In late 2019 in a wet market in Wuhan a coronavirus was jumping from animals to human. Being new to humans, the world was not armed with the knowledge and tools needed to contain the virus and mitigate its severity. The mortality rate was so high that lockdowns in March of 2020 were one of the first public responses to the virus, restricting the movement of people, and hence food commodities. Food systems crawled along as farmers, businesses, workers and markets faced new barriers to operation. People’s diets and nutrition suffered.
GAIN, Unilever, and the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) saw an opportunity to improve the nutrition and health of farmers, workers, and their families in supply chains, whilst working to increase supplier and worker satisfaction, productivity and brand loyalty.