COVID-19 IMPACT ON FARMING RESEARCH SURVEY

COVID-19 IMPACT ON FRUIT & VEGETABLE FARMERS

Determining Labour, market, and financial impacts
Thank you for filling out this survey! It should only take 15 minutes to fill out.

The following are a series of questions designed to determine: 1. Your farm type 2. Impact of COVID-19 on labour, markets, and finances 3. What actions (if any) you may have taken already to mitigate and adapt to this pandemic.

All Fruit and Vegetable Farmers are welcome to participate in this survey. We will have a raffle at the end, and a few lucky respondents will receive a gift card as a thank you.

Please answer these questions honestly and to the best of your knowledge. All responses will remain confidential within the research group Farming Systems Ecology at Wageningen University and Research.
Section 1: Farm characteristics

Please answer as honestly and to the best of your knowledge.
1. Are you one of the main decision makers on the farm?*

YesNo
2. What is your gender?*

FemaleMalePrefer not to sayOther
3. What is your age?*
years
4. What is your farm's business structure? *
4.1. If other, please specify: *
5. Where is your farm located?*

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

MunicipalityState / Province

Postal / Zip CodeCountry
6.1 What size is your farm, in hectares? *
Ha.
[Gross Margin, in this survey, refers to the total annual income generated by on-farm activities for the farm business. E.g. total crop sales + subsidies + additional on-farm income.]
6.2 Approximately, what was your gross margin in 2019, in Euros?
6.3 How much money do you have in savings, expressed as % of gross margin? *
7. Do you participate in any certification programs, or are your products labeled with any voluntary quality/method labels? (UTZ, Organic, Rainforest Alliance, Beter Leven **)*

YesNo
7.1. Please specify which labelling/certification programme(s):*
E.g. EU organic,
8. Are you part of any farmers unions/networks/cooperatives?*

YesNo
8.1. Do you feel supported by the union/network/cooperative(s) you are part of in facing possible impacts of COVID-19?*

YesNo
Section 2: Farm employment

Unless otherwise stated, consider the employment levels from last year, before the COVID-19 outbreak.

9. How many people work on your farm year round? (including you and family if working) *

	People working on farm
Fulltime
Part-time

10. How did the spread of COVID-19 impact the availability of your permanent farm workers?*

	Very Negatively	Negatively	Somewhat Negatively	Neutral	Somewhat positively	Positively	Very Positively

11. Does your farm employ seasonal workers?*

YesNo

12. What actions did you take to deal with the change in availability of farm workers due to COVID-19? (You may select more than one answer)*

Hired labor using job-search websites & recruitment agenciesRelied on alternative sources of workers (family, friends, neighbors, NGOs, government initatives.)Relied more heavily on processes which require less labor.Relied more heavily on processes which require more manual labor.Hired external parties to carry out labor intensive processes (e.g. packaging/selection)Selected less labor-intensive crops for the next planting seasonLost a part of my crop value/harvestDid not complete all manual labor tasksExtended the working hoursFired laborersDid not take any actionsNot applicableOther
13. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, what percent of your total on farm activities depended on manual labor (e.g. pruning, weeding, picking)? *
14. How long do you expect COVID-19 to impact farm worker availability? (You may select more than one answer)*

It is already over.For less than 3 months.3-6 months.6-12 months.1-2 years.More than 2 yearsNot Applicable
Section 3: Sales channels, products & customers

Unless otherwise stated, consider the sales figures from last year, before the COVID-19 outbreak.

15. What % of your gross margin do you receive from each of the following channels? (The total should be 100%) *

	% Gross margin
Sales from Crops & Animal farming
Tourism/hospitality
Land/Machinery rental
Education
Other

16. What products do you sell? (Select all that apply)*

Allium (Onion, Garlic, Shallot)Apples & PearsBerries (Strawberry, Blueberry...)Cereals and grainsCitrus (Orange, Grapefruit, Lemon...)Cruciferous (Broccoli, Cauliflour, Sprouts...)Dairy productsEdible Stem (Asparagus, Leek)EggsGrapesGreen Beans & PeasLeafy green (Lettuce, Rocket, Spinach...)Marrow (Cucumber, Pumpkin, Zucchini...)MeatMelonsRoots & Tubers (Potato, yam, Carrot...)Stonefruit (Peach, Apricot, Cherry...)Sweet CornTomatoesTropical & Exotic (Banana, Pineapple...)Other
17. Through which of the following sales channels do you sell your farm products? (You may select more than one answer)*

On-farm SalesAuctionLocal Market(s) (e.g., farmers’ market, community supported agriculture (CSA)).Catering & RestaurantsRetailProcessing plantTraderContractorCooperativeE-commerceOther
17.1.1. What % of your gross margin do you get via ON-FARM sales? *
17.1.2. On average, how many customers do you cater to via ON-FARM sales in a year? *
17.1.3. Where are most of the consumers that receive the products from ON-FARM sales? (You may select more than one answer)*

Within my municipalityWithin my regionWithin my countryWithin the European UnionOutside the EUTourists from all over the world

17.2.1. What % of your gross margin do you get via AUCTION sales? *
17.2.2. On average, how many customers do you sell to via AUCTION sales in a year? *
17.2.3. Where are most of the consumers that receive the products from your AUCTION sales? (Multiple options possible)*

Within my municipalityWithin my regionWithin my countryWithin the European UnionOutside the EUDon´t knowOther

17.3.1. What % of your gross margin do you get via LOCAL MARKET sales? *
17.3.2. On average, on how many customers do you sell to in a season via LOCAL MARKET sales? *
17.3.3. Where are most of the LOCAL MARKET customers from? (Multiple options possible)*

Within my municipalityWithin my regionWithin my countryWithin the European UnionOutside the EUTourists from all over the worldOther

17.4.1. What % of your gross margin do you get from selling to CATERING & RESTAURANTS? *
17.4.2. On average, how many different CATERERS & RESTAURANTS do you sell to in a year? *
17.4.3. Where are most of the CATERERS & RESTAURANTS to which you sell your produce? (Multiple options possible)*

Within my municipalityWithin my regionWithin my countryWithin the European UnionOutside the EUDon´t know

17.5.1. What % of your gross margin do you earn from sales to RETAILERS? *
17.5.2. On average, how many RETAILERS do you sell to in a year? *
17.5.3. Where are most of the RETAILERS that you sell to located? (Multiple options possible)*

Within my municipalityWithin my regionWithin my countryWithin the European UnionOutside the EUDon´t know

17.6.1. What % of your gross margin do you earn from sales to PROCESSING PLANTS? *
17.6.2. On average, how many PROCESSING PLANTS do you sell to in a year? *
17.6.3. Where are most of the PROCESSING PLANTS that you sell to located? (Multiple options possible)*

Within my municipalityWithin my regionWithin my countryWithin the European UnionOutside the EUDon´t know

17.7.1. What % of your gross margin do you earn from sales to TRADERS*
17.7.2. On average, how many TRADERS do you sell to in a year? *
17.7.3. Where do most of the TRADERS that you sell to operate? (Multiple options possible)*

Within my municipalityWithin my regionWithin my countryWithin the European UnionOutside the EUDon´t know

17.8.1. What % of your gross margin do you earn from sales to CONTRACTORS? *
17.8.2. On average, how many CONTRACTORS do you sell to in a year? *
17.8.3. Where are most of the CONTRACTORS that you sell to located? (Multiple options possible)*

Within my municipalityWithin my regionWithin my countryWithin the European UnionOutside the EUDon´t know

17.9.1. What % of your gross margin do you earn from sales through COOPERATIVES? *
17.9.2. On average, through how many COOPERATIVES do you sell to in a year? *
17.9.3. What area do the COOPERATIVES that you sell to cover? (Multiple options possible)*

Within my municipalityWithin my regionWithin my countryWithin the European UnionOutside the European UnionDon´t know

17.10.1. What % of your gross margin do you get via E-COMMERCE sales? *
17.10.2. On average, how many customers do you sell to via E-COMMERCE sales in a year? *
17.10.3. Where are most of the consumers that receive the products from your E-COMMERCE sales? (Multiple options possible)*

Within my municipalityWithin my regionWithin my countryWithin the European UnionOutside the EUDon´t know

18. What actions (if any) did you take to adapt to the impacts of COVID-19? ( Multiple answers possible)*

Found new sales channelsRe-oriented sales of products to different sales channelsSwitched production to other cropsApplied for government support schemes (ex. Private storage aid)Applied for a loanDecreased productionIncreased productionIncreased salesDid not take any actionsNot ApplicableOther
18.1. If you increased sales, through which channels did these increase?
19. For how long do you expect the impact of COVID-19 on your sales to last? (Multiple options possible)*

It is already over.For less than 3 months.3-6 months.6-12 months.1-2 years.More than 2 yearsNot Applicable
Section 4: Finances

Unless otherwise stated, please answer the following finance questions according to last year (pre COVID-19 outbreak).
Liquidity/cash flow refers to the money that you have access to and can use to run your farm by purchasing required inputs and paying wages, rent, interest etc. Liquidity also includes off-farm income and cash loans that you are investing in the farm.
20. Please select which of the following are sources of your farm´s liquidity:*

Farm IncomeSubsidiesLoansOff-farm income
20.1.2 How large is your FARM INCOME as % of your gross margin? *

20.1.4 What caused this impact on your FARM INCOME ?*

Lower farm productivityLower sales pricesFewer customersFewer salesCustomers not paying orPaying lateHigher farm productivityHigher sales pricesMore customersMore salesNot ApplicableOther
20.2.2 How large is your cash flow from SUBSIDIES as % of your gross margin?

20.3.2 How large is your cash flow from LOANS as % of your gross margin?

20.4.2 How large is your cash flow from OFF-FARM income as % of your farm gross margin? *

21. For how long do you expect the impact of COVID-19 on your liquidity/cash flow to last? (Multiple options possible)*

It is already over.For less than 3 months.3-6 months.6-12 months.1-2 years.More than 2 yearsI was never affected
22. What actions did you take on your farm to adapt to the financial impact of COVID-19?*

Requested advanced payments from customer/subsidiesApplied for government aidRequested extended payment deadlinesRefrained from large investmentsUsed farm or personal savingsSold farm assetsSold personal assetsInvested more in the farmRepaid more loansIncreased savingsIncreased salaries/payout to personnelNothingNot ApplicableOther
Section 5:

In this section, six statements are given. For each statement, please indicate to what extent you agree it applies to your farm. The furthest left, 1, indicates complete disagreement, 4 is neutral and the furthest right, 7, indicates complete agreement.

23. COVID-19  has minimal impact on my farm business*

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7