by Arushi Jain
As redundant as it might be to point out how things changed for the worse in post coronavirus world for almost all industries and businesses, this is something that needs to be done time and again and remind every one of us how drastically the pandemic has altered the lives of millions. Mainstream media in the first half of lockdown was filled with heart breaking images of millions of unemployed migrant workers, homeless returning on foot but what the spotlight fails to do is reflect on systematic breakdown of certain sectors that would eventually mount up to billions of rupees in losses.
One such eviscerated sector is the poultry industry which not just shut down because of the lockdown but also had to face the consequences of vicious rumours of spread of virus through meat consumptions. Long before the actual spread of virus in our country, people had stopped consuming chicken, fish because of these perfidious claims.
With an estimated worth of 2049 billion rupees, the poultry industry in India has been a steadily growing sector especially in the last two decades including eggs and broiler production. However the last quarter has been akin to a never ending nightmare for the millions of people whose livelihoods depend on this industry. With several bird and animal related epidemics breaking out in previous years, the industry has seen sharp demand declines and unstable market demands. However, COVID in particular shook the core of the most organised sector or non-crop agriculture sector when a slew of false claims of “transferrable nature of the virus in animals” spread in February and March.
Farmers had to bury alive their healthily bred livestock (especially chicken). The prices of meat were slashed across the country and the losses faced were insurmountable. To add to that, the countrywide lockdown which lasted for several months broke supply chains all over and left the industry in shambles. Even after the several ‘un-lockdowns’, COVID was still hitting this particular sector all over the globe as working conditions in these factories cannot guarantee social distancing as was seen in several meat plants becoming Coronavirus hotspots in the US.
India is the world’s fourth biggest chicken producer and is unfortunately now smack in the middle of an impending crisis if not intervened and provided immediate relief with. They need cash inflows and loans so that farmers can cover their losses and meet with the slowly returning demand. Most of all, they need a way to deal with the increasingly believable ‘fake news’ that cost them multitudes of losses. If anything this pandemic has solidified, it is the fact that how easy is to succumb to the lies of social media spread rumours and how devastating they can be for individuals involved.
References-
IMARC Group
The Financial Express
The Print
Live Mint