Covid-19 impacts on SME maize and dairy processors in South Africa

Andrew Bowman and Reena das Nair

COVID-19 is prompting widespread questioning of food systems and the ways efficiency and competitiveness have been previously understood (Ruben et al, 2020; IPES-Food, 2020; Farley & Scherr, 2020). Recent decades have seen increasing concentration among powerful large firms, the growth of complex global value chains underpinned by just-in-time systems, and pressure to deliver lower prices, higher levels of processing and greater convenience alongside retail supermarketisation. This creates challenges ranging from ecological sustainability to public health.

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