Impact of COVID-19 on Agriculture, Livestock, and Biodiversity: A Review

Abstract

In November 2019, the world faced an unexpected outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wuhan city of China, which spread worldwide. This crisis posed a threat not only to human life and livelihood, but also to agriculture, livestock, and biodiversity. COVID-19 had an unexpected impact on livestock production. In response to the pandemic, the live stock industry and consumers have been left with fewer opportunities to purchase livestock products, resulting in no sales or low sales of live stock and their products. As with almost every sector, COVID-19 has adverse effects on agriculture also. Social distancing and the restrictions on traveling have prevented the farmers from sowing crops. Thus, farmers were deprived of agriculture, resulting in low or no crop yields contributing in a rise in the price of global food supply. The early stage of COVID19 seems to have been a time of benefit to nature and animals because humans did not interfere. However, it has become apparent that COVID-19 has sparked deforestation, illegal mining, poaching, etc, and therefore posed a threat to biodiversity.