Impact of Covid-19 on cattle traders in Uganda

A study of “The impacts of Covid-19 on cattle traders and their response in agro-pastoral and pastoral regions in Uganda: a case of Karamoja and Teso cattle traders” by John Ilukor et al, published in Pastoralism 12: 18 (2022) revealed that cattle traders were negatively affected by Covid-19. They sold fewer cattle (25% sold no animals during the lockdown) and their operating capital was eroded. The decline in cattle sales was significantly higher in Karamoja than in Teso. The traders who lost capital were mainly in Teso (63%). There was a sharp decline in the number of cattle buyers from markets outside the study area, e.g. from Juba, Kampala, Busia and Kenya.

Some traders diversified or moved to other businesses, e.g. crop cultivation (80%), burning charcoal (15%), selling food items (8%) and operating bicycle or motorcycle taxis (12%). To mitigate against the pandemic, traders observed some standard operating procedures (SOPs), e.g. wearing face masks (76%) and handwashing (19%). Karamoja traders performed poorly in both diversification and mitigation measures.

Based on the study findings, recommendations to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on cattle traders include offering them loans through their Village Savings and Loan Associations, reducing transaction costs, providing mobile phones especially for Karamoja traders, and promoting the wider adoption of SOPs to reduce the need for lockdowns and cattle market closures, which are detrimental to pastoralist livelihoods.

Posted on 15 May 2022 in Pastoralism & Marketing