View of STRATEGIES TO REVITALIZE FARMING AND AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES POST COVID-19 PANDEMIC

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ACCENT JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS ECOLOGY & ENGINEERING Peer Reviewed and Refereed Journal, ISSN NO. 2456-1037

Available Online: www.ajeee.co.in/index.php/AJEEE

Vol. 06, Special Issue 01, (IC-RCOVID19) April 2021 IMPACT FACTOR: 7.98 (INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL) 236

STRATEGIES TO REVITALIZE FARMING AND AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES POST COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Niharika Marmat Ganasan Renaissance University, Indore (M.P.)

Abstract:- The global pandemic of COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on farmers whose story has largely gone untold. The main goal of this article is to draw attention to the connection between global pandemics and agricultural and food systems. Secondary data was obtained and analyzed using web portals, daily national newspapers, and written science journals.

From pandemic to lockdown, locust to heavy rains, unsold crops to rotten crops, financial crisis to extreme hunger, the result reveals that farming operations have come to a halt, with people placing a premium on those who can feed them. It is beyond time for action, and priority must be provided to growers, who are working as tirelessly as police and health staff to ensure that the whole planet thrives. To develop agricultural sector resistance to the pandemic, the government must take ambitious measures to help farmers use advanced machinery such as autonomous tractors, seeding machines, robotic harvesters, drones, and ICTs, as well as toll-free numbers, higher quality seeds, fertilizers, and direct financial funding to vulnerable farmers.

Keywords: Agricultural systems, COVID-19 impact, Global pandemic, Resilience, Financial crisis.

1. INTRODUCTION

Aside from the panic triggered by the pandemic, the locust infestation that spread from East Africa to India impacted negatively on agriculture (Timilsina et al., 2020). Natural disasters such as cyclones and flooding in eastern and western states wreaked havoc, worsening the problems. Sowing summer (April–June) and southwest monsoon (July–

October) season crops, harvesting winter (March–April) crops, and making marketing decisions proved difficult for farmers. Due to the need to adhere to social distancing norms during the state procurement operations of the winter harvested wheat, the Government of India suspended the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act, allowing several temporary local markets and procurement centers. Following the successful completion of a record procurement operation, the Indian government saw an opportunity in the pandemic to introduce numerous agricultural marketing reforms and eliminate limitations on the transport and selling of agricultural goods by promulgating three ordinances, which included amending the APMC Act to allow private trading, promoting contract farming to protect the environment, and amending the APMC Act to allow private trade (Government of India, 2020b).

COVID-19 has revealed the Indian agricultural system's weaknesses and power imbalances, allowing for the learning and building of resilience against future shocks. The pandemic has brought to light underlying inequality and economic gaps in society, as shown by various social strata's reactions. Short-term coping is critical and a top priority, as the pandemic, while seeming to be abating, could resurface, wreaking havoc on the economy, including agriculture, and jeopardizing food security and livelihoods. Agriculture has truly proven to be the foundation of every nation, and the lockdown has produced a strong scenario to develop strength regarding food arrangement (Petetin, 2020). The aim of this analysis is to evaluate any potential immediate risk posed by the Covid-19 pandemic around the world, and to propose mitigating steps such as agricultural system expansion to ensure access to a healthy food system during and post-outbreak. In this background, the article aims to illustrate the effect of COVID-19 on the Indian agricultural system, as well as possible post-pandemic recovery strategies.

2. FOCUSING ON SECONDARY AGRICULTURE OVER PRIMARY AGRICULTURE

Agricultural labor markets have been affected by the COVID-19 driven lockdown, which has seen massive reverse migration. According to a poll, 45 percent of migrants returned home when the country was under lockdown (Imbert, 2020). To allow for the acceptance of farming as an industry, structural flaws in the system must be addressed. Systems that

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add value to primary agricultural production processes, as well as businesses that get their raw materials from crop residues, byproducts, and waste, should be encouraged (Dey, 2019). Cotton stalks, for example, have an enormous potential for use as soft and hard boards, paper, and pulp (Chengappa, 2013).

It is important to speed up research on high-end secondary agriculture products.

Some examples include the creation of fruit-based ice cream, the conversion of bamboo or wood waste to fancy decoration, the preparation of sweets from bovine milk, the use of natural fibers and culled potato to prepare bioplastics, the extraction of pectin from fruit peeled wastes, and the production of bioethanol. Furthermore, advances in post-harvest technologies for medicinal and aromatic plants, which provide raw materials to the herbal medicine, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and food flavor industries, could improve trade opportunities and increase employment (Chengappa, 2013).

2.1 Family Farming

We must consider the idea of sustainability while strategizing to improve the agricultural sector. Nothing compares to family farming as a model of long-term food production (FAO and IFAD, 2019). Family farmers do more than just grow food; they also conserve biodiversity, produce nutritious and local foods, and implement new methods and technologies to address social, economic, and environmental issues (FAO and IFAD, 2019).

The FAO proposes affirmative policies to help family farmers as a solution to the world's unsatisfactory food system, which wastes one-third of all food generated.

2.2 Community Farming

Crop farmers should take note of active cases such as dairy cooperatives in order to boost production and income. Milk prices were unaffected by the lockdown, unlike cereals, pulses, and vegetables (Cariappa et al., 2020). Dairy cooperatives' procurement, manufacturing, and distribution networks avoided the exogenous shock. Crop farmers can form cooperatives, farmer producer organizations (FPOs), or farmer producer companies (FPCs) and function as part of the global food system's network. Economies of scale can be accomplished by aggregating (the inputs used, and the output produced). Land reforms and contract farming would include nudges from the government based on cooperative federalism principles (as with the Goods and Services Tax). These steps, taken together, have the potential to help farmers resolve production and marketing risks.

3. INVESTING IN AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES

Agriculture and allied sectors expanded at a 2.9 percent annual rate (in real terms) from 2014–15 to 2018–19. (Government of India, 2020a). Agriculture was the only sector to rise by 3.4 percent in the first quarter of 2020–21, despite the Indian economy contracting by 23.9 percent (ET, 2020). It's time to recognize that the agriculture sector has the potential to keep the growth engine sputtering while other sectors struggle to rise to the challenge, despite the fact that farmers face tremendous production and marketing risks even in normal times. Without a question, involving the private sector boosts productivity and improves system performance. Agricultural research and development, insurance, banking, mechanization, cold storage, logistics, automation, and digital procurement and distribution (e-marketing) should all be prioritized by the private and public sectors.

4. UPGRADATION WITH ICT TOOLS

Farm handling, post-harvesting, stockpiling, and food transportation can all benefit from information and communication technologies (ICTs), autonomous tractors, seeding robots, agricultural drones, Internet of Things, and solar-powered vegetable and fruit vending vans (Chatterjee, 2020). Although the initial investment in these technologies is high, this can help farmers minimize their dependence on migrant workers.

5. CONCLUSION

COVID-19's unparalleled surge should act as a wake-up call to all of us. This pandemic is simply putting the entire food system to the test. It is past time for action, and priority must be provided to farmers who are working diligently to ensure that the entire world thrives, as

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well as a paradigm shift through the use of digital agricultural resources. To ensure that food security can be strengthened across the world, we must develop new techniques that are less reliant on external factors such as the environment and climate. As we can see, we are all paying a high price for irresponsibly using our climate. Let us begin with turning waste into money. Growing locally may not be the solution, but as the COVID-19 emergency has shown, every little bit helps in the battle against food insecurity. As the pandemic threatens the global food system, the position of the state becomes increasingly important.

To protect and safeguard the livelihoods of millions of people who work in agriculture, the government should immediately increase spending on social safety nets and implement other short and medium-term strategies. The top priority for post-pandemic economy recovery should be raising revenue by offloading excess buffer stock and increasing credit to the agriculture sector.

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