June 2020, Southeast Asia
Southeast Asian nations examine the state of food systems to ensure recovery and resilience in a post-COVID-19 era
Mr Allan Dow

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused great disruptions to the agricultural economies of Southeast Asia, and severely impacted countless livelihoods of the more than 600 million people living in the ten countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Sectors of the economy focused on food and agriculture have taken the brunt of much of the impact. Health and safety measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are likely to seriously affect smallholder livelihoods, including those of family farmers, and trade the most. The physical distancing, lockdowns, travel and trade disruptions have seriously reduced activities across the food system.

ASEAN statistics indicate that agriculture, which include farming, fishing, and forestry, contributed to 10.6 percent of ASEAN GDP in 2018. It remains a significant contributor to employment in Lao PDR and Cambodia at nearly 72 percent and 55 percent, respectively, followed by Myanmar and Viet Nam at nearly 50 percent and 42 percent respectively. In other member states, notably Thailand, roughly one-third of GDP is attributed to agriculture, and more than 30 percent in Indonesia and 8 percent in the Philippines. While there has been a shift to manufacturing and other off-farm service sectors in several of these countries, a significant part of the population remains dependent on agriculture in all member nations.