PROJECT BODY:

Chapter one

Introduction

• Background of the study

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed quite a number of things in the ways Nigeria’s consumer goods and industrial markets operate.The recent  coronavirus  (COVID-19)  has  forced  immediate,  far-reaching  lifestyle  shifts  for consumers  around  the  world,  and  these  changes  are  likely  to stay  beyond  the  period  of pandemic  itself.  The global  retail  industry  is  experiencing  an unprecedented  crisis  in  the wake of the COVID-19 lockdown and its economic recession (ER). France’s economy, together with several other countries, is expected to experience an ER as it may shrink by 8 percent in 2020  due  to  COVID-19  (Statistica  2020)

As COVID-19 reaches a growing number of communities across Africa, governments’ efforts to contain the spread of the virus need to be accompanied by measures to minimize disruptions to the food system. To date, the emerging crisis is viewed primarily through a public health lens (as it should) and only gradually are national strategies, task forces and funds focusing attention on the spill-over economic and food security impacts. There are emerging signs of the negative impact of COVID-19 on the good, including difficulties in moving food from rural to urban areas, closed markets, rising food prices, loss of livelihoods, workers fleeing to rural areas and increased reliance on social safety nets. In some countries, these problems add to ongoing problems of locust/fall armyworm infestations or civil conflict. In many countries, COVID-19 will challenge structurally weak goods (http://www.fao.org/2019-ncov/en/)

Most countries have exempted the movement of people and goods related to agriculture and food products from COVID-19-imposed controls. Traders, transporters, producers and businesses in many countries report, however, that frequent road closures, police-enforced checkpoints and government-imposed “lockdowns” on the free movement of people have limited their ability to transport agricultural and food products between rural and urban areas. In some cases, obtaining the needed permits is proving difficult because offices are closed or have restricted hours/personnel to process requests.