THE EFFECT OF COVID-19 ON THE VALUE CHAIN OF PADDY AND CARROT VARIETY OF IARI

Abstract

The arrival of COVID-19 was no less than any apocalypse for the global economy. The growth of global GDP spiralled down to a very low point. The condition in India was no exception to it. Almost all the sectors of the economy were severely affected. Notwithstanding this, agriculture emerged as a bright spot in the dark horizon. Even though the growth rate was positive, there were serious impediments in the commodity value chain and agricultural marketing. Paucity in input supply, restriction in movement, closure of market, reduced demand of food products brought challenges that existed never before. In this backdrop, a study was conducted to find out the effects of COVID-19 on the value chain and marketing of Paddy Commercial variety Pusa Basmati 1121 and Carrot Commercial variety Pusa Rudhira. The research design was ex-post facto in nature and a total number of 160 farmers and 50 stakeholders including exporters, commission agents, wholesalers, and millers were consulted for the study. The locale of the study was Soodhna (U.P), Sangohi (Haryana), Khwajpur (U.P) and Nizampur (New Delhi). From extant review of literature, pilot study and discussion with experts, several constraints faced by the value chain stakeholders were identified and rank ordered using Rank Based Quotient Method (R.B.Q). Results showed that in case of farmers "difficulty in getting buyer, price fluctuation and wastage" were among the top constraints, and for stakeholders such as millers, wholesalers and retailers, "unavailability of labour and price fluctuations" were the causes of concern. Moreover, for exporters "hike in freight charges" was the most severe constraint. The findings of the study could highlight the vulnerable areas in the commodity value chain which ought to get due attention in policy making and better preparedness for future events of similar nature.