Rapid Response Program – Action Update & Priorities May 2020

As the COVID-19 crisis continues to expose and exacerbate the risks in our global food system, our COVID Response Program’s Vital Supply Chains project aims to inspire and share rapid coordinated action from business to address critical issues.

This Action Update highlights the significant and complex food risks for business and society and provides next steps for businesses to step up and act on our outlines priorities.

Major challenges include:

• Systemic challenges: nutritional security, food prices, smallholder farmer financing
• Food value chain stage: production, transportation and logistics, retail
• Geography: Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia
• Commodities: fruits and vegetables, rice

Businesses have the opportunity and the imperative to act collectively on these food challenges. Critical steps that need business need to take include:

• Regional responses: especially in India and sub-Saharan Africa where digital initiatives can support smallholder farmer financing and secure supplies.
• Connecting corporate actions: ensuring collective resources from companies such as financing, technologies and knowledge are provided to strengthen regional responses.
• Information and resources: using important assets identified that can support farmers such as social distancing resources and practical guidance and models of COVID-19 impacts on different supply chains.