges they face and what do these imply for negotiations at the climate conference in Glasgow?

GFFA for New Perspectives on the Planet’s Soils

A Contribution by Journalist Jan Ruebel

For five days, the 2022 Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) in Berlin is all about strategies for a more sustainable land use.

Engaging the Community to Solve the Bushmeat Crisis

A Contribution by the Forestry Research Institute Nigeria

The 'Domestication of Small Monogastric and Ruminant Animals' (DSMR) project led by a Nigerian research institute works with local communities to solve the bushmeat crisis.

How the War against Ukraine Destabilizes Global Grain Markets

A Contribution by GIZ

Since early February 2022, two of the biggest grain and oilseed exporters have been at war. An overview, which countries are affected most severely by the destabilized grain markets, and what comes next.

Five Questions for Dirk Meyer

An Interview with Dirk Meyer (BMZ)

Development cooperation needs to place good governance and a sustainable agri-food systems transformation at its center: After the first 100 days in office have passed, Dirk Meyer from the German Development Ministry (BMZ) spells out the goals, guidelines and priorities of the Ministry’s new lead.

The Black Sea Breadbasket in Crisis: Facts and Figures

An infographic by ONEWORLD no Hunger

Rising food and gas prices, physical destruction and supply chain disruptions: Why the Black Sea region matters and how the war in Ukraine affects global food security.

German G7 Presidency – fighting hunger with all our might

A Contribution by Welthungerhilfe

In the run-up to the G7 summit, experts from politics and civil society discussed sustainable and more effective options for action by the G7 states to combat hunger.

‘Invite yourself’ – Farmers organisations as key stakeholders of food systems

A Contribution by Andreas-Hermes-Akademie

The Andreas Hermes Academy (AHA) discusses the transformation of food systems with 30 representatives of farmers organisations.

From shared conviction to global response

A Contribution by Jan Rübel

The G7 is responding to the worsening global hunger crisis by mobilizing an additional $4.5 billion for this year alone. A key milestone for this in the run-up was the international conference on global food security "Uniting for Global Food Security".

‘Preserving and restoring fertile soils is a global responsibility.’

An Interview with Jochen Flasbarth (BMZ)

Healthy, productive soils are a prerequisite for global food security – one of the priorities of German development cooperation. State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth on Germany’s efforts to support sustainable land management and why the VGGT are more important than ever today.

Scaling up Food Security

An Artikel by Jan Rübel

How can we reach more people with successful approaches to food security? In Berlin, an international conference organized by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationaler Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) addressed this issue.

Five tips to reduce food waste

A listicle against food waste

Whether it's banana bread made from brown bananas, conscious shopping plans or foodsharing, we give you five tips on how to reduce your everyday food waste.

What does it take to truly shift the paradigm on food systems?

An Interview by GDPRD

Why are short- and long-term responses important to address current and future global crises? Sebastian Lesch, Head of the Agriculture Division at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), provides answers to these and other questions in an interview with the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development (GDPRD) and explains how much Germany welcomes all donors pulling together and acting in concert.

Strengthening food markets across the rural-urban continuum

A Contribution by Thomas Forster

How to maintain functioning food markets in global food supply chains in the face of vulnerability and disruption? Markets that support local and territorial food systems are part of the solution. Thomas Forster presents proposals for these markets to cope with future shocks.

A dashboard as a key tool for global food security

A Contribution by BMZ

The Global Alliance for Food Security (GAFS), jointly launched by the German G7 Presidency and the World Bank, released the Global Food and Nutrition Security Dashboard during COP27: A Rapid Response Tool for Coordinating Global Action for Food Security.

From reaction to action

A contribtion by GIZ

A Year of Multiple Crises: Russian war against Ukraine, extreme weather events, high prices for energy and fertilizer, food crisis had severe implications for food security and agriculture globally and especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. A Transformation of the food systems is needed.

Sustainable, feminist and socially just: The new Africa strategy of the BMZ

A contribution by Prof. Dr. Anna-Katharina Hornidge

In the video format "#99SecondsWith" of the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Prof. Dr Anna - Katharina Hornidge talks about the new Africa-Strategy of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The importance of water for sustainable rural development

A contribtion by WE4F

How can the challenges related to water, rural development and climate resilient agriculture be addressed? What innovations need to be promoted? The Water and Energy for Food (WE4F) initiative presents strategies and innovations for sustainable, integrated water management in German and international cooperation.

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Small-scale farmers’ responses to COVID-19 related restrictions

Seminar für Ländliche Entwicklung (SLE)

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