Assessment of the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Livestock Production in Koinadugu District, Sierra Leone

The emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has significantly impacted various industries worldwide, particularly livestock. The study aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on livestock production in Sierra Leone's Koinadugu area. The data was gathered from 162 livestock farmers in six chiefdoms of the Koinadugu District. Quantitative data were collected using semi-structured questionnaires, while qualitative data was collected via personal observations, desk research, and interviews. The questionnaires were administered between February 6 and March 25, 2021. The data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel version 2010 software. According to the findings, pandemics have had a detrimental influence on livestock production due to government-imposed measures such as lockdown, stay-athome, and social distance. It impacted livestock productivity by limiting farmers' capacity to sell livestock products in the market (91.3%), limiting access to livestock input supplies (84.0%), deterring access to pasture (80.9%), and selling livestock become challenging because dealers are scarce (96.3%). It also impacts animals' health as there was a shortage of veterinary medicines (87.6%) and a lack of veterinarians (80.2%). Therefore, it is suggested that the government and other responsible authorities should prepare and execute policies to reduce COVID-19's pandemic impact on livestock production and marketing chains.