As the closure is expected to continue for longer, concerns about food supplies are growing and people are now afraid. PM Modi also expressed fears that if lifted, millions of farmers' incomes could collapse and be seriously affected by a fall in prices.
One of India's primary economic sectors is agriculture, with as much as 70% of rural households depending on it for income, and the Prime Minister has assured the country that those who depend on it will receive help in this time of challenge. Faced with the unfolding crisis and its impact on farmers, The PM was asked to acquire all the wheat produced in the country to protect farmers. However, this amount is inadequate, as most Indian farming households are small farmers and marginalized groups, and a significant proportion of the population is landless and farm labourers. 45.1 percent of the total population is self-employed in agriculture, the remainder (54.9 percent) is agricultural work or landlessness, according to the 2017 agricultural statistics.
Despite the constant turmoil in the rural economy, however, there is no guarantee that India's food security will not suffer even after the pandemic. The Indian government has announced compensation totalling $1.5 billion for the losses incurred by COVID-19 for farmers. However, according to a World Bank report, this amount seems too small to offset the losses suffered by the poor rural population as a result of COVID-19.
According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), farmers will have to undergo the closure, which could last until May, given the exponential rise of the virus.
This scenario would further freeze transport and affect the sewing industry next season due to the lack of seed and fertilizer. For example, the Bengal agricultural sector, which has recently suffered from the uneven monsoon, will suffer another blow with the lockdown. Farmers who grow mustard and pulses, and who have recently had to face crop damage caused by premature and heavy rains, have been unable to retrieve their crops, as most workers have fled.
The state government has already received reports of potatoes lying in cold storage because truck drivers are afraid of transporting them. Farmers who grow wheat, mustard and pulses for the winter season, along with their families, are facing difficult times as most available workers have returned to their homes after the lockdown.
Most of these farmers grow perishables that cannot be recovered or merely stored until sale, therefore they cant make an income and provide for their families. Information from news and print media shows that the food supply chain for perishable foods is now completely broken.
While rice farmers have only slightly escaped the effects of the blockade, farmers who grow other crops such as bananas and flowers, as well as rice, have been severely affected. Banana and flower growers suffer enormous losses because the nature of their products requires timely sales. Farmers had expected good profits this year, but the lockouts have crippled their livelihoods.
The 21-day blockade coincides with the harvest season of the Rabi harvest and directly and indirectly affects farmers and peasants. The pandemic has disrupted regional agricultural value chains, posed a risk to household food security, and affected the livelihoods of millions of farmers in India as well as across the globe.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is actively discussing the possibility of easing restrictions in rural areas to allow the harvest of Rabi plants. Despite the government's efforts to control the spread of the coronavirus, the lockdowns threaten the agricultural sector as well.
Farmers, politicians and agricultural experts have criticised the aid package announced by the government for farmers affected by the coronavirus. Although exemptions have been granted for basic services, the closure has brought to a standstill the supply of agricultural workers to help with the harvest and the distribution of food to farmers.
It is still difficult to predict the exact damage, which has yet to be accurately quantified, but it is still becoming increasingly clear that COVID-19 could permanently affect the farmers of India. This leads us to think, how long can we protect lives through lockdown until we ultimately destroy livelihoods by it. Even now, millions of Indian farmers are ready to reap the harvest. The question is just that of when.
Image Courtesy of Indian Express