Coronavirus disCovid-19 is an infectious disease caused by the newly discovered Corona virus. The first Covid-19 confirmed case was reported in India on January 30, over the next four days two more people were tested positive. Hence onwards Government of India is taking all necessary steps to ensure there is well preparedness to face the challenge and threat posed by the growing pandemic of Covid-19. India was put under a national lockdown from March 2020 in a bid to stop the spread of Corona virus.

Though in India, Corona virus cases are still mostly concentrated in big urban centres such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Indore however the outbreak has triggered a collapse in demand for agricultural products and their farm-gate prices, raising concerns about food availability and the economy. The closure of all restaurants, roadside food stalls, sweet shops and office and school canteens has witnessed less demand for milk, sugar, pulses and vegetables and other utilities.

Two dimensions of the food supply chain that are greatly affected are production and distribution. As a result of the lockdown measures and controls on population mobility, transport of agricultural inputs was limited and labour was in shortage, which potentially could cause disruptions from the production side. Further, almost every step of the distribution channels of agricultural products was disrupted, from local buying to wholesaling, and from cross-region logistics to city consumption.

The Central and state governments have done a great job to allay the fear and quickly announced exemptions for the agriculture sector  seeds, labourers and farm related activities. The railways have been roped in to ease transport logistics. ICAR has also issued an agro-advisory to maintain hygiene and social distancing. 

For major industrial nations, whose populations tend to be particularly concentrated in urban and suburban centres, the food supply chains are longer, more complex, and, possibly, more vulnerable. Commodity goods such as wheat, rice or corn are sold and shipped in bulk, often

over long distances. That means there are more points where the supply chain can be disrupted. Add to that the fear factor: Consumers fearing the possibility of shortages and rush to buy more than they otherwise would, thus causing the shortages they had feared.

Factors affecting farmers & food supplies due to Corona virus crisis

On March 10, the start of the rabi harvest season, India was sitting on huge food grain stocks estimated at 77.72 million tonne, over three times the statutory norms. So the country should not rightfully witness any food riots, unless the authorities face problems in the distribution and supplies.

Many Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) are also striving to find solutions with the help of local authorities and the horticulture board by getting passes issued for supply of vegetables and fruits to nearby villages and towns.

The ongoing harvest of wheat, paddy, pulses, oil seeds and maize, besides fruits and vegetables, all hold the promise of a bumper cropbarring in some areas where untimely rains, fungal infestation affecting vegetables and lack of transportation has wrought some damage, impacting the income of scores of farmers and supplies to the market. Agro-economist Prof Abhijit Sen is optimistic because of the sheer abundance and dismisses fears of any food crisis. Given that the harvest is just coming in and the produce will be stored somewhere, there is time enough to actually sort out things. There is, of course, a lot of unthinking stuff going on, but finally some order should prevail, he says, while acknowledging the specific challenges of the present. (Outlook, April 2020)

But right now, its still like a cardiac arrest. Few mandis are not yet operational. And village haats, which provide a ready source of income for farmers, have been non-functional since the lockdown. That has led to many small farmers dumping their first vegetable harvest. 

As the ongoing lockdown coincides with the rabi harvesting season, farmers across the country look up to the government to ensure uninterrupted harvesting of the crops as well as smooth procurement operations. The sale of dairy products; fish; poultry and so on has also been hit during the lockdown period as the uptake by the organised industry players has been affected due to shortage of workforce and transport issues.

To obviate the immediate concerns of scarcity of farm labour, policies must facilitate easy availability of machinery through state entities, FPOs or Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs) with suitable incentives.

There should be a proper implication of digital technologies to directly sell the produce (e- commerce) so that farmers can sell their product directly to the consumer. The time demands to actively activate social safety nets (in form of cash or in-kind transfers) to protect the worst affected and most vulnerable ones to keep up their production.

Major wholesale horticultural produce markets are already contracting. But there is no public transport and few buyers. Wherever possible, for seasonal produce such as mosambi (sweet lime) and oranges, traders are packing them in cold storages. Those markets which run on credit rotation, are already broken down. Vegetables, the key staple for Indians after grains and pulses, are in short supply at many retail outlets across cities. And many wholesale vegetable traders in key markets plan to stop operations for a few days even though mandis may remain formally open.

Supply chain and social distancing

Supply chains and social distancing (instead can be specified as physical distancing) calls for urgent action and innovation. It is critical for us to think quickly and collectively about how we can support and protect our vast, interconnected agricultural production and marketing system so that it can keep moving as fairly and as safely as possible in order for India to attempt to stand still. 

When wheat procurement starts in coming months (May-2020), things need to be streamlined and a well managed flow of arrivals into market places and procurement centres in line with protocols for social distancing shall be adopted. For those familiar with these marketplaces, this may sound highly unrealistic. Major market places are usually packed to the brim and overflowing during peak season and the pile ups are especially high whenever there is uncertainty about market closures and public procurement windows.

Communication needs to be very clear and consistent so that farmers do not flood market sites for fear of closure. Payments will also need to be processed quickly. Each step of exchange and transfer  sampling, auctions, weighing and payment  can be reviewed to minimise crowding and contact.

Storage and Warehousing

In the upcoming season, we need to quickly plan ahead to better utilise and enhance storage and warehousing facilities and ensure more transparent inventory management so that farmers, in particular, may benefit from such action. This means getting credit and financing systems in place and working out strategies to urgently step up support to well-functioning FPOs.

Transportation

It also needs to be ensured that transportation networks enable the timely and safe movement of food. A significant proportion of agricultural produce, especially fresh produce, moves dailylocally and regionallyvia public transport. If these systems remain closed for long, alternative and accessible transportation options will need to be made available.

Conclusion

Due to challenge in the transportation & distribution, current escalation in the prices of food items is seen. The adequate, appropriate and available resources should flow in the right direction to improve food supplies. There shall be facilitation of migrant workers to return to jobs after the lockdown otherwise staple food production can be affected leading to a grave impact on food security. There should be a provision of quality seeds to farmers by the seed sector-- both public and private.

Going forward, automated machines should be introduced for the planting of seeds which need only a machine driver for sowing and harvesting. Indigenous manufacturing of automated machines should be promoted by the government to cut down the overall cost. An increase in the availability of nano nutrients to boost crop production will be an added advantage.

(Indani is head and food safety-regulatory advisor-trainer, Shah is food safety advisor-trainer at SafeFoodz Solutions. They can be contacted at safefoodz@gmail.com)