By Joshua Kato
One of the biggest challenges that farmers are facing during the current rainy season are diseases.
Colds affect livestock in many ways. Pigs are attacked by swine fever, foot and mouth (FMD) still ravages through the cattle corridor, chicken are attacked by Newcastle disease while goats too are not surviving the disease menace.
Because of diseases, many farmers are either pushed out of business or have to reduce on production.
In livestock, diseases can only be controlled if two things are done properly. The first is a strict bio-safety plan at the farm and the second is vaccination against common viral diseases.
Effective bio-security may not come for free; you will spend some money, however it will in the long run save you the challenges of spending lots of money on treatment or devastation when you see your stock dying away.
For example, you need a perimeter fence around the farm to prevent entry of unauthorized personnel, animals, birds etc.
You need to buy disinfectants, construct bathrooms for visitors to take a shower before accessing the pigs, buying farm attire for both workers and authorised visitors etc.
But in the long run, your animals will be safe from diseases and other stresses. For diseases like Newcastle and FMD that can be vaccinated against, make sure you do this on time.
