CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

According to current figures, there are nearly 925 million starving people on the planet.  Just under 180 million pre-school children are stunted, meaning they suffer from chronic malnutrition. Hunger is "a situation in which people do not get enough basic food to give them the energy and nutrients they need to live truly healthy lives" (Hunger Task Force, 2003). Hunger and food security are intertwined, but they are not the same thing. A lack of hunger does not mean food security, and households and individuals can go hungry to ensure longer-term food security, particularly during periods of stress.

 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Since late 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has spread quickly and widely across the world, posing serious threats to food security and nutrition. The unfolding crisis has had an effect on food systems1 and has placed people's access to food in jeopardy due to a variety of factors. We've seen not only a massive disruption of food supply chains as a result of the global health crises' lock-downs but also a significant global economic recession. These crises have resulted in lower wages and higher food costs, putting food out of reach for many people and jeopardizing attempts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The worst results, according to the World Health Organization, are yet to come (Ghebreyesus, 2020; Khorsandi, 2020). Most health experts believe the outbreak will continue to spread for at least another year or two (Scudellari, 2020).COVID-19 is a respiratory disease for which there is no indication that food is a transmission vector (ICMSF, 2020). However, the virus's proliferation and the steps taken to stop it have had far-reaching consequences for food security, agriculture, and food systems. Around the same time, malnutrition (including obesity) raises the risk of COVID-19 infection. President Muhammed Buhari declared a complete lockdown in the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos State, and Ogun State on March 29, 2020, due to initial and continuing confusion about the existence of COVID-19's spread. Several state governments have also proclaimed absolute lockout, including Edo, Kano, Enugu, Bauchi, Kaduna, and Kwara. Though intended to stop the outbreak, the national lockout has had an economic impact, limiting credit access to farmers, limiting access to inputs for agriculture, limiting access to transportation facilities for transporting grain, and limiting food imports by border closures. The ban includes social association, mobility, non-essential economic, and leisure activities. These restrictions are starting to have an effect on food supply and transportation, causing food prices to rise and restricting people's access to healthy food. And before the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020, there was a food crisis in Nigeria due to the country's increasing population. According to the World Health Organization, Nigeria is plagued by three major malnutrition indicators: anemia, obesity, and stunting. Furthermore, the comparatively low production of Nigeria's agriculture sector has resulted in increased food imports to meet the needs of the country's increasing population. The country is facing serious food security issues.

1.3  OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

i. To find out if the outbreak of COVID 19 affected food production.

ii. Determine if there was hunger prior to the outbreak of COVID 19.

iii. To know how citizens got food during the COVID 19 lock-down.

1.4  RESEARCH QUESTIONS  

I. Did  COVID 19 affect food production?

II. Was there hunger prior to COVID 19 breakout?

III. How did citizens assess food during the COVID 19 lock-down?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study would serve as study material to other researchers

 1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Due to resource constraints, the study was limited to the collection and analysis of data in Iyana paja, Lagos state.

1.7 LIMITATION OF STUDY

Availability of material and time constraints were major challenges the researcher faced will carrying out the research.

1.6  DEFINITION OF TERMS

HUNGER: Hunger is described as a state in which a person cannot consume enough food to satisfy his or her basic nutritional needs for an extended period of time. The word "hunger" is used in the area of hunger relief in a way that goes beyond the universal need for food that all humans have.

COVID 19: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infection caused by a novel coronavirus known as extreme acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2; formerly known as 2019-nCoV), which was first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, after an epidemic of respiratory illness cases.

CITIZENS: a citizen is a native or naturalized citizen of a state or country who owes allegiance to and is protected by that government

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