Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on vegetable farmers in North Sumatra

This research was conducted from June to August 2020 with the research locations were the two main vegetable producer regencies in North Sumatra, namely Karo Regency and Simalungun Regency. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the vegetable farmer’s income, to determine which factors most influenced vegetable farmer’s income during the pandemic, and to recommend policies to reduce the impact of the pandemic on vegetable farmers in North Sumatra. Data were collected through interviews with 53 vegetable farmers in two districts whose locations were selected purposively while the respondent farmers were selected by judgment. The data in this study were analyzed using descriptive methods through a quantitative approach. The results show that as many as 92.9% of respondents stated that their income had decreased during the Covid-19 pandemic. Factors causing a decrease in farmers income were rising prices for fertilizers and pesticides (89,3%), worries about activities due to the pandemic (98,2%), limited transportation for marketing among provinces (23,2%), regional transportation restrictions (46,4%), and time restrictions on selling in the market (26,8%), several government policies towards farmers during a pandemic must be implemented immediately.