Urban Informal Food Traders: A Rapid Qualitative Study of COVID-19 Lockdown Measures in South Africa

Teurai Rwafa-Ponela,Karen Hofman,Petronell Kruger,Agnes Erzse,Susan Goldstein,Safura Abdool Karim

doi:10.3390/su14042294

Teurai Rwafa-Ponela, Karen Hofman + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su14042294

Copy DOI

Abstract

Globally, the adoption of COVID-19 containment measures, such as lockdowns, have been used to curb the rapid spread of the pandemic. However, these action regulations have caused substantial challenges to livelihoods. We explored the perceptions and experiences of COVID-19 implications for urban informal food traders in South Africa during the initial lockdown period that lasted five weeks. A rapid qualitative study was conducted during October–November 2020. Twelve key informants (seven men and five women) categorized into informal traders and food system expert groups were interviewed. Data were analyzed thematically using MAXQDA software. Participants perceived informal trading as a main source of livelihood for many individuals. Negative lockdown impacts described included forced business closure, increased food costs and reduced demand. The consensus among participants was that the government’s lack of formal recognition for informal food traders pre-COVID-19 contributed to challenges they faced during the pandemic, as evidenced by their exclusion as “essential service providers’’ at the start of lockdown. Policies that fail to recognize and consider informal food traders during ‘normal’ times lead to widened social inequality gaps among already vulnerable groups during natural disasters and disease outbreaks. In the case of COVID-19 in South Africa, this caused severe hunger, food insecurity and income loss.

Highlights

Ilar future policy emergency mitigation responses [41]. These understandings may help,we aimed to explore lived experiences and perceptions of disruptions caused by COVID-19 and in particular, inform considerations of vulnerable populations, such as informal traders, the response to it on informal food traders in urban areas of three South African provinces to reduce severe consequences on urban food security in future pandemics [12,13,39,47]
We found that informal traders, who were already marginalized, were excluded from government support and a positive assessment of playing a role in the broader economy and food system and pushed further out of the food system during lockdown
Our findings highlight the serious consequences of excluding key food system actors, informal food traders, from COVID-19 policy planning processes in South Africa

Summary

Introduction

Non-pharmaceutical public health interventions, including mobility, travel and trade restrictions (“lockdowns”), have been implemented to curb the spread of the disease [1]. These restrictions have caused severe disruptions to economic activity, resulting in adverse socio-economic consequences, such as loss of livelihoods and income [2,3]. This has exacerbated existing social disparities and created further inequality by pushing vulnerable people into extreme poverty [4,5,6]. Millions of people experienced increased food insecurity, marginalized populations who rely on income from daily wage work, such as those in the informal sector [4,5,6,7,8]

Objectives

Discussion

Conclusion