Covid 19 is a groundbreaking challenge for India, its large population and economy are a huge part of agriculture. The informal labors and migrating farmer makes lockdown and other social distancing measures hugely disruptive. 70 percent of its rural households nonetheless depend primarily on agriculture for their occupation, with 82 percent of farmers being small and marginal. Smallholder farmers are a crucial part of the food chain in India, as well as a critical element of the global food system. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new troubles that frighten livelihoods as well as food security.
Supply chain during the pandemic
COVID-19 is preventing some workouts in agriculture and supply chains. Nevertheless, Indian agriculture is the only sector to register positive growth of 3.4% during the financial year (FY) 2020–21 even as the overall economic growth declined by -7.2% during the same period. Some reports show the non-availability of migrant labor is interrupting agriculture activities. On the other hand, there are disruptions in supply chains because of transportation problems and other issues. Prices have decreased for wheat, vegetables, and other crops. A survey noted that disruption in the supply chain impacted the flow of agricultural goods, leading to high food inflation and an adverse impact on some major exports. Consumers changed their behavior patterns by reducing consumption of non-essentials, reduced market visits, and commenced stockings. Survey results demonstrated that three-fourths of the buyers reported a price rise in food products during the lockdown.
Points to be considered:-
• In circumstances of pandemic long food supply chains involving multiple stakeholders and entities are vulnerable.
• For future resilience, mapping and optimizing supply chains will be key support.
• Smallholder farmers are highly vulnerable to crises due to their limited access to resources, credit, and basic healthcare facilities. Measures will need to be taken by administrations and corporations to insure the community.
• Any disruption in food availability affects health through a reduction in diet diversity and nutritional intake, which can further increase people's susceptibility to infection.
The pressure of pandemic on Indian Farmers
Every year, Indian farmers face threats such as low rainfall, price volatility, and increasing debts. But risks from the COVID-19 pandemic are imposing new challenges in front of a sector that is already at risk. Social distancing and isolation are huge challenges for farming communities that rely on daily labor and wages for their subsistence. Preventive measures such as regular handwashing, social distancing, and self-isolation pose a unique challenge for rural communities. Earlier, a farmworker would get anywhere between Rs. 300-700 for a day's work, but this has now come down by at least 40%, thus bringing the daily wages down, said the reports. Experts believe farmers in India have felt the pressure of the ongoing pandemic as they have been burdened with creating more jobs for returning migrants who have lost employment due to COVID-19 and at the same time are being compelled to sell their harvest at lower rates. Making the food grains, fruits and vegetables, and other essential items available to consumers, both in rural and urban areas is also challenging.
Lockdown induced farmers debt
The crucial issue that farmers have to surmount is the problem of repaying their crop loans, gold loans, and other informal debts. Crop loans are repaid between April and May and a new loan is granted at the onset of a new season. Failure to do so due to any reason will mean that they will be forced to borrow money from the informal sector at high rates of interest for the new season. Border closures, quarantines, and markets, supply chains, and trade disruptions are restricting people’s access to sufficient nutritious sources of food. Such conditions will hurt farmers and the agricultural sector.
Future strategy to strengthen the agriculture
•Risk management
COVID-19 had a less or trivial effect on food prices (except for vegetables). However, food prices are showing high volatility which translates into price risk to farmers. The Government should allow for establishing a price stabilization fund to safeguard farmers from the price risk.
• Family farming
In strategizing to sustain the agricultural sector, we must pay scrutiny to the belief of sustainability. Family farmers not only produce food but they save biodiversity, produce nutritious and local foods, develop new strategies and develop innovations to tackle social, economic, and environmental challenges.
•Collective farming
Crop farmers should hear the successful cases like dairy cooperatives to increase productivity and revenues. Unlike cereals, pulses, and vegetables, milk rates were not influenced by the lockdown. Crop farmers should come together either as cooperatives or farmer producer organizations or farmer producer companies and work in the network of the international food system. These steps jointly will have the possibility to conquer the challenges of production and marketing threats of the farmers.
• Reforms in agricultural finance
Access to cheap loans has to be facilitated, especially for small and marginal landholders to renew the sector. Restructuring agricultural loans and repayment schedules.
• Stakeholder partnerships
Stakeholder partnerships help to bridge the information and knowledge gaps by creating awareness, including social media platforms. Sanitize market yards in addition to social distancing which is essential for the smooth functioning of the markets during the COVID-19 crisis.
Conclusions
The COVID-19 pandemic has developed into a widespread challenge. Initial investigation in India shows that restriction on movement, transportation problems, and reverse labor migration has disrupted domestic supply chains which ultimately contributed to rises in wholesale and retail rates of a few products like pulses, wheat flour, milk, and vegetables. As a result of the lockdown, tens of thousands of families emigrated to the major cities because of unemployment and returned to their rural villages to avoid the difficulties of maintaining a family in cities with high residency costs. They have returned to their villages unemployed, in some places to seek local jobs with other would-be migrant laborers who have been incapable to travel to seek a livelihood in other populations that are now undergoing a shortage of laborers. The end of the lockdown will not end the dilemmas. There is a greater need for administrative support for other agricultural inputs.
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