Impact of COVID-19 on the Agriculture Sector: Survey Analysis of Farmer Responses from Kerala and Tamil Nadu States in India

Abstract

The global COVID-19 pandemic has hit the agriculture sector hard around the world. A study was conducted to assess the impact of the pandemic on cropping patterns, crop management, usage of chemical inputs and their organic alternatives, harvesting, and marketing avenues through a survey approach in the two states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in India. A total of 250 farmers participated in the study, the data was analyzed by Chi-square test and Kruskal–Wallis test. The assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on some aspects was undertaken by dividing the study period into three phases. Though a smaller number of people were infected with COVID-19 in the initial phase of the pandemic compared to the later phases, farm operations and the procurement of inputs were significantly affected at this phase as there was a sudden disruption in transportation due to COVID-19-induced movement restrictions. During the entire study period, commodities such as rice, bananas, vegetables, coconuts, and flowers suffered maximum crop loss compared to pulses, groundnuts, cotton, and rubber. Among fertilizers, the maximum shortage was observed for chemical fertilizers (46%) and biofertilizers (30%) compared to cow dung (18%) and poultry manure (6%), indicating that farmers tended to use more local materials that could be easily procured and accessed compared to shop-based inputs. A rise in the cost of cultivation, scarcity of farm workforce, and difficulty in hiring farm machinery all have contributed to the loss of profit during the pandemic period. As a response to COVID-19, growers initiated post-harvest processing of commodities, and cropping systems remained the same during the period. The paper also discusses some remedial measures to be adopted by households in the future, to minimize the impacts of such pandemics in the agrarian sector.

Digitalization of the agro-food sector for achieving sustainable development goals: a review

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“…As an impact of COVID-19, just like other sector, agriculture sector was also hit and the financial situation of farmers remained precarious. A study conducted by Habanyati et al, (2022) reported that as part of COVID-19 lockdown farmers in Kerala were faced a lot of difficulties such as farm labor shortages, input shortages, machinery shortages, poor access to credit as well as consultancy and movement restrictions and this affected the financial condition of farmers. As a result, most of them were hesitant to implement new programmes or technology unless they received financial assistance from the government.…”

Insight of farmers regarding COVID-19: Survey analysis in Haryana state

“…Additionally, the mental and physical toll of the pandemic on farmers has also shaped the perception of their resilience and strength. The lockdown in India had an impact on agriculture sector, resulting in unharvested crops, labour shortages, and delays in planting the crops (Habanyati et al 2022) [5] . Farmers have had to adapt to new safety protocols, navigate uncertainties, and manage increased workloads.…”