The ongoing COVID-19 as a health disaster has affected all methods of life. In this pandemic, protecting people’s lives as nicely as the frontline services is now the present day precedence for each the State Governments and the Central Government. Both the Governments have rolled-up their sleeves for getting into actions to address this fitness catastrophe which additionally let to imposing a nation-wide lockdown to restriction virus transmission. In this context, “how does farmers reply to this disaster and how do government measures have an effect on hundreds of thousands of farm households throughout the country?” and advise the possible mitigation strategy.
In India extra than 80% of the agriculture region includes of small and marginal farmers (Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, 2015). Agriculture and its allied sectors are the supply of livelihood of around 54.6% of the populace and as per the Economic Survey 2019-20, its contribution was once around16.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Furthermore, the farmers make contributions to both diversification and meals protection appreciably in phrases of manufacturing of excessive cost plants. But the modern-day pandemic disrupted most things to do in agriculture and grant chains. The gaps in communications and co-ordinations between the Central and the States toward the agriculture has been evident in phrases of launch of notifications and circulars to manipulate agricultural things to do at some point of the lockdown. The early reviews counseled that the non-availability of labor interrupted the harvesting activities. There are disruptions in grant chains due to the fact of nation-wide lockdown. During the period, the prices have declined for most agro-products, but shoppers are paying more.
A fast evaluation survey performed by means of Foundation for Agrarian Studies (FAS) in April 2020 additionally concurs the reality that the get entry to advertising channels and rate of produce was once disrupted due to the pandemic. The nearby market channels had collapsed for the farmers. Apart from that, the shift in buying behavior with the accelerated use of digital offerings in agro-food advertising and more people shopping for meals via on line offerings than the ordinary markets additionally increase subject on the efforts needed for disrupted rural-urban connection. Thus, the worries mostly stay regarding the aggregation and advertising the produce by means of small and marginal farmers. On get admission to credit, evidence suggests terrible get admission to formal deposit by using small and marginal farmers. Ensuring credit accessibility and availability at some point of the pandemic for farmers who are by and large cash strapped ought to be one of the priorities of the Government.
Immediately after the nation-wide lockdown, the Ministry of Finance has declared an INR 1.7 trillion package as a period in-between relief, commonly to defend the susceptible sections (including farmers). As section of the announcement, below the PM-KISHAN scheme, farmers acquired INR 2000 as profits support. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has additionally introduced particular measures to tackle the “burden of debt servicing” due to pandemic. Agricultural time period and crop loans have been granted a moratorium of three months with 3% concession on the hobby price of crop loans. In May 2020, put up Finance Minister’s announcement on agricultural coverage changes, the steps to mitigate pandemic impact on farmers is being viewed on a positive note. Announcement of latest modifications such as deregulation of the Essential Commodities Act and reforms in APMC the place farmers can promote their produce to all people throughout India is a very positive step towards liberalizing the agricultural region. To construct an appreciation of the have an effect on of pandemic on the farmers in India and approaches to make sure an un interrupted supply-chain distribution and get entry to credit to tens of millions of farm households throughout the country. Presently a way ahead for policymakers and choice makers in phrases of enhancing outreach and shipping of these patterns.
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