Publication: COVID-19: Food insecurity and coping strategies in Kenya, Namibia, and Tanzania

Abstract

This study assesses the extent of COVID-19-related food insecurity in Kenya, Tanzania, and Namibia. Using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale, we measure food insecurity in various dimensions and document several food access disruptions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic between April and July 2020. Furthermore, we assess the association of COVID-19 countermeasures with the adoption of various strategies in line with the coping strategies index. We rely on a unique phone survey that followed households who participated in an earlier field-based survey. First, through Ordinary Least-Squares and Probit regressions, we show a strong and statistically significant association between COVID-19 countermeasures and food access disruptions and food insecurity in each of the three countries. We then use a multivariate probit regression model to understand the use of the various coping strategies, including reducing food intake, increasing food search, and relying more on less nutritious foods. We provide evidence on the complementarities and trade-offs in using these coping strategies. COVID-19 and related lockdown measures coincided with a deleterious increase in food insecurity in rural Africa.

Tabe-Ojong, MP, Gebrekidan, BH, Nshakira-Rukundo, E, Börner, J, & Heckelei, T 2022, ‘COVID-19 in rural Africa: Food access disruptions, food insecurity and coping strategies in Kenya, Namibia, and Tanzania‘, Agricultural Economics, pp. 1– 20. DOI, Full Text.

More CRC News

picture taken at a workshop

Exploring Platformization in Africa: Insights from a Workshop on Digital Transformation

By Victoria Luxen (Project C01 Future in Chains). From February 24 to 27, 2025, I participated in the workshop “Writing about Platformization from Africa” at ...
Read More »
poster for a public lecture

CRC-TRR Public Lecture: Stefan Ouma

Mon | April 7th, 2025 | 16:00 – 17:30  (CEST) Between the City and the Countryside: Centering Accumulation in African Studies Prof. Dr. Stefan Ouma ...
Read More »
a Picture of the Thwake Dam in Kenya

New Publication: Infrastructural Promises and the Non-Economy of Anticipation – Lessons from the Thwake Dam

In this article, Arne Rieber, Eric Kioko and Theo Aalders (Project C03 Green Futures) examine how the promises of large-scale infrastructure projects shape community aspirations ...
Read More »
the image shows the book "visions for an african valley" by jonathan jackson

New Monograph Explores Over a Century of Development Visions in Tanzania’s Kilombero Valley

Future Rural Africa researcher Jonathan M. Jackson (Project A02 Past Futures) recently expanded on his doctoral research in a monograph titled “Visions for an African ...
Read More »
This illustration portrays the emerging labor camp near the future Kidunda Dam construction site, highlighting the intersection of infrastructure development, precarious labor, and the yet-to-materialize promises of the dam project

New Publication: How Labour has the Potential to Make Marginalised Futures Visible and Real

In this recent publication, Theo Aalders and Detlef Müller-Mahn (Project C03 Green Futures) explore how labour shapes future-making in East African infrastructure projects, balancing between ...
Read More »
Scroll to Top