Urban Food Markets Dynamics and Livelihoods in the Context of Covid -19 in Harare

Abstract

The Government of Zimbabwe, similar to other governments across the globe imposed different levels of lockdowns as a way of minimising the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The urban food markets’ operations were in one way or the other disrupted by these lockdowns. Players in the urban food markets such as food retailers, informal food vendors and households were also affected in various ways. However, little is known about the dynamics that shaped the urban food markets operations during the Covid-19 lockdown period. Focusing on urban food markets in Harare, the study utilised a questionnaire survey administered through Kobo collect, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and observations to collect data from urban food market stakeholders. The findings revealed that all stakeholders that include formal food retailers, informal food vendors and households in the urban food market chain were negatively affected by Covid-19 induced lockdowns. The major effect being shortage of some food commodities resulting in price distortions and uncertainty on the markets. It is therefore recommended that future policy making processes must be inclusive and sensitive as much as possible so that both formal and informal urban food markets operations are not interrupted.