The study Impacts of COVID-19 on Agrifood Systems in the semiarid region of Northeast Brazil, carried out by the Semear Internacional Program, involved community residents, Continuing Technical Assistance teams and public managers of the six projects supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development in Brazil.

In order to carry out this diagnosis on the scenario of food and nutrition security and sovereignty (SSAN) in the semi-arid region of the Northeast, we started with a broader understanding of the concept of SSAN, as something that involves not only the nutritional perspective, but also requires a careful look at production, marketing, consumption, storage, ways to avoid losses and waste and actions to democratize access to food. The aim was to understand how the pandemic triggered changes in the different dimensions of the lives of residents of rural territories and communities in the semiarid region of the Northeast.

There was an effort to highlight the degree of innovation in the field of methodologies and technologies by community-based organizations and advisory institutions technique in each of the thematic axes. At the same time, the diagnosis was constructed from a time frame, to observe the changes that occurred throughout the process of managing an agri-food crisis that was aggravated by the pandemic. The study serves as a framework for identifying the contrasts and contradictions that have emerged since March 2020.