Beyond COVID-19: Turning Crisis to Opportunity in Nigeria through Urban Agriculture

Adeniyi Gbadegesin and Bolanle Olajiire-Ajayi

Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 2020, vol. 9, issue 4

Abstract: First paragraph: Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) all over the world, countries have tried several strategies to minimize its impacts on their citizens and the economy. The first case in Nigeria was reported on February 27, 2020, and since then the infection has been spreading like wildfire, making Nigeria one of the three most affected African countries in Africa and the most affected in West Africa (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [FAO], 2020-a). To slow down its pace, governments at all levels have taken measures to curb its impacts. Measures taken include mandating social distancing, curfews, and, in some cases, complete lockdowns. The lockdown of virtually all sectors of the economy, especially the agricultural sector, has exacerbated food shortages in the country, espe­cially among urban dwellers. Unfortunately, agriculture in most developing countries is highly related to physical, rather than mechanized, labor. The labor shortage due to movement restrictions (both intra- and interstate) and social distancing as a result of COVID-19 are starting to affect agricultural producers in the hinterlands, thus worsening the food supply to urban centers that are coincidentally the epicenters of the disease.

Keywords: Health Economics and Policy; Community/Rural/Urban Development; Food Security and Poverty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/360217/files/840.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:joafsc:360217

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development from Center for Transformative Action, Cornell University
Bibliographic data for series maintained by AgEcon Search ().