The Impact of COVID-19 on Urban Agriculture in São Paulo, Brazil

André Ruoppolo Biazoti, Angélica Campos Nakamura, Gustavo Nagib, Vitória Oliveira Pereira de Souza Leão, Giulia Giacchè and Thais Mauad
Additional contact information
André Ruoppolo Biazoti: Study Group in Urban Agriculture (GEAU), Advanced Studies Institute (IEA), University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo 05508-060, Brazil
Angélica Campos Nakamura: Human Geography Postgraduate Program of the Faculty of Philosophy, Languages and Human Sciences (FFLCH), University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo 05508-060, Brazil
Gustavo Nagib: Study Group in Urban Agriculture (GEAU), Advanced Studies Institute (IEA), University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo 05508-060, Brazil
Vitória Oliveira Pereira de Souza Leão: Alternative and Emerging Agriculture (AGREMAL), University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo 05508-060, Brazil
Giulia Giacchè: UMR SAD-APT, Université Paris-Saclay, 75231 Paris, France
Thais Mauad: Department of Pathology, Medical School (FM), University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo 01246-903, Brazil

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-11

Abstract: During the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, farmers worldwide were greatly affected by disruptions in the food chain. In 2020, São Paulo city experienced most of the effects of the pandemic in Brazil, with 15,587 deaths through December 2020. Here, we describe the impacts of COVID-19 on urban agriculture (UA) in São Paulo from April to August 2020. We analyzed two governmental surveys of 2100 farmers from São Paulo state and 148 from São Paulo city and two qualitative surveys of volunteers from ten community gardens and seven urban farmers. Our data showed that 50% of the farmers were impacted by the pandemic with drops in sales, especially those that depended on intermediaries. Some farmers in the city adapted to novel sales channels, but 22% claimed that obtaining inputs became difficult. No municipal support was provided to UA in São Paulo, and pre-existing issues were exacerbated. Work on community gardens decreased, but no garden permanently closed. Post COVID-19, UA will have the challenge of maintaining local food chains established during the pandemic. Due to the increase in the price of inputs and the lack of technical assistance, governmental efforts should be implemented to support UA.

Keywords: urban agriculture; commercial farmers; noncommercial community gardens; COVID-19; São Paulo; pandemic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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