Implication of COVID-19 pandemic on food security in Malaysia

ABSTRACT

The pandemic of Covid-19 has resulted in more significant global problems in terms of food security due to movement control orders (MCO) executed around the world. Malaysia has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and has slowed down the activities of economic sectors, including the agriculture sector. Therefore, this paper discussed in depth the impact of the Covid- 19 pandemic on food security in Malaysia, especially in terms of food supply and demand. This study used qualitative method involving analysis of formal and informal documents to obtain information on food security during the Covid-19 pandemic. During the MCO, local farmers faced with agricultural produce dumping due to the close of several support sectors such as retail, transportation, and food services. The agricultural supply chain was also affected due to a lack of agricultural inputs and a shortage of labor. This situation is worsened by the inadequacy of food storage facilities which has caused damage to agricultural produce. The demand for food among the community continued to increase during the MCO due to the panic-buying. This study also highlighted several suggestions toward improving the stability of food security in order for the country to withstand any crisis.