09 Feb 2016

The Ngamiland community has traditionally depended on the livestock industry for a living, although they also supplemented the industry with hunting, fishing and cropping.

Unfortunately, the region is also home to trans-boundary animal diseases such as Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Contagious Bovine Pleuroneumonia (CBPP), amongst other diseases that affect the livestock industry.
North West Integrated Farmers Association chairperson, Mr Simon Bojosi said in an interview that the situation has adversely affected farmers who have solemnly depended on livestock for their livelihood.

“Also the household economy of Ngamiland has been affected as a result of FMD, particularly because cattle are now sold at lower market prices,” said Mr Bojosi. Mr Bojosi said they were currently selling at local prices which are much lower than the non EU and the EU prices used in other parts of the country.

“Our desire is to move out of the Maun price to non EU price and ultimately to EU prices, noted the chairperson He, however, noted that it was incumbent upon them to fight and defeat FMD because the government alone could never win the battle.

Mr Bojosi is of the opinion that an Ngamiland FMD eradication commission should be formed to engage stakeholders such as the community leadership and others on the prevention of the disease.

He posited that the region also needs a distinct eradication fund towards which the community could be encouraged to contribute, adding that it was the same way that the University of Botswana was built.  

He noted that cattle are the main source of income for Ngamiland residents and that failure to sell them, could result in the collapse of local businesses. He added that as such, the business community would also be requested to contribute towards the fund geared towards the eradication of FMD.  

Mr Bojosi also said it was important to form an advocacy committee that would educate farmers about the spread of the disease, and how it could be prevented.

“We are willing to help the government because a lot of money has been spent fighting FMD, but with little progress,” stated the chairperson, adding that methods such as vaccination, surveillance and movement restriction were infective and had failed in some places.

He said cordon fences and quarantines had proved to be effective, but that such facilities were not available in Ngamiland except for the quarantine in Makalamabedi.
The farmer said FMD was exacerbated by the fences which were not maintained or patrolled.

“For instance, the fence that was erected to separate Botswana and Namibia during the outbreak of CBPP is down and needs to be mended,” he said.

However, the director of the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS), Dr Letlhogile Modisa said he was hopeful that FMD would be controlled in Ngamiland. He said the involvement of all stakeholders was important in the fight against the disease.

“We encourage farmers to play their part by bringing their animals for identification and vaccination as well as reporting sick animals to DVS instead of hiding them,” he said. Ends