The impacts of covid 19 pandemic on rice farmers in nigeria and vietnam

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL AND FORESTRY ANIEBONAM EBUKA EMMANUEL NAME THE IMPACTS OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON RICE FARMERS IN NIGERIA AND VIETNAM BACHELOR THESIS Study Mode: Major: Faculty: Batch: Full-time Environmental Science and Management Advance Education Program 2017 - 2020 Thai Nguyen, 30/10/2020 DOCUMENTATION PAGE WITH ABSTRACT Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry Degree Program Bachelor of Environmental Science and Management Student name Aniebonam Ebuka Emmanuel Student ID Thesis Title DTN 1654290025 The Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Rice Farmers in Nigeria and Vietnam Supervisor (s) Dr Ho Ngoc Son, PhD and Dr Aaron Kingsbury Supervisor’s Signature Abstract: The impacts of Covid-19 outbreak on food supply, trade and demands may lead to serious destructions in the world Moreover, the disease outbreaks affected rice production, supply, and demands in Vietnam and Nigeria, reducing the sustainability of their farm products through different channels The outbreak has led to a reduction in the labour force which comprises of seasonal and migrant workers, it can also affect land preparation, crop maintenance, planting and harvesting, and also reduces the level of employment in labour industries leading to shifting productions from cash to food crops Furthermore, this could also cause starvation to the people living in the country, since the rice farmers could not be able to produce the amount of rich needed by the people Vietnam and some parts of Nigeria are well known for rice productions, and since the outbreak, a lot of farmers could not be able to visit their farm or cultivate rice because of the social distancing rules in the country to maintain and control the spread of the deadly virus Hence, this research consists of multiple methods which will be used to identify and analyze the challenges which are being faced by rice farmers in Vietnam and Nigeria This research was carried out to determine how farmers in Vietnam and Nigeria are being impacted by Covid-19 in their daily lives, how they manage their production and how the government responds to them during the pandemic A total amount of 60 rice farmers from different countries (Vietnam & Nigeria) were interviewed, 30 rice farmers from Nigeria and 11 from Vietnam responded through online Survey123 and the remaining 19 rice farmers from Vietnam were interviewed faceto-face And after their response I was able to analyze and determine a lot of differences in their rice productions during the Covid-19 outbreak, also identify how the government can help and support the farmers during this period so that they can be able to produce more rice and reduce the impacts of the virus to their production ii Keywords: Covid-19, Rice Farmers, Governments, Starvation, Pandemic, Survey 123 The number of pages: Date of Submission: 51 12-12-2020 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT At first, I want to thank the almighty God for giving me strength, grace, and wisdom to accomplish my studies Secondly, I would also like to thanks Dr Ho Ngoc Son, Deputy Director Agriculture and Forestry Research & Development Center for Mountainous Region of Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry Vietnam, special gratitude to Aaron J Kingsbury, PhD Assistant Professor of Arts and Sciences Maine Maritime Academy the USA, and huge thanks to Arinafril, Dr, Phil Environmental Toxicologist Department of Agroecotechnology Faculty of Agriculture, Sriwijaya University Indonesia, For their positive criticism and successful guidance, contributing to the effectiveness of this report Also, I thank my parents and all my family members for believing in me and supporting me in my academic years making sure that they always provide anything which I needed in my academic life to be successful Finally, I want to thank the entire Advanced Education Program director, teachers and other staffs, those who put their positive effort during my studying days to make sure that I achieve my goal in this program My best regards to all my Vietnamese classmates that helps me during this research I pray that the almighty God will reward everyone that contributed to the success of this research Sincerely Aniebonam Ebuka Emmanuel iv TABLE OF CONTENT DOCUMENTATION PAGE WITH ABSTRACT ii TABLE OF CONTENT v List of Figures List of Tables List of Abbreviations PART I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Research rationale 1.2.Research’s objectives 1.3.Research questions and hypotheses 1.1.Limitations PART II LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1.Coronavirus and COVID-19 2.2.OVID-19 and food security 10 2.3.Disruptions to food supply chains 12 2.4.Rice farmers adaptation to COVID-19 14 PART iii METHODS 16 3.1 Materials 16 3.2 Data collection 18 3.3 Questionnaire 18 3.4 Observation 19 3.5 Data Analysis 19 3.6 Profile of Study 19 PART IV RESULTs and discussion 21 4.1.Demographic Characteristics of 60 Respondents 21 4.2 Rice farmer’s response on how they run their farming system 22 4.3 How COVID-19 impacts on rice farmers in Nigeria and Vietnam 23 4.4 What is the government doing to help farmers adjust the impacts of covid-19? 25 PART V CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 27 v 5.1 Conclusions 27 5.2 Recommendations 28 REFERENCES 30 Appendixes 34 PICTURES OF RESEARCH AREA Error! Bookmark not defined vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3.1 ArcGIS Survey 123 16 Figure 3.2 Research Design 17 Figure 3.3 Map of northern mountainous regions in Vietnam, and Map 20 of Nzam community in Nigeria 20 Figure 4.1 Rice Farmers Response on how they run their farming system 23 Figure 4.2 The response of rice farmer's on the quantity of rice production before and during COVID- 19 24 Figure 4.3 How the government supports the farmers during the pandemic 26 LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1 Respondent’s information’s 22 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CoV – Coronaviruses COVID-19 – Coronavirus 2019 MERS – Middle East Respiratory Syndrome SARS – Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome HCoVs – Human Coronaviruses CoVs – Clinical Outcome Variables Scale SDG – Sustainable Development Goals WHO – World Health Organization NCBI – National Center for Biotechnology Information HIV – Human Immunodeficiency Virus AIDS – Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome GDP – Gross Domestic Product IMF – International Monetary Fund OECD – Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development IFPRI – International Food Policy Research Institute FAO – Food and Agriculture Organization PART I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Research rationale The increase of COVID-19 pandemic has impacted many countries in the world, companies and corporate entities internationally, impacting capital markets and the global economy Political reactions, social distances and lock-downs have contributed to changes in the food supply chain in many countries In Vietnam and Nigeria, social distancing controls have dramatically reduced the amount of rice production in the country, while quarantine and self-isolation rules have limited supply-demand and services The Pandemic of COVID-19 might be the largest health crisis of our time that will bring with it extraordinary challenges Food insecurity is one of such challenges More than 820 million people fall asleep hungry before the COVID-19 disease outbreak, in which 110 million people still live intense food security (UN, 2020) Furthermore, the effects of the pandemic will vary widely insecurity and inequality will most probably increase on a global scale, making the achievement of SDGs even more important (UNDP, 2020) More than quarter of a billion people will experience acute hunger in the coronavirus pandemic by the end of the year 2020, according to new figures from the World Food Programme (WFP), (Paul Anthem, 2020) The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting urban food networks around the world, presenting a variety of issues for cities and municipal councils who have to cope 4.4 What is the government doing to help farmers adjust the impacts of covid-19? Through the chart below shows the response from rice farmers in Nigeria and Vietnam on how the government help them to adjust and manage their rice production during COVID-19 pandemic, and from the response gotten from the 60 rice farmer’s respondent from both countries, 66.7% rice farmer’s respondent responded that nothing was done for them by the government, 10% rice farmers from Nigeria responded that during COVID-19 pandemic the government provided funds and give them loan which they will pay back with low interest, while 23.3% rice farmer’s responded that the government provided palliative for the rice farmers to use in supporting their selves and from the response from 30 rice farmers in Vietnam 50% respondents from said that Nothing was done for them by the government, 16.7% rice responded that the government provided funds and loans for them to use in managing their rice production while 33.3% respondents mentioned that the government gave them palliatives 25 What is the government doing to help farmers adjust the impacts of COVID-19? 80 70 66.7 60 50 50 Nothing was done 40 33.3 30 20 10 23.3 Providing funds and loans Giving Palliative 16.7 10 0 Nigeria Vietnam Figure 4.3 How the government supports the farmers during the pandemic 26 PART V CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 5.1 Conclusions In conclusion, the study shows that COVID-19 pandemic affected the rice farmers in Nigeria and Vietnam productions, through the farmers' response they stated that the virus decreased the amount of their rice production, the lockdown policy make them to always stay at home during this period and they can’t be able to visit their farm Also from the percentage of the respondent shows that the COVID19 pandemic is doing more negative impacts to the rice farmers more than the positive impacts, few farmers explained how they benefit and make a double profit from their rice farm during the pandemic but the numbers of farmers being affected negatively are more than the ones benefiting from the virus Moreover, through the additional comments and results from this study shows that most rice farmers control their rice farms privately without the government support, and also the most rice farmers didn’t get any support, palliatives, funds, et cetera from the government during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this makes it hard for them to produce rice and some rice farmers have to convert their rice farm to other cash crops productions Most rice farmers from both countries mentioned that all they want during this difficult situation is the government support and help, that this could help them to be able to manage their production during the pandemic, they also stated that running their farm privately was their best choice before the pandemic but during 27 the pandemic, they now need government cooperation and support so that they can be able to maintain their lives and their farm production 5.2 Recommendations The study recommends that the government should embark and advocacy programs to educated the rice farmers within the people in the mountainous area in Vietnam and also for the people in Nzam town in Nigeria so that they can be able to understand the problems being face by rice farmers especially during the difficult time like this Through the study it shows that the government should introduce and provides for the rice farmers some social amenities, providing fewer funds with less interest and giving them some farm materials and mechanisms, also introducing the method in which they will use to run their rice farm to make it more productive and sustainable Furthermore, the study recommends that the government should partner with some local farmers from both countries in other to help them to fully understand the challenges and difficulties being faced in their daily rice farming and through this action the government could be able to monitor and take account of how the farming system is going and if there are any issues the governments and farmers will work together to make it right Finally, the study recommends that basic management criteria should be implemented and adopted by the rice farmers in Nigeria and Vietnam Some of these measures include setting up some activities within the farmers in a within the area such as conducting environmental impact assessment, providing environmental code 28 of conducts within their selves, Upgrading their knowledge and ability to communicate and manage their rice production even without the help of the government 29 REFERENCES Africa [online] Rome [Cited March 2020] http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5641e.pdf Anderson, K., Ivanic, M & Martin, W 2013 Food Price Spikes, Price Insulation, and Poverty Washington, DC, The World Bank Armbruster, C., 2020 Rice Farming In Vietnam [online] Vespa Adventures Available at: [Accessed 28 September 2020] Baveja, A., Kapoor, A., & Melamed, B (2020) Stopping COVID-19: A pandemic-management service value chain approach(SSRN Scholarly Paper No ID 3555280) doi: 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https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(20)300795/fulltext 33 APPENDIXES Dear Respondents, We would like to invite you to participate in the research survey on the Impacts of COVID- 19 on rice farmers in Nigeria and Vietnam The set of questionnaires is designed to serve as a survey instrument for identifying the problems and challenges which is being faced by the rice farmers from both countries This survey will help to fulfil the thesis requirements for Degree student under Bachelor degree in Environmental Science and Management, at Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry Your participation in completing the survey questionnaires is vital for the success of this research The result of this research may give recommendations on how the government can be able to help the rice farmers during the pandemic Please not hesitate to contact the researcher if you have any further questions THANK YOU FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS TO SPARE YOUR TIME IN ANSWERING THIS SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES IT WOULD TAKE YOU ONLY 10-15 MINUTES TO COMPLETE THE ENCLOSED QUESTIONNAIRE ALL INFORMATION WILL BE TREATED AS STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL 34 SECTION A: Nationality? …………………… Gender? Male Female What is your age range? 60 What is your farmland size (Ha)? Ha Ha Ha >4 Ha How you run your farming system? Government Support Privately 35 Cooperatively How is the quantity of your Rice Production Before and During COVID-19 pandemic? Increased Decreased The Same What is the government doing to help farmers adjust the impacts of COVID19? Nothing was done Providing funds and loans Giving palliative Some of the rice farmer’s statements on what the government should to help and support them to develop sustainable rice farming Statement The government should Increase loan facilities for rice farmers They should Improve mechanized farming Brief explanation From the rice farmer’s statement, they stated that the government should help to increase the loan facilities which they provide for the rice farmers Because it will help them to manage their rice production and make their farming more sustainable Most of the rice farmers also mentioned that they lack a lot of mechanism for rice farming, so it will be a great idea if the government can 36 Encourage young farmers through training and education for better production Palliatives should be given to all farmers Assessable loans to farmers to start over again especially peasant farmers Reductions in the tax levied to farmers and the public Provision amenities of social Partner with rice farmers by way of public-private partnership Build and maintain accessible road an help in providing some rice farming mechanism for them According to the rice farmers statement especially from Nigeria, responded that the government should encourage the young farmers and educate them on how they can be able to make their rice productions to be more productive Most of the rice farmers a living in mountainous and local areas, therefore, they wish that the government should give palliatives for the rice farmers They also stated that the government should help to give loans to the rice farmers especially the peasant farmers because during the pandemic they find it difficult to raise funds for their rice production Reduction in tax levies should also be among the things the government should for the rice farmers during COVID-19 pandemic, farmers find it difficult to pay their tax during this period The government should provide the necessary resources to real farmers and not ghost Farmers and at the right time too For the late supply of these resources such as fertilizers after planting season makes it equally useless to us These push some farmers to sell them off because it’s already too late to be used unless kept for the next planting season Some rice farmer’s states that they need a partnership with the government; through this, the government can have full details, knowledge and understand more about the challenges being faced by the rice farmers Most rice farmers in Nigeria mentioned that they always have difficulties during transporting their products due to bad road around their community, so they responded that it will them a great favour if the government can help to build and maintain the road for them for easy transportation of their products 37 PICTURES OF RESEARCH AREA Respondents from the northern mountainous area in Vietnam Rice farm in the northern mountainous area in Vietnam 38 Rice farmers from a northern mountainous area in Vietnam 39