Guyana COVID-19 Food Security & Livelihoods Country Report

The Caribbean COVID-19 Food Security and Livelihoods Impact Survey was launched by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to rapidly gather data on impacts to livelihoods, food security and access to markets. The survey was implemented by the World Food Programme with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization, and four rounds of the survey have been completed since the beginning of the pandemic. The fourth survey round includes a dashboard that provides quick access to the findings for all Caribbean countries covered by the survey.

Key findings from this February 2022 survey for Guyana highlight that:

• Food insecurity has further increased since April 2020. It is estimated that 58% of respondents from Guyana are moderately or severely food insecure which is higher than the regional average. The lowest income households have the highest severe food insecurity rates. While respondents continue to be worried about getting COVID-19 (58%), they are also increasingly worrying about meeting their food and other essential needs (35%).
• People are adopting negative coping strategies to make ends meet. More people are skipping meals and eating less preferred foods compared to April 2020. Lowest income households were most likely to resort to negative coping strategies, with 94% reporting to have depleted savings, 64% reduced spending on other essential needs, and 52% sold productive assets.
• The pandemic continues to impact people’s livelihoods. Two-thirds of respondents faced a disruption to their livelihoods in the two weeks prior to the survey, which is lower than in the April 2020 survey but higher than the Caribbean average. Negative impacts on income remain widespread, with 56% of respondents reporting that their household has experienced job loss or reduced income since the start of the pandemic, which is a higher share compared to April 2020 (38%). Respondents reported the inability to afford livelihood inputs as the main factor for disruption to their livelihood activities, followed by concerns about leaving the house. Over two-thirds of respondents predict at least moderate impacts to their livelihoods related to the pandemic in the future.
• Food prices are increasing, with almost all respondents (98%) reporting higher than usual food prices, an observation that is more widespread compared to June 2020 and higher than the regional average. This is further compounded by the majority of respondents (82%) who reported difficulty in accessing markets primarily due to lack of financial means. This is influencing a shift in shopping behaviour, particularly among low-income households who are increasingly buying in smaller quantities and cheaper and less preferred foods than usual. The Ukraine crisis (which began after the survey) is anticipated to further drive prices up.
• Women are most often responsible for unpaid care work. The level of unpaid care undertaken by households continues to show an increase when compared with June 2020. The results show more women are responsible for domestic work and childcare when compared to men. Caregivers are therefore challenged with the balance of these duties and the pursuit of livelihoods.
• Differences in impacts are most pronounced when comparing income groups. Households classifying their incomes as below and well below average show the poorest results on all key metrics of well-being.
• People are receiving support in response to the pandemic. Nearly half (44%) of respondents have received some form of government support, which is considerably higher compared to the regional average (22%).