Rural areas are more resilient than urban areas to the COVID-19 pandemic. Is it true? (Lessons from Indonesia)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the world’s life systems and food security. To deal with the food crisis, the Indonesian government has provided directives to maintain the availability of food supply chains in areas that are regional and national food sources. Restrictions on activities not directly related to the food chain indirectly affect the region’s food security sustainability. The purpose of this study is to analyse the effect of the level of regional food security on the conditions of the COVID-19 incident in Bogor Regency. The methodology used was quantitative at the level of food security figures and cases at the village level using Geographically Weighted Regression spatial analysis. The data used are food security indicators and the incidence of COVID-19 at the village level. The research findings show that urban areas with high food security tend to increase cases of COVID-19, but rural areas with high food security tend to be able to reduce them.