Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on vegetable growers of Maharashtra

Abstract

The world is struggling to fight the pandemic, the COVID-19 and the following lockdown has affected all walks of lives. Importantly, the farming community is the major victim of this. The present study was conducted purposively in the Rahuri and Ahmednagar tahasils of Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra State with the objectives to study the profile of the vegetable growers, to assess the effect of the COVID -19 pandemic on Marketing of vegetables, to document the constraints faced and suggestions offered by vegetable growers for future strategies. The five villages from each tahsils and nine respondents from each village thus total 90 respondents i.e. 45 farmers from Rahuri tahsil and 45 farmers from Ahmednagar tahsil were selected for the study purposively. The findings concluded that, to face the pandemic situation in future like COVID-19 and to motivate vegetable growers Government should focus on vegetable growers for adoption of sustainable and natural resources like zero energy cool chambers (79%), organizing massive public awareness and trainings campaign to popularizing the Farmer Producer Organizations and e-agriculture platforms for vegetable production and marketing (93%), utilize the services of Agro-Input dealers to enhancing more participation of the farmers and to create the Producers to Consumer marketing system (91%) and providing inputs and financial support by the Govt. (79%) is highly needed . The research study recommended that the State Department of Agriculture, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Agricultural Universities and Agricultural Inputs Dealers jointly conduct a comprehensive public awareness and training campaign on zero energy cool chamber, Farmer Producer Organizations, e-agriculture platforms and Producers to Consumer marketing system to strengthen the agricultural extension system through Public-Private Partnership (PPP).