COVID-19 and Food Systems in the Indo-Pacific: an Assessment of Vulnerabilities, Impacts and Opportunities for Action
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COV ID -19 and food systems in the Indo-Pacific: An assessment of vulnerabilities, impacts and opportunities for action ACIAR TECHNICAL96 REPORTS SERIES COV ID -19 and food systems in the Indo-Pacific: An assessment of vulnerabilities, impacts and opportunities for action Lisa Robins, Steven Crimp, Monica van Wensveen, Robyn G. Alders, R. Michael Bourke, James Butler, Michaela Cosijn, Federico Davila, Aparna Lal, John F. McCarthy, Andrew McWilliam, Anton Simon M. Palo, Nicholas Thomson, Peter Warr and Michael Webb 2020 The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) was established in June 1982 by an Act of the Australian Parliament. ACIAR operates as part of Australia’s international development assistance program, with a mission to achieve more productive and sustainable agricultural systems, for the benefit of developing countries and Australia. It commissions collaborative research between Australian and developing-country researchers in areas where Australia has special research competence. It also administers Australia’s contribution to the International Agricultural Research Centres. The Chief Executive Officer of ACIAR reports directly to the Australian Government Minister for Foreign Affairs. ACIAR operates solely on budget appropriation from Australia’s Official Development Assistance (ODA). The use of trade names constitutes neither endorsement of nor discrimination against any product by ACIAR. ACIAR TECHNICAL REPORTS SERIES This series of publications contains technical information resulting from ACIAR-supported programs, projects and workshops (for which proceedings are not published); reports on ACIAR-supported fact-finding studies; or reports on other topics resulting from ACIAR activities. Publications in the series are available as hard copy, in limited numbers, and online from the ACIAR website at aciar.gov.au © Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) 2020 This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from ACIAR, GPO Box 1571, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia, [email protected]. Suggested citation: Robins L, Crimp S, van Wensveen M, Alders RG, Bourke RM, Butler J, Cosijn M, Davila F, Lal A, McCarthy JF, McWilliam A, Palo ASM, Thomson N, Warr P & Webb M (2020). COVID-19 and food systems in the Indo-Pacific: An assessment of vulnerabilities, impacts and opportunities for action. ACIAR Technical Report 96, Canberra: 254 pp. ACIAR Technical Report No. 96 (TR096) ISSN 0816-7923 (print) ISSN 1447-0918 (pdf) ISBN 978-1-922345-71-4 (print) ISBN 978-1-922345-72-1 (pdf) Technical editing by Lorna Hendry Design by Redtail Graphic Design Cover: Lok Baintan floating market in East Kalimantan. Photo: Lisa Robins Foreword The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health and economic crisis that will disrupt lives and livelihoods of diverse communities around the world for years to come. This includes almost 500 million smallholder farmers who produce food for half of the global population, many of whom are among the 2.7 billion people globally living on less than US$2 per day. The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) was mandated, as set out in the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research Act 1982, to work with partners across the Indo-Pacific region to generate the knowledge and technologies that underpin improvements in agricultural productivity, sustainability and food system resilience. We do this by funding, brokering and managing research partnerships for the benefit of partner countries and Australia. As with many other sectors and organisations, the pandemic is likely to change both what we seek to do and how we do it. ACIAR, like many of our partners, faces important decisions about how best to respond in the coming years. As an evidence-based organisation, one of our responses has been to assess the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the responses to it, on smallholders and food systems in our region. We are doing this so that we and our partners can better understand intervention opportunities and priorities. In May 2020, we published a rapid assessment that had been conducted over the preceding few weeks. That report provided the foundation for the more systematic, integrated assessment presented here, focusing on impacts and response options in Pacific island countries, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, Indonesia and the Philippines. This work was led by a joint team from the Australian National University and the CSIRO, who worked closely with people and partner agencies in focus countries. Applying a common analytical framework across diverse geographies provides insights into the multiple impacts on food systems of COVID-19, while revealing common issues and options across the region. While the global health crisis caused by the pandemic has yet to precipitate a global food crisis, food systems are under significant pressure, often amplifying existing problems and weaknesses. This analysis of COVID-19 impacts on food systems across a sample of ACIAR partner countries is a sobering reminder of the very human implications of this tragedy in the immediate and long term. However, it also spotlights many opportunities for governments, communities and private sector organisations throughout the food value chains to help build more effective, resilient and sustainable food systems. At ACIAR we are deeply committed to playing our part on behalf of Australia and we are actively considering how best to do so in a COVID and post-COVID world. This timely report will help us, and will hopefully be of interest to our many partners across the region. Andrew Campbell Chief Executive Officer, ACIAR, October 2020 iii The COVID-19 shock has reverberated through food systems since its onset in early 2020, exposing and amplifying existing vulnerabilities. Photo: ACIAR / Conor Ashleigh iv | TECHNICAL REPORT 96 Authors Lisa Robins Aparna Lal Australian National University Australian National University Steven Crimp John F. McCarthy Australian National University Australian National University Monica van Wensveen Andrew McWilliam CSIRO Western Sydney University Robyn G. Alders Anton Simon M. Palo Australian National University Foodlink Advocacy Co-operative, Philippines R. Michael Bourke Nicholas Thomson Australian National University Australian National University James Butler Peter Warr CSIRO Australian National University Michaela Cosijn Michael Webb CSIRO CSIRO Federico Davila University of Technology Sydney Project leaders Dr Lisa Robins Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University Dr Steven Crimp Climate Change Institute, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University Monica van Wensveen CSIRO Agriculture and Food v Contents List of tables ..................................................................................................................................................................................viii List of figures ................................................................................................................................................................................. ix Acknowledgments .....................................................................................................................................................................x ACIAR ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... xi Acronyms and abbreviations .........................................................................................................................................xii Executive summary ................................................................................................................................................................xv 1. Introduction ..............................................................................................................................................................................1 2. Analytical framework .......................................................................................................................................................7 2.1 Food systems as complex systems .............................................................................................................................8 2.2 Analytical framework ............................................................................................................................................................8 2.3 References .................................................................................................................................................................................. 14 3. Synopsis of assessments ...........................................................................................................................................15 3.1 Abstract ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 16 3.2 COVID-19 in the Indo-Pacific region........................................................................................................................ 17 3.3 Synopsis approach .............................................................................................................................................................