Social assistance and food security during covid-19 pandemic lock-down: insights from Nigeria
Keywords:
Covid 19 pandemic, social assistance, household food insecurity, food security, NigeriaAbstract
Nigeria, a fast-growing country has been food insecure prior to Covid-19 pandemic. Local agricultural production cannot satisfy the food and nutrition needs of its ever-growing population. This state was aggravated by the covid-19 pandemic lockdown, which was adopted by the Government to stem the spread of the virus. To cushion the effects of the lockdown, social assistance of diverse forms, from varying sources were supplied. This study assesses the effect of the lockdown order on household food security level and what coping strategies were adopted. Also, it examined the kinds of social assistance received and how such mitigated food insecurity status in households that benefitted. We used a secondary dataset from the Nigeria COVID-19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey. The data was collected by the National Bureau of Statistics in March, June, and July targeting periods before, during, and when the lockdown was gradually eased respectively. Our results revealed that majority of households experienced different forms of shock during the lockdown, most notably increase in food prices, and disruption of farm activities. Furthermore, only few households received social assistance majorly from state governments and religious bodies, such assistance had a positive effect on household food security during the lockdown period.
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2. Andam, K., Edeh, H., Oboh, V., Pauw, K., Thurlow, J. (2020). Impacts of COVID-19 on food systems and poverty in Nigeria. Advances in Food Security and Sustainability, 5: 145–173.
3. APU (2020). Centre for Sustainable Employment, Azim Premji University COVID-19 Livelihoods Survey. Compilation-of-findings-APU-COVID-19-Livelihoods-Survey_Final.pdf
4. Central Bank of Nigeria (1980). Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin. Lagos
5. Central Bank of Nigeria (2020). Contributions/Donations to CBN-Led COVID-19 relief fund account domiciled with the central bank of Nigeria https://www.cbn.gov.ng/Out/2020/CCD/covid%20contributions.pdf
6. CGAP (2020). Social Assistance Payments in Response to COVID-19: The Role of Donors. Available online: https://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/publications/2020_09_COVID_Briefing_Donors_Social_Assistance.pdf. Accessed 16/12/2020.
7. Ejiogu, A., Okechukwu, O., Ejiogu, C. (2020). Nigerian budgetary response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its shrinking fiscal space: financial sustainability, employment, social inequality and business implications. Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management. Ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBAFM-07-2020-0101
8. Eranga, I., Omo-Ehiabhi (2020). COVID-19 Pandemic in Nigeria: palliative measures and the politics of vulnerability. International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS (2020), 9 (2): 220-222.
9. Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAOUN) (2016). Human security and food security. Available online at: http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5522e.pdf. Accessed 20th October, 2020.
10. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). (1996). Rome Declaration on World Food Security and World Food Summit Plan of Action. Rome, Italy.
11. Gentilini, U., Mohamed A., Pamela D., Ana V. L., Usama, Z. (2020). Social protection and jobs responses to COVID-19: A real-time review of country measures. Living Paper, Version 12. Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 10 July. http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/ en/454671594649637530/pdf/Social-Protection-and-Jobs- Responses-to-COVID-19-A-Real-Time-Review-of-Country- Measures.pdf
12. HLPE. (2012). Social protection for food security. A report by the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition of the Committee on World Food Security, Rome 2012.
13. Human Right Watch, (2020). Nigeria: Protect Most Vulnerable in Covid-19 Response. Extended Lockdown Threatens Livelihoods of Millions. Available online at https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/14/nigeria-protect-most-vulnerable-covid-19-response. Accessed on 9th November, 2020.
14. Jessup-Varnum, M. (2018). Food security and the sustainable livelihood approach to development in Uganda. University Honors Theses. Paper 556. https://doi.org/10.15760/honors.562
15. Jones, A.D., Ngure, F.M., Pelto, G., Young, S.L. (2013). What are we assessing when we measure food security? A compendium and review of current metrics. Adv Nutr, 4: 481–505.
16. NCDC 2020. First Case of Coronal Virus Disease confirmed in Nigeria. https://ncdc.gov.ng/news/227/first-case-of-corona-virus-disease-confirmed-in-nigeria. Accessed September 22, 2020.
17. Notari, A. (2021). Temperature dependence of COVID-19 transmission. Science of The Total Environment, 763, 144390.
18. Nwankpa, N.N. (2017). Sustainable agricultural development in Nigeria: a way out of hunger and poverty. European Journal of Sustainable Development, 6(4): 175-184.
19. Ogaugwu, C., Mogaji, H., Ogaugwu E., Nebo, U., Okoh, J., A., Agbon, A. (2020). Effect of weather on COVID-19 transmission and mortality in Lagos, Nigeria. Scientifica; 2562641.
20. Otaha, I. J. (2013). Food Insecurity in Nigeria: Way Forward. An International Multidisciplinary Journal, 7 (4); 26-35.
21. PricewaterhouseCoopers Limited (PwC) (2020). Responding to the impact of COVID-19 on food security and agriculture in Nigeria. Available online at: https://www.pwc.com/ng/en/assets/pdf/impact-covid19-food-security-nigeria.pdf. Accessed 20/01/2021
22. Stanam, A., Chaudhari, M., Rayudu, D. (2020). Effects of temperature on COVID-19 transmission. Medrxiv.
23. USAID. (1992). USAID Policy Determination: Definition of Food Security [policy determination]. Washington: USAID. Available online: http://www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/200/pd19.pdf. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
24. WFP (2020). United Nations World Food Program. COVID-19 will double number of people facing food crises unless swift action is taken. Available online: https://www.wfp.org/news/covid-19-will-double-number-people-facing-food-crises-unless-swift-action-taken. Retrieved 20th November, 2020.
25. World Health Organisation Bulletin (2011). Bulletin of the World Health Organization 89,(7):540-541. Available online: https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/89/7/11088815/en/#:~:text=A%20pandemic%20is%20defined%20as,are%20not%2. Retrieved 16th August, 2020.
26. World Bank (2018). The state of social safety nets 2018. Washington, DC. doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-1254-5.
27. World Bank (2020). Scaling up social assistance payments as part of the covid-19 pandemic response. Available online at: http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/655201595885830480/WB-G2Px-Scaling-up-Social-Assistance-Payments-as-Part-of-the-Covid-19-Pandemic-Response.pdf
28. World Health Organisation (2020). Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCov) Situation Reports. Available online at: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situationreports. Accessed November 9, 2020.
29. Yao, Y., Pan, J., Liu, Z., Meng, X., Wang, W., Kan, H., et al. (2020). No association of COVID-19 transmission with temperature or UV radiation in Chinese cities. Eur Respir J, 55.
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Published
2022-02-15
How to Cite
Ayo-Lawal, R., Ilevbare, O., Omotoso, K., Omimakinde, E., & Ukwuoma, O. . (2022). Social assistance and food security during covid-19 pandemic lock-down: insights from Nigeria. Future of Food: Journal on Food, Agriculture and Society, 10(1). Retrieved from https://thefutureoffoodjournal.com/manuscript/index.php/FOFJ/article/view/455
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