Impact Of Covid-19 Pandemic On Agro-Industrial Complex Development

Abstract

The global problems of the agro-industrial complex deserve a priority solution, which is primarily due to food security at all levels. Only after the primary needs of the population are met, it makes sense to make any efforts to find options to overcome other obstacles standing in the way of the development of the world economy. The complexity of the current situation in the world is due to the unceasing course of the COVID-19 pandemic. This article provides an analytical overview of the opinions of researchers from different countries and international organizations on the impact of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection on the functioning and development of the agro-industry in the world. Including the advantages and disadvantages of the presented theories are indicated. The authors consider it important to apply a scientific approach to highlighting the classification of the results of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the agricultural sector of the world economy. This study will allow forming a systematic approach to the development of measures to minimize their negative impact, the manifestation of which is observed to the greatest extent than positive. The result of the study is the author's classification of the consequences of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the agro-industrial sector. Given the novelty of the category under consideration, the authors consider it inevitable that further research in this area is necessary.

Keywords: Agrarian economy, agro-industrial complex, COVID-19, pandemic, the impact of a pandemic

Introduction

The branches of agriculture and the agro-industrial complex as a whole are the main spheres of human life support. This statement is an unequivocal statement of the paramount importance of agriculture and the agro-industrial complex at all stages of human development. The issues of the functioning and development of this area are currently the most significant on a global scale. Agricultural engineering research constantly attracts the attention of modern scientists. Food security, climate change, energy conservation are just the beginning of the list of global problems of the agro-industrial complex, which, unfortunately, is constantly increasing.

The end of 2019 became a fundamentally new challenge for the entire world community and forced everyone to respond to the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection, recognized by the World Health Organization as the COVID-19 pandemic on March 11, 2020. The agro-industrial complex was no exception among the industries that were negatively affected by force majeure. Naturally, the current situation entailed a surge in scientific research on the part of scientists of all levels and categories, including in the field of the agro-industrial complex. Today, the activity of both Russian and foreign researchers in the study of this problem should be noted. This interest is evidenced by the publications of the following authors: Kazarova (2020), Razin et al. (2020), Trushina et al. (2020), Vartanova (2020), Sidorchukova (2020), Kuandykova (2021), Kerr (2021), Mishra et al. (2021), Cardwell and Ghazalian (2020).

At the same time, it is important to note that the problem of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the agro-industrial complex is quite new, the situation continues to change, and the prospects are difficult to predict. This circumstance emphasizes the relevance of using the scientific approach in this direction and requires further systematization of the already accumulated knowledge.

Problem Statement

The current global outbreak of COVID-19 has disrupted agricultural and food systems around the world. Timely and reliable information is essential to prevent panic reactions that can exacerbate these disruptions, worsening the food and nutritional security of the most vulnerable people (FAO, 2020). The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on agriculture and global food security will be complex (Torero, 2020) and many of the impacts remain to be identified and understood (Jámbor et al., 2020).

In 2020, the world hunger situation deteriorated sharply – a tenth of the world's population, about 811 million people, is undernourished. Such a significant increase is likely associated with a pandemic, but this is far from the only reason. This is stated in a new report prepared by experts from several United Nations (UN) agencies "And before the pandemic, we lagged behind the pace of progress towards the goal of completely freeing the world from hunger and malnutrition by 2030," says Maximo Torero, FAO's chief economist. "We have been hampered by conflicts, climate change, and the economic recession, but today's figures are even more alarming." Last year, he said, the situation worsened significantly, even considering population growth: in 2020, 9.9 percent of all inhabitants of the planet were undernourished, 1.5 percent more than a year earlier (UN, 2021).

It is obvious that it is the work of the agro-industrial complex that is responsible for saving humanity from hunger. Moreover, the fact that this intersectoral system was among those subjected to negative pressure from pneumonia of a new type emphasizes the importance of research by scientists worldwide to find ways to confront the global problem. Experience shows that a clearly formulated problem is half of the solution. Therefore, using a scientific approach to understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the agro-industrial complex is an important stage in the process of developing recommendations to reduce its negative manifestations.

Research Questions

Currently, in different countries and at the level of international organizations, scrupulous work is underway to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the agro-industrial complex. A generalization of publicly available information environment sources on this issue became the basis for analyzing the opinions of various representatives of the world scientific community on the classification of this category. Table 01 presentes these results.

In addition to the approaches described above in the information space, dozens of articles are devoted to this topic. However, these sources are characterized by a descriptive approach to the analyzed consequences. They cannot be analyzed due to the absence of classification criteria (signs), designation of their groups. We have to admit that the volume of the article does not allow listing all the consequences indicated within each of the groups. So, for example, the description of failures in the operation of the agro-industrial complex under the influence of a pandemic from the point of view of FOS takes seven pages. Moreover, the texts of other researchers are also voluminous. In addition, we believe that direct citation is not required to study classification issues.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this article is to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the functioning and development of the agro-industrial complex in the context of globalization, including bringing into the system the main consequences in the form of their classification.

Research Methods

When carrying out the research, we used such general scientific methods as abstraction, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, observation, comparison.

The information base for the preparation of the article was the official data of the United Nations Organization (UN), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition, the works of various international and Russian scientists, published in periodicals and conference proceedings, were studied.

Findings

The information presented (Table 01) made it possible to identify the advantages and disadvantages of the existing classification of the consequences of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the agro-industrial complex. Table 02 shows the results of the analysis performed.

Based on the analysis of the existing theories of classification of the results of the influence of pneumonia of a new type on the operation of the agro-industrial complex, the author's classification is proposed (Table 03).

Infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has had a more negligible impact on the agro-industrial complex compared to sectors of the economy such as tourism and transportation. However, the consequences of the pandemic for the agro-industrial complex are already colossal. The inconsistency and duration of the impact of the consequences of the pandemic are still challenging to measure and will remain in effect for an indefinite period. The long-term impact is difficult to predict. This circumstance is associated with the low elasticity of production in terms of price in the agro-industrial complex, due to its seasonal nature and low elasticity of demand, both in terms of price and income, since the overwhelming majority of agricultural products satisfy basic needs.

Conclusion

The study made it possible to formulate the author's approach to classifying the consequences of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the agro-industrial complex, which includes ten criteria for each of which groups and corresponding examples are given. It is important to remember that any classification in the scientific community is viewed as a controversial area. This fact means that the proposed option can be supplemented by the authors or challenged by opponents. So, the presented classification can be supplemented with the following grouping options:

- by external factors of influence (economic, political and legal, demographic, scientific and technical, natural, cultural, and others);

- according to the levels of economic development of the country (developed, developing, least developed countries);

- by economic levels (world economy, macroeconomics, mesoeconomics, microeconomics);

- by the chronology of influence (functioning and development).

At the same time, the last criterion, in our opinion, is correlated with the criterion "exposure period" and assumes the division of consequences into short-term and long-term, respectively.

In addition, it is evident that each of the groups contains more consequences than those given above. However, the recommended lists are limited both by the volume of the article and by future effects that will still manifest themselves in the process of the agro-industrial complex, the development of a pandemic, and other circumstances. All this indicates the need to continue studying the contact area between the agro-industrial complex and the COVID-19 pandemic, which will ensure the formation of scientifically based developments to reduce the identified adverse impacts and develop positive aspects.

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