Impact assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic on the income and food security of rice smallholder producers in five African countries

Aminou Arouna (), Souleïmane A. Adekambi, Rachidi Aboudou, Wilfried Gnipabo Yergo and Gaudiose Mujawamariya
Additional contact information
Aminou Arouna: Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice)
Souleïmane A. Adekambi: University of Parakou
Rachidi Aboudou: Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice)
Wilfried Gnipabo Yergo: Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice)
Gaudiose Mujawamariya: Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice)

SN Business & Economics, 2024, vol. 4, issue 11, 1-20

Abstract: Abstract The world population has experienced several challenges due to different measures, including complete lockdowns, which were taken to contain the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This paper assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural household livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa. Data were collected from 2705 rice smallholder producers in five countries (Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and Madagascar) and analyzed using fixed-effect regression models. The results showed that 81% of respondents perceived that their income had decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Access to production inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, and herbicides has become more difficult and expensive. Approximately 45% of the rice farmers reported having difficulty obtaining agricultural extension services. Although the short-term impact on food security was not significant, we found evidence that the pandemic decreased the income of rice farmers by approximately US$ 240 per month. To support smallholder producers against the effects of future pandemics, income-enhancing actions, such as increasing access to credit and subsidies for agricultural inputs, should be prioritized.

Keywords: Rice smallholder producers; COVID-19 pandemic; Impact; Income; Food security; Sub-Saharan Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 D10 O55 Q12 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s43546-024-00742-2 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

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:spr:snbeco:v:4:y:2024:i:11:d:10.1007_s43546-024-00742-2

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.springer.com/journal/43546

DOI: 10.1007/s43546-024-00742-2

Access Statistics for this article

SN Business & Economics is currently edited by Gino D'Oca

More articles in SN Business & Economics from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().