Druetz Thomas, Brenes-Garita Sara, Bicaba Frank, Tiendrebeogo Cheick, Bicaba Abel
Department of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, Suite 2300, 1440 Canal St., New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA.
School of Public Health, University of Montreal, CP 6128, Succursale Centre Ville, Montreal, QC, H3C 3J7, Canada.
BMC Nutr. 2024 Oct 8;10(1):132. doi: 10.1186/s40795-024-00942-x.
Burkina Faso implemented stringent measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that profoundly affected its economy and might have exacerbated food insecurity. While prior studies have assessed the impact of these measures on consumers, there is a dearth of evidence of its effects on food producers in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study aims (i) to evaluate the repercussions of COVID-19 on the possession of food production assets and on the number of livestock owned; and (ii) to determine the correlation between the food insecurity experience scale (FIES) score, ownership of these assets, and the number of livestock owned.
This study employs a pre-post comparison design in two panels of randomly selected households in Burkina Faso. While Panel A was constituted of 384 households predominantly (76%) living in rural areas, Panel B comprised 504 households, only half of which (51%) lived in rural areas. All households were visited twice: in July 2019 and February 2021, for Panel A, and in February 2020 and February 2021, for Panel B. Panel B was added to the study before the pandemic thanks to additional funding; the timing of the survey was harmonized in both panels for the second round. Regression models were used with fixed effects at the household level, controlling for potential time-invariant confounding variables, and correlation coefficients between possession of production assets or number of livestock and FIES score were measured.
Our findings indicate that the possession of some assets in Panel A (cart, livestock, bicycle, watch) was significantly reduced during the pandemic, as was the herd sizes among livestock-owning households in both panels. Households with fewer production assets and number of livestock were more likely to experience food insecurity.
This study underscores the vulnerability of rural households in Burkina Faso to the economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Addressing the challenges faced by farming and livestock-owning households is crucial for mitigating food insecurity and improving resilience in the face of ongoing crises.
布基纳法索针对新冠疫情实施了严格措施，这对其经济产生了深远影响，可能加剧了粮食不安全状况。虽然此前的研究评估了这些措施对消费者的影响，但缺乏关于其对撒哈拉以南非洲粮食生产者影响的证据。本研究旨在：（i）评估新冠疫情对粮食生产资产拥有情况和所拥有牲畜数量的影响；（ii）确定粮食不安全经历量表（FIES）得分、这些资产的所有权以及所拥有牲畜数量之间的相关性。
本研究在布基纳法索随机选取的两个家庭小组中采用前后比较设计。A组由384户家庭组成，其中大部分（76%）生活在农村地区，B组由504户家庭组成，其中只有一半（51%）生活在农村地区。所有家庭均接受了两次访问：A组在2019年7月和2021年2月，B组在2020年2月和2021年2月。由于额外资金，B组在疫情之前被纳入研究；两个小组第二轮调查的时间进行了统一。使用家庭层面固定效应的回归模型，控制潜在的时间不变混杂变量，并测量生产资产拥有情况或牲畜数量与FIES得分之间的相关系数。
我们的研究结果表明，在疫情期间，A组中一些资产（手推车、牲畜、自行车、手表）的拥有量显著减少，两个小组中拥有牲畜的家庭的畜群规模也是如此。生产资产较少和牲畜数量较少的家庭更有可能经历粮食不安全。
本研究强调了布基纳法索农村家庭在新冠疫情造成的经济混乱面前的脆弱性。应对从事农业和拥有牲畜的家庭所面临的挑战对于缓解粮食不安全状况和提高面对持续危机的恢复力至关重要。
