Food system resilience and COVID-19 – Lessons from the Asian experience

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the food system has exposed the vulnerabilities of the supply chain, although the extent of disruption varies widely, globally and in Asia. However, food systems in Asia have been proven relatively resilient when compared with other regions. This paper considers the immediate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the food system, particularly in Asia, and initial responses of governments and global agencies to manage the crisis. A major focus of the paper is on the outlook for food system resilience in a post-COVID-19 environment and likely long-term effects of the pandemic. There is always a possibility of such shock events occurring in the future, hence it seems prudent to look at lessons that may be learned from the responses to the current pandemic.