Central Asia

In Central Asia, governments’ quick response helped to buffer the pandemic shock. Governments pursued a mix of policies to address the health and economic needs of the population and to stimulate business activities; these ranged from lockdowns to unemployment support to tax waivers. Although the agriculture sector proved fairly resilient, Central Asian countries suffered substantial impacts on their economies, household welfare, and food and nutrition security, as migrant remittances dropped sharply and industry and service sectors faced movement and trade restrictions and falling demand. One year into the pandemic, recovery in the main destination countries for Central Asia’s migrant laborers has helped restore flows of remittances, and intraregional trade has contributed to mitigation of the pandemic's adverse effects on food and nutrition security. For long-term transformation of the region’s food system, however, the shock has highlighted weakness in social safety nets and digital connectivity, and the risk of a heavy reliance on remittances and a limited set of exports.