Global impact of COVID-19 on agriculture: role of sustainable agriculture and digital farming

Abstract

The rise and spread of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has created an imbalance in all sectors worldwide, massively disrupting the global economy. Social distancing, quarantine regulations, and strict travel restrictions have led to a major reduction in the workforce and loss of jobs across all industrial sectors. One of the sectors completely exposed was the agriculture and food sector. The initiation of a nationwide lockdown by the government resulted in the shutdown of industries globally impacting the overall supply chain from farmer to consumer. The need of the hour is to propose effective solutions which can serve the dual purpose of market growth as well as customer satisfaction. This paper reviews the impact of COVID-19 on the agro-food system and its economy stressing critical factors like food production, demand, price hikes, security, and supply chain resilience. To conserve natural resources and meet the sustainable development goals (SDG), importance has been given to adopting sustainable agricultural practices with a prime focus on techniques like urban agriculture, crop rotation, hydroponics, and family farming. Possible advancements like the use of digital tools, mainly artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, and block-chain technology, in the agro-food sector have been discussed as they could be a promising tool to develop a self-reliant society. This work would be a perfect platform to understand the growing impact of the pandemic as well as supporting cost-effective solutions for a green ecosystem.