One farmer experienced “a change in attitude among the public around how they value the security of food production and therefore the role of farmers in providing that food.”
Others noted “NZ agriculture is starting to be seen as an important cog in the mechanism again,” “greater recognition of the true value of agriculture and primary producers,” and “governments and communities recognised the importance to our standards of living that agriculture provides plentiful safe food and fibre.”
The study, conducted by AgResearch scientists, New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) and several science organisations in NZ and Australia, surveyed farmers and others working in the agriculture and food systems in Australasia about the impacts of covid-19 in the period through to June 2020, which included national lockdowns.
AgResearch senior scientist Dr Val Snow says that while the survey and interviews did not specifically ask about public attitudes or appreciation for the agri-food sector, a number of people did comment that the pandemic and response to it has resulted in a noticeable positive change in how their work was perceived.
“There is certainly a view that one positive effect has been a greater awareness in the non-farming communities of both NZ and Australia of the critical value of food and agriculture in maintaining social function,” Snow says.
Although study participants acknowledged overall negative effects, additional stress and pressures from the pandemic and response, only 47% of NZ survey respondents viewed the effect on their farms or businesses as negative over that period. A further 37% says the effect was neutral.
Overall, the study found that “to June 2020, the impacts of the covid-19 control measures on the agri-food sectors in both Australia and NZ have been relatively small and that this has been due to the high levels of resilience in the agricultural systems and the people running them.”
“The term resilience is a buzzword that’s probably a bit overused, but it’s clear from our analysis that the in-built ability to cope with adversity through various means, find new ways of doing things and get on with the job, were important in how farmers and their supporting industries performed so well,” Snow says.
“Many farmers were already dealing with drought conditions, but were able to manage through the extra difficulties. We’ve seen those in other countries not fare as well.”
She says relatively high technology use and strong connections in the NZ sector also meant it was well placed to respond to the pandemic.
The study also illustrated that not only has the agricultural industry survived the pandemic so far, but has found several positives in the experience, too.
Much of NZ’s primary sector was able to continue working through the covid-19 lockdowns, and overseas demand for its products stayed strong.
Its financial performance was positive, with export revenue from primary products for the period exceeding revenue from the previous year.
Those interviewed in the NZ sector also identified benefits such as better ways of working, including going paperless or conducting online meetings and opportunities for new markets for their products.
One Kiwi farmer says the necessity to home-school the kids “meant they were involved in farming life and saw the decision-making process and us discussing real life events.”
“Some Kiwi farmers found being required to stay on their farms through covid-19 restrictions meant they were actually more focused on their core tasks and their family life,” she says.
While farmers have fared well so far, researchers anticipate a follow-up study in 2022 to see if and how those impacts have changed over time.
“It is not yet clear if the current resilience mechanisms can persist under the continued onslaught of the virus. We indicate the need to capture longer term effects and analysis during the more sustained effects of the virus and through a recovery period, ” the paper notes.
Snow says although the outlook is more positive now with access to vaccines looming, many of those we heard from expect impacts of the pandemic to linger for some time.
