Our Covid-19 Response

The Covid-19 Lockdown in South Africa is anticipated to have a long-term impact on poor people’s food availability, access to food, food stability, on the informal food economy and ultimately on community and household health. Outside of the pandemic, many South Africans go hungry and many only have access to food that is nutritionally poor. This is especially so for rural communities whose access to food will be further exacerbated by decreases in remittances from migrant workers, an influx of people back to rural areas as job losses take effect, instability in informal food supply chain, increasing food prices and reduced access to support services. The lockdown is particularly hard felt by smallholder farmers who have limited access to inputs, transportation, finance and extension services at the best of times.

In response, Siyazisiza has rolled out a programme (Food In The Ground) in an attempt to mitigate the anticipated negative short and medium-term impacts (of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown) on food security and livelihoods for smallholder farmers and their immediate communities; and to begin putting in place some of the building blocks for long-term recovery by putting in place protocols and auxiliary resources to guide safe farming and food production activities.