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Like many others whose crops were waiting to be harvested, Chinese farmer Jiang Yuewu was about to throw away 500 tons of lotus roots due to Covid-19.
Jiang lotus root is cultivated in Huangfang, Suburban Wuhan District, Hubei Province, China. When the Covid-19 epicenter, with 11 million people, was blocked for 76 days from January 23 to April 8, many farmers like Jiang were miserable with agricultural products, but were unable to sell them.
“Traders cannot come,” said the 56-year-old farmer. “If we don’t do our best, we won’t be able to get through the second half of this year.”
Jiang Yuewu (right), about to plant the amount of harvested but unsold lotus tubers, April 6. Photos: AP.
Guo Changqi, a florist in Wuhan, has dropped more than 20,000 pots, each priced at $ 0.7 to $ 0.8 on the wholesale market. Now the market is open again but there are no clients, according to AP.
“We make a living by planting flowers,” Guo said as he passed the dried pots. “If there is no way to sell, life will be increasingly difficult.”
All over China, farmers like Jiang or Guo are waiting for the government to help them. Not only China, farmers around the world find themselves in difficult situations due to Covid-19.
Abdolreza Abbassian, an economist at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), said that interrupted cultivation and harvesting greatly affected poor countries.
India, the second most populous country in the world, where 70% of the population works in agriculture, is one of the countries most vulnerable to this interruption.
In the fertile fields of the Satara district in western India, farmers are feeding cattle salads and strawberries. Several other farmers are pulling trucks of grapes into the compost pile. They have no choice but to feed or rot the animals.
“No one wants to buy strawberries because of the blockage,” said Anil Salunkhe, who is giving strawberries to cows. Local tourists did not come to buy, nor did they sell goods to merchants. Salunkhe even offered it for free, but very few people dared to risk leaving home to buy strawberries.
Farmers are unable to bring their products to consumers due to the blockade that many countries in the world are destroying the food supply chain and the agricultural sector, raising concerns about food shortages and prices. they both shoot, according to Reuters
Ripe zucchini falls in a field in Homestead, Florida, in early April. AP
Globally, millions of workers cannot work in fields and crops. The truck is not running to circulate the load. Air transport of fresh fruits and vegetables also fell sharply due to the closure of the borders.
In Canada, imports of vegetables from India such as onion, okra and eggplant have fallen 80% in the past two weeks due to limited routes, according to Clay Castelino, president of Ontario-based Orbit Brokers specializes in helping transit carriers to clear customs.
“With perishable food, once broken, it can only be thrown away,” he said.
Agricultural sector Spain Also affected by the labor shortage in countries like Morocco.
“In about 15 days, in mid-May, the blueberries will be at harvest,” said Francisco Sánchez, manager of crop management at Onubafruit. “We need a lot of seasonal labor at that time.”
Italy 200,000 temporary workers are also needed in the next two months. The government may have to ask people for state assistance to help harvest vegetables, according to Ivano Vacondio, head of the Italian Federal Food Association.
In France, Agriculture Minister Didier Guillaume unintentionally issued an “dark army” appeal, which had just been fired or fired by Covid-19, becoming an alternative force for the migrant workforce. in the farm
“If no one answers the call, agricultural products will rot,” said Christiane Lambert, director of France’s largest agricultural union, FNSEA.
In Brazil, the world capital for the export of soy, coffee and sugar, farms face a number of problems, such as the rental of trucks to transport agricultural products or the lack of agricultural supplies.
Argentina, the world’s leading soybean exporter, exports also lagged as the government increased inspection of cargo ships from other countries.
In the U.S, the helpless farmer watched the rotten farm produce in the field or the milk poured down the drain as he hurriedly searched for a place to import the produce, Guardian. Billions of dollars of food will be wasted as growers from California to Florida face a crisis of over-perishable goods.
It is a paradox that food banks help in the US. USA And grocery stores are struggling to maintain their inventory when farmers everywhere pour milk and uproot vegetables.
According to the report of the National Union of Sustainable Agriculture of EE. In the US, losses in the agricultural sector could reach $ 1.32 billion from March to May. The offer does not matter, but how it is urgent to bring the supply to the necessary place.
South Florida is the vegetable bowl of American consumers, especially in winter and early spring. For many farmers, the cost of harvesting and packaging is higher than the market price.
“Several factors combined create a disastrous situation for vegetable growers in South Florida who are abandoning or abandoning agricultural products,” says Lisa Lochridge, public relations manager for the Vegetable Association. Florida said.
Ryan Elbe, the owner of the Golden E Dairy farm, raised 2,400 dairy cows near West Bend, a town in southern Wisconsin, watching a truck dump milk into the field on April 1. The farm is pouring almost 95,000 liters of milk every day. Photos: Golden E Dairy.
Dairy manufacturers in Wisconsin, Vermont, and other states dump excess milk trucks into a sewer or field. In the past, milk was often sold to the school system. Now schools are closed, with manufacturers, food preparation and packaging for retail rather than wholesale, as well as freight transportation being a new and expensive problem that is not easy to solve.
“Many retailers have to limit the amount of milk a person can buy for fear of not having enough. The supply chain is clearly disconnected,” Heckert said.
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