A drone flies over a wheat field to spray insecticide at a farm of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) in Bayan Gol Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, June 9, 2015. Photo: Xinhua

Agricultural activity in Central China's Hubei Province, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus pneumonia, or the COVID-19, has been hit as farmers are urged to stay home and transportation is blocked amid the province's battle against the virus.

The situation could further curb grain production in the province in the year ahead, local farmers and enterprises told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Industry insiders said that the situation in Hubei, known as one of the most significant bases of China's farm production, will not affect the country's grain supply, as storage facilities are full. Major grain and oil companies are gradually resuming work and transportation problems will be eased after the government vowed to prevent a one-size-fits-all approach.

"Nearly all activity has been halted, as we mostly stayed at home," a local farmer in Xianning, Hubei, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

The farmer, who mainly grows rice and rapeseed, said that both the spring ploughing and whole-year production in the province will be affected due to the virus. 

The manager of a food-processing enterprise in Wuhan told the Global Times on Tuesday that the company has not resumed production yet, and logistics are locked down. 

"Employees could not come back and we are urged to stay at home before the virus dies out. It's a critical time," said the manager, who asked to remain anonymous, predicting that his company will not resume production before April, to ensure a "zero infection"

outcome. 

The standstill also puts the agricultural province at risk, and to ensure an adequate grain supply, a large quantity of rice has been transported to the province. State-owned China Grain Reserves Group's rice reserves in Hubei now can feed the province's 60 million people for more than half a year, according to the State-owned Asset Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, the cabinet.

Some worried that the severe situation in the province will lead to a reduction in grain output across the whole country and further lead to a shortage in supply. According to media reports, Hubei produced 4.3 percent of the country's grain, 9.9 percent of the country's paddy output, and 5.0 percent of the country's meat in 2018.

However, Jiao Shanwei, editor-in-chief of grain news website cngrain.com, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the situation in a single province will not affect the whole country's supply for the year, as the country has the ability and reserves to ensure an adequate supply.

"China has enough grain in reserve, especially paddy rice, which could feed the whole country for half a year, and we are also in the process of destocking paddy rice," an insider told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Since large purchases of agricultural products are falling as restaurants are closed, schools are delayed and companies are shut down, actual demand in the whole country in the first quarter is indeed dropping, Jiao said.

"As long as the logistics and transportation systems get back to normal, agricultural activity in areas outside Hubei will not be a problem," Jiao noted.

The virus has already affected many of the country's small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises and farmers, who may even close down amid the headwinds as the industry itself is very fragile, Liao said.

During a press conference on Tuesday, the Ministry of Rural and Agricultural Affairs said the epidemic has hindered this year's spring ploughing in some rural areas as farmers have difficulty in getting farm products and are banned from going to the field.

The ministry, while calling for suspension of any one-size-fits-all approach, also asked places that do not face a serious virus impact to prepare for spring ploughing soon.