What is COVID-19 teaching us about food vulnerability and ‘People as Infrastructure’?
Case Study: Lagos, Nigeria
Due to its topography and extensive built up area, Lagos has typically relied on food supplies from other parts of Nigeria and beyond. With a significant urban poor population, livelihoods are often based on a daily wage [1], and it is common for people to purchase food similarly, a situation of large-scale food vulnerability [2].
So how does this play out when the city shuts down to protect itself in a pandemic?
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Governance gaps and food system disruptions
In order to effect quick containment of the COVID-19 virus, the federal government instituted a total lockdown of Abuja (Nigeria’s capital city), Lagos (the epicentre of the pandemic), and the adjoining Ogun state in March 2020, in addition to inter-city travel restrictions across the country. Vehicles carrying food, fuel and medical supplies medications were, however, exempted [3] [4].
In spite of exemptions, the food distribution chain was disrupted, as many states in the country also effected lockdown measures and border closures [5]. Furthermore, some policemen along the nation’s highways enforced the lockdown orders arbitrarily — permitting trucks of recognised FCMG corporations and charging unlawful toll fees to smaller food vans to enable passage [6]. This resulted in a situation in which farmers' access to farm and market was impeded, and their ability to supply produce severely hindered[7][8]. Consequently, many local markets in Lagos reported scarcity of vegetables, including tomatoes and other staples usually sourced from other parts of the country [9]. The Mile 12 International Market — arguably West Africa’s largest produce market — was a shadow of itself, with the available food items priced significantly higher than pre-COVID times [10]. There are reports of food price increases of up to 50% in other markets [11].
Food system disruptions due to COVID19 are predicted to continue for the foreseeable future, as farmers complain of logistic challenges and infection rates increase across the country [12]. The Food and Agricultural Organisation (UN) predicts that about seven million Nigerians will experience food shortage between June and August 2020 [13]. This is bound to have serious consequences for Lagos, as the city has an agricultural self-sufficiency rate of only 18 per cent [14].
Systemic challenges amplify food insecurity
The FAO recommends that in order to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on agriculture, countries must meet the immediate food needs of their vulnerable populations, boost their social protection programmes, keep food supply chains flowing and gain efficiencies aimed to reduce costs related to trade [15].
A direct response by the Lagos state government has been the distribution of free food supplies to about 200,000 elderly and other vulnerable residents [16]. However, the programme was fraught with irregularities, complaints of low quality and quantity as well as cases of violent hijacking of supplies by local touts in some areas. To douse the consequent tensions, the government expanded the programme to include a community-based feeding of 100,000 youth daily [17]. This intervention was grossly inadequate, as more than half of the estimated 26 million people living in Lagos [18] are aged below 25 years [19], and a significant proportion are unskilled and unemployed [20]. Other residents, especially informal workers who survive on daily earnings, were compelled to contravene the lock down regulations in search of food and livelihoods, saying that ‘Hunger will kill faster than corona.’ [21] It is widely acknowledged that any disruption to the daily livelihoods of informal workers has a huge and significant impact on their ability to meet their most basic needs [22]. It is estimated that about 50-75% of the working population of Lagos are employed in the informal economic sector [23].
A number of innovative schemes were also introduced to keep the food supply chain going. The decentralisation of the Mile 12 Market, through the setting up of an online platform [24] and itinerant mobile markets visiting communities, is one such example. Many retailers and agricultural SMEs also moved online and commenced food delivery services, in addition to produce/beef sharing schemes [25]. This was short-lived though, as activities in some of the emergency markets have been hindered by local touts [26], further highlighting the prevalence of latent violence in the city by predators who attempt to lay claim to whatever resources circulate within the community [27]. Furthermore, many customers complained of exorbitant pricing and lower quality goods sold, perhaps due to aforementioned scarcity in the main markets. The additional cost of logistics also rendered the goods unaffordable for the many middle-income residents who would otherwise have patronised them [28].
It must be said however, that food insecurity in Lagos has been exacerbated by endemic poverty and the added complexities of COVID19. Urban household food insecurity is positively associated with indicators of poverty [29], and more than 60% [30] of Lagos residents live below the poverty line. A study by Roberts, Osadare & Inem (2019) revealed that 45.1% of Lagos households are food insecure, spending more than 40% of household monthly income on food.
Poor households, as well as local touts and homeless people in Lagos, traditionally rely on informal food vendors [31]. However, during the COVID-19 lockdown period, many were not permitted to operate, as their services are not considered to be ‘essential’ [32]. In fact, they are perennially at risk of state sponsored violence as their activities are, rather, considered unlawful [33]. The Lagos state government, in a bid to achieve her ‘model megacity’ status, regularly legislates against informal economic activities, with street traders (of which food vendors form a part) [34] being most precarious.
The Lagos State Ministry of Environment [35] categorizes street trading alongside open defecation, urination in open places and dumping of refuse in drains as examples of environmental abuse and uncivilized dispositions, punishable with goods forfeiture, fines of up to $33 (N5,000) and imprisonment for up to six months for first time offenders. Informal economic activities are prohibited and enforced by several laws. [36]
Food insecurity in Lagos: recognising ‘People as infrastructure’
One approach to addressing the food vulnerability issue occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic in Lagos that has largely gone unnoticed is citizen agency. Since the lockdown began, a number of alternative channels of food support to the vulnerable have sprung up, from households providing an extra plate for indigent neighbours to residents’ associations supporting lower-income adjacent communities [37]. At a larger scale, NGOs and faith-based organisations are providing support in cash and kind to both communities and government [38] [39]. There have also been cases of faith-based organisations supporting their members and immediate communities [40]. Organisations, such as the Lekki Food Bank and Feed the Streets Lagos [41], leverage social media to crowdsource support and/or identify those in need.
To a large extent, these citizen-led groups have been better organised and more effective — a situation described aptly by Abdoumaliq Simone as ‘People as Infrastructure’ [42]. It is a practice of being attuned to faint signals; flashes of important creativity in otherwise desperate manoeuvres; small eruptions in the social fabric that provide new texture; small but important platforms from which to access new views. In other words, a specific economy of perception and collaborative practice is constituted through the capacity of individual actors to circulate across and become familiar with a broad range of spatial, residential, economic and transactional positions.
Popular participation in various municipal processes often co-exists with parallel systems through which significant resources and entitlements are actually allocated [43]. Since the pandemic started in Lagos, both public trust deficit and citizen agency have been amplified [44] as citizens have been able to navigate spaces that government found somewhat impenetrable. Literature tells us that the primary resource that urban Africans have had to draw upon to make their cities has essentially been themselves [45]. In the case of Lagos, my research over the years has documented the adaptive capacities [46] and the immense potential in citizen-led initiatives and community networks [47] in responding to everyday challenges of urban life.
Lagos is food insecure. What can we do about it?
The coronavirus crisis is obviously exacerbating underlying tensions in the city’s urban service structure and spotlighting hitherto silent actors in the city’s food resilience. The pandemic has shown in Lagos that citizen agency cannot be discounted, especially if we are to achieve food security. Food security is defined based on basic elements of food availability, food access food utilization, and stability [48]. Therefore, the following strategies should be adopted to move Lagos closer to its attainment.
Availability: Cases of food spoilage and scarcity can be mitigated if opportunities for food processing and policies to support agricultural businesses are actively pursued. Furthermore, in-city food production should be pursued, using approaches such as vertical farming, given the lack of requisite land for farming. This will help increase the agricultural self-sufficiency index of the state.
Access: As we transit to the ‘new normal,’ which includes living with the virus and extending the physical distancing to everyday life, there is an opportunity to automate the food sector (especially delivery), leveraging opportunities inherent for small businesses to use social medial [49]. Furthermore, the citizen-led organisations should be mobilised to support the most food-insecure members of society.
Utilisation: the activities of informal food vendors need to be regulated and protected, especially since they service a major segment of the population, while steps need to be taken to address challenges of homelessness, poor living environment and poverty that tend to exacerbate localised food insecurity
Stability: the food supply value chain ought to recognise the formal-informal continuum. Many agricultural businesses are micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), while market supplies are mainly from small holder farmers, who often are informal actors. Therefore, supporting the logistic process and ensuring the safety and security of farmers and markets helps to stabilise the supply of food produce in local markets. It behoves governments to mitigate the effects of external risks such as natural disaster, price volatility, conflicts or epidemics through activities and implementations improving food resilience in the city.
Finally, in envisioning a post-COVID normal, there is a major need to further interrogate the existing food distribution networks and localised impact of the coronavirus lockdown; while conclusively addressing the questions: How do we make Lagos food secure? And how do we build resilient food distribution systems in times of uncertainty?
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Dr Taibat Lawanson is Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Co-Director of the Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. Her research interests are in the broad areas of urban informality, pro-poor development, governance and environmental justice. She is particularly interested in how formal and informal systems synthesize in emerging African urban contexts.
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[1] https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/31/africa/nigeria-lockdown-daily-wage-earners-intl/index.html
[2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042812036506
[3] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-nigeria/nigeria-to-extend-coronavirus-lockdowns-for-14-more-days-president-buhari-idUSKCN21V1US
[4] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/nigeria-announces-lockdown-major-cities-curb-coronavirus-200330095100706.htmlx
[5] https://allafrica.com/stories/202003300124.html
[6] https://www.theafricareport.com/27676/coronavirus-food-insecurity-fallout-from-nigerias-lockdown/
[7] https://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/ssouth-west/385038-coronavirus-petrol-tankers-food-trucks-stranded-as-police-closes-ogun-lagos-boundary.html
[8] https://allafrica.com/stories/202004130515.html
[9] See Note 6
[10] https://punchng.com/feeding-during-lockdown-now-more-expensive-lagos-ogun-fct-residents/
[12] https://guardian.ng/news/shortage-of-food-looms-over-covid-19-lockdown/
[13] https://nairametrics.com/2020/03/20/7-million-nigerians-to-experience-food-shortage/
[14] https://www.von.gov.ng/food-security-lagos-state-establishes-17-farm-settlements/
[15] http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1269721/icode/
[16] https://tribuneonlineng.com/covid-19-lagos-to-feed-200000-households-for-14-days/
[17] https://www.radionigeria.gov.ng/2020/04/14/lagos-to-operate-daily-food-kitchen/
[18] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-20/lagos-building-luxury-homes-in-face-of-affordable-housing-crisis
[19] https://mepb.lagosstate.gov.ng/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2017/08/Demographic-Dividend-in-Lagos-State-2015-1.pdf
[20] https://www.urbanet.info/youth-employment-in-lagos/
[21] https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/04/lockdown-hungry-people-more-dangerous-than-covid-19-nigerians-cry-out/
[22] https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/14/nigeria-protect-most-vulnerable-covid-19-response
[23] Lagos State Government. 2013. Lagos State Development Plan 2012-2025. Lagos: Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget.
[24] https://mile12market.org/
[25] https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/farmcrowdy-group-announces-partnership-with-best-foods-fresh-farms-300843987.html
[26] https://www.blueprint.ng/covid-19-hoodlums-preventing-distribution-of-food-stuff-around-lagos-market-chairman/?doing_wp_cron=1590388770.8681890964508056640625
[27] Simone. A (2016). City of Potentialities: An Introduction. Theory, Culture & Society ,2016, 33(7–8) 5–29
DOI: 10.1177/0263276416666915
[28] See Note 9
[29] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6589623/
[30] https://mepb.lagosstate.gov.ng/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2017/01/Poverty-Profile-for-LASG-2014.pdf
[31] https://www.wiego.org/blog/food-security-and-street-vendors-during-covid-19-interview-wiegos-caroline-skinner
[32] https://naijasuperfans.com/photos-police-stormed-obalende-market-in-lagos-destroy-food-items/
[33] https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2020/01/08/lagos-hits-ikoyi-victoria-island-for-massive-enforcement-demolition/; https://twitter.com/dr_oladeinde/status/1218932381542907904
[34] https://ng.boell.org/en/2018/03/05/transiting-africa%E2%80%99s-model-megacity-where-lagos-everyday-people
[35] Lagos State Ministry of Environment (2011), Transcript of Press Conference with Commissioner of Environment, Mr Tunji Bello, November 27, 2011; https://punchng.com/lasg-begins-enforcement-of-waste-disposal-street-trading-laws/
[36] Lawanson T (2014) Illegal Urban Entrepreneurship? The Case of Street Vendors in Lagos, Nigeria, (2014) Journal of Architecture and Environment, Institute Tecknologi (ITS) Sepuluh Nopember, Surabaya, Indonesia. 13(1) 33-48. April 2014
[37] https://twitter.com/MAESTER76/status/1250882000434737152
[38] https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/04/covid-19-adeboye-oyedepo-donate-medical-supplies-to-lagos-ogun/
[39] https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/05/05/covid-19-sanwo-olu-unveils-80-bed-isolation-treatment-centre-at-landmark-village/
[40] https://theeagleonline.com.ng/covid-19-daystar-gives-cash-foodstuff-to-staff-volunteers-community/
[41] https://amp.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/may/02/we-needed-to-do-more-volunteers-step-up-in-lockdown-lagos?twitter_impression=true
[42] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1468-2427.00300
[43] Simone. A, 2010. The Social Infrastructures of City Life in Contemporary Africa Discussion Paper 51, NORDISKA AFRIKAINSTITUTET, UPPSALA 2010
[44] https://www.stearsng.com/article/nigerians-do-not-trust-government
[45] Simone. A.2003. For the City Yet to Come: Remaking Urban Life in Africa.. Conference lectured at the cycle “Mapping Africa”. Centre of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona, 17 February 2003
[46] https://www.ajol.info/index.php/aref/article/view/106929
[47] https://content.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/download?dac=C2013-0-26478-1&isbn=9781317599104&doi=10.4324/9781315746692-19&format=pdf
[48] Food and Agriculture Organisation. 2008. An Introduction to the Basic Concepts of Food security. www.foodsec.org/docs/concepts_guide.pdf.
[49] Lawanson. T & Udoma-Ejorh.2020. How Smart is Smart City Lagos? In Willis.K and Aurigi. A (eds) The Routledge Companion to Smart Cities. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315178387