Securing food systems: Pathways of COVID-19 impact on food security for smallholder farmers in Nigeria

Smallholder farmers are central to national food security, but they also very vulnerable to shocks. This study examined how COVID-19 affected food security among smallholder farmers in Nigeria through a production–consumption pathway disrupted by limited access to essential inputs. Using structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze data from Nigeria's COVID-19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey, the results show that pandemic shocks significantly worsened food insecurity, primarily through disrupted access to labor and seeds. The significance of these channels suggests that efforts to improve food system resilience during crises should focus on keeping functional input supply chains and labor mobility for smallholder producers.