Using free Wi-Fi to unravel the pandemic’s impact on traditional wet markets in Hanoi

Researchers on the Alliance of Bioversity Worldwide and CIAT and their collaborators have been engaged on easy methods to harness the facility of the estimated 549 million Wi-Fi hotspots worldwide, leading to a undertaking that used anonymized information gathered from free Wi-Fi to raised perceive the influence of COVID-19 on Hanoi’s moist markets in the course of the first stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Within the paper “Utilizing free Wi-Fi to evaluate influence of COVID-19 pandemic on conventional moist markets in Hanoi,” published in Meals Safety, the researchers analyzed and interpreted cellular gadget monitoring information from 25 Wi-Fi entry factors to characterize the adjustments in conduct within the customers of tons of of shops and meals stalls throughout 5 moist markets in Hanoi, from July 2019 to November 2020.

Lead creator Louis Reymondin, who co-leads the Information Pushed Sustainability analysis theme for the Alliance of Bioversity Worldwide and CIAT says that by counting the variety of particular person gadget addresses inside a sure vary of the entry factors, the researchers obtained a way of the variety of folks current (with the small print of customers anonymized).

“We recorded each telephone inside the neighborhood of the entry factors each 2 minutes, and recorded 173,668,702 information factors, filtered right down to 13,238,809 helpful information factors, comparable to 656,789 distinctive units noticed, ” Reymondin says.

Reymondin explains that normally, if Wi-Fi is enabled in your smartphone, it’s in “active-scanning” mode to detect obtainable Wi-Fi hotspots, which in flip shares an tackle distinctive to each gadget with the hotspot

“This permits us to register all of the units current out there, whether or not or not they’re related to the Wi-Fi community, and their motion in house and time,” Reymondin says. “The undertaking’s novel function was to put in free Web entry by means of Wi-Fi within the markets to observe adjustments in behaviors from markets’ actors.”

Reymondin’s group put their concepts into follow to enrich extra conventional survey approaches.

“We have been working with the Vietnamese authorities’s Basic Statistics Workplace (GSO) for years,” says Tuyen Huynh, scientist in Meals Atmosphere & Shopper Habits on the Alliance of Bioversity Worldwide and CIAT and co-author of this research, “We’re recognized for meals programs work below A4NH—Agriculture for Vitamin and Well being analysis program within the nation, so the federal government is aware of us, so it is a good entry level to have the preliminary discussions.”

Pandemic influence

Regardless of the rise of “trendy” distribution channels (e.g., supermarkets, comfort shops), conventional moist markets proceed to account for roughly 90% of complete vegetable gross sales in Hanoi, serving as the first supply for every day nutrient consumption, and contributing to 56% of power consumption. Nevertheless, the absence of traceability and gross sales registration programs render the meals flows inside these markets largely invisible.

The researchers discovered in the course of the preliminary section of COVID-19 disaster, from February to July 2020, there was a big lower in each the whole quantity and frequency of visits to the market, suggesting a discount in shoppers’ market engagement. Moreover, intermarket visits additionally skilled a pointy decline in these early months, suggesting a lower in market operators’ actions. Moreover, the height time for market buying shifted considerably, indicating substantial behavioral adjustments attributed to the COVID-19 disaster.

“Even after town was reopened, with no limitations, the visits to the market have been nonetheless decrease and regardless that COVID was managed, the sensation that these markets should not as protected as a grocery store; this has led to a change,” Reymondin says, including that the information suggests some intervention choices for the long run to counteract these tendencies.

Contemplating that the pandemic has disproportionately affected the poorest and most susceptible populations nationwide, and recognizing the pivotal position of moist markets in offering entry to contemporary meals and important vitamins, the researchers advocate for reinforcing public well being messaging associated to vitamin and well being.

Particularly, they suggest emphasizing the importance of consuming contemporary and nutritious meals for well being promotion throughout pandemics. This strategic messaging goals to underscore the essential position such dietary habits play in sustaining strong immune programs and mitigating the dangers of illness.

The researchers additionally proposed the enhancement of moist markets and related infrastructure and services, aiming to facilitate the adoption of improved practices regarding hygiene and meals security circumstances.

This improve is envisioned as a way to change shoppers’ destructive perceptions of moist markets’ meals security—a notion probably exacerbated by the COVID disaster and society’s growing want for heightened sanitation.

Le Trung Hieu is the Deputy Director Basic of the Basic Statistics Workplace of Vietnam affirmed the usefulness of making use of trendy know-how.

“The usage of trendy info assortment instruments has shortened time for conducting surveys, present info opportunely to customers, and save prices; it’s according to Vietnam’s current statistical growth technique, diversifying statistical merchandise based mostly on in-depth research to supply info opportunely and sufficiently for administration boards in any respect ranges and fields,” Le Trung Hieu says. “The results of the undertaking is an important supply of knowledge to assist the administration authorities and policymakers have options to strengthen meals security management through higher understanding market actors’ conduct.”

In conclusion, Brice Even, scientist in Meals Atmosphere & Shopper Habits on the Alliance of Bioversity Worldwide and CIAT and co-author of this research, emphasizes the significance of placing a fragile steadiness.

“Whereas we have to be vigilant in response to the escalation in surveillance society and its pervasive results, we can’t ignore the alternatives created by new know-how to generate scientific proof,” Even says, “Exploring revolutionary strategies of information assortment is essential in gaining deeper insights into our meals system, with the final word purpose of enhancing sustainability, selling vitamin and well being, and guaranteeing fairness.”

Supplied by
The Alliance of Bioversity Worldwide and the Worldwide Middle for Tropical Agriculture