The United Nations and World Bank have said millions of people in the sub-Saharan Africa is at risk of not getting the food they need due to the outbreak of Covid-19 on the continent.
As the deadly virus began to grow in major economies, governments and startups in Africa started measures to shift a greater volume of transactions toward digital payments and away from cash which the World Health Organization flagged as a conduit for the spread of the coronavirus.
National lockdowns in sub-Saharan Africa means people are struggling to put food on the table. These health measures are meant to stop COVID-19 from spreading. But they also stop practically everything else, including food deliveries to traditional markets. In many South African cities, markets are key to supplying locals with daily supplies unlike in many European countries, where people can stock up on food.
The situation in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation a large number of her citizens can’t afford to eat if they miss a day of paid labour. The lockdowns have put an untold number of workers out of jobs. The government is passing out bags of rice and other necessities.
Meanwhile, scarcity has driven up prices of the main staple food beyond the reach of some people since lockdowns were announced in three states at the end of March to tame the spread of the virus.
However, the demand for food is still high across the nation, although food truck drivers are meant to be exempt from lockdown restrictions, many are afraid for their own safety, or fear they will be fined or arrested by overzealous police.
Kobo360, a trucking logistics firm, said 30% of its fleet across Nigeria, Kenya, Togo, Ghana and Uganda was not operating as a result. Several farmers said crops were rotting in the fields or at the depots waiting for trucks that never arrive. And millers cannot get their milled rice to buyers.
“There is no clarity around what can move around … or what is essential transportation,” said Kobo360 co-founder Ife Oyedele, adding that truck bosses were afraid. “They’re scared to go out and have their drivers on the road.”
In Kenya, panic-buying and government programmes to distribute rice to low-income households have already depleted reserves. Getting the bills of lading for imports into Kenya has also stretched from three to four days to three to four weeks.
If imports don’t pick up, East Africa alone could face a shortfall of at least 50,000-60,000 tonnes by the end of the month, said Mital Shah, managing director of the Kenya-based Sunrice, one of the region’s largest rice importers.
“The entire supply chain has been disrupted,” Shah said. “In the next couple of weeks, East Africa is going to have a huge shortage.”
Ghana’s capital Accra and surrounding areas where Elijah Amoo Addo runs a food bank, the past three weeks have been “filled with desperation and anxiety – people wondering what will kill them first, hunger or COVID-19”, he said.
His organisation, Food For All Africa, had gone from feeding about 150 people a day to preparing 3,500 hot meals daily, he said – and 75% of people relying on them are newcomers who have been affected by the virus, he added.
However, Nigeria’s Agriculture Minister Muhammed Sabo Nanono said in a report that at least 38,000 tonnes of grains in government-controlled strategic reserves. It is looking to replenish with 100,000 additional tonnes.
“The government was taking steps to make sure farmers, millers and marketers could operate. The agriculture ministry is working to increase locally produced fertilizers, while the central bank would look to expand financing for farmers,” he added.
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