Poor livestock disease monitoring confines herders to poverty

Livestock diseases have put Kenya under siege.

This sorry state of affairs is a creation of a combination of factors that have complicated animal and disease surveillance in “an agricultural country” where herders, pastoralists, and ranches remain vulnerable, say experts.

Harsh laws, exposing livestock to wild animals diseases, and long porous shared border have meant that constituencies depending on livestock keeping and trade remain in perpetual poverty.

Their products, for example, cannot gain access to lucrative export markets like Europe.

Veterinary doctors and technicians have, therefore, told the government that “no amount of excuses” should stand in the way of creating livestock disease-free zones.

Alfred Osogo, a veterinary doctor, said creating of disease-free zones for livestock in Kenya was long overdue if the sector was to be productive to the economy.

“There is no amount of excuses that can be given for continued lack of disease-free zones because that is condemning pastoralists to perpetual poverty,” said Mr Osogo.

Creating these zones is a prerequisite for Kenyan beef accessing the European Union market.

The government has expressed frustrations in attempts to create disease-free zones, saying ranches have doubled as private conservancies, exposing livestock to wild animals like buffaloes and wildebeest, increasing chances of infections.

Livestock Development minister, Dr Mohammed Kuti, also said unmonitored movement during drought when pastoralists search for pasture and water and long porous border complicate the goal.

However, veterinary practitioners, under the umbrella of Kenya Association of Livestock Technicians, fault the government on the 1988 decision to privatise the vet services, a step they say made creating disease-free zones a complex project.

“By [privatising vet services], the government eliminated the first-line disease surveillance officers at the grassroots level,” said Benson Ameda, the chairman of the Kenya Association of Livestock Technicians.

The government stopped automatic employment of livestock technicians in 1988 and the Veterinary Surgeons Act prohibits them from practising except under the supervision of a surgeon.

Secure zones

This means they cannot set up businesses, unless they risk the punishment of operating illegally.

This means, among other things, that the information they provide to the veterinary department cannot be recognised.

There are hundreds of livestock technicians who can monitor diseases and report to the authorities, thus easing the process of creating secure zones.

“The association has been lobbying for a change in law and we have drafted a Bill that we believe can help to ensure that hundreds of government trained livestock technicians are recognised in relation to livestock health,” said Mr Ameda.

The Animal Technicians Bill, 2009 proposes to provide for the training, registration and licensing of animal technicians and regulation of the standards in the profession.

In a related case, the Minister for Agriculture — a sister ministry — last week opposed the conversion of agricultural training colleges into institutions of higher learning.

The minister, Dr Sally Kosgei, was quoted in the media as saying the training institutions under her docket should be left intact, pointing out that the shortage of field extension officers was yet to be adequately addressed.

Although the ministries are now separate, the concern by the minister offers a peek into what could be ailing agricultural productivity in the country.

Currently, the burden of disease surveillance and reporting rests on the shoulders of a few district veterinary officers, some of whom are in charge of expansive districts, making it hard to perform their duties.

The West Pokot district veterinary officer, Dr Toroitich Kisa, told Business Daily: “I have to travel to Nakuru every month and to Nairobi after every three months to file a report on livestock disease in my area.”

Foot and mouth, Newcastle and Rift Valley fever diseases are some of the infections that have killed livestock because information flow and response from the government is slow, Dr Kisa said.

“It used to take one and half months for information on disease outbreak to reach the veterinary department headquarters in Nairobi,” said Dr Murithi Mbabu, the deputy director of veterinary services in the Ministry of Livestock.

Disease reporting, response and efforts to create disease-free zones could, however, be aided by the recent introduction of a ‘digital pen’ that can read entries and relay the information to response teams at the ministry headquarters.

One major advantage of the technology is speed and efficiency, even though taking action depends on the effectiveness of results parameters and core values of the department.

The pen in used in 20 districts and there are plans to extend its reach.

It sends information on disease screening to a central server in real time using a tool similar to wireless Internet.

After screening an animal for a disease and information entered using the ordinary pens, the digital pen is run across the document to read the data, converts it into e-format, and sends it to a central server in seconds.

Livestock diseases are a major problem in Kenya because they have, in the past, wiped out herds, leaving heavy losses, which are compounded by restocking difficulties.

There is no data yet on the cost of livestock diseases in Kenya.

In 2008, Kenya’s beef export quota to the European Union of 4,000 metric tonnes per year was stopped and the slot taken over by Botswana because the government failed to control Rift Valley fever and foot and mouth diseases.

The Department of Veterinary Services says there are 30 million poultry based on a census done in 2005; 14 million cattle, goats (13.9 million), 10 million sheep and about one million camels.

Donkeys and pigs tie at 0.4 million, but the numbers fluctuate, especially when there is drought.

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS), a human security group, has suggested that the government use computer chips for identification of animals to ease profiling, monitor movement, and ease management of disease-free zones.

Inserted through the mouth, the chip contains the name of the owner, district of origin, a reference code relating the meat to a particular breed of cow, country of birth, fattening, slaughter and the approval number of the abattoir.

The technology is successful in Botswana, which exports 80 per cent of its beef products and took over the quota allocated to Kenya by the European Union.

New vaccine

A recent development that could be used to fast-track establishing disease-free zones is the introduction of a distribution channel for vaccine.

GALVmed, a Britain-based livestock health group, has announced planned commercialisation of the vaccine targeted at combating East Coast Fever, a disease that kills millions of animals every year.

“We are exploring ways of transferring the production and distribution of the vaccine to the private sector through local manufacturers and distributors. This is important in making the vaccine affordable, accessible and sustainable,” said Steve Sloan, the CEO of GALVmed.

The group plans to work with governments and veterinary products distributors to provide the vaccine to farmers in East Africa.

The vaccines have been distributed mainly through government initiatives, which are limited in funding.

Budget estimates for 2009/10 show the Ministry of Livestock got Sh1.2 billion compared to the previous Sh1.33 billion.