THE FUTURE OF FOOD SYSTEMS AND FOOD SECURITY IN CONTEXT OF LESSONS LEARNED FROM COVID-19 PANDEMIC AS A GLOBAL CHALLENGE: INSIGHTS FROM A QUALITATIVE PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The study aims to help rethink the future of food systems and food security in context of lessons learned from COVID-19 pandemic as global challenge from a qualitative perspective. The pandemic disrupted global food systems that were already at risk to many threats such as climate change, natural resources degradation, extreme weather events, regional conflicts, low productivity, high population growth, and economic slowdown. The paper uses qualitative perspective to analyse COVID-19 effects on food systems and food security, identifies ways to establish resilient and sustainable food systems, and presents a roadmap to achieving a food-secure world by 2030. The findings indicates that the COVID-19 impacted the cash flow at both local and international levels and the financial state of producers, and agri-businesses causing low productivity, limited market accessibility, loss of employment, increased health costs, increased poverty levels, malnutrition, and deaths. Building sustainable and resilient food systems requires; supporting small-medium sized enterprises, strengthening international markets, technological innovations, promoting shorter and more diversified food value chains, and supporting small-scale farmers and rural women is inevitable.