Impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic and Associated Policy Responses on Food Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Synthesis of Evidence

A. Agyei-Holmes (), A. Wineman (), J. Olwande (), E. Mwakiwa (), O. T. Chiziane Vilanculos (), A. Faye (), I. Ogunbayo (), T. Kapuya () and T. S. Jayne ()
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A. Agyei-Holmes: Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana
A. Wineman: Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics
J. Olwande: Egerton University, Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development
E. Mwakiwa: Department of Agricultural Business Development and Economics, University of Zimbabwe
O. T. Chiziane Vilanculos: The Research Centre for Agricultural Policies and Programmes, Eduardo Mondlane University
A. Faye: Center for Development Research, University of Bonn
I. Ogunbayo: University of Ibadan, Innovation Lab for Policy Leadership in Agriculture and Food Security
T. Kapuya: Bureau of Food and Agricultural Policy
T. S. Jayne: Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics

Chapter Chapter 3 in Structural Transformation and Economic Development in Africa, 2026, pp 35-68 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract As of late 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic had affected food systems in sub-Saharan Africa through numerous avenues. To date, the most striking impacts have been felt through the policies aimed at preventing the spread of the virus, primarily through restrictions on movement and economic activity. We conduct a systematic review of literature to comprehensively survey the evidence on the impacts of this crisis on domestic food value chains, regional/international food trade, and food and nutrition security in sub-Saharan Africa. Across the 57 studies that met our criteria for inclusion in this review, the measured impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic have been overwhelmingly negative. Within domestic food value chains, the studies document impacts on input supply, domestic agricultural production, and transport, with mobility restrictions making it difficult to move agricultural inputs to farmers and agricultural outputs to market. In terms of regional and international food trade, the most noticeable impact was through temporary roadblocks and checkpoints, which particularly affected the value chains of perishable products that cannot withstand an extended delay en route. With regard to food and nutrition security, consumers in sub-Saharan Africa experienced diminished economic access to food through lost income and higher food retail prices; they experienced reduced physical access to food with the closure of (particularly informal) markets and restrictions on public transportation; and they experienced reduced social access to food because informal safety nets were disrupted in such a widespread shock. To mitigate the harm caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, governments in sub-Saharan Africa also introduced some social protection policies, including food assistance, cash transfers, and tax postponements. This chapter concludes with a set of recommendations for policy makers, alternately applicable in the immediate or medium term, and an enumeration of gaps in data and research around this topic.

Date: 2026
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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-92318-0_3

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