A comprehensive scale for assessing the impact of COVID-19 on agricultural procurers: development and validation

This study presents the development and validation of a comprehensive scale to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agricultural procurers. The pandemic significantly disrupted the agricultural sector, affecting supply chains and the livelihoods of procurers. The scale, crafted through a systematic process involving item collection, relevancy assessment, analysis, reliability and validity evaluation, factor analysis, and scoring procedure development, comprises 20 items categorised into supply chain disruptions, socio-environmental effects, and financial disruptions. Demonstrating high reliability and validity, the scale allows for categorisation into four impact levels. This study addresses a critical research gap with a meticulously developed scale, validated statistically, revealing factors: 'supply chain disruptions', 'socio-environmental effects' and 'financial impact'. With strong internal consistency and correlation coefficients, the scale enables categorisation ranging from minimal to severe impact. It stands as a crucial resource for policymakers and researchers striving to comprehend and address the complex challenges faced by agricultural procurers post-pandemic.