New strategies to control worms in goat keepers' herds |
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| Control of worms in goats in southern Africa: Development and dissemination of strategies for controlling nematodes in goats | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Researchers working in South Africa have produced a range of information that will help producers and extension workers to identify and treat the effects of worm infestation in goats. Currently, heavy worm loads greatly reduce the number of kids that goats produce, as well as the number that live to be weaned. This badly affects the livelihoods of resource-poor farmers. Using simple techniques to identify and treat animals with worm-caused anaemia is one option that has already been shown to work. The project has also produced, tested, and revised a goat keepers' health care manual and booklets to help producers deal with worms in their goats, sheep and cattle. Project Ref: AHP06:
Research Programmes:
Relevant Research Projects: R8151: Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, South Africa; The University of Edinburgh, UK; Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; Krecek and Krecek CC, South Africa
Resource-poor farmers of south-western KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, had complained of poor reproductive performance in their goats, which suffered from dry-season (winter) feed scarcity and worm infections. There was a need for general information on goat health and basic management. The use of urea-molasses block supplementation, tactical and symptomatic anthelmintic treatment (by means of the FAMACHA© system) on gastrointestinal nematode infection and goat productivity was assessed.
Live goats (meat). The aim was to improve reproductive performance (which means more kids born, suckled and weaned) and prevent mortalities (which is effectively protecting livestock assets). Alleviation of dry season feed scarcity is a problem in all grazing animals in communal areas of southern Africa, including goats, sheep, cattle, horses and donkeys. The effects of using urea-molasses supplementation in the studies conducted as part of R8151 under on-farm conditions were equivocal. However, tactical and symptomatic anthelmintic treatments of the goats were shown to be beneficial in terms of improving the numbers of kids suckled per doe. Such treatment strategies could also be applied to sheep in these areas. Symptomatic treatment of the animals was further evaluated and was done by means of the FAMACHA© system which is a method of comparing the colour of the mucous membranes of the eye of the sheep and goat with the colours on a card. Animals scored in the pale categories are treated for anaemia caused by the nematode Haemonchus contortus (wireworm). This symptomatic treatment may also be used in milk goats. Work is ongoing in Kenya to assess the use of the chart in sheep in areas where two other groups of anaemia-causing parasites, trypanosomes and liver flukes (Fasciola spp.), occur together with wireworm. There have been initial studies on the evaluation of the card as a potential test for anaemia in cattle suffering from trypanosomosis. The packaging of general information on animal health in a format that is easily understood and applied by farmers is a process that should be carried out for other species.
Validated outputs of Project R8151 on the use of strategies to control worms in goats are complementary to work done on the use of tannins in small ruminants as anthelmintics (Project R7424) as well as work done on Project R7351 to improve the productivity of goats through the feeding of tree pods. Two publications developed as part of a related project are also relevant in this context: Technical Manual for Worm Management in Small Ruminants and Management of Anthelmintic Resistance in Gastrointestinal Nematodes of Small Ruminants. The aims followed in packaging the information into the Goatkeepers' Animal Health Care Manual are complementary to those for the development of the Livestock Guru (Project ZC0262) and the series of booklets about Wambui (Project R7425). The goatkeepers' manual serves as an easy reference for the individual goat-keeping household and its neighbours for answers about goat diseases and management problems; the kiosks developed as part of the Livestock Guru serve a community role when based at a central location in a village and allow a wide range of questions to be posed; while the Wambui books are particularly suited to school children who are learning about agricultural production. The information developed is also complementary to the information on the Smallstock toolbox (ZC0243). The project could also be clustered with project R7597 - A decision support tool for bovine diseases in Africa. Work done on this project to develop low-cost decision support tools for the diagnosis of endemic bovine infectious disease could be used as a template for the development of similar support tools for goat diseases. This would be complementary to the FAMACHA© card already in use. Also, a manual that comprises information about the most important cattle diseases and effectively tested with farmers would be useful for further reading and in conjunction with the decision support tools. In southern Africa, farmers often keep goats and cattle, or may aspire to keep cattle if only keeping goats at present. How the outputs were validated: The outputs were validated on-station and on-farm by means of experimental research. The on-farm work was participative with nine farmers making their goat herds available for the on-farm experiment, which was carried out over a period of two years. There were 4 female and 5 male moderately poor farmers. Researchers and technical staff from Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute and KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs visited the farmers at 4-weekly visits to collect samples from the animals and to provide information to the farmers. Information for the Goatkeepers' Animal Health Care Manual was tested with the broader farming community in a number of information sessions. There were indications that there was an increase in the number of kids suckled per doe as a result of the interventions. Where the Outputs were Validated: The validation was carried out during 2002-2006 (experimental on-farm animal research: 2004-2005) with moderately poor black Zulu farmers in the Bulwer area (specifically the villages of Nkwezela, Hlafuna and Njobokazi), KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa in a semi-arid smallholder rainfed dry/cold production system. This system is interspersed between large-scale commercial white-owned farming areas. Who are the Users? There is evidence of uptake of the information and FAMACHA© technology by the participating farmers who expressed a willingness to train others, by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs who have adopted the FAMACHA© technology and are training further extension officers and farmers in the use of this system and by the use of the Goatkeepers' Animal Health Care Manual in training programmes of non-governmental organizations. Where the outputs have been used: The outputs are mainly being used in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape Provinces, South Africa, however, numerous requests for the Goatkeepers' Animal Health Care Manual and the booklet on Worms in Your Goats, Sheep and Cattle have been received from other provinces of South Africa as well as countries in eastern and southern Africa. Scale of Current Use: Figures are not available for the use of the FAMACHA© system although anecdotal evidence suggests that its use is spreading steadily. Approximately 1500 Goatkeepers' Animal Health Care Manuals have been distributed, while requests for it continue to be received. Use of the manual was very quickly established as it proved very popular with farmers and extension-type personnel who work with farmers. Policy and Institutional Structures, and Key Components for Success:
Keys facts of success: working as a multidisciplinary group comprising of researchers, technicians and farmers dedicated to assisting the resource-poor farmer to improve his/her livelihood. Regular meetings between the parties greatly facilitated the work. The contacts and linked formed between farmers, technicians and researchers greatly contributed to an improvement in service delivery to farmers. Lessons Learned and Uptake Pathways Promotion of Outputs: Promotion is taking place as part of broader programmes of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa and non-governmental organizations such as Heifer Project International South Africa, Durban, South Africa. This specifically involves the training of farmers on an ad hoc basis in the use of the FAMACHA© system. The Goatkeepers' Animal Health Care Manuals and booklets on Worms in Your Goats, Sheep and Cattle are being distributed by organisations such as KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs and Heifer Project International South Africa in KwaZulu-Natal Province, and Scientific Roets (Pty) Ltd, the University of Pretoria and the National Wool Growers' Association in the Eastern Cape. Promotion is also taking place at Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Pretoria, South Africa through communication of research results to scientists and technicians at scientific meetings in South Africa and other countries in eastern and southern Africa and in other parts of the world (e.g. USA and Caribbean), and through the distribution of the publications deriving from the project. Potential Barriers Preventing Adoption of Outputs: Adoption of outputs could be greatly improved through further hands-on training of trainers in the FAMACHA© system and in basic knowledge of goat diseases and management. Important here is that the trainers need to be empowered so that they have sufficient confidence to address farmers; otherwise they are inclined not to do so for fear of the questions they might receive. Trainers need to have sufficient self-assurance that they can say to farmers that they do not have all the answers but that they will be able to contact an expert and report back. Of course, there must be an expert with sufficient sensitivity to resource-poor farmers' situations that the trainer can in fact contact! Dissemination of research outputs is dependent upon the availability of scarce resources (personnel, transport, time, additional funding for printing of dissemination materials) and to an extent requests from government and non-governmental personnel who are able to make such resources available. Often the areas in which the dissemination of information is carried out are far apart from each other geographically, meaning that impact in a region is difficult to achieve within a short period of time. In a complementary study in KwaZulu-Natal, farmers continuously complained about the high input costs. High costs could have a negative impact on the adoption of technology developed in resource-poor areas. In this regard, the availability of remedies in sufficiently small packaging at a reasonable price may be an impediment to their use. This is a problem in many resource-poor areas where access to the remedies is not easy and the nearest shop selling such remedies may be 40km away. In South Africa, this situation may be compounded by the fact that the permission to dispense a medication from a larger and cheaper package into a smaller container for resale is limited to a veterinarian. There is poor access of farmers to markets to sell livestock and this may be related to a mindset that has not considered the potential commercial aspects of livestock production - a change from subsistence production to a surplus production and on-selling of surplus and cull animals. In South Africa, crime including the theft of livestock may be a deterrent to some communities keeping livestock while those that do keep livestock may suffer heavy losses as a result of theft. There are also costs involved in preventing theft, e.g. purchase/construction of housing so goats can be locked up at night. How to Overcome Barriers to Adoption of Outputs: More trainers empowered to train farmers and to impart knowledge on goat production would assist in promoting adoption. Adoption would also be promoted through the training of people from the local community as community-based animal health care workers, to serve people in the area in close co-operation with state and private veterinarians, animal health technicians, animal scientists and extension officers. A support system to allow farmers to obtain inputs more easily is needed for households in communities. Research into ways to supply and provide better access to medication and supplementary feeds would be of use in promoting strategies that rely on the medication and feed for success. Finding ways to supply more FAMACHA© cards to farmers, which supply must be accompanied by training, is necessary. Infrastructure and organization of farmers into groups or co-operatives to enable them to better market their animals would provide an impetus for farmers to produce more livestock. This would create a greater need to prevent mortalities and improve reproductive and general production of the animals raised in resource-poor systems. Lessons Learned: Project R8151 was participative in that it involved farmers, farmer advisors and researchers at all phases of the project. By all indications, the project left behind farmers who were empowered to provide their neighbours with information on ways to treat goats for worms. Government and non-governmental personnel were able to advise farmers in areas other than the project location with regard to the project findings and how to make simple improvements in goat management. This participative, two-way-learning, interactive and sometimes 'hand-holding' process proved to be empowering for all concerned including farmers, advisors and researchers. Poverty Impact Studies: Within the scope of the project, formal impact studies on poverty were not possible. However, monitoring work took the form of meetings and workshops at various stages during the execution of the work. These were conducted with farmers, extension personnel or both, and at times also non-governmental organisation representatives participated too. Questionnaires of participating farmers and their neighbours provided further information on project impact. Other impact assessment-type work has been conducted in a similar community of KwaZulu-Natal by De Villiers (2005) following the use of the on-farm research and technology dissemination approach in that village and the results of this study may be extrapolated to some extent for the present work. Official census data is available for 1996 and 2001 for the project area (Ntsime et al., 2003; Jennings, 2004). This would provide a baseline with which to compare any changes in poverty at the rural municipal level when future censuses are conducted. Such changes would not focus on households involved in agriculture, however, and as many rural households appear to rely on state-paid pensions or money returned from family members working in towns, changes in agricultural production and any impact on poverty would need to be conducted separately. DE VILLIERS, J.F. (2005) A strategy to improve agricultural production in a rural community through on-farm research and technology transfer. PhD thesis, Centre for Rural Development and Systems, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. JENNINGS, R. (2004) Socio-economic baseline of target communities for a goat farming support project in KwaZulu-Natal. Strategy and Tactics, Johannesburg. NTSIME, M., JENNINGS, R. and DUBE, N. (2003) Poverty profiling and socio-economic impact analysis of a goat farming support project in Hlafuna, Njobokazi and Nkwazela in KwaZulu-Natal. Strategy and Tactics, Johannesburg. How the Poor have Benefited (including gender and other poverty groups): Indications are that the on-farm research approach followed in the rural communities of Nkwezela, Hlafuna and Njobokazi (Bulwer), KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, for Project R8151 stimulated a new enthusiasm for goat farming in the community. The project outputs have the potential to improve the numbers of kids suckled per doe which may be raised and sold for cash or exchanged for cattle. The work will have contributed to an appreciation by some farmers of the enormous potential that livestock holds for food security and upliftment. The positive feedback from farmers and extension staff during workshops and meetings strongly indicated that the on-farm research and technology dissemination approach adopted for Project R8151 could fruitfully be used in the rest of the province to address goat management and health problems. The approach is an extremely powerful tool in the sense that 'seeing is believing'. These results are similar to those of a survey in a similar area of KwaZulu-Natal Province where the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs is also active. Here the farming systems approach followed by the Department has also been successful in improving agricultural production and in improving the perceptions of the community towards such production. Project R8151 was completed in March 2006 but further dissemination and uptake of project results is still ongoing. The Farming Systems: Research Section, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs, and an important stakeholder in the work will be conducting an impact assessment questionnaire towards the end of 2006 or the beginning of 2007 to determine the impact of the on-farm research and technology transfer since 2000. Questions to measure the impact of the goat research have been included in the questionnaire. Direct and Indirect Environmental Benefits: Preventing the mortality of goats and improving their production through simple dietary and treatment interventions assist farmers to optimise goat production. Rather than losing an animal as a result of worms, the animal maybe treated and salvaged. Also, controlling worms means that the erosive effects of the worms are minimised and the protein derived from precious grazing resources is better utilised for the growth of the animals rather than lost as a result of damage caused by worms. This is particularly relevant for marginal lands, which are unsuitable for crop production but which lend themselves to livestock farming. Adverse Environmental Impacts: A potential increase in the numbers of grazing goats, without adequate access to markets may impact negatively on grazing in communally grazed areas, which may lead to erosion in such areas. This is probably unlikely to happen in areas such as KwaZulu-Natal Province where there is a large demand for goat meat for Halaal slaughter as well as traditional Zulu customary slaughter. This demand is currently being met through the import of live goats from other provinces in South Africa and even probably from Namibia. Coping with the Effects of Climate Change, or Risk from Natural Disasters: Goats are particularly resilient animals which are able to adapt well in drier areas. They are able to utilise both browse and grazing well. Animals often act as a 'safety net' in areas where the risk of crop failure is high due to drought. Relevant Research Projects,
with links to the
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For relevant research projects, with links to further information  Geographical regions included: Eastern Africa, South Africa, Southern Africa,  Target Audiences for this content:Livestock farmers, |
Summary