Agriculture in the Covid-19 Pandemic

29/05/2020 Views : 725

I GEDE PUTU WIRAWAN

Agriculture in the Covid-19 Pandemic 

            The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic  become very serious to all aspects of life.  Agriculture is one of them and it affects not only the marketing system but also the distribution to the market and consumers.  In some area, like in Bali many agricultural products did not get their buyers due to the end user were closed.  We can see many farmers do not harvest their vegetables, and even they gave for free to the people passing by because the market become very limited or due to distribution system is not running well.  The price of  mangosteen, dorian, orange, and others were very chief since the market can not take them all or again the transportation or distribution is limited.  However, people in the urban area need all of that products but they cannot reach it, since the transportation system is limited.  Farmers in the villages in Bali generally they have a lot of food or agricultural products but they do not have enough money.  On the hand, this condition rise a new business opportunities  to delivery the agricultural products to the market or to consumers directly.  

            People in the city  faced the problems as well especially in the need of food and other agricultural products, such as rice, vegetables, fruits, and meets. These also become another opportunity for agricultural products businesses. Some university students making business in on line marketing of some products of agriculture.  The sell fruits, vegetables, rice, egg, and even flowers to costumers  that usually their lecturer or professors in the university. They buy the products with reasonable price to the farmers in the villages and bring it to the city and to their costumers.  Other opportunities were people in the city used their small yard of their houses or their house terrace for making home garden of vegetables, fruits, and other crops planted in a pot. Some people even used hydroponic system for producing certain  vegetables, or integrated farming system vegetables with fish (aquaponic system)  that  need only small space. By this farming system they can even sell their products to nearing consumers.

            The tourism industry in Bali Island that used be the main in come of Bali Province due to the pandemic becoming collapse and hotel, restaurants, tourist objects, and other related to the tourism industry no more could absorb agricultural products  so that the opportunity can be said to have been closed at this time.  There is no tourists now but the opportunity is in the community directly.