COVID-19 had a massive effect on the global economy, and we’re sure to be feeling the ripples for some time to come. And sure, the sentiment seems to be on the rise that we’ll pull through this. Yet, industries across the world from movie theaters to parks are still feeling the blow and are scrambling to pick themselves back up.
One industry that’s been in particular flux is the agriculture industry. But how exactly has this industry been affected, and how are its chances looking?
Well, you’ve come to the right place. It’s time to look into the impact of COVID-19 on the agriculture industry! So without further ado, let’s do this thing!
Danger to Workers
One of the immediate consequences of COVID-19 was that the disease had a massive ripple effect across the farmers and factory workers who produce and package our food. Not only are the large majority of farmers in their 50’s or older ( a more dangerous age range for COID-19), but meatpacking plants require workers to be throw together in tight quarters to do their work.
As such, many meatpacking plants have shut down as a result of the virus, and the overall production rate of agriculture has slowed. Getting farmers the protective equipment they need to continue working is difficult as well. After all, even doctors are suffering shortages of professional-grade masks (like the N-95) right now.
Economical Flux in the Agriculture Industry
Another impact COVID-19 has had is throwing the economical balance of the industry into chaos. As consumers buy food in vast quantities and clean out grocery stores, the stores need to up their prices by more than 5% on average to compensate. This uncertainty also leads to the farmer’s selling prices dropping, which in turn causes them to shut down and close down their agricultural producers.
The sale of farmland has also dropped in pandemic times. This hurts the industry as many farmers recoup money by selling off their farmland after their crops have been produced.
These problems have gotten alleviated due to the initial panic over the pandemic dropping and the economy creeping back to normal. That said, any large-scale re-emergence of the virus could shut down supply routes and make a bad problem fatal.
A Move to Machines
Because the agricultural industry can no longer rely on manpower as much as it used to, a trend to moving toward mechanized operation will be on the rise in the future. Finding robots to automate the factory process (or even using machines like the pellet extruder to speed up laborious tasks) will allow the industry to keep up production levels while putting fewer human lives in danger.
Looking to the Future
And there you have it! Now that you know about the state of the agriculture industry in the era of COVID-19, you’re ready to get out there and make better-informed business decisions regarding the field! And for all things business, make sure to check out the other articles on our blog page!
