14 Nov 2017

Plans are underway to rehabilitate two cattle quarantines in the Ngamiland District in an effort to facilitate commodity based trade (CBT) approach.

Department of Veterinary Services director, Dr Letlhogile Modisa revealed that the quarantines had not been effective, but assured farmers that they were working round the clock to revive the Makalamabedi and Shorobe quarantines.

He said this when responding to some comments from farmers who wanted to know the status of the quarantines and asked if they could be revived so that they could quarantine their cattle.

They argued that 10 years ago they used to keep cattle in quarantines and managed them until they were graded and slaughtered.

However, Dr Modisa appreciated that in the past, farmers used the quarantines to slaughter animals for South African market, but observed that they became ineffective and deteriorated during the outbreak of Cattle Lung Disease.

He said good infrastructure was critical in facilitating the CBT concept and stated that by January, four paddocks at Makalamabedi quarantine would be ready for use while the Shorobe one would be done at a later stage as it needed a lot of rehabilitation.

“We are going to start with Makalamabedi as it needs minimal resources and then move to Shorobe, considering the predation of lions in village.

For the next slaughter, we will  make sure that we comply with the CBT principles,” he added.

Dr Modisa believed that rehabilitation of the quarantines would bring farmers economic benefits, but emphasised that the CBT concept would not stop Foot and Mouth Disease, hence the farmers should play their role in controlling of the disease.

For his part, the sub-regional representative from World Organization for Animal Health in Botswana, Dr Moetapele Letshwenyo appreciated that the quarantine systems in Ngamiland were not used since the restocking of animals.

He also noted that buffaloes moved a lot in the area and indicated that the revival of quarantines would be an alternative to control FMD.

He revealed that most African countries were not free from FMD, but practiced CBT concept.

Dr Letshwenyo emphasised the importance of controlling animal diseases, noting that countries should be vigilant not to export diseases, adding that if they did so, their status could be suspended and the said country would be forced to start afresh.

On other issues, local farmers called for better prices from Botswana Meat Commission arguing that their colleagues in the green zone were enjoying attractive prices from their cattle sales.

They complained that it appeared they were being penalised for hosting wildlife because they suffered FMD recurrence. Farmers called for long sustainable FMD control so that the livelihoods could be improved.

“We want better prices at par with those in the green zone. We love wildlife and we had long lived with it because we have a community entity such as Moremi Game Reserve, so we want to benefit like other farmers across the country,” said Dr Keorapetse Sehularo. BOPA