COVID-19 is Disturbing the Food Industry

Nowadays, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the role of fortified rice more crucial in ensuring global food security while dealing with a number of climate fluctuations. Rice is known to be an essential factor in people’s diet throughout the globe. More than 3.5 billion people are depending on it, claiming it to be the necessary part of their everyday meal. 60% among the 820 million people who are suffering from poverty and hunger are living in the areas that have to maintain the high production of rice, which is about 40% of their annual diets. Inexplicably, as it is said; those who play the part in producing food are the ones who suffer from the most food insecurity. For more than 100 million rice holders, the only thing that separates them and their hunger is rice.

Before this attack of coronavirus, the food manufacturers were already striving to deal with the drastic effects caused by climate changes, as they operate to provide this life-saving food to approximately half of the population around the globe. Talking about the current situation, the COVID-19 pandemic is severely affecting the rice factor resulting in more damages and posing serious threats to lives, food manufacturers, food processors, and resulting in further challenges and ambiguities in maintaining Food production. An efficient solution for these industries is to integrate the business software, named Food ERP. Food ERP is a pocket-friendly software that can help the food processors and food manufacturers to manage their resources properly while giving them the right direction for the better allocation of their resources.

The international trading activities of the rice industry are significantly damaged by this pandemic effect, which results in massive draughts and poverty. Because of this panic buying, the rice exporting countries limited their exporting activities by putting different limitations on them. However, on the other side of the picture, the domestic prices set by the importing nations reduced the import volumes. Combined with logistics stoppage because of the worldwide lockdown, half of the global supply of rice has been put at risk. Resultantly farmers are also not able to obtain the desired and essential inputs because of the lockdown. Because of that, the migrant workers have also been forced to return home.

Besides that, the food manufacturers and food processors are also exposed to huge threats as the average age of rice farmers has been increased. Half of Southwest Asia that supplies 50% of the rice, is suffering from draughts. As the Executive Director of Sustainable Rice Platform Wyn Ellis said that, these effects caused by the COVID-19 are just a general overview of the damages that the climate will cause. He claims that the climate damages would be more lasting and adverse. It will show how climate changes can further increase the existing crises.

Climate change will exaggerate the fragility of the food systems and human health. The United Nations Environment program is taking intermediate steps to effectively cope up with these dangers. This sustainable Rice Platform formed by UNEP acts as a multi-stakeholder alliance consisting of 100 institutional members. SRP is developing effective production standards, providing indicators and incentives to boost and sustain rice production, and is helping the people to effectively and efficiently deal with COVID-19. They are providing the farmers with hand soaps and different personal protective equipment.

As we aim and wish to make it better, farmers critically need to have improved capacity in order to cope with these further occurring environmental, social and global crises as 3.5 billion people are depending upon it.