Covid-19 is an infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, the most recently discovered virus that falls under coronavirus family. The Covid-19 outbreak that began in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China has quickly spread to all over the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially declared this disease a global pandemic. The virus is disrupting fundamental systems and industries, including agriculture and food systems as well, and endangering the livelihoods of workers.
The seed sector or industry has undergone tremendous consolidation in the last 40 years as transnational corporations entered this agricultural sector and acquired or merged with competing firms. This trend is associated with impacts that constrain the opportunities for renewable agriculture, such as reductions in seed lines and declining prevalence of seed saving (Howard, 2009).
The rapidly evolving situation with Covid-19 is raising questions throughout the world. As a concern continue to grow about the virus, it is not only wreaking havoc on the general economy, it is also causing significant downturn in the field of agriculture, farming and seed industry. As public life shuts down around the globe and health systems buckle under the strain of the Covid-19 pandemic, concerns over food supply are the latest scare to make headlines. Despite of this, the agricultural production is on Track for this year. To begin with, let’s examine to what extent the harvest of the 2019/20 growing season is affected by the crisis. The growing season started last autumn. In most cases, fields were sown in September or October 2019 (for winter grains such as wheat, barley and rye, rapeseed and catch crops, and green fodder). The share of these crops can be estimated at about 60% according to 2016 figures. This is just an estimate, since in some countries, the division between summer and winter crops is not clear. We assume that the largest part of grains (wheat and barley) and rapeseed are winter crops; however, a small proportion of these crops might be still seeded in summer.
For crop production, the largest part of the seeding process will be almost unaffected between now and the summer. Deliveries of seeds, fertilizer and plant protection products have been bought already, or are in stock at the traders and can still be purchased. Over the coming months crops like maize, potatoes, sugar beet and other summer crops are going to be seeded. However, in many EU countries, this work is done largely with machinery and on-farm labour only. Therefore, in the near-term perspective, there is little shortage to be expected.
Seed is the starting point of the food system. Farmers everywhere depend on access to quality seed in order to grow healthy crops. With planting season coming soon, it is a crucial time of year for agriculture, and the seed industry is committed to providing quality seed to farmers when they need it. There is no doubt that the seed industry should provides essential services to ensure the security and stability of the agriculture supply chain.
Here are some ways that seed industry should work to tackle the current situation. It should ensure that seed can be safely sold and delivered to customers: scheduling seed deliveries and pickups in advance; limiting face-to-face contact during sales and serving customers individually; reducing transmission among staff by emphasizing hygiene and encouraging work from home measures where possible; cross-training personnel to perform essential functions so that the workplace can operate even if key staff members are absent; and enforcing social and physical distancing measures among staff and customers.
Seed is a globally traded agricultural product and the unrestricted national and international movement of seed and related inputs is critical to ensure food security in this time of uncertainty.
