The Sunday News
STAKEHOLDERS in the livestock sector have called for the creation of a readily available fund to deal with future outbreaks of animal diseases such as Foot and Mouth.
Zimbabwe is battling an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease which was recorded in Matabeleland South, Midlands and Masvingo in April this year.
The outbreak has affected the abattoirs business where cattle sales at livestock markets were banned, resulting in loss of millions of dollars worth of business.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development, Cde Paddy Zhanda said it was critical to have readily available funds to deal with animal disease outbreaks rather than wait when there is an outbreak and look for the funds.
“We are proposing to come up with a fund that will deal with these unforeseen circumstances,” said Cde Zhanda.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union Matabeleland North chairperson Mr Winston Babbage said coming up with such a fund was a noble initiative.
He said the newly established taskforce to fight FMD named, Matabeleland Foot and Mouth Task Force, was working towards creation of the fund.
“The Matabeleland Foot and Mouth Task Force is proposing to have a fund that will be supported by deducting a certain percentage for every sale of cattle at the abattoirs. That money will be used for disease control for future outbreaks,” he said.
He, however, said the committee had not agreed on who was going to be the custodian of the money.
“We are still discussing on who will keep that money. We do not want to wait for Government to give us money when there is an outbreak,” said Mr Babbage.
Matabeleland Foot and Mouth Task Force chairperson Mr Roger Taveres said the disease should be contained urgently as it affects the beef business in the country.
He said the beef industry was almost grounded as the Government had banned the movement of cattle from affected areas to abattoirs for slaughter.
“There are certain areas that we are not receiving cattle from because those areas have been affected and the famers cannot market them and we don’t want to spread the disease,” said Mr Taveres.
The task force has embarked on an awareness drive urging farmers to report all suspected cases of FMD or any disease to the Veterinary Services Department immediately.
The task force has also urged people to report any buffalo sighted outside national parks to the veterinary office.
It also advised all the abattoirs to be bio-secured and cattle delivered to abattoirs to be slaughtered within 24 hrs unless with prior arrangement with the Department of Livestock and Veterinary Services.
The task force also challenged the police to mount road blocks and check legality of livestock movement and prosecute and charge offenders up to court level.
It also advised farmers to maintain the barrier by vaccinating cattle at the edges of the infection every four months.
Minister of Finance Patrick Chinamasa, during the Mid-Term Fiscal Policy review, said the livestock industry was a significant contributor to the growth and development of agriculture, through employment creation and income generation.
Against this background, Minister Chinamasa said Government was enforcing compliance, and appealing for discipline “on the part of farmers and abattoir operators”.
“Measures to realise full containment of the outbreak will have to be complemented by increased compliance with Veterinary guidelines over movement of cattle,” said Cde Chinamasa.
The minister said about $1,5 million has been disbursed towards the control of the foot and mouth disease, and further disbursement will be undertaken in line with disease control requirements.
FMD is a contagious viral disease of livestock with significant economic impact. The disease affects cattle and swine as well as sheep, goats, and other cloven-hoofed ruminants. All species of deer and antelope as well as elephant, and giraffe are susceptible to FMD.
In a susceptible population, morbidity approaches 100 percent. Intensively reared animals are more susceptible to the disease than traditional breeds. The disease is rarely fatal in adult animals but there is often high mortality in young animals due to myocarditis or by lack of milk when the dam is infected by the disease.
