The Qualitative explanation of consequences and patterns of behavior in rural livestock households facing the risk of Covid-19 (case: Izeh county)

The 2019 Covid-19 disease has caused disruptions in the production sectors, including smallholder farming systems and the livestock sector. The lived experiences of livestock farmers in facing the risk of Covid-19 have been advanced with the aim of identifying intervention strategies in current and future systems. This study deals with the understanding of lived experiences and resilient behavior patterns of rural livestock households in the face of the phenomenon of Covid-19 in Izeh city (Khuzestan province). This city is one of the areas with high potential for livestock and agricultural activities. Exploratory research method and data-based theory have been used. The current research has been carried out using qualitative research method, 17 active livestock farmers households with more than 50 animals and through semi-structured interviews. Based on the research data analysis process and scientific coding, 6 core categories include "disruption in the production cycle and household income"; "Intensification of the economic poverty of livestock farmers"; "Drought and seasonal diseases of livestock are resistant areas in the aggravation of the crisis conditions of livestock households"; "Demand and use of microfinance resources is an opportunity to get out of the crisis"; "Functional weakness of support and insurance structures"; And "socio-economic consequences during the severe risk of covid" were extracted. The focal phenomenon of the research is "Covid-19 and spatial inefficiency (structural-functional weakness)". This phenomenon explains that the existence of the risk of covid-19 reveals many institutional, political, economic and managerial inefficiencies in small livestock production systems and double pressures on livestock households. This research has provided conceptual and experimental ways to support smallholder agricultural systems, especially small farmers.