Abstract

Cross-border Food Remittances during the COVID-19 Pandemic: How Mobile and Digital Technologies transform Pathways from South Africa to Zimbabwe
Author: Sean Sithole.
In the global South, digital remittances and mobile transfer services provide accessible, speedy and reasonably priced channels for international remittances. New evolving evidence in Southern Africa reveals that mobile and digital technologies facilitate the transfer of cross-border food remittances. As the focus on how big data can change economic and financial systems as we once knew them gains momentum. However, a growing body of research and literature on mobile transfers and digital remittances has directed primary attention to mobile money and cash remittances (Guermond, 2022; Gukurume and Mahiya, 2020; Ilinitchi, 2020; Kitimbo, 2021; Mutsonziwa and Maposa, 2016; Nyanhete, 2017; Siegel and Fransen, 2013; Tembo and Okoro, 2021). The transmission of non-cash remittances, especially food remittances, has been under-studied, yet in the global South, they play an important role in household food and nutrition security. This study addresses the research gaps on how big data partnerships are driving economic growth and social progression at household levels by providing insights into the significance of mobile and digital technologies in transforming the transfer of South-South cross-border food remittances.
The study is based on the results of a questionnaire survey in the case of Zimbabwean migrants residing in Cape Town, South Africa. A key finding in the study is the surfacing and growth of new digital and mobile technology patterns that enable the transfer of food remittances, especially their expansion in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic, border closures, lockdowns and mobility controls limited the use of informal channels. Mobile and digital technologies to transfer food remittances have the developmental potential through financial inclusion of the unbanked, undocumented migrants and informal traders and providing convenient, swift and low-cost channels. The significance of this study is realised through its provision of further insight into mobile/digital global remittance markets that are contributing to significant shifts in patterns of social security in the southern African region.
Keywords: Food remittances, COVID-19, mobile technology, digital technology, food security, Zimbabwean migrants