Zeitschrift für Lebensmittel : Mikrobiologie, Sicherheit und Hygiene
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The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Security in KSA (1968-2019): Evidence From A Simultaneous Equations System

Hassan A Fadol*, Faiez A Elneel

The study took up the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Security in KSA (1968-2019), covering data from the period of 1968- 2019, using simultaneous equation model (SEM) through the Weighted L.S. (Equation Weights) method with Johansson co-integration test, to find out what variables can be affecting the food insecurity status in KSA. The study found that, the increasing in food insecurity status to a low degree due to taxes affect the local price level positively, and the increase in local price levels will lead to a decrease in consumer prices, and decrease a household consumption expenditure, as well as a decrease in the per capita national income. However, an increase in food insecurity status to a moderate degree due to decline in consumer prices which lead to a decrease in the level of domestic food production, and in turn leads to a decrease in the gross domestic product, fluctuation of inflation rates and increase in the demand for imported food due to the high level of government expenditure and a higher percent of direct and indirect subsidies for populations. The study recommends that reducing burdens and taxes on imported food in order to reduce the status of food insecurity in the short-run with supporting food producers following policies encouraging and motivating farmers, policy makers should focus on adopting contractive fiscal and monetary policies to reduce aggregate demand in the short-run, and effective economic policies that increase production and productivity and reduce production costs in the long run to reduce food insecurity status, in long run also the policies propaganda in encouraging the population to invest in agriculture and food production by addressing the problem of water and soil in addition to the use of contemporary agricultural technology that leads to an increase in food production and reduced costs. And avoiding the negative effects of the food import problem, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic that troupe a shadow over food security all over the world.