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PANDEMIC AND FOOD

As the COVID‐19 pandemic of 2020 unfolds, considerable attention has focused on the resiliency of food supply chains in a time of crisis.  Food supply chains have needed to adjust rapidly to demand‐side shocks,  including panic buying and changes in food purchasing patterns, as well as plan for any supply‐side disruptions due to potential labor shortages and disruptions to transportation and supply networks. The challenges are facing in food supply chains worldwide during the current crisis and our team will try to offer thoughts on policy and strategies to enhance food supply chain resilience. So far, we have food on our plate but we are still unaware of the journey it traveled during this pandemic. We can’t imagine life without farmers providing us with one of the basic necessities of life. In any scenario, the most affected will be the poorest and the most vulnerable segments of the population depended on agriculture. We will address the problems related to India and Nepal which can be used as a reference to other developed countries.

Why India and Nepal?

Of course, we are the members of Nepal and India so prioritizing our country can be beneficial both for the people and the countries. Besides that, there can be other aspects to it like:

Cultivable land in Both Countries and Factors affecting it.

The lands of both Countries are very cultivable. But the major areas of Nepal are Hilly and Mountainous areas so those parts are not promising but Terai (Plain Area) is highly fertile. There are different factors affecting the fertility of the soil.

a. Soil Texture

 Fig.3(Nasa LDAS Soil Texture)

The presence of combinations of loam soil (also Clay Loam, Silty Clay Loam)  represented as dim green and purple (fig.3), make cultivation favorable for different vegetables and food crops. These kinds of soil can retain nutrients water well while still allowing excess water to drain away.  These soils can produce large amounts of crops like rice grains, wheat, barley, maize, etc., and vegetables like potatoes, tomatoes, with cash crops like cotton, sugarcane, etc.

b. The composition of clay, sand, and silt in this soil is moderate due to which the soil stands as the perfect soil for different vegetation and food production. The data illustrated by Nasa LDAS on a fraction of sand, clay, and silt helps to resolve the soil condition in this region.

c. The data provided by Jasmin- JAxa's Satellite-based MonItoring Network system for FAO AMIS Market Monitor helps us to understand the different conditions of the soil, water, and vegetation in those areas.  Data can be very complicated deeply but this simple representation in  fig.4,5,6,7,8,9 helps us to formulate the effective estimation of high food production on those areas having sufficient rainfall, soil moisture, vegetation index, etc.

Although these lands are highly cultivable there are many problems related to this during this pandemic. We will try to describe it briefly with solutions:

1. Border problem between India and Nepal and Covid-19 Pandemic.

 Fig.2

Nepal is a landlocked country located between Nepal and India. Most of the essentials products for Nepali Citizen comes through the India-Nepal border(fig.2). This 1751 km long border serves as an intermediary factor between these countries which is very important for the economy of  Nepal. This open long border has caused pandemic even worse. According to the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP)  of Nepal, most of the virus hazards happening is related to the India-Nepal  Border system. Since all the border area is free without fencing, goods can enter and exit from anywhere with a high risk of contamination with virus.

Solutions:

The only solution to this free border during this pandemic will be to supply the food system through an authorized system. The supply of food should be governed by government and special employees should be hired which can even solve employment problems. Concerned Authority should distribute food to the required area in a confidential way as to stop contamination. An appropriate food network should be used. Food supply should be tracked by the government and contact with other third-person/agency should be avoided. To distribute locally the authority of food supply should be given to local authority where people can check the available food online and can get it online or from distribution booths. Old food should be given more priority to prevent food wastage.

2. Strategies to Preserve Buyers, Sellers, Suppliers, and Producers’ health and Food wastage.

 Health is equally important for all people. Our food supply is based on demand and supply chain. Nobody could have predicted the downfall beforehand and it made a huge difference in this supply-demand equilibrium chain. In the present scenario, the supply is as usual but the demand is drastically low due to the effect of lockdown.  One can wonder why demand is drastically low since it’s too predictable.  All the restaurants, hotels where food items that require the highest intensive labor agriculture are closed as a result of a pandemic outbreak.  The problem this sudden shift creates is not only for farmers but for everybody. The vegetables, fruits are getting cheaper than ever because the production rate is the same and the consumers'rate is drastically decreased.  Similarly, tons of food items like butter, cheese, varieties of sauces used in restaurants all are imported from India, and people aren’t buying it. It’s just decaying out in departmental stores. According to the Nepal  Dairy Association (NDA), dairy producers have faced losses worth Rs 2  billion on milk alone. Dairy producers must collect milk from farmers.  But there is no demand in the market. If their products aren’t sold,  they can’t afford to pay farmers, and farmers will not survive long enough without payment. The problem is universal. Only 30% of total production across the country is being consumed at the moment. 70% of food production is on wastage. We’re just in the first phase as foods in the market are decaying and standard people can’t even afford to pay it. Famine will soon strike them hard. The production rate will fall and supply will be reduced when farmers don’t get enough pay. In the second phase after a certain period not only standard people, everyone will be bound to suffer from famine due to the downfall of the supply rate. What about Food supply chains and food security?

This  COVID-19 pandemic made the world completely unaware and more vulnerable to our agricultural and food security systems as well.

Problems created:

1. The system of Lockdown has complicated the flow of food system incorporating different stage of food production from the farm to fork (e.g., processing, distribution and preparation activities,  consumption, and finally discharge) and various involved parts (e.g.,  infrastructure, agricultural inputs, landscape, farmers, retailers,  shipping, and institutions).
2. Maintaining the Food system plays an important role in ending hunger. So, Food system can be maintained by ending the global food waste at the retail and consumer level. This will lead to improved nutrition for all and correct distribution of food to the charity, poverty, by the NGOs.
3. The current food system is highly dependent on meat-based food which is not at all beneficial form an environmental point of view. It is because of this meat-based food that the useable microbes take its leap from the animal’s body to human beings and cause serious disease.
4. The missing links in the food supply chain have created a lot of devastation and disruption in various fields.
5. Harvesting:  As spring has arrived, the crops are rotting in the field. Due to the border restrictions, workers are simply afraid of infections. For instance, Europe’s asparagus growers are having a shortage of staff.
6. Logistics: Food transports are being extremely complicated due to border controls and restrictions of fresh goods.
7. Processing:  The food processing plants are having their outputs awfully scrambled due to the shutting down of suppliers. In Canada, for example, poultry  farmers collectively acted to reduce their output by 12.6%
8. Markets and Sourcing: Companies like soft drink producers are having sales slashed due to lockdown measures. Supermarkets have their most items undelivered, Because of sourcing problems, products based on a wide range of variables are becoming increasingly difficult to get.

Sustainable Goals:

1. Prioritization of Basic Needs

The wastage of production means the foods are not prioritized as per the basic needs of people. When producers produce only the necessary nutritious food to sustain the population, cutting off extra demands that we had before (like halting to produce anything except a balanced diet) we’ll have the ability to manage the best from what we have.  Resource management is vital in eradicating the unbalanced food chain supply caused by a pandemic outbreak.

2. Technological Maneuver in sustainable food supply chain management

Government and other private organizations should focus on technological maneuvers over the traditional food chain supply. The government can create a proper environment for startups and a private company to invest in traditional farming. When the technological innovations are applied in food-chain supply will not disrupt immediately. And, farmers should be used only for growing intensive labor crops. Farmers are key to the food chain supply.  So, keeping them immune also should be our top priority. For this proper guidelines and practices for safe social distancing should be taught and put into action.

3. Packaging and containment for sustainability

The major problem right now is wastage of food which is happening when foods are kept open. Packaged foods are always certified to last longer than foods exposed freely. So, by packaging the foods and keeping them in proper containment, we can eradicate wastage of tons of foods from the market. According to research from FAO,  the virus can survive on a variety of surfaces such as plastic or cardboard used in packaging, but it is unlikely that this type of exposure would be sufficient to make a person sick. Similarly, foods will indirectly be free from viruses when it’s not exposed.

4. The rotting of the stockpiled food could be used instead of dumping. They could be beneficial for the use of fermentation. It is easy enough to ferment rotten fruits, vegetables to create something else by the use of microbes present in them. Alcohol, Kambucha, Kimchi, Gundruk, and so on are results of all those foods which we consume almost every day.

5. We can imply traditional practices like planting possible vegetables at home as Home gardening where Biodegradable can act as compost with biosolids(stools) as fertilizers.

6. Food should never be wasted. Efforts like adding a sizable less amount for the food supply chain should be taken so as to shop Postharvest losses. In fact, the consumption of less the amount of food can be helpful because there are many people who suffer from starvation.

7. Agrobusiness leaders must invest in building digitally connected supply chains so as to rapidly adjust the global need in this pandemic. The supply chains should be operating regularly to ensure globally connected populations to meet dietary and nutritional needs.

What about the Producers?

PROBLEMS

1. With restrictions on the global movement of people, commodities, and services, and containment measures such as lockdowns, farmers are going backward due to less food demands.
2. In the fisheries or aquaculture sector, the inability of fishing vessels to operate can lead to a domino effect in the food chain and have an effect on the supply of products. In addition, sanitary measures and also, the problems in logistics are having effects due to sanitary measures.
3. The pandemic is impacting on the livestock sector due to reduced access to animal feed and slaughterhouses’ diminished capacity as similar to China.
4. The farmers or the Fishermans can also be likely victims of COVID-19.  Therefore, measures should be taken in order to keep them safe for catching the disease and spreading it.

SOLUTIONS:

1. In a recent study of the transmission of coronavirus, it says, “There is no current evidence on transmission through food like a seed” However, Coronavirus requires a cold surface to be transmitted through.  Fear travels faster than coronavirus. Farmers have easy access to cotton in comparison to health sectors. So rather than being dependent on health sectors, Farmers should be given enough knowledge on the spread of this Pandemic. They can prepare cotton gloves or masks by themselves so as to reduce the spread of COVID-19,  keep farmers healthy, and help maintain the continuous flow of food to various chains.
2. Most of the rural areas have seen to have lower COVID-19 cases so all the farmers in these regions should be highly motivated to produce enough crops so as to lead its transportation to city areas.

5. Road Structures Between Nepal and India.

Road  Network is very diverse in these two countries. The main means of transportation in Nepal is roadways as well as India but India mostly relies on railways for goods transportation. There is no effective railway system established between Nepal and India so road transportation will serve as an essential means of food and goods transportation. The pandemic has created less traffic than usual so transportation of food will not be difficult, however, the right for this kind of activity should be solely given to government sectors. No public should use their private vehicles to sell goods and vegetables during the pandemic. There are about 43 Transit and customs posts along the India–Nepal border. In order to protect the food supply, those transit and custom posts should be confined to less number around 10. Every transit and custom posts should be monitored by government forces like armies all the time. Supply trucks and vehicles should be monitored wirelessly by the concerned authority and contamination with other food and outside environment should be checked.

6. Quantitative and Qualitative Food Analysis in Both Countries.

With one of the largest cultivable land in the world, India and Nepal serve as a huge exporter of food crops, cash crops, and vegetables all around the world. With this in mind, most of the people in these countries are farmers and mostly illiterate so Covid-19 can largely affect both farmers and crops in this region. In Quantity and  Quality, India produces is way ahead of Nepal due to its large around 42%  more cultivable land than Nepal. According to data provided by National  Master, the agricultural growth per capita of India is 6% more than  Nepal. The agriculture value for India is around 302 billion which is around 47 times more than Nepal. Both Quantity and Quality production of  India is very large which is the reason for India and other buyers to be aware of it during this pandemic. That 302 billion worth of  agricultural products should be distributed safely throughout the world  and in order to make it free from contamination, it should be well  managed and facilitate

7. Increase the Demand for Food Supply during the Pandemic.

The home-stay or quarantine measures to stop Covid-19 contamination have disrupted the food chain. The farmers, suppliers, buyers are at great danger of contamination. People in these countries like Nepal and India are intimidated by the exposure of food which they are buying from the open market. The demand for food supply has drastically decreased due to the pandemic where people are afraid to buy open market foods. In rural countries like India and Nepal, there are no facilities for protections against any buyers and suppliers.  Our technology is relatively poor than in other developed countries.

We can protect the public and increase the demand by the following measures:

1. We can create websites and online shopping sites to promote food, where buyers can easily buy without contamination.
2. This should be done locally because it will be impossible to handle the large population.
3. All the quantitative and qualitative information of foods available in the local community should be published on the website.
4. This should be under the direct surveillance of the government to prevent food encroachments.

So most of the things we discussed were about the COVID –10 pandemic and strategies for protection of food supply between India and Nepal.

But we are not limited to those strategies only, we have some insight into some lists we can do during this pandemic and quarantine.

WHAT TO DO??

The distress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has made us all suffer deeply and forced us ti take strong precautions to slow the spread of the Virus.  However, the Quarantine and self-isolation methods have entirely affected the food businesses and food-related practices. Some countries have their restaurants, hotels, and complexes shut down and the shops are only limited over some areas. So, Fresh items are becoming less available, and the stockpiling of food is dominating in many houses.

1. Nutrition plays a crucial role in our health, particularly in such a time where the immune system should be made stronger. Due to limited goods in our confined surroundings, we should try to eat less but highly appropriate foods that can boost our immune system.
2. Moderate Exercise.
3. Staying hydrated at all times.

4. Foods rich in Vitamins should be consumed as it can boost the immune system. For instance, Vitamin   C plays a protective role in supporting the immune system by developing the body tissues, and under certain conditions, it restricts the susceptibility of the upper respiratory tract to infection. Foods rich in Vitamin C are broccoli,  cauliflower, kiwi, citrus fruits. Other vegetables like Carrots,  Spinach, and sweet potatoes contain Vitamin A. Vitamin A plays an important immune function to lower the susceptibility of infection. For  instance, Isotretinoin (a derivative of Vitamin A) mediates the down regulation of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE-2) which is a crucial  host cellular protein required for the entry of SARS-nCOV 2 in the body

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