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

Abstract

The study assessed the economic impact of COVID-19 on cattle traders in the Karamoja and Teso pastoral and agro-pastoral areas in Uganda and their response after the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. The results reveal that cattle traders were negatively affected by COVID-19 in many ways including reduction in cattle sales, erosion in operating capital, and failure to sell animals while others have diversified or moved to other businesses. Twenty-five per cent of the cattle traders did not sell any animal during the lockdown. A majority of these were from Karamoja (43%) compared to those in Teso sub-region. The decline in cattle sales was significantly higher in Karamoja than in Teso sub-region. However, their recovery was significantly higher in Karamoja than in Teso sub-region because traders in Teso greatly diversified to other economic activities compared to traders in Karamoja sub-region. The traders who lost capital were mainly in Teso sub-region (63%). As expected, there was a sharp decline in the number of cattle buyers from markets outside the study area, mainly from Juba, Kampala, Busia, and Kenya. Coping strategies by cattle traders included crop cultivation (80%), burning charcoal (15%), selling food items (8%), and boda-boda riding (12%), while others did not engage in any economic activity (25%). To mitigate against the pandemic, traders were observing some of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) such as wearing face masks (76.1%), handwashing (19.3%), sanitising (2.3%), and social distancing (2.3%). Traders from Karamoja performed poorly in both diversification and mitigation measures. Based on our findings, recommendations to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on cattle traders include offering loans to cattle traders through their Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA), reducing transaction costs, offering mobile phones especially for Karamoja traders, and promoting the adoption of enforcing SOPs to reduce the need for lockdowns and cattle market closures which are detrimental to pastoral livelihood.

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R E S E A R C H Open Access
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
John Ilukor
1*
, Akello Joyce
2
and Simon Peter Okiror
2
Abstract
The study assessed the economic impact of COVID-19 on cattle traders in the Karamoja and Teso pastoral and
agro-pastoral areas in Uganda and their response after the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. The results reveal that
cattle traders were negatively affected by COVID-19 in many ways including reduction in cattle sales, erosion in
operating capital, and failure to sell animals while others have diversified or moved to other businesses. Twenty-five
per cent of the cattle traders did not sell any animal during the lockdown. A majority of these were from Karamoja
(43%) compared to those in Teso sub-region. The decline in cattle sales was significantly higher in Karamoja than in
Teso sub-region. However, their recovery was significantly higher in Karamoja than in Teso sub-region because
traders in Teso greatly diversified to other economic activities compared to traders in Karamoja sub-region. The
traders who lost capital were mainly in Teso sub-region (63%). As expected, there was a sharp decline in the
number of cattle buyers from markets outside the study area, mainly from Juba, Kampala, Busia, and Kenya. Coping
strategies by cattle traders included crop cultivation (80%), burning charcoal (15%), selling food items (8%), and
boda-boda riding (12%), while others did not engage in any economic activity (25%). To mitigate against the
pandemic, traders were observing some of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) such as wearing face masks
(76.1%), handwashing (19.3%), sanitising (2.3%), and social distancing (2.3%). Traders from Karamoja performed
poorly in both diversification and mitigation measures. Based on our findings, recommendations to mitigate the
impact of COVID-19 on cattle traders include offering loans to cattle traders through their Village Savings and Loan
Association (VSLA), reducing transaction costs, offering mobile phones especially for Karamoja traders, and
promoting the adoption of enforcing SOPs to reduce the need for lockdowns and cattle market closures which are
detrimental to pastoral livelihood.
Keywords: Agro-pastoral, Pastoral, Cattle traders, COVID-19, Karamoja, Teso, Uganda
Background
Livestock contributes to people’s livelihoods through nu-
merous channels such as income, food, employment,
draft power, hauling services, manure, social status, sav-
ings, and insurance, among others (Nyariki and Amwata
2019). For livestock keepers including pastoralists who
rely mainly on livestock rearing with mobile herds
(Griffith et al. 2020), and agro-pastoralists (crop and
livestock farmers) whose livelihood strategy is dependent
on keeping livestock, in East Africa access to livestock
markets is an essential component of their livelihood
(Aklilu and Catley 2010; Lynch 2020; Roba et al. 2017).
Livestock traders play a significant role in the livestock
value chains by linking producers, processors, and con-
sumers, thus acting as lifeblood for pastoralists whose
© The Author(s). 2022 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License,
which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give
appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if
changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons
licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons
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permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
* Correspondence: john.ilukor@gmail.com
1
Development Data Group - Survey Unit, World Bank, Kampala, Uganda
Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
Pastoralism: Research, Polic
y
and Practic
e
Ilukor et al. Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice (2022) 12:18
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13570-022-00230-y

areas are remote, less accessible, and sometimes insecure
due to cattle raids (Aklilu 2017; Roba et al. 2019; Roba
et al. 2017). They streamline the flow of livestock from
remote and insecure areas and connect rural or pastoral
communities to national and international markets, thus
reducing transaction costs and risks related to livestock
trade. In addition, they take advantage of the price vari-
ation by transacting in spatially and temporally separated
markets amidst high transportation costs, insecurity, and
unpredictable prices (Aklilu 2017; Little et al. 2014; Roba
et al. 2017).
However, the recent outbreak of the COVID-19 pan-
demic that disrupted the economic activities across the
world, leading to uncertainty and damage to the
medium-term economic prospects, has also greatly af-
fected livestock market systems largely arising from at-
tempts to control the spread of the pandemic (Lynch
2020). The pandemic has led so far to the drastic loss of
over three million people globally and challenged public
health, food systems, and economic activity. In Uganda,
the country has registered over 48,000 cases, more than
360 deaths, over 15,147 recoveries and many more still
hospitalised between March 2021 and May 2021 with a
high number of cases and death registered in November
2020 (Figs. 1and 2).
In addition to the health impacts, the COVID-19 pan-
demic has inflicted significant social and economic costs
to the economy resulting largely from government mea-
sures aimed at slowing COVID-19 transmission. For ex-
ample, before the first case of the pandemic was
registered in Uganda on 21 March 2020, the Govern-
ment of Uganda had undertaken several actions starting
on March 18, including travel restrictions, a 14-day
quarantine for all international arrivals, and cancellation
of all international conferences and public gatherings,
including, but not limited to, religious services, wed-
dings, and concerts. On March 30, the president
declared a nationwide curfew from 7 pm to 6:30 am,
banned public transportation, and instituted strict regu-
lations for the movement of government and private ve-
hicles as well as the closure of markets (Museveni 2020a,
2020b).
These measures have disproportionately impacted in-
dividuals or households (Bell et al. 2020). For example,
many people in Uganda who rely on daily wages were
unable to go out and work, and many business owners
saw their supply chains disrupted and demand drying up
(UNICEF 2020). The results from the World Bank High-
Frequency Survey conducted in June 2020 revealed that
most work stoppages were happening in the non-
agricultural sectors largely because of the closure of
businesses (World Bank 2020). The main affected indi-
viduals were those working in the service sector, trans-
port, and commerce (i.e. buying and selling) while
agriculture was the least impacted sector probably be-
cause the markets and shops for agricultural inputs, vet-
erinary drugs, and foodstuffs were left open during the
lockdown (Lynch 2020). However, the results from the
recent rounds of the high-frequency phone survey show
that employment rates returned to the pre-lockdown
level of 86% with work stoppages occurring largely in
the agriculture sector which is probably related to sea-
sonal changes in the labour market (Aziz et al. 2021).
While agriculture was the least affected sector by
COVID-19 (FAO 2020; OECD 2020), the sudden closure
of livestock markets from March to October 2020 left
cattle traders, who are the critical part of the beef value
chains with market-ready animals and unable to access
buyers (Lynch 2020). The closure of hotels, restaurants,
and bars also resulted in reduced demand for cattle and
meat/beef which affected the ability of individuals or
households that rely on livestock keeping as a livelihood
strategy to earn income (Lynch 2020). In the Karamoja
of Uganda, government efforts to control the spread of
COVID-19 reduced household purchasing power
Fig. 1 Number of COVID-19 cases from March 2020 to May 2021 as
reported by the Ministry of Health in Uganda
Fig. 2 Number of COVID-19 death from March 2020 to May 2021 as
reported by the Ministry of Health in Uganda
Ilukor et al. Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice (2022) 12:18 Page 2 of 14

because of loss of income arising from increases in food
prices (116% in some areas) beyond the seasonal price
increases. The increases in prices were largely driven by
the increased cost of local public transport and reduced
supply because of market closures. Also, taking account
of the seasonal changes, a net decrease in livestock
prices of 32% was registered, livestock mortality in-
creased due to limited access to veterinary drugs and
services, and losses of livestock increased due to the re-
surgence of livestock raids or theft (Catley 2020).
Although the lockdown on cattle markets was lifted
on October 8, 2020, there is limited knowledge on how
COVID-19 has affected cattle traders in terms of their
cattle sales, working capital, and if the traders were able
to get back to business. Moreover, although the govern-
ment has promised to support people or businesses that
were affected by COVID-19 as part of the COVID-19 re-
sponse (URSB 2021), cattle trade or businesses are not
part of the target group.
In this study, we assess the economic impact of
COVID-19 on cattle traders and their response with
the objective of generating possible interventions to
the economic recovery of cattle traders (sheep and
goat are not included although some trades could be
dealing in goats and sheep as well) in Teso and Kara-
moja sub-regions in Uganda. More specifically, we
characterise cattle traders based on the COVID-19
impacts and assess the effects of COVID-19 on cattle
traders and the coping mechanism in agro-pastoral
and pastoral regions. In this paper, we define a cattle
trader as any person engaged in the business of pur-
chasing cattle for the purpose of resale or slaughter
(GOU 1943). Although Uganda recorded two lock-
downs, our study focuses on the first lockdown
largely because we did not have resources to dig deep
into the impact of the second lockdown. However, we
note that, in the two regions, local governments were
allowed to establish local and rural markets in par-
ishes or sub-counties where trucks could come and
pick up animals. In the next section, we present the
study area, methodology, results, discussion, conclu-
sion, and recommendations.
Study area
The study was conducted in Teso and Karamoja sub-
regions of eastern and northern parts of Uganda, re-
spectively, as shown in Fig. 3and have the highest (37%)
share of the total cattle population (UBOS 2018a). The
Iteso and Karamojong belong to the Nilotic ethnic
group, and they are known to have migrated from
present-day Ethiopia around 1600 A.D. (Lawrence 1957).
The Karamojong are pastoralists with mobile herds, and
some are agro-pastoralists while the Iteso were initially
agro-pastoralists who have transformed into settled crop
farmers combined with cattle keeping (Lawrence 1957;
Byaruhanga et al. 2014). The Iteso occupy the districts
of Soroti, Kumi, Katakwi, Amuria, Bukedea, Serere,
Ngora, Pallisa, Kaberamaido, Tororo, Kapelebyong, and
Kalaki, and the Karamojong occupy the districts of
Abim, Amudat, Kaabong, Karenga, Kotido, Moroto,
Nabilatuk, Nakapiripirit, and Napak. The population in
Teso sub-region is estimated at about 2.4 million people
with a total land coverage of about 14,855 sq. km (UBOS
2014). While the population in Karamoja sub-region is
estimated at about 1.2 million people (pastoralists), with
a total land coverage of more than 27,000 sq. km (UIA
2016). In both regions, the most important livestock
kept are cattle and goats with sheep being the other key
livestock in Karamoja and chicken in Teso.
Fig. 3 Map of Uganda showing the study area
Ilukor et al. Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice (2022) 12:18 Page 3 of 14

Methodology
The study adopted quantitative and descriptive research
design with the objective of undertaking both descriptive
and inferential statistical analyses to provide a descrip-
tive assessment of the associations between cattle trader
characteristics and the likely effects of COVID-19. The
target cattle traders were those trading in Teso and Kar-
amoja sub-regional weekly cattle markets. In Teso sub-
region, the weekly cattle markets include Ocorimongin
market in Katakwi, Kasilo and Ocaapa markets in Serere,
Arapai market in Soroti, Odelo market in Kumi, Mukura
market in Ngora, and Bukedea market in Bukedea dis-
trict. In Karamoja sub-region, the main cattle markets
include Kanawat market in Kotido, Naitakwae market in
Moroto, Komuria livestock market in Kaabong, Lolachat
livestock market in Nakapiripirit, and Orwamuge live-
stock market in Abim district (Loupa 2019).
From the list of the weekly cattle markets above, Buke-
dea, Odelo, Ocorimongin, and Arapai weekly cattle mar-
kets were selected in Teso sub-region representing 57%
of the major markets in the sub-region. In the Karamoja
sub-region, the Orwamuge, Kangole, and Kanawat
weekly cattle markets were selected to be part of the
study representing 50% of the major markets in the sub-
region. The markets were selected because they are the
major busy markets that are easily accessible given the
rise in transport costs and restrictions to movement due
to COVID-19.
One could argue that markets are not necessarily rep-
resentative of the sub-region, but we covered 7 out of
the 13 major cattle markets which represent 54% of the
markets in the region thus representing 54% of the cattle
trade in the two sub-regions. Moreover, the selected
markets are major busy and accessible markets and han-
dle animals from other markets, and they are the key
markets where animals are picked for exports. In
addition, the traders are mobile, and they move from
market to market, suggesting that these markets handle
above-average share of total livestock sales in the two
sub-regions. The fieldwork was conducted between Feb-
ruary and March 2021 after the lockdown on cattle mar-
kets was lifted on October 8, 2020, and each of the cattle
markets was visited on its market day.
Since traders are mobile within and across markets,
not known in advance, and are difficult to identify in the
market, they had to be traced or identified using net-
work sampling popularly known as snowball sampling.
Snowball sampling is the best technique used to access
hidden and hard-to-reach populations by using one re-
spondent to identify another (Atkinson 2001; Gabor
2007). The method is economical, efficient, and effective
while producing reliable and comparable data (Gabor
2007). However, one of the challenges of the snowball
sampling is the nature of similarity between the network
of traders which may mean ignoring the isolates—those
traders who do not have or are not networked (Atkinson
2001). To bring those that were not likely to be part of
the specific network, the enumerators were advised to
break the network and begin another network by finding
a new trader to interview after every three interviews of
a given network in the market.
The data was collected using computer-assisted per-
sonal interview (CAPI) technology, and a total number
of 120 cattle traders (respondents) were interviewed (60
cattle traders from Karamoja and 60 from Teso sub-
region) and 7% were females. The data collected in-
cluded socio-economic variables like age, education,
gender access to credit, and region and district of origin
or residence. Traders were also asked if COVID-19 af-
fected their cattle trade businesses, and if yes, traders
were asked to specify how COVID-19 affected their
business. The traders had to select from the following
options: (i) I did not sell any animal during lockdown
(failed to sell), (ii) I could sell but numbers of animals
sold declined (reduced sales), (iii) the cost of transport
increased, (iv) the capital declined or eroded, and (v)
others. The traders were also asked to follow up ques-
tions on each of the listed options. In addition, traders
were asked questions regarding how they are coping
with COVID-19 lockdown and adherence to COVID-19
SOPs.
The main research questions were as follows: (i) Are
there significant differences between cattle traders in
Teso and Karamoja in terms of socio-economic charac-
teristics? (ii) Has COVID-19 lockdown affected cattle
trade in Teso and Karamoja differently? (iii) How are the
cattle traders affected in the Teso and Karamoja? and
(iv) How are the cattle traders in Teso and Karamoja
responding to the COVID-19 lockdown? To answer
these questions, the two-sample test of proportions for
the difference in proportion using group and two-
sample ttest for differences in means as well as a two-
sample test of proportions using variables to test the
changes in pre-COVID-19 and during COVID-19 using
the STATA software and the bar graph were used to
compare the things between different groups and to
track changes in pre-COVID-19 and during COVID-19.
We also estimate the magnitude of the decline (recov-
ery) in the number of cattle sold between pre-COVID-
19 (during lockdown) and during the lockdown (after
easing of lockdown) as the difference between the num-
ber of cattle sold per month by a trader during lockdown
(after easing of lockdown) and the number of animals
sold pre-COVID-19 (during lockdown). In addition, we
also estimated the rate of decline (recovery) by dividing
the magnitude of the decline (recovery) by the number
of cattle sold between pre-COVID-19 (during lockdown)
and multiplied by 100. We then estimated a simple
Ilukor et al. Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice (2022) 12:18 Page 4 of 14

linear regression model to assess the correlates of the
magnitude of the decline in the number of cattle sold
between pre-COVID-19 and during the lockdown (al-
though we estimated the recovery model, we do not re-
port it because the correlates were not significant). The
model can be represented as: Y
i¼Xiβiþεiwhere Y
iis
the magnitude of the decline in the number of cattle
sold between pre-COVID-19 and during the lockdown,
X
i
is the asset of independent variables (education level,
age, gender, employment level, and cattle trade-related
characteristics like transport means), β
i
is the unknown
parameters, and ε
i
is the error term. The variables used
are described in Table 1.
Results
Characteristics of cattle traders by sub-regions
The results from the t-test reveal that there is no signifi-
cant difference in traders in Teso and Karamoja sub-
regions in terms of gender, education, experience in cat-
tle trade, and age (Table 2). However, there is a signifi-
cant difference between traders in Teso and Karamoja
sub-regions in terms of means of transporting livestock,
access to credit, means of accessing livestock informa-
tion, and COVID-19 impacts at a 99% confidence
level (Table 2). In Teso sub-region, most cattle traders
are more likely to use trucks than to trek compared to
the cattle traders from Karamoja, which could be attrib-
uted to the fact that Karamoja traders are pastoralists
and are used to moving from place to place compared to
Teso communities. Also, the most common source of
cattle market information was from cattle traders (94%),
phones (22%), and radios (16%). For traders in Karamoja,
the only source of market information was through cat-
tle traders, while in Teso, the most common source of
cattle/livestock market information is through cattle
traders (88%), telephones (43%), and radios (32%).
The results also reveal that the cattle traders from Teso
are more likely to access credit compared to the cattle
traders from Karamoja. The main sources of credit for the
cattle traders in both Teso and Karamoja sub-regions
were village savings, lending associations (VSLAs)
1
(58.8%), banks (35.2%), and lastly from relatives/friends
(5.9%). The cattle traders in the Karamoja sub-region re-
ceived on average UGX 810,000 (225USD) with a mini-
mum of UGX 50,000 (14USD) and a maximum of UGX
2,000,000 (556USD) while traders in Teso sub-region,
farmers received on average UGX 680,000 (189USD) with
a minimum of UGX 100,000 (28USD) and a maximum of
UGX 3,000,000 (833USD) in Teso sub-region. The main
reason for getting credit was as capital to boost the busi-
ness (60.8%) across Teso and Karamoja sub-regions. Out
of the 51 cattle traders who accessed credit, only five were
females. All five females accessed credit, and all the 51
traders accessed the credit from the VSLAs.
Effect of COVID-19 on cattle traders
Ways in which COVID-19 affected the cattle traders
Ninety-seven per cent of the cattle traders reported
COVID-19 to have affected their cattle businesses
(Table 1). The results from the t-test reveal that the
share of traders affected by COVID-19 was signifi-
cantly higher in Karamoja compared to Teso sub-
region. The cattle traders were also asked to state
how COVID-19 affected them. For all the traders
interviewed, the ways COVID-19 affected the cattle
traders in the order of their importance was reduced
Table 1 Description of the variables
Variable Number Mean Std. Dev.
Magnititude of the reduction in the number of cattle sold (absolute) 120 3.7 2.5
If the cattle trade treks = 1 and zero otherwise 120 0.4 0.5
If the occupation of the cattle trader was crop farmer = 1 and zero otherwise 120 0.8 0.4
If the cattle trader is from Karamoja = 1 and zero otherwise 120 0.5 0.5
If the cattle trade received COVID-19 support and zero otherwise 120 0.4 0.5
If the cattle trade is male = 1 and zero otherwise 120 0.9 0.2
If the cattle trader completed or attended primary school = 1 and zero otherwise 120 0.7 0.5
If the cattle trader is married = 1 and zero otherwise 120 0.9 0.3
Age of the cattle trader 120 40.5 6.8
If the trade has telephone number = 1 and zero otherwise 119 0.2 0.4
If the trade acquired credit = 1 and zero otherwise 120 0.4 0.5
1
A Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) is a group of people
who meet regularly to save together and take small loans from those
savings. The activities of the group run in cycles of one year, after
which the accumulated savings and the loan profits are distributed
back to the members. The purpose of a VSLA is to provide simple
savings and loan facilities in a community that does not have easy
access to formal financial services.
Ilukor et al. Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice (2022) 12:18 Page 5 of 14

sales (75%), reduced or erosion of capital for business
(54%), failure to sell animal (25%), and reduced
buyers (16%) that drove the prices down (Fig. 4). The
results also revealed that the inability to sell animals
during COVID-19 was significantly higher among
Karamoja traders than Teso traders (pvalue =
0.0000) while capital erosion and reduction in sales
were significantly higher in Teso than in Karamoja (p
value = 0.0003).
COVID-19 impacts on cattle sales in Teso and Karamoja
sub-regions
The results from this study revealed that the number of
animals sold by each individual trader decreased during
the lockdown and increased after the easing of the
lockdown (Fig. 5). The magnitude of decrease (de-
cline) and increase (recovery) in sales varied by sub-
regions. The results from the t-test revealed that the
reduction in the number of cattle sales was signifi-
cantly higher in Karamoja compared to Teso sub-
region (Table 3). The average number of cattle sold
per trade per month declined by 76% in Karamoja
and 61% in Teso region.
However, after the re-opening of livestock markets,
traders in both sub-regions were able to recover in terms
of cattle sales to the pre-closure of livestock markets due
to COVID-19 (Fig. 5). Nonetheless, the number of cattle
sold by a trader per month was higher in Karamoja com-
pared to Teso before and after COVID-19 restrictions
(Fig. 5).
Even though cattle traders in Karamoja had lower cat-
tle sales than those in Teso sub-region during the lock-
down, they were able to gain/replenish sales more
rapidly than their Teso counterparts after the easing of
the lockdown. Karamoja cattle traders registered a sig-
nificant or greater recovery compared to their Teso
counterparts (Table 4).
The results from the regression analysis revealed that
correlates of the magnitude of the decline in the number
of cattle sold per trader per month are means of trans-
porting animals, being crop farmer, and sub-region. The
cattle traders that moved on foot (trekked) and those
that did not have any employment recorded significantly
lower magnitude of the decline in the number of cattle
sold between pre-COVID-19 and during the lockdown
(Table 5). The results suggest that traders who trek and
Fig. 4 Share (%) of cattle traders reporting ways in which COVID-19 affected cattle business in Teso and Karamoja
Table 2 Characteristics of the cattle traders by sub-region
Variables Overall Teso Karamoja Difference
Gender of cattle trader (%)
Male 94 93 95 −2
Female 7 7 5 2
Education of cattle trader
Primary 66 65 67 −2
Secondary 30 33 28 5
Experience in cattle trade 99 103 94 9
Age of cattle trader 41 41 40 1
A cattle trader’s means of transport (%)
Trekking 43 25 62 −37***
Trucking 17 32 2 30***
Trekking trucking 48 43 37 6
Access to credit (%) 63 93 32 61***
Credit receipt (%) 42 70 15 55***
Means of accessing market information (%)
Cattle trader 94 88 100 −12**
Telephones 22 43 0 43***
Radios 15 32 0 32***
COVID 19 impact (%) 97 93 100 7*
Source: primary data
*p< 0.05, **p< 0.01, ***p< 0.001
Ilukor et al. Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice (2022) 12:18 Page 6 of 14

were initially crop farmer or not involved in any business
recorded a low absolute decline in the number of cattle
sold per trader per month while those using trucks and
had alternative options of employment recorded a higher
significant decline in the number of cattle sold per
trader per month.
COVID-19 impact on expenditure of cattle traders in the
different sub-regions
The results reveal that the main costs that cattle traders
incur are transport, market dues, travel permits, meals,
and accommodation (Fig. 6). However, due to COVID-
19, cattle traders were required or had to pay a fee to
the police manning the roadblocks to enforce the lock-
down to facilitate movement of the animals (a bribe). In
Teso sub-region, the cost emerged during the lockdown
and was as high as UGX 40000 (USD 2) but declined
after the lockdown to UGX 15,000 (USD 4). In the Kara-
moja sub-region, the cost appeared only after the lock-
down, and it was about UGX 7000 (USD 2). Restriction
of movements means that cattle traders must pay a fee
to be able to move animals during the lockdown, and
this cost was significantly higher in Teso (pvalue =
0.036).
The transport costs were significantly higher before
the lockdown compared to during the lockdown (pvalue
= 0.0001).Also, the Karamoja traders did not incur any
transportation costs during the lockdown but increased
sharply after the lifting of the lockdown. After lifting/
easing of the lockdown, cattle traders from Karamoja
sub-region pay on average UGX 70,000 (USD 20) com-
pared to UGX 50,000 (USD 15) paid by their counter-
parts in Teso sub-region (pvalue = 0.0000). The costs of
market dues, travel permits, meals, and accommodations
for cattle traders were not significantly different before,
during, and after the lockdown. However, market dues
and accommodation costs incurred by Teso cattle
traders were slightly higher compared to what the Kara-
moja traders incur or pay. Meanwhile, the cattle traders
from both sub-regions pay the same amount of money,
on average UGX 10,000 for the travel permit.
COVID-19 impact on availability of the cattle buyers and
destination outside region
The results show that before COVID-19, the main
buyers for cattle from cattle traders from these sub-
regions are local butchers, local traders, and traders
from outside the region (Fig. 7). However, during the
COVID-19 lockdown, trade in the three categories re-
duced significantly. The most affected was the trade be-
tween study participants and local traders (27%
reduction), followed by the trade between study partici-
pants and local butchers (23% reduction) and the least
was the reduction in the trade with traders from outside
the trader’s sub-region (10% reduction as shown in Fig.
7). After the easing of the lockdown, the traders in the
Fig. 5 Impact of COVID 19 on average cattle sales in Teso and Karamoja. Source: primary data
Table 3 Differences in the magnitude of the decline in the
number of cattle sold before and during the COVID-19
lockdown by region
Teso (no.) Karamoja (no.) Difference pvalue, mean difference
3.02 4.28 −1.26 0.002
Table 4 Differences in the magnitude of the increase in the
number of cattle sold during and after the easing of the
lockdown by region
Teso (no.) Karamoja (no.) Difference pvalue, mean difference
2.7 3.8 1.05 0.004
Ilukor et al. Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice (2022) 12:18 Page 7 of 14

three categorises normalised to before the COVID-19
period.
The cattle traders were also asked to specify which
traders outside the region they trade with. The main
traders they identified are those from Kampala, Busia,
and Juba (Fig. 8). The leading destination for cattle from
Teso and Karamoja sub-regions during the different pe-
riods was Kampala, followed by Juba and Busia Kenya.
During the lockdown, the share of cattle traders trading
with Busia Kenya traders was slightly higher compared
to before and after the lockdown. In the case of Juba, be-
fore the lockdown, the share of cattle traders trading
with its traders was significantly higher compared to
during and after the lockdown (pvalue = 0.005). In fact,
the share of cattle traders trading with South Sudan
(Juba) even after the lockdown declined. Interestingly,
the share of cattle traders dealing directly with traders
from Kampala has kept increasing from before, during,
and after lockdown (Fig. 8).
Coping strategies and adoption of standard operating
procedures (SOPs)
Cattle traders were asked if they were engaged in any
economic activity when the cattle markets were closed
due to COVID-19, and 85% replied yes. They were then
asked which economic activities they were engaged in,
Table 5 Correlates of the magnitude of the decline in the number of cattle sold per trader per month
Model I Model II
Means of transport is trekking −0.981* (−2.07) −0.953* (−2.11)
A traders’occupation is being a crop farmer −1.323* (−2.29) −1.439** (−2.79)
A trader is from Karamoja region 1.776** (2.89) 1.856*** (4.12)
A trader is male 0.691 (0.72)
Attended or completed primary −0.339 (−0.69)
Being married −0.368 (−0.39)
Age of the trader 0.0167 (0.46)
Phone ownership −0.100 (−0.15)
Acquired credit −0.0722 (−0.13)
Constant 3.530* (2.00) 4.262*** (9.08)
N119 120
tstatistics in parentheses
*p< 0.05, **p< 0.01, ***p< 0.001
Fig. 6 Effects of COVID-19 on the expenditure of the cattle traders. Source: primary data
Ilukor et al. Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice (2022) 12:18 Page 8 of 14

and the results reveal that they engaged in crop cultiva-
tion (80%), charcoal burning (15%), boda-boda
2
riding
(12%), selling food items (8%), and continued selling cat-
tle during the lockdown (72%). Most of the cattle traders
in Teso (90%) and Karamoja (72%) sub-regions diversi-
fied into crop cultivation while charcoal burning and
bricklaying was undertaken only in Karamoja sub-region
(Fig. 9).
Cattle traders were also asked if there were SOPs be-
ing implemented and followed by traders during the
COVID-19 lockdown, and 58% reported that they were.
In the Teso sub-region, all the cattle traders reported
there were SOPs being implemented and followed by
traders during the COVID-19 lockdown while in Kara-
moja, only 15% reported there were SOPs being imple-
mented and followed by traders during the COVID-19
lockdown thus suggesting low adoption of SOPs in the
Karamoja sub-region. Implemented SOPs included hand
washing, sanitising, social distancing, and wearing of face
masks. Traders in Teso (58 out of 60) were putting on face
masks compared to Karamoja (9 out of 60) (Fig. 10). Social
distancing, sanitising, and hand washing were least
adopted. No trader in Karamoja engaged in social distan-
cing, sanitising, and hand washing. The likelihood of put-
ting on masks was significantly correlated with receiving
masks from the government.
The cattle traders were also asked to state the key
intervention that government could undertake to sup-
port cattle business during the COVID-19 era. All the
traders reported access to loans as the key intervention
followed by reduced taxes, provision of adequate animal
health services, support with the adoption of SOPs, and
improvement in the communication network and roads
in the order of importance (Fig. 11).
Discussion
The COVID-19 pandemic imposed a great threat to the
cattle business resulting from the total market closure
from April to September 2020. The research findings
show that cattle traders were negatively impacted by
COVID-19. The main effects of COVID19 on the cattle
traders were reduced sales, reduced or erosion of capital
for business, failure to sell animals, and reduced number
of buyers. The average number of cattle sold per trader
per month declined, which is consistent with the previ-
ous study that also found a decrease in cattle sales at the
beginning of the pandemic (Lynch 2020). Karamoja
traders’cattle sales declined to a greater extent com-
pared to Teso traders. This can largely be attributed to
the fact that the cattle markets in Karamoja are very re-
mote and insecure, and buyers are unable to access these
markets during the lockdown. In addition, the higher
costs of fuel, costs of vehicle service, and costs of acquir-
ing spare parts are very high because of poor roads and
result in many traders preferring to trek or move on foot
to save costs. However, trekking was associated with a
greater decline in sales because of COVID-19 restric-
tions on human movement.
The reduction in sales, erosion of capital for business,
failure to sell animals, and reduced number of buyers
are a threat to food security (Griffith et al. 2021). In pas-
toral areas, trade in livestock is key to pastoral liveli-
hoods as it provides income that can be used to
purchase non-animal source foods, household basic
Fig. 7 COVID 19 impacts on cattle traders’interactions with different buyers. Source: primary data
2
Boda-Boda (motorcycle taxis) riding –is one of the popular means of
public transport in Uganda and accounts for a significant proportion
of all motorized trips in the country. Their popularity, often attributed
to their maneuverability within traffic and their easy navigation of
untarred terrain. Riding is the activity of riding or cycling a motor bike
or bicycle.
Ilukor et al. Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice (2022) 12:18 Page 9 of 14

needs, and inputs for livestock production (Little et al.
2014). The cattle trader’s inability or failure to sell ani-
mals limits their ability to purchase animals from the
pastoralists who have animals to sell (KRSU, 2018).
These leave both traders and pastoralists with no income
to buy food, other basic needs, and animal health care
services, thus leading to increased livestock mortality
(Griffith et al. 2021). Also, consumers are left vulnerable
to malnutrition because of the reduced supply of animal
source foods which are the main source of high-quality
proteins and micronutrients (Griffith et al. 2021;
Mitscherlich et al. 2021).
Following the lifting of the lockdown, traders in Kara-
moja were more likely to re-engage in cattle trading
compared to the Teso traders. This can be attributed to
the fact that they did not engage in alternative liveli-
hoods to the same extent. In Teso, traders engaged in
crop cultivation, retail business, and boda-boda riding to
a great extent. These livelihood diversification strategies
have been shown to be less affected or impacted by
COVID-19 (Aziz et al. 2021). However, traders in Teso
who pursued this strategy did report more difficulty in
re-engaging in cattle trade once the lockdown was lifted.
Karamojong traders could not easily diversify because
they have a low asset base, are dependent mainly on live-
stock, and crop farming is not their main livelihood
(Achiba 2018; McCabe et al. 2010; McCabe et al. 2014).
Also, most of the traders who reported to have lost
capital were mainly in Teso sub-region. This could be
attributed to fact that they had to pay higher costs of
transaction to facilitate trade during the lockdown. In
addition, some had to spend money to pay school fees
which eroded their capital. As shown in the results, the
cost incurred by Karamoja traders during the lockdown
Fig. 8 Cattle destination during the different periods for Teso sub-region. Source: primary data
Fig. 9 Coping strategies during the closure of the cattle markets. Source: primary data
Ilukor et al. Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice (2022) 12:18 Page 10 of 14

was very low, and when the market was closed, they also
closed the business. In addition, parents in Karamoja
generally do not send children to school and therefore
do not have many obligations to pay fees as most of the
children are raised to graze cattle (Agiresaasi and
Nakisanze 2019). Indeed, the gross and net enrollment
rates are lowest in Karamoja (36%) compared to Teso
(87%) and other regions in Uganda (UBOS 2018b).
The results also show that the traders in both sub-
regions have failed to recover the international markets
like South Sudan and Kenya after the lockdown. The
share of traders trading with Juba and Busia is declining
while the share trading with Kampala is increasing.
These results are consistent with many studies that have
shown that COVID-19 has led to a decline in trade in
goods and services, especially those that require human
movement like cattle traders who need to move with
their animals to ensure that they are not cheated, and
the animals safe (Minondo 2021). Moreover, organised
cattle thefts or raids intensified during the COVID-19
lockdown and have led to the loss of livestock and con-
sequently a reduction in livestock production and sales.
In addition, the concentration of the security personnel
on COVID-19 response activities limited informal cross-
border cattle trade by locking all borders (IPC 2021).
Although the new trend of the establishment of new
livestock markets driven largely by the formation of new
sub-counties and with the objective of raising revenues
for the local government has been observed (KRSU
2018), it seems that COVID-19 lockdown and closure of
livestock markets affected this trend. The decline in the
regional and international trade drove cattle traders to
develop networks within the country to enable them to
do business, thus explaining why the share of traders
Fig. 10 Number of cattle traders practising the COVID-19 SOPs after lockdown. Source: primary data
Fig. 11 Percentage of cattle traders reporting the key intervention that government could undertake to support cattle trade in the COVID-19
period. Source: primary data
Ilukor et al. Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice (2022) 12:18 Page 11 of 14

trading with Kampala traders is on the rise. However,
this can only be sustainable if the beef or meat industry
or sector is able to establish cold chains and traceability
systems to enable to access international markets and re-
duce disruption or stabilise the beef/cattle markets
(Trotter and Michael 2020). This should be backed up
with a strong enforcement of the food safety regulations
and standards (Aday and Aday 2020; Ijaz et al. 2021).
Even if the restrictions are removed, the future of the
meat industry requires these facilities and systems to be
in place to promote trade in meat products. Already, the
government is investing and continues to advocate for
investments in these facilities and systems under the Na-
tional Development Plan III (NPA 2020).
To cope up with the closure of the cattle markets,
most of the cattle traders had to diversify to other alter-
native livelihoods and significant numbers, especially
those from the Teso sub-region stayed in business sell-
ing cattle but this time not at the markets but through
phones since they have better phone coverage than their
Karamojong counterparts (UBOS 2018a). Since the
movement of agricultural produce was allowed under
the lockdown conditions, traders would receive the
orders by phone and be able to deliver. Traders in
Karamoja, a majority of which do not have phones
(UBOS 2018b), were disadvantaged and therefore
could not stay in business.
Among the standard operating procedures (SOPs)
implemented by cattle traders, the results show that
most of them in Teso sub-region observed hand
washing and wearing of face masks during the market
re-opening as compared to traders from Karamoja. In
Karamoja,themaskswerescarceandexpensivefor
the community (Lotira et al. 2020), and putting on
masks was correlated with receiving the mask from
the government and yet the distribution of masks in
Karamoja was generally difficult (Ebele 2020). The
weakness in the distributions of the masks could be
associated with weakness in the District COVID-19
Task Force. Indeed, the results of the assessments of
the performance of the COVID-19 District Task
Force revealed that Karamojong communities repre-
sent the highest proportion of community members
reporting to have missed out on food distribution
completely at 91% (Mbabazi and Kasalirwe 2020).
Conclusion and recommendation
COVID-19 has negatively affected cattle traders in
many ways including reduced sales, reduced or ero-
sion of capital for business, failure to sell animals,
and reduced number of buyers thus limiting the abil-
ity of the pastoralists to sell their animals and wors-
ening food security because income from livestock is
used to buy non-animal source food. To support
cattle traders to fully recover and continue in the
business and ensure the resilience of the pastoral live-
lihood, cattle traders will need to be supported with
loans or credit to boost their reduced capital and en-
able them to continue operating the newly discovered
economic activities as risk mitigation strategy while
also engaging themselves in the cattle trade. This can
be achieved by capitalising VSLAs where these traders
belong. Moreover, in pastoral areas access to commu-
nication and good road network should be boosted to
enable these traders to be able to participate in the
cattle trade.
In addition, the declining regional and international
trade means that there is a need to support the meat
industry or sector to establish standard slaughter fa-
cilities with cold chains to reduce cattle movements
but rather trade in quality beef or meat. This should
be supported with a good traceability system as well
as strong and effective food quality and safety regula-
tions and rules to enable to access international mar-
kets and reduce disruption or stabilise the beef/cattle
markets while securing pastoral livelihoods. Lastly, the
cattle traders should be provided with masks and pro-
mote the adoption of SOPs to protect them from the
COVID-19 pandemic and reduce the need for lock-
down and cattle market closures which are detrimen-
tal to pastoral livelihoods.
Abbreviations
CAPI: Computer-assisted personal interview; COVID: Coronavirus disease;
DANRE: Department of Agribusiness and Natural Resource Economics;
IRB: Institutional Review Board; KSU: Kansas State University;
SOPs: Standard operating procedures; UBOS: Uganda Bureau of Statistics;
UIA: Uganda Investment Authority; UN: United Nations; UNICEF: United
Nations International Children’s Fund; VSLA: Village Savings Lending
Association; NPA: National Planning Authority; NDP III: Third National
Development Plan
Acknowledgements
The authors’work benefited from the input provided by the staff of the
Ministry of Agriculture and School of Agriculture Makerere University. The
authors would also like to acknowledge the cattle traders who agreed to
spare their time to respond to the interviews. The authors would also like to
thank the students of Makerere University School of Agriculture who were
involved and supported the data collection especially Lokwang Aaron and
Shafiq Gonzaga Ssekibaala.
Authors’contributions
JI conceptualised the study design, supervised the data collection and tools
development, analysed the data, and drafted the paper. SPO contributed to
the writing of the paper, interpretation of the results, and cleaning of the
data. JA led the data collection exercise, cleaned the data, drafted the
questionnaire, and contributed to the writing of the paper. All authors
reviewed and approved the final paper for publication.
Funding
The study is part of the Beef Research Platform established under a
partnership between Makerere University’s Department of Agribusiness and
Natural Resource Economics (DANRE) in Uganda,Kansas State University
(KSU) and the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry Fisheries Regional
Pastoral Livelihood Resilience Project funded by the World Bank .
Ilukor et al. Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice (2022) 12:18 Page 12 of 14

Availability of data and materials
Data are available on reasonable request.
Declarations
Ethics approval and consent to participate
The survey was cleared for ethics by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at
Makerere University School of Agriculture.
Respondent consent:
Obtained.
Consent for publication
Not applicable.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Author details
1
Development Data Group - Survey Unit, World Bank, Kampala, Uganda.
2
School of Agricultural Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Received: 25 June 2021 Accepted: 3 January 2022
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