Building Value Chain Resilience in Food and Agriculture Sector: Challenges and Solutions

Covid 19 has made large markets disappear overnight. Poultry sector, for example, witnessed a steep fall in demand as baseless rumors of spread of Covid 19 being linked to wet markets in China played havoc with the balance sheets of the companies. In five months, since the demand slide began, companies found themselves culling birds at scale and destroying the eggs at their hatcheries. The losses wiped off not only the stocks but also the working capital. Though now the markets are bouncing back, with the rumor mills having exacted their pound of flesh, companies are finding it difficult to raise funds for participating in a market which is looking increasingly lucrative owing to the demand outstripping the supply by a mile. Clearly, the poultry value chain is struggling with its lack of resilience being brought out in sharp relief during the Covid 19 crisis. Similar to poultry sector, most value chains in food and agriculture sector have exhibited a comprehensive lack of  resilience during the current crisis and during several storms that they have weathered before. The proposed session would aim to

• Understand the challenges that can disrupt food and agriculture value chains
• Discuss strategies that can help organizations mitigate the risks arising from these challenges
• Tease out the good practices that can make the value chains more resilient
• Discover how the risks arising due to vulnerabilities may be covered going forward

Three breakout groups – one each for fish & meat, Fruits & Vegetables and Others is envisaged during the workshop.

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