Rob Vos GLOBAL FOOD POLICY REPORT GLOBAL LAUNCH EVENT - 2021 Global Food Policy Report: Transforming Food Systems After COVID-19 APR 13, 2021 - 09:30 AM TO 11:00 AM EDT

1. Rob Vos
Director of Markets, Trade, and Institutions Division
International Food Policy Research Institute
April 13, 2021
COVID-19 supply disruptions
and process innovations

2. ▪ Disruption of food supply.
Impacts differed by food and
food system.
▪ Transitioning food systems
faced most challenges
▪ Traditional farms use family labor thus
faced less labor constraints in short
supply chains
▪ Modern firms had greater capacity to
adapt and innovate
▪ Businesses in transitioning supply
chains suffered labor constraints,
disrupted transport, and food losses
COVID-19 supply
disruptions

3. Supply chain innovations
▪ Some dramatic acceleration of food
supply innovations – both in
organization and leveraging digital
technology
▪ E-commerce entering food value chains
▪ Food retailers & processors using e-
commerce for home delivery and to
integrate own supply chain (logistics,
procurement, e-payment)
▪ Food businesses use specialized
intermediaries (logistics, procurement,
delivery, e-payment)
▪ Innovations not entirely new, but
ongoing change accelerated
dramatically during COVID-19

4. Pivoting with e-intermediaries in
response to COVID-19 shocks

5. Opportunities and
policy challenges
▪ New job and income opportunities for
workers and SMEs
▪ Opportunities for improving supply chain
resilience, tracing of food quality and
market access
▪ Policy challenges
▪ Recognize and promote market
dynamics
▪ Facilitate by bridging digital divide
(infrastructure, training)
▪ Enabling regulations for SME market
participation, formalizing markets,
evolving standards