Author(s)

Yunhan Duan, Ye Liu

Corresponding Author

Ye Liu

ABSTRACT

Over the past decades, food insecurity has always been a global challenge, particularly in developing countries such as Ethiopia. The severity of food security issues has been exacerbated by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rapid growth of population, and a lack of adequate food availability in the country of Ethiopia. China, on the contrary, a developing country, has not seen a significant increase in the severity of its food security crisis due to the pandemic. In response to the striking contrast between these two countries, this paper discusses the possible factors which may contribute to this noticeable difference using the method of comparative research by comparing and contrasting the food security legislation in Ethiopia and China. To begin, the disrupted supply chain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated the food insecurity crisis in many countries and regions, especially those with high food import dependency, such as Ethiopia. Second, Ethiopia has not demonstrated a clear strategic position for food security, whereas China has already made food security a central component of its national strategy. Third, while both countries have experienced severe pandemics in recent decades, China has developed a more comprehensive and well-functioning emergency legal system than Ethiopia. Lastly, Ethiopia is still experimenting with a new era of land reform, whereas China has already achieved great success in land and food issues in recent years. Overall, findings from this review have important implications for food security policies and legislations in the two countries and others to reduce and control the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for future risks.

KEYWORDS

COVID-19, Food Security, Emergency Legislation, Legal Risks