The impact of COVID-19 on the African small scale farmers

The COVID-19 which emerged in Wuhan (China) towards the end of 2019 has since spread to other parts of the world and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on the 11th March 2020. In Africa, the virus reached a number of countries within a matter of weeks. Governments and health authorities across the continent are striving to limit widespread infections.

During the past few months many African countries received news of the new Virus with disbelief. The advent of COVID-19 pandemic has come as a shock not only to policy-makers but to the entire population.

The impact of the current COVID-19 virus on rural small-scale producers is unprecedented. The effects are already being felt within the economies of the rural African farmers.

The majority of the sub-Saharan African population, including that of Zambia, depend on subsistence and small-scale agriculture for their food security and incomes. In many of the countries in the region, the agricultural sector is constrained by unfavorable policies, low budget allocations to the sector and droughts.