The impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the fresh catfish trade in local government areas in Nigeria: a case study

The outbreak of COVID-19 triggered economic and health crises in Nigeria. This paper evaluates the fresh catfish trade before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic in the Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria. The study focused on the socioeconomic characteristics of fresh catfish traders, profitability, and the challenges of fresh catfish trading in the study area as distinctive objectives. Twenty-five percent (25%) of the registered fresh catfish traders active in the fresh catfish trade before, during, and after COVID-19 were selected from three towns in Uvwie for this study. Eighty-three (83) traders were from Ekpan, 46 from Effurun, and 42 from Ugboroke, which gave a sample size of 171. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain data from the traders. The gathered data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, budgetary models, and a five-point Likert scale. The returns on investment (ROI) were estimated to be 0.092, 0.091, and 0.084 before, during, and after the COVID-19 lockdown, respectively. Inadequate funds, the high cost of transportation, a lack of credit facilities, insufficient storage facilities, a lack of buyers, and price instability were identified as serious constraints. However, the cost of transportation was the most severe of the identified problems. Based on the analysis, it is recommended that fresh catfish traders organize themselves to form cooperatives and buy improved storage facilities which will assist them to adapt more effectively and overcome changing economic conditions or accidental occurrences such as the emergence of COVID-19. To motivate the traders, the government should try to improve bad roads and construct good and accessible roads where needed to reduce the cost of transportation.