COVID-19 Impacts on Food Security and Livelihoods

The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated profound disruptions across global food systems, imperilling both the availability of nutritious food and the economic livelihoods of millions. Mobility restrictions and lockdown measures hindered agricultural production by limiting access to inputs, reducing labour availability and interrupting transport networks. Markets that once facilitated the timely distribution of perishable and nutrient-dense foods were fractured, leading to post-harvest losses, price volatility and reduced consumer purchasing power. Vulnerable households—particularly those dependent on informal labour, smallholder farming or market trading—faced acute declines in income and eroded coping capacities. This, in turn, intensified food insecurity, manifested in both the quantity and quality of diets, as households resorted to short-term strategies such as asset sales, reduced meal frequency and diversion from more costly nutrient-rich foods. While some resilience emerged through local adaptations—community-level coordination, producer cooperatives and digital price monitoring—these gains were often uneven and insufficient to offset the widespread economic shocks induced by the pandemic. The crisis thus underscored the interdependence of health measures, social protection systems and food-system resilience, highlighting the need for integrated policy responses that safeguard both food security and economic wellbeing in the face of future global shocks.

Research from Nature Portfolio

No recent Nature Portfolio content available.

COVID-19 Impacts on Food Security and Livelihoods publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in covid-19 impacts on food security and livelihoods across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Food security: A condition in which all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food.

Household resilience: The ability of a family unit to absorb, adapt and recover from shocks such as income loss or supply chain disruptions without resorting to irreversible coping strategies.

Coping strategies: Short-term actions taken by households—selling assets, reducing meals or substituting cheaper foods—to manage immediate food shortages or income declines.

Supply chain disruption: Interruptions in the smooth flow of goods and services from production to consumption, often caused by transport restrictions or market closures.

Dietary diversity: The variety of food groups consumed over a reference period, used as an indicator of nutritional adequacy.

References

1. Vulnerability and resilience among farmers and market actors in local agri-food value chains in the face of COVID-19 disruptions: findings from Uganda and Kenya. Food Security (2024).
2. Food insecurity, coping strategies, and resilience of agricultural cooperative members during COVID-19 in West Africa. Agriculture & Food Security (2023).
3. Falling living standards during the COVID-19 crisis: Quantitative evidence from nine developing countries. Science Advances (2021).
4. Resilience of local food systems and links to food security – A review of some important concepts in the context of COVID-19 and other shocks. Food Security (2020).
5. Deciphering the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on food security, agriculture, and livelihoods: A review of the evidence from developing countries. Environmental Sustainability (2020).