DOI: 10.32725/978-80-7394-976-1.26

COVID-19 Pandemic and Agricultural SMEs of Central Europe: A Forecast Study to Evaluate the Performance Indicators

Ali Sufyan, Ali Imran, Ayesha Tajammul, Petr Novák, Beáta Gavurová
Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Faculty of Management and Economics, Department of Business Administration, Mostní 5139, 760 01 Zlín, Czech Republic. sufyan@utb.cz
Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Faculty of Management and Economics, Centre for Applied Economic Research, Mostní 5139, 760 01 Zlín, Czech Republic. imran@utb.cz
Czech University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Tropical Agri Sciences, Department of Crop Science and Agroforestry, Prague, Prague 6, Czech Republic. tajammul@ftz.czu.cz
Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Faculty of Management and Economics, Department of Business Administration, Mostní 5139, 760 01 Zlín, Czech Republic. pnovak@utb.cz
Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Faculty of Management and Economics, Centre for Applied Economic Research, Mostní 5139, 760 01 Zlín, Czech Republic. gavurova@utb.cz


COVID-19 is a global pandemic that has tangible effects on the agricultural economy. This study investigated the effects of COVID-19-related events in Central European agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, as well as the future of the economy of agricultural Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs. The data for agricultural SMEs in Austria, Czechia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Switzerland was obtained from the Eurostat database, and the duration of the data was from 2011 to 2021. The number of employees, labour force input, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), wages and salaries, value-added, and agricultural output was the performance metrics considered in this study. Data from this study revealed that agricultural SMEs in Poland, Switzerland, and Germany produced less employment than in the other Central European countries, although Hungary's labour force input was more affected. During the COVID pandemic, GDP in Hungary and Slovakia dropped significantly. Wages and salaries in Germany and Poland fell, while value-added and agricultural output fell in Germany, Hungary, and Slovakia. Employment in Poland and Germany is expected to fall until 2025, while labour force input in Germany, Poland, and Hungary may drop. Wages and salaries, as well as agricultural output in all of the addressed countries, may rise, while GDP may fall. In conclusion, the COVID-19 pandemic had a detrimental impact on agricultural output, labour force input, employment, GDP, value-added, earnings, and salaries in SMEs of Central European countries. The pandemic regulations and restrictions disrupted the market distribution network, causing a stop in production, transportation, and a scarcity of labour and materials.

Keywords: employment, GDP, labour force, pandemic, value-added

pages: 172-181



References

  1. Al-Fadly, A. (2020). Impact of covid-19 on SMEs and employment. Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, 8(2), 629-648. DOI: 10.9770/jesi.2020.8.2(38) Go to original source...
  2. Beckman, J., Baquedano, F., & Countryman, A. (2021). The impacts of COVID-19 on GDP, food prices, and food security. Q Open, 1(1), DOI: 10.1093/qopen/qoab005 Go to original source...
  3. Brown, R. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on Scottish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): Prognosis and policy prescription. Economic Commentary, 44, 1-15. www.arjhss.com
  4. Buchta, S. (2018). The possibilities of solving unemployment of workers in agriculture and construction. Agricultural Economics (Zemědělská Ekonomika), 49(7), 310-316. DOI: 10.17221/5403-agricecon Go to original source...
  5. Caiazza, R., Phan, P., Lehmann, E., & Etzkowitz, H. (2021). An absorptive capacity-based system view of Covid-19 in the small business economy. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 17(3), 1419-1439. DOI: 10.1007/s11365-021-00753-7 Go to original source...
  6. Chen, H., Singh, B., & Aru, W. S. (2020). Relationship between government expenditure and economic growth: evidence from Vanuatu. Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy. DOI: 10.1080/13547860.2020.1844610 Go to original source...
  7. Cristea, D. S., Rosenberg, S., Pustianu Mocanu, A., Simionov, I. A., Mogodan, A. A., Petrea, S. M., & Moga, L. M. (2021). Modelling the Common Agricultural Policy Impact over the EU Agricultural and Rural Environment through a Machine Learning Predictive Framework. Agronomy, 11(11), 2105. DOI: 10.3390/agronomy11112105 Go to original source...
  8. Elizabeth, R. (2021). Akselerasi inovasi teknologi spesifik lokasi strategi peningkatan produksi di masa pandemi covid-19. Mimbar Agribisnis: Jurnal Pemikiran Masyarakat Ilmiah Berwawasan Agribisnis, 7(1), 532. DOI: 10.25157/ma.v7i1.4717 Go to original source...
  9. Grondys, K., Ślusarczyk, O., Hussain, H. I., & Androniceanu, A. (2021). Risk assessment of the SME sector operations during the covid-19 pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(8). DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18084183 Go to original source...
  10. Hu, Y., Fang, Y., Guo, G., & Zhuang, L. (2020). How Can SME Turn Crises into Opportunities under the Epidemic? DOI: 10.2991/assehr.k.201030.055 Go to original source...
  11. HUANG, J. kun. (2020). Impacts of COVID-19 on agriculture and rural poverty in China. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 19 (12), 2849-2853. DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(20)63469-4 Go to original source...
  12. Islam, M. M., Jannat, A., Al Rafi, D. A., & Aruga, K. (2020). Potential Economic Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on South Asian Economies: A Review. World, 1(3), 283-299. DOI: 10.3390/world1030020 Go to original source...
  13. Kaminskyi, A. B., Nehrey, M. V, & Zomchak, L. M. (2021). COVID-19: crisis or new opportunities time for the agricultural sector of Ukraine. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 628(1), 012031. DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/628/1/012031 Go to original source...
  14. Khanal, N. (2020). Impact of Corona Virus pandemic on Different sectors of Nepalese economy. Management Dynamics, 23(2), 243-254. DOI: 10.3126/md.v23i2.35825 Go to original source...
  15. Kołodziejczak, W. (2020). Employment and gross value added in agriculture versus other sectors of the European Union Economy. Sustainability (Switzerland), 12(14). DOI: 10.3390/su12145518 Go to original source...
  16. Kuandykova, M. B., Omarbakiyev, L. A., & Kamysbayev, M. K. (2021). Agricultural entrepreneurship of Akmola region of Kazakhstan on the background of pandemic. Problems of AgriMarket, 2, 123-129. DOI: 10.46666/2021-2.2708-9991.15 Go to original source...
  17. Lusk, J. L., & Chandra, R. (2021). Farmer and farm worker illnesses and deaths from COVID-19 and impacts on agricultural output. PLoS ONE 16. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250621 Go to original source...
  18. Mariyah, M., Nurfilah, S., Lesmana, D., & Nugroho, A. E. (2021). Socioeconomic aspect of agribusiness affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sociohumaniora, 23(1), 89. DOI: 10.24198/sosiohumaniora.v23i1.29585 Go to original source...
  19. Matsybora, T. (2020). Investment potential of the agrarian sector of the economy of Ukraine: formation and development. Ekonomika APK, 308(6), 49-58. DOI: 10.32317/2221-1055.202006049 Go to original source...
  20. Mekonen, E. K. (2020). Agriculture Sector Growth and Inflation in Ethiopia: Evidence from Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model. Open Journal of Business and Management, 08(06), 2355-2370. DOI: 10.4236/ojbm.2020.86145 Go to original source...
  21. Metodieva, T. H., & Bartos, H. H. (2021). Autoregressive approach for exploring the gross value added in agriculture and the number of agricultural holdings in Bulgaria. Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science, 27(1), 51-58.
  22. Mihnenoka, A., & Senfelde, M. (2015). Wage Share as a Factor of Income Inequality in the Context of the Structure of National Economy. Procedia Economics and Finance, 26, 1035-1043. DOI: 10.1016/s2212-5671(15)00927-2 Go to original source...
  23. Nakasone, K., Ghimire, R., & Suvedi, M. (2021). Trends in crop production and land productivity in northern Ghana: A case study of Tolon-Kumbung. Food Security, 13(1), 83-94. DOI: 10.1007/s12571-020-01123-x Go to original source...
  24. Nguyen, H. K. (2021). Applications optimal math model to solve difficult problems for businesses producing and processing agricultural products in Vietnam. Axioms, 10(2). DOI: 10.3390/axioms10020090 Go to original source...
  25. Nurunnabi, M. (2020). Recovery planning and resilience of SMEs during the COVID-19: experience from Saudi Arabia. Journal of Accounting and Organizational Change, 16(4), 643-653. DOI: 10.1108/JAOC-07-2020-0095 Go to original source...
  26. Özkan, B. (2021). Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Agriculture, Livelihoods and Food Systems. Tarim Bilimleri Dergisi, 239-246. DOI: 10.15832/ankutbd.941162 Go to original source...
  27. Pardhan, S., & Drydakis, N. (2021). Associating the Change in New COVID-19 Cases to GDP per Capita in 38 European Countries in the First Wave of the Pandemic. Frontiers in Public Health 8. DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.582140 Go to original source...
  28. Salimova, G., Ableeva, A., Lubova, T., Zalilova, Z., & Sharafutdinov, A. (2020). The Role of Agriculture in Gross Added Value. Montenegrin Journal of Economics, 16(1), 183-191. DOI: 10.14254/1800-5845/2020.16-1.12 Go to original source...
  29. Ssenyonga, M. (2021). Imperatives for post COVID-19 recovery of Indonesia's education, labor, and SME sectors. Cogent Economics and Finance 9(1). DOI: 10.1080/23322039.2021.1911439 Go to original source...
  30. Valdés, P. C. (2020). Relations between income profile of domestic units and wages in the agricultural sector in Chile and Mexico. Revista Austral de Ciencias Sociales, 2020(38), 227-245. DOI: 10.4206/rev.austral.cienc.soc.2020.n38-1230. Go to original source...
  31. Xing, H., & Xiaofeng, L. (2021). Agricultural labour market equilibrium based on FPGA platform and IoT communication. Microprocessors and Microsystems, 80. DOI: 10.1016/j.micpro.2020.103332 Go to original source...
  32. Xu, B., Sendra-García, J., Gao, Y., & Chen, X. (2020). Driving total factor productivity: Capital and labour with tax allocation. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 150. DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2019.119782 Go to original source...
  33. Yuan, B., & Chen, C. (2019). Evolution of a development model for fruit industry against background of rising labour cost: Intensive or extensive adjustment? Sustainability (Switzerland), 11(14). DOI: 10.3390/su11143864 Go to original source...
  34. Zemtsov, S. P. (2020). Institutions, entrepreneurship, and regional development in Russia. Zhournal Novoi Ekonomicheskoi Associacii /Journal of the New Economic Association, 46(2), 168-180. DOI: 10.31737/2221-2264-2020-46-2-9 Go to original source...
  35. Zhang, Y., & Diao, X. (2020). The changing role of agriculture with economic structural change - The case of China. China Economic Review 62. DOI:10.1016/j.chieco.2020.101504 Go to original source...
Return