COVID-19 Effects and Resilience of Vegetable Farmers in North-Western Nigeria

Rosaine N Yegbemey,Ifeoluwa Olorunnipa,Victor Afari-Sefa,Marwan Benali,Christelle M Komlan Ahihou,Pepijn Schreinemachers

doi:10.3390/agronomy11091808

Rosaine N Yegbemey, Ifeoluwa Olorunnipa + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11091808

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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has particularly affected the supply of perishable foods such as vegetables, which could adversely affect food and nutrition security. Here, we study the mechanisms by which COVID-19 has affected vegetable production and the coping strategies adopted by smallholder farmers. We use cross-sectional data collected through individual interviews on a random sample of 521 vegetable producers in north-western Nigeria. The perceptions of respondents, measured on a 5-point Likert scale (from 1—not affected, to 5—severely affected), shows that COVID-19 had an average effect of 3.07 (±1.23) on vegetable production. Farmers also reported challenges in accessing farm inputs and storing or selling fresh vegetable produced. In response, farmers reduced market-oriented vegetable production, produced more vegetables for own consumption, added value through own home processing and storage, explored new markets, and accepted lower farmgate selling prices. A multivariate probit regression shows that socio-economic factors such as age, household size, marital status, challenges in accessing inputs, and perceptions of the effects of COVID-19 influenced farmers’ decisions to adopt particular coping strategies. To sustain vegetable supplies, policy makers should consider investing more in market-oriented strategies such as vegetable processing and storage, which individual farmers may not be able to afford due to high costs, lack of information and required knowledge on good agronomic practices, postharvest handling, storage and market. Public extension services can contribute to help farmers to adapt better.

Highlights

The COVID-19 pandemic decreased food production and reduced access of consumers to food as a result of constraints to the distribution of farm inputs, travel restrictions and reduced purchasing power [1,2,3,4,5,6]
An analysis of how vegetable farmers respond to a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic is relevant to better prepare for future crises that will affect agricultural production and food systems and ensure the resilience of vegetable production and its market supply
We argue that supporting smallholder farmers’ coping strategies could help sustain vegetable production and the food supply chains with positive spillovers in terms of food and nutrition security as well as resilience to COVID-19

Summary

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic decreased food production and reduced access of consumers to food as a result of constraints to the distribution of farm inputs, travel restrictions and reduced purchasing power [1,2,3,4,5,6]. A better understanding of how smallholder vegetable producers have been coping with the COVID-19 pandemic will help shed light on the specific actions needed to support them and sustain vegetable supply chains for food and nutrition security throughout the pandemic. An analysis of how vegetable farmers respond to a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic is relevant to better prepare for future crises that will affect agricultural production and food systems and ensure the resilience of vegetable production and its market supply. We contribute to the literature on the impact of COVID-19 on agricultural production systems by reporting on farm-level strategies developed to respond to the crisis. The results can inform coping strategies to deal with future crises

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