ABSTRACT
The present paper focuses on farmers' strategies for coping with the shock caused by the outbreak of the pandemic of COVID-19. Using the concept of farm resilience, which underlines the role of capacity and abilities as well as different actions undertaken in difficult situations, this study proposes an analytical framework of farmers' coping short-term micro-strategies in relation to external crises, on the example of the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking into account academic literature, qualitative data gathered from fruit and vegetable producers in different regions in Poland and the information from sector experts, the paper outlines the varied consequences of the pandemic for farms, and also farmers' diverse reactions to them. The findings from this study suggests that the analysed farms' relative resilience to the crisis was achieved thanks to their available economic and social resources and the actions they undertook. The above-mentioned resources and activities were considered in the study primarily using the relational (process-based) approach, focusing on the ways of their creation, maintenance and adaptation. At the same time, the empirical material under analysis has shown that the adaptive measures adopted were short-term and did not respond to the farms' permanent problems, which the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated significantly. It is assumed that presented results and proposed framework of farmers' micro-strategies, which were taken during the pandemic, might be useful for future studies focusing on various external shocks as well as for research to be conducted in other CEE countries due to many common contextual factors that has shaped food practices and institutional arrangements.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 has affected the functioning of food systems all over the world. This paper seeks to identify and analyse the economic, legal and institutional, as well as social effects of the pandemic’s outbreak on food systems, and the implications for the EU Farm to Fork Strategy whose main purpose is to put food systems on a sustainable path. Qualitative economic and social impact analysis was used to identify the above types of effect on the food system on a macroscale, using Poland as an example. Information was sourced from existing data and qualitative studies. Studies show that the consequences of the pandemic for individual elements of the food system in Poland in 2020 were related to numerous disruptions in functioning, leading to uncertainty, financial losses, and interrupted transactions. The crisis under analysis also revealed modifications in these actors’behaviours in food markets, noticeable in changes in consumption patterns and in the ways demand for food was met. Nevertheless, an analysis of the gathered information and data testifies to the food system’s relative resistance to the effects of the pandemic, and also to the adaptive skills of the system’s entities, especially food producers and consumers. The paper’s discussion contains recommendations for public policies shaping the food system, pointing to actions that might reduce the negative effects of other potential exogenic crises in the future and aid the implementation of the Farm to Fork Strategy’s principles.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of admissions to the emergency department (ED) due to a primary diagnosis of atrial fibrillation (AF) has decreased when compared to pre-pandemic times. The principal aim of the study was to assess the frequency of SARS-CoV-2 infections and sinus rhythm restoration among patients who arrived at the ED with AF. Secondary aims included determining whether patients arriving at the ED principally due to AF delayed their presentations and whether the frequency of successful cardioversion for AF was decreased during the pandemic period. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of medical records of patients admitted to two hospital EDs due to AF during July-December 2019 (pre-pandemic period) versus July-December 2020 (pandemic period) was performed. RESULTS: During the study periods, 601 ED visits by 497 patients were made due to the primary diagnosis of AF. The patients were aged 71.2+/-13.5 years and 51.3% were male. The duration of an AF episode before the ED admission was 10 h (4.5-30 h) during the pandemic period vs. 5 h (3-24 h) during the non-pandemic period (p = 0.001). A shorter duration of the AF episode before ED admission was associated with the successful restoration of the sinus rhythm. During the pandemic period, among patients with short-lasting AF who were not treated with Phenazolinum, the restoration of the sinus rhythm was more frequent in the Copernicus Memorial Hospital than in the University Hospital (p = 0.026). A positive SARS-CoV-2 test was found in 5 (1%) patients, while 2 other patients (0.5%) had a prior diagnosis of COVID-19 disease noted in their medical history. CONCLUSIONS: 1. The number of AF episodes treated in these two EDs was lower during the pandemic than non-pandemic period. 2. The patients with AF appeared at the ED later after AF onset in the pandemic period. 3. Successful cardioversion of atrial fibrillation was more frequent during the pre-pandemic period in one of the two hospitals. 4. A difference of approaches to the treatment of short-lasting AF episodes between EDs during the pandemic period may exist between these two EDs. 5. The patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic constituted a small percentage of the patients admitted to EDs due to an AF episode.