Addressing The Impacts Of The Pandemic On The Agriculture Sectors

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Addressing The Impacts Of The Pandemic On The Agriculture Sectors

As we all know, in the early stages of COVID-19 in 2020, there was no vaccine or treatment available to protect people against infection. As infections increased, the government implemented lockdowns, closed borders, and imposed travel limits to prevent the virus from spreading—all of these preventive measures to keep the epidemic under control affected the global economy. Food processing plants, industrial units, and all other non-essential enterprises in India were shut down during the initial phase of the lockdown, affecting the marketing and trade of agricultural products and inputs. While social media has both benefits and drawbacks, rumours travel faster and further than truth. For example, unsubstantiated ‘fake news and rumours were circulating on messaging platforms, claiming that the coronavirus could be transmitted via poultry birds. As a result, people stopped consuming eggs and chicken; many backyard poultry owners decided to bury young chicks and fully matured birds to save money on the future costs of keeping them alive without any monetary returns. Previously bird flu (avian influenza) hit the industry hard in 2006. But then, the fears were based upon facts. This was not the case in the current corona crisis. Travel and movement limitations impacted goat rearing, as most pastoralists prefer grazing choices for their goats over stall feeding, following traditional practices. Only the dairy industry was unaffected by the lockdown since milk is considered an essential product.


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