How the Covid-19 Pandemic Has Impacted Indian Agriculture
The onset of the global health crisis in early 2020 upended the world as we knew it before, writes Agoro Carbon Alliance’s Dr. Sudarshan Dutta at The Times of India. Two years later, the pandemic has resulted in a significant loss of human life over the globe and colossal, previously unimaginable disruptions in businesses across verticals. Virtually no industry has been spared, regardless of whether the impact helped accelerate progress or not, and the agriculture sector is no exception. The short-term effects of the crisis were experienced by agriculture and its allied sectors, including Horticulture, Poultry, Dairy, Fisheries. The long-term effects are yet to get revealed, and the indications of changes are already surfacing. That said, to understand how the industry was impacted, let’s delve deeper.
The outbreak of pandemic and the subsequent impact on supply chains affected fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables severely. With the prolonged lockdowns and restricted movement across the country, moving agricultural produce from one part to another was a challenge. Given the perishable nature of the products, more produce began to rot while consumers to pay sky-high prices. However, this disruption also underlined the necessity of robust, secure crop/fresh produce storage facilities for the long run. It once again offered us a notion of the need for more investment in the food processing sector which is a long demand from farmers.
In terms of floriculture, the demand for flowers, since consumers became apprehensive of anything that could be a potential surface/object of transmission. With no-frills weddings and other festivals/functions becoming the norm, the demand for previously popular flowers such as rose and marigold flowers has dwindled significantly. In addition, flower transportation also declined due to restrictions of movement. On the brighter side, as the apprehension subsides gradually, people have begun to consider storing flowers for extended periods or exporting them.
Read more at The Times of India.
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