Impact of COVID 19 on agricultural productivity in Nlonako Landscape

As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to spread across the world, it is essential to address its existing and potential impacts on the Agri-food sector, from the perspective of both food supply and food demand. Ensuring the continues functioning of global and national food supply chains will be crucial in securing food supply, preventing a food crisis in countries that are already experiencing food and nutrition security challenges, and reducing the overall negative impact of the pandemic on the global economy.

In the Mungo Division where about 80% of the population depend on agriculture for their subsistence, over the past three months, it has become an immense challenge as farmers struggle to benefit from their agricultural produce. Lately, restrictions have been put on the movement of food especially pineapples and water melon which are essential food produce in the Nlonako landscape. Farmers have found it difficult to cope with this pandemic. Also, the increase in transport fare has left many farmers wondering about their future. Farm produce have been piled up in the farms, waiting for buyers futilely as most of the products end up in rot.

However, ERuDeF, through the Forest Garden Approach have taught farmers on how to preserve their products on their farmland which will make them to last longer and bring them more benefit. This pandemic has come to stress the importance of transforming food in order to conserve them for a longer period of time.