On May 13th, AMCHAM, in partnership with TechnoServe India and John Deere India, organized a webinar on ‘Assessing the Degree of COVID-19 Impact on Farming Clusters in India and Suggested Response.’ The session commenced with opening remarks and an introduction to the speakers by Ms. Surabhi Wahal, Regional Director – Western Region, AMCHAM. This was followed by Mr. Punit Gupta, Country Director, India, TechnoServe, who set the stage through his remarks and shared detailed insights on the findings of the report prepared by TechnoServe India on the subject.

The report touched upon key agriculture sector challenges with respect to supply, demand and pricing, the effect of India’s economic slowdown on reduction in net farmer household incomes and the interventions needed to reduce value loss and safeguard farmer economics. While sharing an industry perspective on the impact of COVID-19 on the farming sector, Mr. Mukul Varshney, Director – Corporate Affairs, John Deere India, stated that agriculture cannot be looked at in isolation as the impact on the sector reaches across several industries, and in turn affects the national and global economy. An interactive Q&A session followed. The webinar concluded with closing remarks and vote of thanks by Mr. Sudhir Kapadia, Partner & National Tax Leader, EY India.