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

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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.