COVID-19 lockdown impact on harvesting and marketing of rabi crops in Punjab

COVID-19 was declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in January 2020. On March 22, 2020, the Punjab government imposed a state curfew, which was eventually turned into a state-wide-lockdown, effectively closing down almost all economic operations in the state. In this context, state agriculture-was projected to face unprecedented problems, during the upcoming Rabi harvesting season. Looking into it, a survey was conducted to identify the problems faced by the farmers in harvesting and marketing of Rabi crops and to assess management strategies adopted by farmers to cope up with those problems. A questionnaire using Google form in Punjabi was circulated among farmers in state of Punjab. Data had been received from 500 farmers. The results revealed that majority of farmers faced acute problem of labour shortage. However, large number of farmers managed this problem by seeking help of their family members and pooling resources at village level. The study showed that though the farmers faced challenges due to lockdown but at the same time-they were satisfied for timely procurement of Rabi crop.