Coronavirus Pandemic Induced Economic Cost through Fruit Products of Smallholder Farmers of Arba-Minch Zuria Woreda, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

The corona virus pandemic has influenced the production and marketing of fruits by smallholder farmers of ArbaMinch Zuria Woreda, Southern Ethiopia. This study was aimed at analyzing corona virus pandemic-induced economic cost/loss through fruit products and their impacts on the lives of households. Data were gathered through a questionnaire from 190 households who were selected using systematic random sampling. Data was also collected through interviews. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics such as percentages, mean, and inferential statistics like correlation and analysis of variance were employed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences and excel. The average economic cost found through fruit products of smallholder farmers has been estimated at 29.8 quintal or ETB 28,724.8 (US$ 844.8) due to the impact of the pandemic in three-four months. However, the average economic loss from March-June, 2020) was higher for farmers with larger farm-size and family-size, and higher annual fruit harvest that was also higher for male-headed HH (ETB 30,354.8/US$ 892.8) than the female-headed ones (ETB 22,155.3/US$ 651.6). Decline/loss of income, the difficulty of satisfying food needs, failure to afford farm inputs, and social costs were the main impact of the pandemic on fruit marketing. The corona virus pandemic led to economic costs through fruits of smallholder farmers mainly due to price-fall, lack of market options, and the perishable nature of fruits underlain by the containment measures of the government. Thus, concerned bodies should explore the untapped local and distant markets, and the government (with a feasibility study) should work for options (e.g., small-scale fruit-packing) by which value is added for the products locally.