INVESTING IN LIVESTOCK DISEASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS ESSENTIAL – KAZABU

By Arnel Chitundu

FORMER Agriculture and Livestock Deputy Minister, Luxon Kazabu has said the Government is not doing enough in terms of livestock disease management system as it lacks adequate facilities to enable effective disease control. Speaking to the Scoop, Mr. Kazabu said the government needed to construct new deep tanks and rehabilitate damaged ones in areas that were lacking. “As a country, we must keep in mind the inadequate number of deep tanks we have as they are meant to treat tick diseases,” Mr. Kazabu said. He said the government should take time and learn how things were prepared, in terms of the number of deep tanks each district should have. He added that Livestock drugs were essential for the wellbeing of animals, as a critical way of protecting them from diseases. He explained that the Animal Health Act of 2010, made dipping of cattle compulsory, a situation which should be revisited by the authorities. Mr. Kazabu said securing food supplements for animals was key, in order to ensure animals in dry hot seasons had food, a way of preventing animal losses. He called on farmers to practice good husbandry, meaning needed to care for animals by dipping them, deworming and getting them vaccinated. “The country has come a long way in reducing the incidences of cattle diseases, it is only right that we invest highly in disease management systems,” he said. He said there was a need for more veterinary camps, so that farmers were adequately reached, as the ratio was too high. He noted the lack of transportation for veterinary officers, stating that they needed to move around reaching farmers and teaching small scale farmers’ good husbandry.

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