As an agroecologist who lives and has a farm in the Bolivian Amazon, Dr. Daniel Robison raised early warnings about problems with food supplies during a pandemic: “it wasn't until March 20 that the following idea came to my mind strongly: food is going to be scarce. They are going to be relatively scarce everywhere, and this scarcity will hit the most vulnerable first, hardest and longest. We do not know how long this shortage will last. When food is perceived to be scarce, the price rises and the poorest become even more vulnerable.”
Bolivia “ has been, in official accounts, a net food exporter due to extensive soy production in the extreme south of the Amazon. However, most of the food most people eat increasingly comes from Peru, Chile, Brazil and Argentina, in that order. In short, in the last 14 years it has become much cheaper to import food, including our native potato, than to produce it in the country.”
“We could anticipate a time when the government will have to decide "do we let older people die at a higher rate or do we let people become increasingly insecure about food?" How long could this last? Rurrenabaque has lived off ecotourism for more than 25 years, but the last tourists have left and who knows when they will return in large numbers. International flights have stopped almost all over the world; airline employees are being laid off. The pandemic will have to end more or less clearly for airlines to rehire, it will take time for people to resume their visit to the Andes and the Amazon. Then only this would allow people to go back to buy as much food as they could do until two weeks ago.”
“whether we rebuild the old and damaged system or we build a new and untested system, it will take months, if not years, to return to “normal” food security. Meanwhile, the most vulnerable people in our societies, many of whom were already food insecure in the system in place until two weeks ago, are heading off a cliff. Although throughout the world the percentage of people suffering from different forms and degrees of malnutrition has decreased in the last 3 decades, these improvements are not guaranteed. If supply chains are disrupted, these hard-won improvements could quickly erode.”
“NOW is when a family should start their garden or help other people expand and care for their gardens. In the southern hemisphere, entering the winter and dry season we still have several alternatives depending on where we live. I also believe that it is compatible with recommended social distancing and the need for people to get fresh air and exercise. And if my forecasts turn out to be wrong, and there would be no breakdown of the production chains, at least we will have access to some nutritious food in the coming months!”
You can read the entire Spanish-language blog here. An English version is here.