The COVID-19 novel coronavirus spread around the world since December 2019. The first official case in Myanmar was reported on March 23rd, 2020 where the first set of containment measures was introduced. In Myanmar, COVID-19 infection rate was low at the 1st wave but at the 2nd wave, confirmed cases increased in the months of August, September and October, 2020 while the 3rd wave came recently on June 2021 where infection rate is at first low, however, it became more serious on July 2021 compared to the previous one. Nowadays, the COVID-19 pandemic is causing an unprecedented challenge to the Government of Myanmar and populations across the country. Myanmar’s agricultural GDP growth forecast for FY2020/21 will be downward to -1.8%. The spread of the COVID-19 is placing huge pressure on health systems but it is also having social and economic impacts on across all sectors including food and agriculture. The Government of Myanmar released the COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan (CERP) on April 28, 2020 to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic which includes monetary reform, increased government spending and strengthening of the health sector. It has 7 goals, 10 strategies, and 36 action plans and 78 actions. Among the action plans in CERP, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MOALI) had to take responsibilities in implementing the support for farmers, seed producers, agri-processors and owners of agri-businesses. In the crop production sector, the likely disruption of input supplies for the planting season may lead to seasonal and long-term food shortages and income losses, compromising purchasing power and access to healthy diets. Wage decreases and livelihood loss could deepen poverty, push households to resort to negative coping strategies, and compromise their resilience to any further shocks such as floods and droughts. Given the importance of nutrition security, a sustainable food systems approach is also advocated especially with a focus on climate resilient sustainable agriculture practices that ensure food security of the small farmers. Measures like crop diversification and efficient nutrition management are some of the interventions in this respect. There is a need for building resilience of supply chains by increasing food production capacity, strengthening food reserves in the country, as well as improving national food logistics systems. There is also a need to emphasize sound policies and programs that focus on resilient food systems and nutrition-sensitive food diversification. Promoting sustainable and resilient food systems approaches will deliver food security and nutrition while building resilience to shocks and maintaining the economic, social and environmental basis to generate food security and nutrition which are important for rural and urban poor in the country.
Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, food security, nutrition, poverty, livelihood, agriculture
The COVID-19 novel coronavirus spread around the world since December 2019. The first official case in Myanmar was reported on March 23rd, 2020 where the first set of containment measures was introduced. In Myanmar, COVID-19 infection rate was low at the 1st wave but at the 2nd wave, confirmed cases increased in the months of August, September and October, 2020 while the 3rd wave came recently on June 2021 where infection rate is at first low, however, it became more serious on July 2021 compared to the previous one. Nowadays, the COVID-19 pandemic is causing an unprecedented challenge to the Government of Myanmar and populations across the country. Myanmar’s agricultural GDP growth forecast for FY2020/21 will be downward to -1.8%. The spread of the COVID-19 is placing huge pressure on health systems but it is also having social and economic impacts on across all sectors including food and agriculture. The Government of Myanmar released the COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan (CERP) on April 28, 2020 to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic which includes monetary reform, increased government spending and strengthening of the health sector. It has 7 goals, 10 strategies, and 36 action plans and 78 actions. Among the action plans in CERP, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MOALI) had to take responsibilities in implementing the support for farmers, seed producers, agri-processors and owners of agri-businesses. In the crop production sector, the likely disruption of input supplies for the planting season may lead to seasonal and long-term food shortages and income losses, compromising purchasing power and access to healthy diets. Wage decreases and livelihood loss could deepen poverty, push households to resort to negative coping strategies, and compromise their resilience to any further shocks such as floods and droughts. Given the importance of nutrition security, a sustainable food systems approach is also advocated especially with a focus on climate resilient sustainable agriculture practices that ensure food security of the small farmers. Measures like crop diversification and efficient nutrition management are some of the interventions in this respect. There is a need for building resilience of supply chains by increasing food production capacity, strengthening food reserves in the country, as well as improving national food logistics systems. There is also a need to emphasize sound policies and programs that focus on resilient food systems and nutrition-sensitive food diversification. Promoting sustainable and resilient food systems approaches will deliver food security and nutrition while building resilience to shocks and maintaining the economic, social and environmental basis to generate food security and nutrition which are important for rural and urban poor in the country.
Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, food security, nutrition, poverty, livelihood, agriculture