With reverse migration, there has been a shortage of labour while the kharif sowing season starts. Speaking about how agriculture should be managed amid coronavirus crisis, M S Swaminathan, the father of India's green revolution, says that we need to utilise our panchayat system as they would know what is locally available and what is missing in the diet.

"There are of course some generic issues like keeping enough foodgrain storage at the local level, but other foods such as poultry products can be distributed in the local community," he says, adding  that a number of issues will come up on the management of COVID-19 that we should chronicle and learn from.

Swaminathan is closely engaged with understanding and managing the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic on agriculture. "Many steps will have to be taken to improve the productivity and profitability of agriculture. Technological upgrading of farm operations will bring down the cost of production and increase the margin of crops. This will have to be done at every panchayat level," he emphasised.

He further said that the locust menace has caused serious damage to agriculture and is making farmers worried. "The best way to control locust invasion is by spraying neem seed decoction over plants. Neem is a strong repellent and also a fertiliser," he tweeted earlier.

Speaking about the impact of restrictions on the fishing ban along India's east coast, Swaminathan said that small scale fisheries require considerable attention in three areas, which are pricing, marketing and organisation. In a note put out last month by the foundation, he has been quoted as saying: "Many of these are long-term, but there are a few immediate issues related to coronavirus. For one, the fishing ban coinciding with the biological breeding period should be safeguarded; otherwise the reproductive cycle of the fish will be interrupted with long-term consequences. Adjustments are needed to provide immediate relief to COVID-19 affected fishing communities. This should not be connected to regular payments like fishing ban compensation."

Swaminathan is a globally recognised agriculture scientist from India, who takes time out even today for the work of the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation that he founded in 1988.