Image: USAID [CC BY-NC 2.0], via Flickr
Five projects will share CA$4m over a year, of which three will target West Africa
Canada’s International Development Research Centre has awarded funding for research to study how the coronavirus pandemic has affected food security in Africa.
The five winning projects announced on 13 October will share CA$4 million (US$3m) over 12 months to evaluate how Covid-19 has affected food systems in particular countries, as well as within vulnerable populations.
Two projects will be based in Senegal and one each in Burkina Faso, Canada, and South Africa.
In Senegal the Initiative Prospective Agricole et Rurale will study how social protection has affected food systems in the northwest region of Niayes, while the Conseil Ouest et Centre Africain Pour la Recherche et le Développement Agricoles will assess how governments in the Sahel have responded to Covid-19 pressures on food systems.
The Burkina Faso-based Association pour la Promotion de l’Elevage au Sahel et en Savane will examine the effect of Covid-19 on the livestock sector in West and Central Africa.
South Africa’s University of the Western Cape will research the political economy of African food systems in the context of the pandemic.
The Centre for International Studies and Cooperation, an international body based in Canada, will research the effect of Covid-19 and food security on gender relations in Burkina Faso and Senegal.