Specialists talk about Covid-19’s effect on Agricultural Supply Chain

At an event organized by Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI) and International Growth Center (IGC), specialists have shared their views on the effects of Covid-19 on the agricultural supply chain and what to expect in the current future. The theme of the webinar was “Navigating Impact of Covid-19 on the Agriculture Supply chain of India”. 

ADRI's secretary Shaibal Gupta commented that early confirmations at the homestead entryway level show that after lockdown, quantity arrivals in agribusiness mandis lowered by 42%. "The lockdown because of Covid-19 pandemic prompted enormous interruptions in the supply chains. The impromptu and unexpected policy stuns influenced all sections of the supply chain of food straight from production, procuring and processing to shipping, logistics and lastly demand. Indeed, even limitations and disturbance on the movement of vehicles both state and city wise has hit the agri sector severely," he said. 

N.Saravana Kumar, secretary, department of agriculture further added that prices for maize have dipped 50 percent during the Covid-19 crisis. “Starch industry as a whole was hit because of which the requirement for maize declined. Farmers required money and subsequently troubled deals were observed. Also, there is no mechanism available for the procurement of maize," the authority said.