23 Aug 2016

Farmers are utilising the cluster fencing programme to their benefit, says Mahalapye Sub -council chairperson Mr Tassman Cebani.

Speaking during the on-going Mahalapye sub council meeting, Mr Cebani said the Mafolosa cluster fencing which occupied land of 440.35 hectors has been completed.

He said the Mabogodinku cluster in Kalamare, Mmamabele in Shoshong East, Letoreng and Makoba were receiving materials and construction will commerce soon.

Therefore, Mr Cebani said it was up to councillors to ensure that their communities benefit from government programmes, adding that it was up to them to encourage electorates to take  up the programme in large numbers.

On veterinary services, the council chairperson said in an effort to improve livestock health immunity, the immunization of anthrax, quarter evil, rabies have been outsourced to private veterinary officers.

He said the vaccination exercise coupled with stock census started on July 2016 across the sub district and was expected to end by August 2016.

However, he noted that farmers with more than hundred cattle were urged to come forward to the main veterinary office to collect vaccine and vaccinate for themselves.

Mr Cebani said it was sad to note that they have experienced marked livestock mortalities in some parts of the sub district due to mogau and legonyana.

 He said an investigation into cases of deaths of livestock mostly cattle and goats in some parts of Mahalapye sub district was undertaken.

He said cumulatively 444 cattle, 35 goats, 36 sheep have died and most of the mortalities were found to have come from areas known to have toxic plant pavetta harborii locally known as legonyana.

He explained that the plant remains attractively green even during the dried field conditions and may be eaten whenever there was nothing else for the animals to graze on.

He said there was no known effective treatment for the already affected animals.

However, he said farmers could reduce the severity of the problem by supplementing their livestock with fodder so that livestock does not resort to eating the plant.

Mr Cebani said those who have the option of relocating livestock to areas without this plant are advised to do so and return the livestock when the dry spell has passed.

He said it was important to note that animals that have already ingested the plant may continue to succumb sometime after they have been relocated or the plant removed.

He said the sub district has since established a task force to look into the matter as a way of generating a report that could motivate for the ministerial intervention.

Further, Mr Cebani said the recently introduced web based Botswana Animal identification and traceable system (BAITS) was taking off slowly due to slow uptake by farmers who are still reliant on the department to input data for them pertaining to transactions on their livestock.

He noted that farmers education on the system was on-going, therefore pleaded with councilors to partake in selling the initiative to farmers. Ends