There are many trade and travel restrictions in place across the world to help stop the spread of the pandemic — this has resulted in full, vertical supply chain disruption and in many countries has stopped food from being delivered to densely populated areas.

Conversly, due to the supply chain chaos farms are struggling to ship out their fruit and vegetables on time — increasing food waste and leaving farmers with no business.

Meanwhile, the economic slowdown has triggered a fall in demand, leaving unsellable fruits and vegetables rotting in fields and orchards and farmers without an income.

As of today, there are no fluctuations in the price of global food.

In March 2020, the Food Price Index calculated by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) showed that, despite surges in “panic-buying” among consumers in many countries, global prices actually dropped 4.3 percent from February 2020. This was largely a result of Covid-19-related demand contractions amid lockdowns and quarantines.

Likewise, global food supplies are adequate. For instance, the FAO’s estimate for global cereal production in 2019 is 2.3 percent higher than cereal production levels in 2018. In the United States, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Purdue confirmed food supplies are plentiful during a Coronavirus Task Force Press Briefing in mid-April.

“My biggest concern is that there are a whole load of people out there that had the ability to feed themselves and now can’t. It puts the UN sustainable development goal to eradicate hunger by 2030 further out of reach.

Agnes Kalibata, Rwandandad Agricultural Scientist

But the development of shorter supply chains that can channel perishable and nutritious food quicker and with less environmental impact, will be critical, she added.

From farm to fork, the food supply chain accounts for 29% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the UN. About a third of all food produced goes to waste.

While local food systems are not going to replace the global food trade, the creation of new intra-regional markets could plug the demand gap during the pandemic and global recession that follows.

Developing shorter supply chains where possible to get food to those who need it and reduce the sector’s environmental impact will be important, Kalibata said.

Supply chain organisations in large enterprises need to be doing their part to reduce food waste and support the food producers in the chain. By utilising technology such as forecast or order management systems to accurately forecast demand and push orders to multiple suppliers we can shorten supply chains, support the environment and increase social responsibility.