Impacts of COVID-19 on agricultural production and food systems in late transforming Southeast Asia: The case of Myanmar.

The objective of this contribution is to report the initial impacts of measures taken to contain the COVID-19 pandemic on Myanmar's agri-food system. Myanmar is one of several late-transforming low-income countries in Southeast Asia where agriculture still plays a large role in rural livelihoods, and where food prices are a key factor affecting nutrition security for poor urban and rural households. Whereas the economic impacts of COVID-19 disruptions on tourism and manufacturing were obvious to policymakers, the impacts on the agri-food system were less evident and often more indirect. This resulted in the rural sector being allocated only a very small share of the government's initial fiscal response to mitigate the economic impacts of COVID-19. To correct this information gap, a suite of phone surveys covering a wide spectrum of actors in the agri-food system were deployed, including farm input suppliers, mechanization service providers, farmers, commodity traders, millers, food retailers and consumers. The surveys were repeated at regular intervals prior to and during the main crop production season which began shortly after nationwide COVID-19 prevention measures were implemented in April. While the results indicate considerable resilience in the agri-food system in response to the initial disruptions, persistent financial stress for a high proportion of households and agri-food system businesses indicate that the road to a full recovery will take time. The experience provides important lessons for strengthening the resilience of the agri-food system, and the livelihoods of households that depend on it.

Southeastern Asia fall armyworms are closely related to populations in Africa and India, consistent with common origin and recent migration.

The discovery of fall armyworm, a native of the Western Hemisphere, in western Africa in 2016 was rapidly followed by detections throughout sub-Saharan Africa, India, and most recently southeastern Asia. This moth pest has a broad host range that threatens such important crops as corn, rice, millet, and sorghum, creating concern for its potential impact on agriculture in the Eastern Hemisphere. Although genetic data suggest populations sampled in Africa and India originate from a recent common source, it is not known whether this is the case for populations in southeastern Asia, nor whether the subgroup with a preference for rice and millet is present in the region. This study found through comparisons of genetic markers that the fall armyworm from Myanmar and southern China are closely related to those from Africa and India, suggesting a common origin for these geographically distant populations. The results are consistent with a single recent introduction into the Eastern Hemisphere followed by rapid dispersion. The molecular similarities include discrepancies between the genetic markers that brings into question whether the subpopulation most likely to be a threat to rice and millet is present in significant numbers in Asia.