COVID-19 outbreak: What should be done to avoid food shortages?

To the editor:

Currently, the world is facing an unprecedented threat due to the advancement of COVID-19 (disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus), which in addition to representing a potential risk to the health and life of millions of people, has caused serious economic damage and threatened the availability of food in the world. To try to contain the spread of the disease, many countries have adopted the guidelines of the World Health Organization and introduced measures of social distance, which inevitably caused the closure of companies, schools and educational institutions, in addition to restrictions on travel and cancellation of social events (Nicola et al., 2020; WHO, 2020). With the closure of companies and institutions, the practice of "home office" has increased considerably in recent months. However, this reality does not apply to employees working in the food supply chains, since a good part of the activities of these distribution systems are necessarily carried out in situ (WHO, 2020).

The food supply chain is a complex network that connects the agricultural production system with the consumer through a series of operations such as production/manufacturing, packaging, distribution and storage (Siche, 2020). Thus, the smooth functioning of all sectors involved in the production chain (be it internal or globalized) is essential to ensure proper distribution and avoid crises in the food supply. However, what happens to the food supply chain in the midst of a global crisis like COVID-19? Is it possible to maintain food supplies without interruption in the context of the current crisis? The outbreak of COVID-19 has certainly threatened the smooth functioning of food supply chains and for this reason emergency measures are needed by interested parties to avoid interruptions and the consequent simultaneous installation of a second world crisis: The lack of food.

The advance of the pandemic has in fact put the health of people involved in the value chain food system at risk, and the sectors of primary production (farm), processing, distribution, and the market need to take measures to prevent infection in workers, and thus ensuring the normal activities of the production chain. It is known that the main forms of contamination by SARS-CoV-2 are direct contact between people and contact with contaminated objects, therefore, physical distance measures, good personal hygiene practices and the use of individual protection kits are practices that must be adopted to prevent the pandemic from advancing in these sectors. In addition, the final value chain links must be careful about handling unpackaged food to prevent transmission of COVID-19 to consumers (FAO, 2020b).

The 2007–2008 food crisis was characterized by a significant increase in the price of some commodities that resulted in a serious global food security problem (FAO, 2011; Headey & Fan, 2010). In the case of COVID-19, so far, food shortages do not appear to be a problem. However, the prolongation of the crisis could overload food supply chains and threaten global food security. In this regard, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recently published a document with five specific recommendations that countries should adopt to avoid potential crises in food supply chains, namely: “Expand and improve emergency food assistance and social protection programs”(I), “give smallholder farmers support to both enhance their productivity and market the food they produce, also through e-commerce channels”(II), “keep the food value chain alive by focusing on key logistics bottlenecks”(III), “address trade and tax policies to keep the global trade open”(IV), and “manage the macroeconomic ramifications” (V) (Cullen, 2020). In addition to adopting these measures, countries need to develop logistical strategies in order to reduce the loss and waste of food (mainly perishable agricultural products), resulting from blockages in transport routes, transport restrictions and measures of social distance, in order to ensure adequate supply and facilitate access to food for all, especially for the most vulnerable (FAO, 2020c).

Another issue that must be considered is that COVID-19 has compromised the ability of agricultural companies, traders, food manufacturers, distributors and retailers in the food chains to develop their businesses within the normal range, threatening the survival of these companies and putting at risk the maintenance of food systems (FAO, 2020a). In this sense, FAO has recommended a series of actions to ensure the sustainability of agri-food companies during the crisis, including awareness of companies to practice prices close to normal, to protect the food market in the long term, development of strategic management and partnerships with companies in the food sector, service providers from local companies and chambers of commerce, among other measures (FAO, 2020a).

It is important to highlight that as globalized food distribution chains are more likely to suffer greater threats with the advance of the pandemic in the world, small food supply chains and local producers prove to be potential alternatives to guarantee food supply during the current crisis, as they are less affected by international restrictions and are closer to consumers (Cappelli & Cini, 2020). Within this context, it is essential that government officials create measures that encourage the strengthening of these supply chains and maximize local agricultural production, in the latter case by supporting the migration of labor, supply of inputs for the production of basic and perishable foods (including seeds, fertilizers and pesticides) and provide training, extension and financial support to help them expand the area produced and reduce the time taken to harvest the products (minimizing losses), establishing food processing communities in remote and isolated agricultural regions, etc. (FAO, 2020c; FAO, 2020d).

In light of the above, it is advisable that government authorities comply with FAO recommendations and launch emergency policies that ensure the well-being and health of everyone involved in supply chains, in order to maintain sufficient production and to ensure the availability of food with adequate quality and safety. Thus, the proper functioning of the entire production chain is essential to avoid economic losses, food waste and to guarantee food supply without interruptions during crises such as that caused by the new coronavirus.

Declaration of competing interest

None