COVID-19 and Food Security in Fiji’s Urban Areas: The Rise of Urban Farming and Home Gardening as a ‘New Way of Life’

Abstract

In December 2020, Fiji had fewer than forty cases of COVID-19, following effective and quickly implemented policies, from contact tracing and strict quarantines to city lockdowns and a national curfew. However, the coronavirus’ impact on Fiji’s economy was substantial, directly threatening food security, especially in urban areas where little agriculture existed. The virus led to the reestablishment and reinforcement of urban farming and home gardening as local social responses to the global pandemic. That contributed to positive socio-economic and nutritional change, with the (re)valuing of agriculture as a steady source of income and support for subsistence livelihoods in urban areas, which contributed to a healthier plant-based and organic diet (in a country with one of the highest rates of diabetes in the world).