Pandemic exposes importance of agri-food systems (Guyana Chronicle)

Guyana Chronicle published an article stating that the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic must be heeded in order to increase the resilience of food-system actors, promote the expansion and flexibility of social protection policies, and improve access to infrastructure and markets as they are related to Latin America and the Caribbean. Valeria Piñeiro, Senior Research Coordinator, said, “This is an annual report (2021 Global Food Policy Report) and this year, we focused on the effect of the pandemic and government responses. COVID-19 has hit LAC harder than the rest of the world, both in terms of health and the economy. One lesson learned is the importance of the relationship between health, food systems, and economic objectives.” Head of Latin America and the Caribbean Eugenio Díaz Bonilla revealed that the Region has been in trouble for decades and that historically, it has been affected by the economic cycles of raw materials. “It’s logical that Latin America would be more affected by the pandemic than other parts of the world, given its high level of urbanization, which produces more direct contact among the population, and informal labor, which forces many people to keep working despite the restrictions. Latin America is not a fictitious entity. We need to work together as a Region.”