Analysis of the effects of COVID-19 outbreak on the rural economy of Nehbandan county in south Khorasan province

ABSTRACT

The sudden outbreak of Covid-19 has severely affected different sectors of the economy of each country, especially the agricultural sector, and has caused widespread disruptions in food systems, exports and imports of goods and agricultural production which shows the necessity to study these effects in order to adapt and deal with them. The study was aimed to analyze the effects of coronavirus outbreak on the rural economy of Nehbandan county in South Khorasan province. The statistical population of the study was all farmers in Nehbandan county which by calculating the Cochran's formula, about 232 farmers' households were determined as the sample population. To select cases through the county, the multi-stage sampling and among villages, random sampling was used and data collection was done through a questionnaire. Data analysis was done through exploratory factor analysis approach. The results showed that due to the outbreak of Corona virus, both supply and demand for agricultural products have decreased. In contrast, the purchase price of agricultural inputs, the selling price of products, labor wages and rents of agricultural land have increased, which indicates the increase in agricultural costs. On the other hand, the access to agricultural inputs such as machinery and especially agricultural labor has been greatly reduced, which has increased the time of planting and harvesting. Furthermore, agricultural and even non-agricultural incomes have decreased and along with increasing in living expenses and unemployment, have led to a decrease in the welfare and livelihood of rural households. It is suggested that government and officials provide credit and training packages to support farmers during the outbreak of the covid-19.