There are different types of coronavirus that originate from the family Coronaviridae. Novel Coronavirus (species SARS-CoV-2) is the one that causes the Covid-19 disease which was declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020, by the World Health Organisation (WHO). This was announced by WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus after the number of cases outside China increased by 13-fold.

The virus originated from an animal sold in the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan, China. It was being transmitted from animal to human in late November 2019 and the rest is awful history whereby 2.6 million positive cases have been detected in 210 countries, causing 183,894 deaths as of April 22, 2020. Covid-19 attacks the upper respiratory system and lung functionality. Scientists are attempting to find a vaccine.

Movement Control Order

In Malaysia, the Prime Minister announced the Movement Control Order (MCO) in an attempt to curb the spread of the disease, as what has been practised by other countries such as China and Italy.

The first-phase MCO was effective for two weeks (March 18-30, 2020). However, this led to panic buying of groceries and home-related necessities to stock up foodstuff before March 18. Consumers bought items such as rice, canned food, instant noodles, flour, oil and fresh food like vegetables, fruits, poultry and meat. There were also claims of purchases exceeding the necessity of households due to greed. Some consumers did not get the basic necessities due to these buyers.

When everyone was asked to stay at home, those involved in the food supply chain continued to work along with the medical frontliners to ensure sufficient food supply for Malaysians. It is highly crucial to maintain the supply of our staple food supply such as rice, vegetables, fruits, fish, poultry and its products.

Farmers face challenges

But the work situation was not the same for the farmers. It made things complicated. Local authorities restricted the number of workers in farms despite permission given by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries.

Farmers had difficulty obtaining from raw material needs (e.g. seed supply) to farm operational needs (e.g. seedling bed maintenance, irrigation, fertilizer supply, pesticide supply, method of harvest) and manpower.

After harvest, farmers may need to do sorting, grading, packaging and transportation prior to the goods reaching consumers. But while we are required to practice social distancing, farmers faced challenges in this issue to maintain their supply.

Some farmers from Cameron Highlands resorted to dumping their vegetables due to road closures and also multiple police checks, leading to delay in the goods reaching the destinations. Fresh food like fruits, vegetables and mushrooms are highly perishable and need proper storage conditions during transportation.

Ironically, this is causing massive food wastage whereas consumers in certain areas do not have enough food supply.

Farmers are facing monetary losses on a daily basis and they face difficulty in paying workers’ salaries and continue with their farm operation.

Consequently, farmers resorted to increasing the prices of the current goods as limited supply is available. Although this is not ethical, consumers continue to purchase to put food on the table for their families.

Alternatives in place

As for Malaysian farmers, fishermen, flower sellers, they have resorted to a few alternatives amid this pandemic. They have created online advertisements (e.g. Facebook and WhatsApp), which they circulate in their neighborhood and offer a cash-on-delivery facility, taking orders and delivering directly to the customers’ houses.

Additionally, there is FAMA and AgroBazaar Online.

Hypermarkets also have online order facilities to reduce the number of customers present physically so as to maintain social distancing.

Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) trying to help to ensure that food reaches the low-income families are listed below:

• Food Bank Malaysia
• What a Waste
• Happy Bank Crew
• Persatuan Kechara Soup Kitchen
• Grub Cycle Sdn Bhd
• The Lost Food Project
• Food Aid Foundation
• Pertubuhan Tindakan Wanita Islam Malaysia
• Yayasan Hasanah

FAO foresees more problems

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has projected more problems in the upcoming months due to a food shortage crisis around the globe. FAO says this will continue to have negative effects on people along the food supply chain, from producers to processors, transporters, marketers and consumers.

Thus, food that is usually imported into Malaysia may face the consequences as well due to the lockdown in many countries that may affect the logistics.

Meat and dairy products are usually imported from Australia and New Zealand. Some climacteric and non-climacteric fruits are usually imported from China, Europe, Japan and South Africa. Similarly, fish and seafood are imported from neighboring countries and also as far as Norway, in the case of salmon.

Thus, the people involved in the food supply chain must strive to maintain a smooth operation as it is highly necessary to supply Malaysians with an adequate amount of food during this pandemic.

-- BERNAMA

Dr Raseetha Vani Siva Manikam is a senior lecturer (Food Science and Technology Programme), Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Shah Alam, Malaysia.