Coronavirus is the biggest news in the world today. It is an infectious disease that can cause illnesses such as common cold, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). Symptoms of this disease can be mild or severe and can appear between 2 to 14 days of exposure.
Read more about Corona Virus
Since its outbreak in China, coronavirus disease, which is also known as COVID-19, has spread with the speed of wild fire. With each passing day, new cases of the disease are reported in growing number of countries. The World Health Organization has declared it a global pandemic. In a bid to control the spread of COVID-19, some countries have implemented national lockdown measures.
In Nigeria, the government at state level has done well to ensure the safety of students and civil servants. Yet, the number of COVID-19 cases in the country has increased. This fact has caused the government to take the drastic step of market closure; it has also caused citizens to heed the call for social distancing and to stay at home. But what effect will this have on food supply?
For their part, buyers are indulging in panic buying which is also an aspect of hoarding. Even though the Lagos State Government, for instance, insists that basic supplies will be accessible, the citizens are not taking chances. Who can blame them? No one wants a lockdown situation without having a substantial quantity of what they consider requisite food supplies. As expected, this panic buying has caused a spike in prices of foodstuffs. If this continues, the country might experience shortage in food supply.
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Again, food security crisis may occur in the country if COVID-19 is not managed quickly. This is so because herdsmen crisis, Boko Haram attacks, and the resultant displacement of people and farmland destruction has caused agric production to nosedive. The lockdown will no doubt worsen an already hard situation.
Furthermore, food distribution from farms to consumers may prove challenging in the face of a failure to promptly manage this pandemic.
In conclusion, COVID-19 is real; let us wash and sanitize our hands as often as possible. We should also learn methods of good preservation like salting, blast freezing, and frying. It will help us to preserve some of our food purchases in this time of coronavirus. Stay Safe.
Sources:
African Harvesters
Mayo Clinic
The Africa Report
Featured Image Source: Independent Newspapers
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