COVID-19, Food Security and Agricultural Development in Asia

Abstract

The outbreak of COVID-19 has adversely affected all sectors of the economy as well as the life of the people across the countries. But its impact is varying sector-specific across the counties due to the extent and scale of the virus spread. This paper examined the potential impact of COVID-19 on food security and the development of agriculture using demand and supply of food items in the Asian region. For the smooth supply of food at the national and global level depend on the normalcy of supply-chain. While for the demand for food, consumption will occur through income, which directly related to employment. Both supply-chain and employment are negatively affected due to the lockdown policy adopted by many Asian counties to control the spread of the virus. The paper analyzes the impact of lockdown policies on food security and future agriculture development in Asian counties.

Keywords: COVID-19, Food Security, Agriculture Development, Asia

JEL Classification: Q11, Q18