Livelihood and food acquisition challenges in island communities during the global pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the global economy and efforts toward achieving food security. Fisheries was one of the vulnerable sectors to COVID-19 impacts but available literature on this is limited mostly to accessible areas. Hence, this study focuses on island communities in remote...

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Main Authors: Farisal Ungkakay-Bagsit, Mary Barby P. Badayos-Jover, Raymundo R. Pavo, Pearlyn Cambronero-Tumabiao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero (INIDEP) 2025-02-01
Series:Marine and Fishery Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ojs.inidep.edu.ar/index.php/mafis/article/view/374
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author Farisal Ungkakay-Bagsit
Mary Barby P. Badayos-Jover
Raymundo R. Pavo
Pearlyn Cambronero-Tumabiao
author_facet Farisal Ungkakay-Bagsit
Mary Barby P. Badayos-Jover
Raymundo R. Pavo
Pearlyn Cambronero-Tumabiao
author_sort Farisal Ungkakay-Bagsit
collection DOAJ
description The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the global economy and efforts toward achieving food security. Fisheries was one of the vulnerable sectors to COVID-19 impacts but available literature on this is limited mostly to accessible areas. Hence, this study focuses on island communities in remote areas in northern Iloilo, Philippines, to understand their unique experiences with access to natural resources, livelihood services and food during the COVID-19 pandemic. Household surveys (n = 520), key-informant interviews (n = 10) and focus group discussions (n = 51) were performed. It was found that 70% of respondents depended on fisheries-related livelihoods, such as fishing and post-harvest activities. The other 30% of respondents depended on contractual jobs, small businesses, remittances from family members, farming, and boat transport services. Generally, remote-island villages had difficulty accessing natural resources as shown by lesser fishing operations (~ 0-20 days month-1), limited access to livelihood inputs (e.g. crude oil and ice), and limited access to markets/ports because of restricted operating hours during the pandemic. Financial hardships and travel restrictions made access to non-fisheries food products (e.g. rice, vegetables, and meat) very difficult. The access to freshwater was also an issue because water supply come from other islands or the mainland. Overall, results showed that the COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected the livelihoods and food security of inhabitants of remote island villages. These findings are valuable for future emergency management measures especially to ensure that no one is left behind.
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spelling doaj-art-6be63cdaf4dd4505a3ee7ca3ca806c252025-08-20T01:47:26ZengInstituto Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero (INIDEP)Marine and Fishery Sciences2683-79512025-02-0138210.47193/mafis.3822025010111Livelihood and food acquisition challenges in island communities during the global pandemicFarisal Ungkakay-Bagsit0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6125-5715Mary Barby P. Badayos-Jover1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1512-5418Raymundo R. Pavo2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1860-3016Pearlyn Cambronero-Tumabiao3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5103-4209College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas, Iloilo, PhilippinesCollege of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas, Iloilo, PhilippinesCollege of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of the Philippines Mindanao, Davao, PhilippinesEmerging Inter-Disciplinary Research Program ‘COVID-19 and the Wellbeing of Selected Remote Small Island-Barangays in Northern Iloilo’, University of the Philippines Visayas, Iloilo, Philippines The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the global economy and efforts toward achieving food security. Fisheries was one of the vulnerable sectors to COVID-19 impacts but available literature on this is limited mostly to accessible areas. Hence, this study focuses on island communities in remote areas in northern Iloilo, Philippines, to understand their unique experiences with access to natural resources, livelihood services and food during the COVID-19 pandemic. Household surveys (n = 520), key-informant interviews (n = 10) and focus group discussions (n = 51) were performed. It was found that 70% of respondents depended on fisheries-related livelihoods, such as fishing and post-harvest activities. The other 30% of respondents depended on contractual jobs, small businesses, remittances from family members, farming, and boat transport services. Generally, remote-island villages had difficulty accessing natural resources as shown by lesser fishing operations (~ 0-20 days month-1), limited access to livelihood inputs (e.g. crude oil and ice), and limited access to markets/ports because of restricted operating hours during the pandemic. Financial hardships and travel restrictions made access to non-fisheries food products (e.g. rice, vegetables, and meat) very difficult. The access to freshwater was also an issue because water supply come from other islands or the mainland. Overall, results showed that the COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected the livelihoods and food security of inhabitants of remote island villages. These findings are valuable for future emergency management measures especially to ensure that no one is left behind. https://ojs.inidep.edu.ar/index.php/mafis/article/view/374COVID-19remote islandsfood securityPhilippinescoastal resilience
spellingShingle Farisal Ungkakay-Bagsit
Mary Barby P. Badayos-Jover
Raymundo R. Pavo
Pearlyn Cambronero-Tumabiao
Livelihood and food acquisition challenges in island communities during the global pandemic
Marine and Fishery Sciences
COVID-19
remote islands
food security
Philippines
coastal resilience
title Livelihood and food acquisition challenges in island communities during the global pandemic
title_full Livelihood and food acquisition challenges in island communities during the global pandemic
title_fullStr Livelihood and food acquisition challenges in island communities during the global pandemic
title_full_unstemmed Livelihood and food acquisition challenges in island communities during the global pandemic
title_short Livelihood and food acquisition challenges in island communities during the global pandemic
title_sort livelihood and food acquisition challenges in island communities during the global pandemic
topic COVID-19
remote islands
food security
Philippines
coastal resilience
url https://ojs.inidep.edu.ar/index.php/mafis/article/view/374
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