COVID-19: Maintaining Food Security in Asia Pacific

By Paul S. TengSINGAPORE, Apr 16 2020 (IPS) COVID-19 has disrupted supply chains that are essential to assure food security in the Asia Pacific region, yet countries overall seem to have managed, so far, to keep supermarkets stocked with food and feed those who can afford it. The Asia Pacific region is home to over 60% of humanity and also contains sub-regions with among the highest frequencies of severe weather events and some of the most challenging environments for agriculture. As a region it is characterized by diverse food systems and a multiplex of supply chains. Under normal circumstances, food security is already threatened by a multitude of factors. Paul S. TengThe COVID-19 pandemic has now become another factor with generalized impact across a swathe of countries. Ironically, it is fortunate that countries have not all been infected nor are they showing peak infections at the same time. This has thankfully provided windows of opportunity to tackle disrupted supply chains. It has also provided opportunities for later-infected countries to learn from the mitigation actions taken by countries affected earlier. China has been at the forefront of the COVID-19 battle and the earliest to have taken broad action. Its total movement control or “lockdown” has been successful in containing the spread of the virus, although admittedly at some inconvenience. This “lockdown” approach has been adopted by other countries subsequent to the Chinese action but in most countri...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Asia-Pacific Economy & Trade Food & Agriculture Headlines Health Humanitarian Emergencies Labour TerraViva United Nations Tales of the 21st Century: Rohingyas Without a State Source Type: news