Understanding the impact and mitigation strategies of the COVID-19 outbreak on the agricultural sector in Northeastern Ontario

联邦和省级政府已将农业和粮食生产列为基本业务和 新冠肺炎大流行期间的服务。这包括生产食品和饮料的企业，以及 来自耕作、收获、水产养殖、狩猎和捕鱼的农产品。在安大略省东北部， 新冠肺炎疫情导致消费者对新鲜、优质、营养密集、安全的需求增加 食品，与当地种植和生产的食品有明显的公众利益。然而，满足这一需求是 事实证明，食品系统中存在着困难和暴露出的弱点。农业企业面临着许多挑战 包括劳动力短缺、供应链中断、存储基础设施不足以及 有限的零售市场，如农贸市场，目前由于实际距离而暂停 担忧。尽管有这些挑战，许多农业企业正在寻找创新的方法来方便消费者 获得他们的产品，在某些情况下甚至扩大他们的市场。其中一些策略包括 利用社交媒体，加强当地食品倡议，并推出在线商店和电子平台。这个 农村农业创新网络Collège Boréal之间的这项应用研究合作的目标 (这里是Rain)和重新思考Green是为了快速确定安大略省东北部正在出现的需求 农业企业，以便每个组织可以快速定位其各自的服务和干预措施 (学术、研究、倡导、社区倡议、营销和业务发展)1)加强 在大流行期间支持生产、分销和营销活动；和2)提供 为农业企业和政策制定者提供循证建议和商业战略，以确保 大流行后时期的经济稳定和粮食安全。

The federal and provincial governments have listed agriculture and food production as essential businesses and services during the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes businesses that produce food and beverages, and agricultural products from farming, harvesting, aquaculture, hunting and fishing. In Northeastern Ontario, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in heightened consumer demand for fresh, high quality, nutrient dense, safe food, with a marked public interest for locally grown and produced foods. However, meeting this demand is proving difficult and revealing weaknesses in the food systems. Agri-businesses face numerous challenges due to the pandemic including labour shortages, supply chain disruptions, insufficient infrastructure for storage, and limited retail marketplaces such as farmers markets that are currently suspended due to physical distancing concerns. Despite these challenges, many agri-businesses are finding innovative ways to facilitate consumer access to their products, and in some cases even expand their markets. Some of these strategies include leveraging social media, enhancing local food initiatives, and launching online stores and e-platforms. The objective of this applied research collaboration between Collège Boréal, The Rural Agri-Innovation Network (RAIN herein) and reThink Green is to rapidly identify the emerging needs of Northeastern Ontario agri-businesses so that each organization can quickly position their respective services and interventions (academic, research, advocacy, community initiatives, marketing and business development) to 1) enhance supports for production, distribution, and marketing activities during the pandemic; and 2) provide evidence-informed recommendations and business strategies for agri-businesses and policy-makers to ensure economic stability and food security in the post-pandemic period.