Much is being said about the impact of the prolonged drought on the crop sector and its consequential effect on the availability of food for human beings. However, a silent struggle on the effect of the drought on livestock equally needs attention.

The country’s prolonged drought has catalysed the already fast depleting grazing lands for livestock. Whereas grazing lands would usually begin to deplete around the month of June, this year’s poor rainfall has entailed that livestock farmers are being burdened with the need to supplement their animals’ nutrition much earlier than usual.

Inadequate grazing is also a hazardous opportunity for the outbreak of livestock diseases stemming from starvation. Furthermore, starving animals are likely stray for longer distances in search of food and water; and this consequently enhances contact between human beings thereby enhancing the spread of zoonotic diseases such as anthrax.

It is just last year when Zambia struggled to contain an outbreak of anthrax - a disease which is transmitted by a bacteria called Bacillus anthracis (which is naturally occurring in soils) - and which animals are exposed to when they graze too close to the ground. This ‘grazing too close to the ground’ is evidence that animals are starving and desperately searching for food. And just like in human beings, poor nutrition in animals compromises their immune system and makes then more susceptible to diseases.

Dr. Chalemba Shonga who is the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock District Veterinary Officer for Sinanzongwe district, got to see first-hand the impact that diseases like anthrax have on livestock herds. Last year’s outbreak of anthrax was first identified in his District which is known to be extremely hot and arid; hence supplementary feeding of livestock is already a challenge. He however added that anthrax was not the only challenge that livestock faced in extreme conditions.

“There are some other livestock disease related to drought. Most animals are affected by diseases which are related to negative energy balance which means they tend to develop deficiencies in terms of nutrition because there is little or no pasture to feed on,” Dr. Shonga said.

He added that the livestock sub-sector required concerted efforts between farmers and other key stakeholders such as the government to mitigate the impact of the prolonged drought that the country has experienced.

Dr. Shonga was one of the first COHORT graduates of an in-service field epidemiology training programme that was facilitated by the National Level Frontline In-Service Applied Epidemiology Training Programme (ISAVET).  

The ISAVET - which is a programme supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and USAID Zambia was designed to help frontline veterinarian staff like Dr. Shonga to fill in the gaps in the animal health sector to prevent, detect and respond to outbreaks in a timely manner.

The training programme trained 27 veterinarians and para-veterinary professionals under the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock who are coincidentally based in 3 of the 10 provinces that have been worst affected by the prolonged drought.

The graduates shared their research and theses on various animal health diseases that the country continues to battle with and some of which are directly related to drought conditions.

From some of the presentations, it was apparent that drought and the consequent outcome of poor animal nutrition presented a looming threat of animal disease for Zambia this year.

In response to this, President of the Veterinary Association of Zambia - Malcom Chiyoba - highlighted the need for a proactive approach to mitigate the looming threats of animal diseases. He said that the Veterinary Association of Zambia had recommended embarking on animal vaccinations earlier than usual as one way that the government could curb the outbreak of drought related animal diseases.

Dr Chiyoba further suggested that farmers should view their livestock as an investment and hence should consider selling a few animals to generate the resources need to enhance the health of majority of the herd.

“To the farmers who have huge numbers of animals, instead of being happy with the quantity, I think it is high time they considered selling some of their animals and be able to drill borehores to ensure they can water their own animals in the coming months,” Dr. Chiyoba explained.

He also appealed to the government to consider formalizing markets in the region for livestock farmers so that farmers can fetch a good price for their animals and hence be encouraged to sell some of their livestock when need arises.

Dr. Chiyoba further implored the government to consider subsidizing the cost of drilling boreholes and also animal feed as another alternative to relieving farmers of the pending challenges that the drought had presented.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock through its Enhanced Smallholder Livestock Investment Programme(E-SLIP) has been promoting forage and pasture production and utilization among smallholder farmers.

An agronomist under the Ministry - Dikoka Ching’ambu - has been playing a key role in promoting affordable supplementary feed of livestock. Mr. Ching’ambu, who is also Forage Seed Specialist for (E-SLIP) said that a significant number of forage seed growers under the Programme had not been spared by the drought.

“The drought has affected our seed growers in the southern parts of the country mostly those in Southern, parts of Central and Lusaka. But suffice to say some of the seed the farmers are growing is drought-tolerant but in terms of seed we are definitely going to see a reduction in the volume they will produce,” Mr. Ching’ambu lamented. He however disclosed that the pasture seed that E-SLIP had been promoting among farmers was perennial pasture such as Rhodes Grass and hence some farmers may be able to salvage something which they had been trained to preserve and utilize.

Given that government has acknowledged the prolonged dry spell as a national disaster, proactive long term strategies such aggressive investment in water harvesting, genetics and technology to support irrigation are being initiated.

Some reports suggest that southern Africa will continue to suffer the effects of El Nino through to early 2025( www.fews.net ) and thus it is imperative for countries in the region to remain well equipped and responsive to the needs of the animal and human health sector. NAIS