Search

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected dairy farmers with the demand shrinking due to income losses of the consumers, disruptions in the supply chains reducing supply, raising costs and increasing wastage. The present study examined such disruptions in Punjab, India, with the primary survey covering dairy farmers, intermediaries, consumers and other stakeholders in the dairy industry. The results reveal a significant fall in farmgate milk prices, disruption in transporting milk within the supply chains, labour shortages, rise in production costs and lack of operating capital. The demand for milk and milk products declined sharply during the pandemic. To dispose of the excess milk supply, dairy farmers turned to localized value chains catering directly to consumer households. Approximately half of the farmers lost almost one-third of their income from processed milk products like ghee and butter. The dairy farmers agreed to strengthen the dairy value chains through better integration of the stakeholders. The inability of the farmers to quickly shift to digital platforms for sales of milk and milk products during the pandemic calls for special capacity-building efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Market infrastructure plays an integral role in enhancing marketing efficiency and improving market margins of the farmers. Based on a sample of 322 stakeholders from 23 agricultural markets of Punjab, the present study highlighted the status and performance of display boards in the agricultural markets. lt was found that majority of the farmers reported that the information displayed was mainly focussed on the prices and market arrival of paddy and wheat crop which was also available in many other sources. Lack of information on prices and arrival of fruits and vegetables, inappropriate location of display board, less visibility and lack of local language were other constraints which inversely affect the level of performance of this mode of information. The study suggested the need to display regular and timely information on prices and arrival of fruits and vegetables which would help in crop diversification by enhancing areas under fruits and vegetable crops in the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]