Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Dairy Businesses in District Dir Lower, Pakistan

Abstract

This study assesses the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on dairy businesses in District Dir Lower, Pakistan. Convenience sampling technique was used to select District Dir Lower, followed by the selection of two tehsils —Balambat and Timergara— due to ease of accessibility. Using purposive sampling, a total of 30 milk collectors were identified across the chosen tehsils. Primary data were gathered through a semi-structured questionnaire from literate respondents, while personal interviews were conducted for data collection from illiterate respondents. Descriptive statistics tools, frequencies and percentages were used to summarize the data. For data analysis, binary logistic regression was used to assess the impact of COVID-19 on dairy businesses. The results indicate that COVID-19 lockdown had a significantly significant impact on dairy businesses in District Dir. The study recommends that the government and local authorities should develop improved cold-chain infrastructure to stabilize milk supply and minimize losses faced by dairy farmers. Additionally, the concerned authorities should provide financial assistance to the most vulnerable families during crises like COVID-19.