Pandemic outbreaks and food supply chains in developing countries: A case of COVID-19 in Zimbabwe

Chari, Felix; Muzinda, Ozwell; Novukela, Cawe; Ngcamu, Bethuel Sibongiseni Article Pandemic outbreaks and food supply chains in developing countries: A case of COVID-19 in Zimbabwe Cogent Business & Management Provided in Cooperation with: Taylor & Francis Group Suggested Citation: Chari, Felix; Muzinda, Ozwell; Novukela, Cawe; Ngcamu, Bethuel Sibongiseni (2022) : Pandemic outbreaks and food supply chains in developing countries: A case of COVID-19 in Zimbabwe, Cogent Business & Management, ISSN 2331-1975, Taylor & Francis, Abingdon, Vol. 9, Iss. 1, pp. 1-13, https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2022.2026188 This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/288314 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. 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If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=oabm20 Cogent Business & Management ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: www.tandfonline.com/journals/oabm20 Pandemic outbreaks and food supply chains in developing countries: A case of COVID-19 in Zimbabwe Felix Chari, Ozwell Muzinda, Cawe Novukela & Bethuel Sibongiseni Ngcamu To cite this article: Felix Chari, Ozwell Muzinda, Cawe Novukela & Bethuel Sibongiseni Ngcamu (2022) Pandemic outbreaks and food supply chains in developing countries: A case of COVID-19 in Zimbabwe, Cogent Business & Management, 9:1, 2026188, DOI: 10.1080/23311975.2022.2026188 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2022.2026188 © 2022 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license. Published online: 17 Feb 2022. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 3657 View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 8 View citing articles OPERATIONS, INFORMATION & TECHNOLOGY | RESEARCH ARTICLE Pandemic outbreaks and food supply chains in developing countries: A case of COVID-19 in Zimbabwe Felix Chari 1 *, Ozwell Muzinda 2 , Cawe Novukela 1 and Bethuel Sibongiseni Ngcamu 3 Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic took a devastating human and economic toll on the entire globe. Although Africa had fewer number of cases compared to all other continents, the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on food supply chains was devastating, yet the pathways through which it affected the continent remain poorly documented and understood. With this background in mind, this study explored the ways in which food supply chains were disrupted by COVID-19 in Zimbabwe. The study used a qualitative methodology and a descriptive survey with 32 participants from food supply chain networks. The results reveal that due to COVID-19 restrictions, food supply chains were disrupted right from the production stage, transportation stage up to access markets. More specifically, COVID-19 restrictions negatively affected production and supply of food items. Secondly, transportation of food supplies was adversely affected as haulage companies as well as local suppliers and importers had challenges getting lockdown exemption letters. Thirdly, COVID-19 restrictions increased the demand for food stuffs as consumers stockpiled to ensure their food security. Lastly, COVID-19 pandemic increased food prices as consumer expenditure on food items increased. This study contributes to the body of knowledge since, to the best knowledge of the authors, it is the first study to identify and address the consequences of COVID-19 pandemic on food supply chains in Zimbabwe. This study is also significant to policy makers and practitioners in the optimization of food supply chains in possible subsequent waves and future pandemics. Subjects: Economics; Business, Management and Accounting; Industry & Industrial Studies Keywords: coronavirus; pandemic; supply chain; food supply chain PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT This study explored the ways in which COVID-19 disrupted food supply chains in Zimbabwe. The study relied on interviews with 32 participants from food supply chain networks whose results were triangulated with secondary data from published newspaper articles. The results reveal that restriction of people movement crippled subsistence farming, commercial farming, and agro food processing. There were difficulties distributing food supplies both within local suppliers and imports and food price skyrocketed. Furthermore, demand for food stuff increased. This study contributes to the body of knowledge since it is the first to identify and address the consequences of COVID-19 pandemic on food supply chains in Zimbabwe. This study is also significant to policy makers and practitioners in the optimization of food supply chains in possible subsequent waves and future pandemics. Chari et al., Cogent Business & Management (2022), 9: 2026188 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2022.2026188 Page 1 of 13 Received 12 August 2021 Accepted 2 January 2022 *Corresponding author: Felix Chari Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, Private Bag X1, Unitra, 5117, South Africa E-mail: [email protected] Reviewing editor: Albert W. K. Tan, Department of Public Management and Leadership, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Singapore Additional information is available at the end of the article © 2022 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license. 1. Introduction A pandemic is a global epidemic that can greatly increase mortality and cause significant economic, social, and political disruptions (Maurice, 2016). Human history has witnessed many public health incidents where pandemics occurred with widespread human and economic suffering. Pandemics affect the generality of livelihoods across the globe disturbing the complex food supply chain networks. The outbreaks of pandemics have increased in frequency in recent years (Jones et al., 2008; Morse, 1995; Rewar et al., 2016;). Notably, the world experienced various outbreaks such as H1N1 Flue in 2010, Spanish Flu 1918, Hong Kong Flu, H7H9, Zika and Ebola 2013–2014, and the latest novel coronavirus (COVID-19), whose effects on the food supply chain networks is the main focus of this research. COVID-19 origins are attributed to the city of Wuhan in China. The virus spread across the globe through the movement of people. Europe became the first epicentre outside of China, followed by the United States of America (Horowit, 2020). According to the World Health Organisation (WHO; 2020) statistics, by 30 August 2020, the virus had infected more than two million people worldwide —making it the highest classification of any disease outbreak. Zimbabwe confirmed its first COVID- 19 case on 21 March 2020, and cases rapidly increased to 5745 by 20 August 2020 (OCHA, 2020). On 30 March 2020, the government placed the country on a nationwide lockdown that closed borders and imposed travel restrictions to slow down the spread of infection. Unlike the previous pandemics in Zimbabwe—such as HIV/AIDS—that directly affected food security through reduction in food availability due to falling production, loss of family labour, and declining income for food purchases; COVID-19 brought all that on in the single swipe of a lockdown (Muzari et al., 2014). The COVID-19 induced lockdown restrictions severely affected economies the world over in general, and third world economies in particular. Anxiety about the lockdown restrictions and the implications of the virus on food supply chains induced international food insecurity. The impact of natural disasters on food supply chains is increasing significantly and has notably turned into humanitarian crises in the past (Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 2018). This study explores the ways in which food supply chains were disrupted by COVID-19 pandemic induced lockdown in Zimbabwe. The food supply chain structure in Zimbabwe is largely shared between local agricultural produce, and agro-processed goods; the bulk of which comes from South Africa, Zambia, Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana, Malaysia, Vietnam, India, and China (Mutambara et al., 2013). The informal sector dominates the market of farm produce coming from both large- and small-scale commercial farming, as well as excess from households’ subsistence farming (Chasi, 2003). Thus, the structure of food supply chain in Zimbabwe is a complex network of supply chains that draws from both offshore, near shore, and onshore supplies (Mutambara et al., 2013; Rukasha et al., 2021). Studies on COVID-19 and supply chain activities remain scarce, especially in food supply chains. After analysing the literature, it has emerged that most studies have concentrated on Canada, India, and the United States (Deaton & Deaton, 2020; Lemke et al., 2020; Mehrotra et al., 2020; Reardon & Swinnen, 2020; Richards & Rickard, 2020; Saurav et al., 2020; Sharma et al., 2020; Singh et al., 2020). However, infection rates were heterogeneous across countries and idiosyncratic country-specific lockdown strategies were implemented to manage the pandemic situations. It is therefore important to have country-specific studies that would help to develop customized strategies for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and any other future pandemics. This study therefore addresses the following overall research objective: To establish the ways in which food supply chains were disrupted by COVID-19 induced lockdowns in Zimbabwe. The rest of the article is organised as follows: The next section outlines the literature review. Section three is the methodology section, and presents the methods used in this study, while section four presents and discusses results for this study. Section five presents conclusions and recommendations, while section six gives limitations of this study, and recommendations for future studies. Chari et al., Cogent Business & Management (2022), 9: 2026188 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2022.2026188 Page 2 of 13 2. Literature review The section looks at the concepts of pandemics, food supply chains, and has a brief discussion of actors in the food supply chain and how they were influenced by these pandemics. 2.1. Pandemics Pandemics occur across countries or the globe, and affect large numbers of people. Medical texts agree that pandemics have key features that include worldwide extension of the disease, novelty, severity, high attack rates and explosiveness, minimal population immunity, are infectious, and contagious (Maurice, 2016). Pandemics have negative impacts on the health, economy, and security of global countries. The COVID-19 outbreak was no exception, affecting countries on a global scale. The impact was felt across every country, every economic and social sector operations (Guo et al., 2020). Such pandemics are a major cause of supply chain disruptions. Just like other types of disasters (cyclones, drought spells, and wars) which can cause food supply chain disruption, pandemics are offering an unprecedented challenge each time they occur (Reddy, Singh & Anbumozhi, 2016). This study sought to establish the ways in which the COVID- 19 pandemic influenced food supply chains in Zimbabwe. 2.2. Supply chain A supply chain is a sequence or processes in the production and flow of materials, information, and money to satisfy the final customer requirements (Chopra et al., 2018). It includes manufacturers and their suppliers, transporters, warehouses, retailers, and customers depending on the logistics flow. It also includes new product development, distribution, and customer service. The greater part of supply chain management involves managing risks at every stage of the chain to minimize disruptions (Ivanov et al., 2019). These risks to supply chain performance arise not only from the suboptimal interaction within the network but also from the external environment (Jüttner & Maklan, 2011). The supply chains are more often complex and they often interact with each other making it difficult to identify the key stakeholders. Business-to-business transaction data should therefore be monitored to identify key firms in the supply chain as these firms act as restrictions in supply chains (Carvalho et al., 2020). 2.3. Food supply chain Food supply chain covers all activities from farm to fork, including processing, packaging, distribution, storing, and consumption (; Deaton & Deaton, 2020). It is an important component of a system of organizations and people involved in the distribution of food products and services, and any disruptions of the flow can be catastrophic. Disruptions to food supply chains refer to any significant breakdown in the flow of products or services between production and the final customer (Reddy, Singh & Anbunozh, 2016). Kumara and Srivasa (2012) mapped the value chain of food delivery system with different stakeholders involved in the chain. They identified producers (agricultural farmers), agroprocessors, food retailers, distributors, and consumers as key stakeholders in the food supply chain. The implementation of food supply chain management strategies involves identifying these members that are critical. Figure 1 is a brief schematic presentation of the food supply chain actors. Producer farmers are key actors in the primary stages of the production and are normally farmers. Distributors move the food products from one point to another. Retailers are the final Figure 1. Food supply chain. Source: Naing (2008). Chari et al., Cogent Business & Management (2022), 9: 2026188 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2022.2026188 Page 3 of 13 players in the distribution systems and directly engage the final consumer. The consumers in the food supply chain conclude the chain with consumption activities. 2.4. Impact of pandemics on food supply chains Studies (Deaton & Deaton, 2020; Korslund & Kasari, 2009; Richards & Rickard, 2020) show that pandemic outbreaks in general and the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in particular influenced food supply chains in four different ways: food prices, food supply, food demand, and food transportation in developed as well as developing countries. The ways these pandemics affect different countries are different given that infection rates and strategies to address the pandemic situation are different. This section explores the ways in which pandemic outbreaks influenced food supply chains. The patterns in the previous pandemics show negative impacts on pricing of food items. During the Ebola outbreak, food prices remained relatively stable in the first half of the year 2015. This was owing to a good harvest during the previous year. However, food prices increased towards the end of year 2015 due to low food supplies, owing to poor agricultural productivity due to pandemic outbreak (World Food Programme (WFP), 2017). Similarly, the Spanish flu outbreak affected farming in the whole of Europe, leading to low output and high food prices. It can however be noted that the Spanish flu outbreak came during the First World War, and that also contributed to food shortages (Garrett, 2007). Unlike the Ebola effect, the H1NI flu resulted in a widespread decrease in demand for pork and pork products leading to a fall in both sales and, subsequently, prices (Korslund & Kasari, 2009). The drop in pork prices was as a result of consumers linking the virus outbreak with consumption of pork products and not because of high supplies (Korslund & Kasari, 2009). Conversely, Gupta et al. (2021) predicted that during pandemic non-disrupted suppliers will increase prices as other suppliers are affected by disruptions. The current study provides valuable information on the implications of COVID-19 induced lockdown on food prices in Zimbabwe. Pandemic outbreaks have direct impact on food demand as the levels of income are directly related to expenditure (Verikios & Sulluvian, 2011). The direct economic effects of pandemics on humans is that of increased healthcare expenditure, and an increase in job losses, leaving the public with less disposable income. This was seen in the fall of rice demand in Central Africa during the Ebola outbreak. The fall in demand then was due to lower income among consumers against higher prices pushed by higher export demand (Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 2018). During the SARS outbreak in Asia the demand for food suddenly dropped. Demand for food from both supermarket and restaurants slumped, mainly in China (Korslund & Kasari, 2009). The movement restrictions imposed led to demand shock particularly on consumption (Shannon & Willoughby, 2004). SARS was then summarised as affecting economic growth due to reduced demand. Similarly, demand for pork products dropped drastically during the H1N1 influenza outbreak both in Asian and overseas markets as consumers linked the outbreak to pork consumption (Korslund & Kasari, 2009). Researches (Deaton & Deaton, 2020; Gray, 2020; Lemke et al., 2020; Mehrotra et al., 2020) carried out so far in Canada and the US show that when COVID-19 broke out, there was a surge in demand for food as governments implemented various policies to curb the spread of the virus. Deconinck et al. (2021) also established that COVID-19 pandemic caused a surge in retail demand for food in France, Germany and the United States. There being no similar study carried out in Zimbabwe at the moment, this study will give insight into how COVID-19 induced lockdown influenced demand for food in Zimbabwe. During the past pandemic outbreaks, transportation of food supplies was always regarded as essential services. However, just as during the Ebola outbreak, people were afraid of going out to work in fear of contracting the disease (Shultz et al., 2016). This resulted in few people volunteering in transportation of food supplies during the food assistance programmes (Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 2018). A study on COVID-19 by Richards and Rickard (2020) notes that transporters in Canada faced labour and logistical constraints to move vegetables. Given the Chari et al., Cogent Business & Management (2022), 9: 2026188 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2022.2026188 Page 4 of 13 extent to which the pandemic spread across the globe, and the measures taken to combat it were different, it is imperative for these researchers to establish the implications it had to the transportation of food supplies in Zimbabwe. Pandemics outbreak likewise influence agricultural production. Literature examining the impacts of the Spanish flu showed that in America and Europe, farming activities were severely reduced and suffered double digit losses (Garrett, 2007). Human mortality reduced the supply of farm labour. This affected prices at the end of farm produce supply chain (Brainerd & Siegler, 2003). Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO; 2018) also notes that when the Ebola virus (2014/2015) struck, it wreaked havoc across central and western Africa disrupting rice (the main staple food) harvesting in Central Africa. Rice production across Central Africa uses labour-intensive methods involving teamwork in different stages of production mainly during planting and harvesting (Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 2018). A study by Shultz et al. (2016) revealed that due to fear of infection farmers were not willing join production teams leading to rice shortages across Central Africa. In Liberia, for example, 47% of farmers were not able to cultivate their land due to the outbreak of Ebola (Shultz et al., 2016). However, the effects of Ebola on rice shortages did not spill over across the whole world as other major suppliers in China, India, and Southern Africa continued to feed the supply chains (Shultz et al., 2016). In a similar study by Brahmbhatt (2005) on the effects of Avian flu in Asia, it was established that the pandemic reduced poultry products supply. Poultry losses meant financial losses and affected the poultry supply chain and the food sector as a whole. Absenteeism from work, and disruption in business activities and production processes led to food supply chain shocks at the national and global level (Brahmbhatt, 2005). In a study of OECD countries on COVID-19, Deconinck et al. (2021) noted that farm production of fruits and vegetables suffered due to labour shortage as lockdown measures limited the mobility of people. The above review reveals that there are some published articles focusing on COVID-19 pandemic showing food supply chain was affected. However, such studies are still scarce in some regions and countries. Furthermore, most studies done on COVID-19 disruption of the supply chain have been in non-food sectors; for example, Paul et al. (2020) studied the disruption of transportation in pharmaceuticals in Bangladesh, while Fartaj et al. (2020) studied transportation disruption in automotive industry in the same country. However, studies carried out so far show that the extent of disruption depends on the industry and country hence the need for different studies for different industries and countries. Since studies (Lemke et al., 2020; Mehrotra et al., 2020) have revealed that different countries have had different experiences with the pandemic, the objective of this study is to investigate ways in which the COVID-19 induced lockdown affected food supply chain in Zimbabwe. 3. Methodology 3.1. Data The main objective of this study was to identify and synthesise the ways in which food supply chains in Zimbabwe were disrupted by COVID-19 induced lockdown. To address this objective, the study adopted an interpretive research paradigm. The approach requires the social phenomena to be appreciated through the views of participant supply chain stakeholders and not the researchers (Guba & Lincoln, 1994). The qualitative inquiry was appropriate as it seeks to establish the views of the participants with rigor, precision, systematic and careful attention to detail (Richards, 2003). Primary data was collected from supply chain stakeholders in food supply chains that included farmers, food processing entities, food retailers, transporters and consumers across the country through semi-structured in-depth interviews. The researchers probed the interviewees to further explore points as they arose during the interview. The supply chain stakeholders’ populations were grouped into strata, followed by purposive sampling to come up with 32 participants, with a fair representation from the different groups. Purposive sampling enabled the researchers to get Chari et al., Cogent Business & Management (2022), 9: 2026188 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2022.2026188 Page 5 of 13 pertinent information to address the research objective (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016). The study used intra-method triangulation by adopting two qualitative data collection tools simultaneously to enhance trustworthiness of the findings (Carter et al., 2014). Secondary data gathered from newspaper articles was triangulated with primary data from in-depth individual interviews to achieve credibility, dependability, and transferability (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016). Data saturation and similarities in responses among interviewees also validated the research instrument and the accuracy of responses (Stevenson & Mahmut, 2013). 3.2. Analysis The analysis of data was based on interpretive philosophy through examining meaningful and symbolic content of qualitative data (Patton, 2014). The data generated through in-depth individual interviews were analysed using NVivo Version 12, a computer-aided qualitative data analysis software and presented in vignettes. Thematic analysis was applied on gathered data to identify common issues that recurred and establish the main themes (Patton, 2014). Using NVivo, data from interviews were transcribed, and responses to each question were grouped and coded to develop themes. 3.3. Ethical considerations It is worthwhile to note that all participants in this study did so voluntarily (Carter et al., 2014). No incentives were handed out, which might have resulted in some persuasion. All respondents’ right to privacy was maintained, and no names and identification were asked for in the process. Full consent of participants was obtained before the survey. The researchers assured participants that data collected would remain confidential in order to obtain and report rich detailed data (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016). Furthermore, the researchers ensured that other researchers’ findings were acknowledged. The researchers also avoided explicit, defamatory and offensive language during the structuring of the interview guide and write-up of this paper in a bid to remain ethical during the study (Fouka & Mantzorou 2017). 4. Results and discussion 4.1. Demographic characteristics The demographic characteristics of respondents are shown in Table 1. Findings in Table 1 show 62.5% of the participants were male and 37.5% were female implying a male dominated food supply chain. Results from the table also show that a large proportion of participants (31.2%) were in the age range of 41–50 years, while 21.9% of the participants were in the age range of 31–40 years, and 21.9% were between 51 and 60 years. It can therefore be interpreted that a large proportion of stakeholders in food supply chain are relatively mature with ages above 31 years. The table further indicates that a large proportion of participants (46.9%) had a first degree as their highest level of educational qualification, as compared to 25.0% of participants with diplomas, and 15.6% with postgraduate qualifications. 4.2. Food supply chains disruptions during COVID-19 pandemic Findings from this study reveal four specific themes emerging from interviews with participants. The themes were identified as ●supply of agricultural produce; ●food prices; ●transportation of food supplies; ●demand for food. Table 2 shows the frequency in which each theme was raised. Chari et al., Cogent Business & Management (2022), 9: 2026188 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2022.2026188 Page 6 of 13 Table 2 reveals all the participants (100%) agreed that COVID-19 pandemic affected the supply of agricultural produce and 94% pointed to its adverse effect on food prices. The table also shows that the majority of stakeholder participants (94%) faced problems transporting food supplies due to the impact of COVID-19, while 88% of the participants shared the same view that lockdown restrictions increased demand of food stuff. The subsections below give a detailed presentation, interpretation and discussion of the themes. 4.2.1. Supply of agricultural produce The informants shared same sentiments that in Zimbabwe most of the agricultural products are sold on the open market area, and the lockdown measures implemented by the government resulted in closure of these farm produce markets. Government’s orders to lock down the country and urging of people to stay at home rocked the nation’s food supply chain, with many farmers failing to deliver produce to the market. Vegetable farmers were hit harder due to the perishable nature of vegetables. One farmer from Domboshawa, a small township north of the capital city, Harare, cried foul on the availability of market for tomatoes: Most farmers had a good tomato harvest but access to market places remained a challenge despite government’s easing of restrictions on food producers as essential services. (Farmer from Domboshawa, 24 May 2020) A local online newspaper concurred that production was disrupted as it reported: Marketing and distribution of fresh farm produce was severely impacted by COVID-19, in the first week of the national lockdown, fresh farm produce markets like Mbare Musika in Harare were completely closed. During this period, farmers were stranded with their produce especially perishables such as green vegetables and tomatoes. (Great Dyke News 24, April 18, Great Dyke News 24, 2020) Table 1. Demographic characteristics of respondents Demographic characteristics Sample size Percentage (%) Gender Male 20 62.5 Female 12 37.5 Age ≤30 years 05 15.6 31≤ years ≤40 07 21.9 41≤ years ≤50 10 31.2 51≤ years ≤60 07 21.9 ≥61 years 03 09.4 Supply chain stakeholders Farmers 10 31.2 Food processors 04 12.5 Food retailers 12 37.5 Transporters 06 18.8 Experience in supply chain management 0 ≤ years ≤ 5 04 12.5 6 ≤ years ≤ 10 06 18.8 11 ≤ years ≤ 15 10 31.2 ≥16 years 12 37.5 Level of education O Level 04 12.5 Diploma 08 25.0 Degree 15 46.9 Postgraduate 05 15.6 Chari et al., Cogent Business & Management (2022), 9: 2026188 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2022.2026188 Page 7 of 13