Most farmers managed to harvest their crops despite the COVID-19 pandemic, but 60% of them still faced losses, mostly related to the lockdown , according to a new survey in 12 States. A majority of farmers also say the lockdown has hurt their preparations for the upcoming sowing season either because they cannot afford inputs such as seeds and fertilizer or because of labour shortages.
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The situation is worse for wage workers, with four out of five seeing their incomes fall over the last month. On average, wages were 76% lower compared to the same time last year.
These are some of the findings from a telephonic survey of almost 1,500 agricultural households in 200 districts of 12 large States, conducted in the first half of May by researchers from Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in association with the Public Health Foundation of India and the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Hyderabad. This was a baseline survey, and is expected to be repeated in June and July, in order to track the impact of the pandemic on agriculture and food security.
The survey found that 63% of respondents had harvested a crop in the past month, while 26% said this was not a harvesting season for them. Only 10% were unable to harvest their rabi or winter season crop, due to lockdown-related issues such as low market prices, difficulty in market access, government restrictions and a shortage of labour and machinery.
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Complicated situation
However, the situation becomes more complicated when looking at different crops and different States. Wheat is the biggest rabi crop and harvesting rates were especially high in northern States like Punjab (95%) and Haryana (81%) which also have high rates of mechanisation. However, while almost 90% of the wheat harvested in Punjab has already been sold, that figure falls to just above 60% for Haryana, where farmers are still trying to sell 22% of the crop. In Rajasthan, while 86% of the crop has been harvested, less than 15% has been sold.
The situation is worse with regard to other crops, especially vegetables which are a perishable crop highly vulnerable to the supply chain disruptions of the lockdown. In Karnataka, less than 40% of vegetables were harvested. Out of that, less than 60% could be sold. In West Bengal, although 81% was harvested, less than 20% could be sold. About 8% of the vegetable crop across the 12 States was wasted.
About 60% of farmers reported losses in yield, with bad weather being the single biggest reason. However, nearly 40% reported lockdown-related issues.
High cost
Looking ahead to the kharif sowing season, 56% of farmers expressed concerns. Half were worried about the high cost of seeds and fertilizers, especially given the last season’s losses, while one in five said these key inputs were not even available. Almost 40% are worried about labour shortages, given that the primary kharif crop is paddy, which involves labour-intensive transplanting operations.
Most farm households also depend on livestock and daily wage labour to provide incomes, along with crop cultivation. More than 60% of households dependent on livestock reported a fall in incomes. Wage earning households saw a 76% fall in wages, with 90% of landless households experiencing a hit to incomes.
