Adapt To The Covid-19 World, Or Die

COVID-19 has not only cost lives and livelihoods; it has changed consumer behaviour and buying patterns. To protect their businesses, farmers need to adapt to new market realities.

- Peter Hughes

It has been a shock. The last global upheaval on this scale was the Second World War, and even during that tragic period, large numbers of people were unaffected. But not this time round!

The COVID-19 pandemic is set to affect almost every person on Earth, either directly or indirectly, and bring about significant behavioural changes. In fact, some of these are already upon us. If we as farmers are to survive, we will have to adapt swiftly.

If you are a cut flower producer, your local and export markets disappeared overnight. If your product is fibre, the decline in disposable income of millions of households around the world will depress the sale of clothing and other fabrics. Wool prices are already down from pre-pandemic levels and the price of cotton has reached a five-year low.