Saving agri sector from Covid-19

The steps taken by the government to contain the spread of the virus and mitigate the damage from the lockdown have come at the right time

When most sectors of the economy are adversely hit by the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, agriculture could not remain who­lly unaffected. But the government’s prompt move to exempt all agriculture-related activities from the restrictions imposed under the lockdown has helped to mitigate, though not totally ward off, the damage to the farm economy.

The most noticeable fallout of the curbs that continue to haunt the farm sector is the labour crunch caused by the aberrant movement of migratory labour. The usual inflow of nomadic workforce into the country’s key northwestern rabi belt during the harvesting and sowing seasons could