Impact of COVID-19 on livestock & livelihoods

In “Covid-19, livestock and livelihoods: a discussion paper for the Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS)” (2020, 22pp), Andy Catley reviews the impacts of Covid-19 on livestock keepers in lower-income countries, and on providers of livestock services and programmes. It also reviews the responses of livestock keepers and organisations to the pandemic. It is based on a literature review, supported by some interviews with practitioners in India, Nepal, Somalia and South Sudan.

The use of Covid-19 lockdown and other measures varies widely between countries, as does the impact of these measures on livestock keepers. In general, severe and negative impacts on livelihoods are evident when markets and businesses are closed, the supply of inputs such as livestock feed and veterinary medicines is disrupted and, in the case of pastoralists, when herd movements are hindered. A review of impacts on livestock keepers also shows the importance of understanding the seasonality of livelihoods, with Covid-19 impacts depending heavily on the types of seasonal livestock production and marketing activities that were disrupted by lockdowns and other measures.

The paper includes case studies from, among others, Karamoja in Uganda and the Growth, Enterprise, Employment and Livelihoods (GEEL) project in Somalia. It also includes considerable information about the situation in South Sudan.

Posted on 1 March 2021 in Pastoralist Livelihoods & Nutrition