NAMWALA MP JOINS FIGHT AGAINST LIVESTOCK DISEASES  

By Jessica Mwansa

NAMWALA Member of Parliament Moono Mapani says his office is working tirelessly to ensure livestock is not lost from diseases and has stepped in to assist livestock farmers curb the spread of the diseases by putting deep tanks and sensitizing the farmers.

In an interview with The Scoop, Mr. Mapani said he has also involved the veterinary to help vaccinate all the livestock in his constituency.

He added that his office had also embarked on sensitizing the farmers on the prevention of animal movements which he said was one of the measures put in place to curb the spread of the livestock diseases.

“We have involved the Veterinary Department to vaccinate the livestock and we have started putting deep tanks to prevent the farmers from losing their livestock.

“We are highly suspicious that the diseases are as a result of animal movements and mingling especially when feeding the animals,” Mr. Mapani said.

He said there was a need for the farmers to monitor the illegal animal movements and also intensify restrictions of animals within their homesteads.

“There are a number of diseases that have affected livestock in Namwala and we have started the massive livestock vaccinations of east-coast fever and Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD). We want to ensure that Namwala District is free from the livestock diseases which have affected our farmers,” he said.

He said he had engaged livestock farmers to understand the Government’s intervention in order to safeguard the livestock.

“We toured the affected areas to ensure that our livestock farmers are able to cooperate with the ministry’s intervention to achieve the objectives. The livestock farmers have been advised to be patient and adhere to the measures put in place by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.

All the livestock farmers have taken the responsibility of ensuring that the animals are vaccinated against the diseases and so far they are progressing well. Our prayer is to overcome the foot and mouth disease which has affected many livestock farmers,” he said.