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An increase in food prices following the coronavirus pandemic has intensified concerns related to global food security. For emerging markets, this has further underlined the importance of regional cooperation and innovative solutions to help overcome the challenges.
SULTAN YAQOUB, Western Bekaa — In a shed on Najib Fares’ farm in the Western Bekaa, next to a broken-down tractor, sacks of unsold wheat from June’s harvest are piled up on pallets, a visible reminder of the collapse of some of the key systems set up to support local farmers and maintain the country’s food security.
With food in short supply and prices rocketing, a wave of new farmers are growing produce on roofs, balconies and beyond. Long before the Covid-19 pandemic and the devastating explosion in Beirut on 4 August, Lebanon was already deep in economic crisis. For many, farming is emerging as a solution.
Turkey’s agricultural exports increased by 3.9% in the first seven months of 2020 compared to the same period last year despite the disruption in supply chains in the food sector caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The agriculture sector in Egypt, which has suffered neglect over many decades, has found a silver lining in the coronavirus pandemic. The disease outbreak has disrupted the supply chain around the world, with major producers finding it either difficult to send their crops to foreign markets or unable to satisfy demand in local markets. This has opened up a window of opportunity for Egyptian agricultural products in foreign markets, including those that were difficult to enter in the past because of fierce competition with products from other countries.
The spread of COVID-19, and the range of policy responses to contain the pandemic, exert wide-ranging effects on agri-food systems and livelihoods. To analyze the direct and indirect impacts of these responses in a comparative way, the COVID-19 Policy Response (CPR) Portal systematically captures policy responses through multiple channels, including population restrictions, social protection, trade, health, fiscal, and monetary measures.
Impakter, 07/05 - At first glance, the COVID-19 crisis appears to have nothing to do with the climate emergency. Over the last month, COVID-19 has eclipsed climate change and many other global challenges as the most pressing issue we face worldwide. Between learning to manage life on lockdown and monitoring the surreal charts depicting soaring numbers of infections and deaths across the globe, it can be difficult to find brain space for anything else.
The New York Times, 06/05 — Anger over a failing economy and unaffordable food has pushed protesters into the streets despite the coronavirus. Two weeks ago, it seemed every conversation in Lebanon was about keeping safe from the virus. The bustling streets of Beirut were quiet; everyone wore masks and gloves and glared at anyone who coughed in public. The smell of hand sanitizers filled elevators.
Daily Star, 07/04 - Lebanon’s government is considering importing wheat for the first time since 2014, weighing its dwindling supply of dollars against concerns that the coronavirus may threaten the nation’s food security.
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An increase in food prices following the coronavirus pandemic has intensified concerns related to global food security. For emerging markets, this has further underlined the importance of regional cooperation and innovative solutions to help overcome the challenges.
Syria’s food security issues seem set to continue this year, as the government warns that the country will need to import up to 200,000 tonnes of wheat each month to make up for domestic shortfalls. According to Mohammad Samer al-Khalil, the Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade, the imports are likely to cost around US$400 million ($565 million). Syria’s economy has weakened in recent months, following the economic crisis in neighbouring Lebanon. The crisis has had serious economic consequences for Damascus, which was already struggling after years of civil war. Concerns over government procurement of wheat also grew earlier this year when Kurdish wheat growers increased purchasing prices, directly competing with the government in Damascus.
Tonnes of soil excavated for the Central Link project have been dumped into adjacent fields rendering them uncultivable while fertile land disturbed by heavy vehicles has not been reinstated, farmers are complaining. An estimated 49,000 square metres of land, mostly agricultural, had to be sacrificed to make way for the new thoroughfare.
The Lebanese agriculture and food production industry has come under multiple threats, and the coronavirus-spurred economic contraction has exacerbated the hit already laid upon the sector by the ongoing currency crisis. Experts warn that compounding issues in the country could lead to production decreases and further price increases in the coming months. Food prices in the country are already on the rise as inflation has begun to soar and the local currency has lost half its value against the dollar.
The last several years have been not easy for Algeria. The country has undergone considerable political turmoil and the economy has underperformed. Now Algeria’s precarious economic and political situation is being hit hard by the growing presence of the coronavirus. The economy, which was also slammed by the recent Russian-Saudi price war, is now expected to contract 5.2 percent for 2020. Algeria is one of Europe’s major natural gas suppliers and sits in a region marked by the large flow of migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa, factors that elevate its geopolitical importance to the European Union, especially France and Italy, which are major trade customers and would be on the receiving end of any new waves of migrants.
IFPRI, 13/05 - Food losses and waste (FLW) have been a challenge in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region since long before the COVID-19, but this calamity, that rapidly became an economic crisis, is bringing disruptions to food systems that may manifest in greater levels of FLW. Containment and prevention measures are affecting the complex web of interactions along value chains, involving producers and input/service providers, intermediaries, and consumers.
Olive Oil Times, 11/05 - After seven weeks of a lockdown, things aren’t getting any easier for Sicilian farmers. Now they face two new adversaries: a sales slump and a drought. Olive oil sales, in general, have been robust during the COVID-19 lockdown, but this has not benefited producers of Sicilian extra virgin olive oil. Consumers are leaving their products on the shelves in favour of cheaper blends made from imported oils, mostly from Spain and Tunisia...
Cretan farmers said supermarkets currently absorbs 30 percent of their production of fruits and vegetables with the rest being unsold since many eateries and other food services are closed, while their counterparts in the Ilia region of the Peloponnese have already discarded part of their fresh crop of strawberries and zucchinis due to limited demand.
The IFPRI Egypt Strategy Support Program (ESSP) is responding to the COVID-19 crisis by providing evidence-based information and analysis. As part of these efforts, IFPRI ESSP has launched the COVID-19 Food Policy Response Monitor for Egypt. The Food Policy Response Monitor provides an overview of key food policy responses in a tabular format and is updated on a bi-weekly basis.
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