COVID-19 Pandemic-Induced Disruptions and Implications for National Food Security and Farm Incomes: Farm-Level Evidence from Indian Punjab

Kamal Vatta, Shruti Bhogal, Adam S. Green, Heena Sharma, Cameron A. Petrie and Sandeep Dixit
Additional contact information
Kamal Vatta: Department of Economics and Sociology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, India
Shruti Bhogal: Centers for International Projects Trust, New Delhi 110008, India
Adam S. Green: Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3DZ, UK
Heena Sharma: Centers for International Projects Trust, New Delhi 110008, India
Cameron A. Petrie: Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3DZ, UK
Sandeep Dixit: Centers for International Projects Trust, New Delhi 110008, India

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 8, 1-13

Abstract: By using the data from a primary survey of 1100 farm households from Indian Punjab, the present study examined the impact of COVID-19 pandemic-induced disruptions on food security and farm incomes. The paddy-wheat-based production system showed resilience to the challenges of the COVID-19 situation. Farmers adapted effectively to the changed equilibrium and there was no decline in food production, land lease activity or cropping patterns. The disruptions in agricultural machinery services and input supplies led to a rise in the rent of machinery and input prices. Agricultural wages also jumped due to scarcity of agricultural labour. The study highlights no imminent threat to food supplies from Punjab and hence to national food security. It showed that farmers may need some financial support to counter the effect of rising costs of farming. There is a need to enhance the resilience of various input and output markets in agriculture in the future.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; Punjab agriculture; agricultural inputs and output; labour shortages; agricultural wages (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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