Climate Change, COVID-19 Lockdown and Agricultural Input Supply: Implications for Sustainable Food Production in Southeast, Nigeria

This study aimed to assess the effects of climate change and the COVID-19 lockdown on agricultural input supply and their implication on sustainable food production in Southeast Nigeria. In particular, the study focused on the effects of climate change and COVID-19 lockdown on agricultural input supply, the agricultural inputs affected by the lockdown and climate change, the implication of the disruption of agricultural input supply on sustainable food production, and measures for enhancing resilient agricultural input supply. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The study was carried out in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states. The target population was agricultural input dealers, extension agents, and registered farmers. A multistage sampling procedure was used, and a total of 391 respondents were selected from the sampling framework. The data collected were analyzed using frequency counts, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The study found that climate change and COVID-19 lockdown had adverse effects on agricultural input supply by causing a deficit of agricultural inputs such as fertilizer, improved seeds, agrochemicals, machinery, and veterinary products, affecting the prices of agricultural inputs, disrupting transportation, and causing delays in agricultural input distribution. Consequently, the disruptions caused by climate change and COVID-19 lockdown resulted in lower crop production, higher production costs, delayed planting schedules, food shortages, lower farm income, and increased food insecurity. The respondents suggested improving rural infrastructure, producing agricultural inputs locally, creating input reserves, implementing climate-smart policies, adopting digital platforms in distributing agricultural inputs, and providing government support for agricultural input production and distribution. The study concluded that there is a need to enhance resilient agricultural input supply in Southeast Nigeria to ensure sustainable food production and security.