How Powerful Are We As The Feed Sector Against Covid-19 Pandemic?

In the century we are in, the risks of epidemics have been added on top of the already existing natural disasters, global wars, and economic crises. This process first showed us to what extent states and global sectors, as well as societies, are -or likely to be- prepared for possible crises.

Coronavirus, which entered our lives on December 27, 2019 with high fever and cough symptoms of a 49-year-old fishmonger in Wuhan, China, has affected our lives globally as of the beginning of 2020 as a global epidemic that spreads very rapidly and causes deaths at a substantial rate.

We remember March 11, 2020 as the date when the first positive case was officially detected in Turkey. So what happened after this date? Firstly, the schools were shut down, overseas land borders were closed, and then international and domestic flights were stopped at all airports. People were recommended to stay at home, and social environments ended their activities for a certain period of time.

With all these measures and recommendations, global precautions and restrictions have brought many sectors to a standstill and dealt a death blow to the livestock industry. So how did this process affect us?

Animal foods, which are among the primary sources of sustainable protein, are crucial because they are essential nutrients and are one of the primary priorities in meeting people's needs even if they do not leave their homes. The main need of the animal nutrition sector is continuity in raw material supply channels which are connected to the sector, logistics operations, and sustainable energy and labor resources. Turkey, which has become an import-dependent market in terms of agricultural products as a result of the measures taken and the wrong strategic decisions taken in the previous periods, got into a scrape due to the closed harbors, rising foreign currency exchange rates as well as the global measures. While trying to continue its activities in the transition period with the stocks available, it has started to struggle with the logistics operations that have slowed down with the intercity travel restriction, which is one of the measures taken.

The gap between exports and imports, which is one of the most basic parameters of the development of a country's economy, is also an indicator of the foreign dependency of the countries in the most basic elements. For example, the import rate of soybeans, which is one of the basic inputs of the sector, is 95.2%, and the import rate of corn, which is also one of the main raw materials and can be well grown in Turkey, is 26%, which is a significant rate. While the exports in the animal and agricultural product category remained at $273 million in 2019, our imports climbed to $465 million. Here, let's talk about how the countries struggling against a global epidemic and a sector that has to survive against the isolation measures taken should take a technological measure against such an effective pandemic and our suggestions on alternative management plans.

IS REMOTE MANAGEMENT POSSIBLE?
Unfortunately, our weakest link against diseases is our body as a human being. In such a pandemic process, we are strong to the extent that we can manage our businesses. The importance of being able to remotely manage and monitor businesses in cases of crisis, a possible curfew or emergency state, became much clearer. So what is remote monitoring?

Thanks to the developing automation systems and  SCADA software, it is possible to monitor all operational activities of businesses instantly. To be able to monitor raw material stocks in silos will make it possible to decide on critical stock quantities in line with the production work order and to conduct logistics operations in a wide planning range. This will also ensure to detect the bottlenecks of the business easily, direct the maintenance team more quickly, and prevent long halts. In today's age of technology, it is possible to prevent being out in force and working in a way to regarding the social distancing. In addition, with the online stock tracking integrated with dealers and/or large farms, it is possible to instantly track the amount remaining on the consumer's hand, open a work order to the enterprise before the stocks deplete, and deliver the products to the user full-time with long-term logistics planning.

HOW TO MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCING IN FEED PRODUCTION?
The establishments where concentrated feeds are prepared are equipment-intensive facilities where the need for personnel stands out only at certain stages of the operation. The main points of the personnel need are raw material acceptance, product shipment, and production operation departments. The risk of violating social distancing is low since the personnel works alone in the production area. Raw material acceptance and dispatch personnel are vulnerable to close contact with each other and also to closer contact with the logistics staff. While 98% of raw materials are dispatched to the facilities through road transport in our country, this rate is much lower in Europe and America. Alternatively, planned enterprises established on the railway system can meet their raw material needs from the ports and other industrial storage facilities without using the land route. Unfortunately, due to the fact that organized industrial zones in our country consider only the highway as a transportation network, they are being deprived of railway network transportation method, which is not affected by such pandemic cases. In addition, highways are the only valid means of transportation in our country also for finished feed transportation and export.

HOW MUCH FEED SHOULD I STORE?

Unfortunately, some people understand the word restriction as never being able to reach any essential items needed. However, the restriction implies a limited period of time during which business lines that aim to minimize human movements, produce and distribute essential nutrients continue to operate in order to ensure social distancing and prevent contamination. At such times, it is clearly an unnecessary behavior to stock up on staple food in a limited timeframe, however, the lack of a clear statement about the process, unfortunately, drags the farmers to uncertainty. As I mentioned at the beginning of my article, we need to get rid of the packaging expenses that make up 1.5% of the feed cost together with workmanship in order to both relieve load and logistics activities, as well as measures such as online tracking of consumer stocks. Legal regulations oblige the content of the product to be presented to the buyer in writing. While delivering concentrated feed to the dealer and/or the end-user in a sacked way causes 4 additional personnel and packaging expenses, transporting the same feed to the farms - that is to the end-user - in bulk eliminates these costs. Nowadays, the poultry industry using this method can easily follow the feed stocks at the poultry houses and carry more than one product variety in the same vehicle thanks to the new technology. With the pneumatic blower system that we, as Yemmak, have adopted as a principle for 15 years and which we can define as discharge from bulk feed vehicles, pellet feed loaded into the vehicle can be delivered to the users without any damage. Besides, thanks to the air transport technology implemented by these vehicles, products can be transferred with simple pipelines without entering the farms. In addition, as these products are conveyed with air, they can be conveyed quickly to long distances. In today's technology, it is possible to carry up to 5 different types of products on the same vehicle, and they are transported in accordance with the hygiene rules in a fully insulated manner.

CONCLUSION
In the century we are in, the risks of epidemics have been added on top of the already existing natural disasters, global wars, and economic crises. This process first showed us to what extent states and global sectors, as well as societies, are -or likely to be- prepared for possible crises. While the world was so accustomed to living interdependent, closing the borders brought us a new perception. Are we self-sufficient? We know that it is not possible for every industrial plant to grow in any climate, but for the products we can afford, it should be our primary goal to sustain the basic sectors with our own local opportunities without import. With tax advantages, producers should not be left vulnerable to exchange rates. While the world was so accustomed to living interdependent, closing the borders brought us a new perception. Are we self-sufficient? We know that it is not possible for every industrial plant to grow in any climate, but for the products we can afford, it should be our primary goal to sustain the basic sectors with our own local opportunities without import. With tax advantages, producers should not be left vulnerable to exchange rates
 

Our article about; "How Powerful Are We As The Feed Sector Against Covid-19 Pandemic? " published in Feed Planet Magazine.