By Robert Adiga
Despite spending sh380,000 on vaccination and hiring a veterinary official to save his goats, Aldo Ongiera Olobo lost 57 of his goats between November 2022 and April 2023. Ongiera was left with 12 goats.
A resident of Okemu East village, Pamenya Upper parish, Atego sub-county in Nebbi district, Ongiera is one of the farmers who have lost their goats to suspected contagious caprine pleuro-pneumonia (CCPP) disease.
“I have spent a lot of money trying to save my goats, but all this has not been helpful,” he said.
Ongiera called on the district veterinary office to save the few remaining goats in the village through free vaccination.
He said out of the 10 high-breed female goats supplied by Plan International last year, seven have died.
Vincent Onegius, a resident of Opoko village, Pamora Upper parish, Atego sub-county in Nebbi district, has lost 12 out of 18 goats since January, despite spending sh250,000 in vaccination and treatment attempts.
“I called the extension worker at the sub-county and tried to treat the goats, but 12 died and I am left with six. This has been the only source of income for my family and especially in raising school fees,” he said.
Edisha Wacira, a resident of Agwok central village, Olago Upper parish, lost five goats.
“I had just picked interest in rearing goats. Only eight goats are remaining after spending sh400,000 on veterinary services and buying drugs prescribed by the veterinary doctor,” Wacira said.
He added that out of frustration, many farmers resorted to selling their goats cheaply to the traders for fear of losing everything.
In Nebbi district alone, at least 14,650 goats had been confirmed dead by the end of May 2023, and 53,397 goats have been infected following the outbreak of the disease, which was first reported late in 2022.
The disease has spread to all the 16 administrative units in the district.
Containing disease
On May 29, the Nebbi district veterinary officer, through the chief administrative officer, wrote a letter to the commissioner animal health and directorate of animal resources in the agriculture ministry informing them of the outbreak of the suspected CCPP.
The letter, a copy of which was seen by Sunday Vision, outlined the severity of the problem and indicated that by the end of May 2023, the goat population in the district, estimated at 133,494, had about 53,397 infections with deaths estimated at 14,650.
In the letter, the district requested that the ministry dispatches a team of experts to verify the cause of the outbreak.
Farmers also want the ministry to provide vaccines and restrict animal movement, including goat movement, to prevent further spread, both within and outside the district.
District action
Dr William Abedkane, the Nebbi principal veterinary officer, said they carried out sensitisation of farmers on how they can control the disease.
“We are vaccinating goats against the suspected disease based on the compliance of farmers meeting the cost of vaccination. The Government is not providing the vaccines,” Abedkane said.
“Farmers are not willing to meet the cost of vaccination in spite of the explanation being given by the extension workers,” Abedkane said.
Emmanuel Ongeitho, the Nebbi municipality assistant veterinary officer, blamed the persistence of the disease on the poor attitude of farmers towards vaccination of their livestock.
He said several farmers shunned the call to vaccinate their livestock.
Ministry faulted
Abedkane said the agriculture ministry had not prioritised the CCPP disease like it had done for other diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease.
He decried the suspension of the annual extension grant for the production and veterinary department in particular, especially the operational funds, which has paralysed the services of the extension workers and curtailed the district from acquiring vaccines for such diseases.
“The cost of one vial of 100 doses for vaccination against CCPP costs between sh70,000 and 100,000, plus the cost for extension services which is expensive for most of the farmers. For now, we have requested 30,000 doses,” Abedkane said.
Handicapped
workers The veterinary extension worker for Atego sub-county in Nebbi district, Dr Saul Okada, said farmers in his sub-county alone lost about 3,000 goats to the disease in the past one year.
He said there is little they could do to save the animals due to limitations in resources in terms of logistics, which cannot keep them in constant touch with the affected farmers.
Okada blamed farmers for not taking initiative to vaccinate their animals, hoping for free government vaccines.
Vaccines for sale?
Dr Willy Nguma, the Arua principal veterinary officer and regional veterinary laboratory focal person, denied allegations that some government vaccines had been sold to the farmers.
Nguma said what has been termed by farmers as the sale of vaccines is the facilitation; farmers pay for extension workers who are not facilitated by the Government due to suspension of the grant for animal disease control.
MPs to take up matter
Agnes Acibu, the Nebbi District Woman MP, asked farmers not to wait for the Government, but to take responsibility and save their livelihood.
Pakwach not spared
In Pakwach district, 624 goats were infected with suspected CCPP, with 246 fatalities in the five sub-counties of Panyango, Alwi, Pakwach, Panyimur and Panyimur town council.
Dr Robert Canpara, the district veterinary officer, said the infection has been confirmed in five of the 10 sub-counties in the district.
Canpara said the farmers who can afford the vaccines are currently buying them from recommended veterinary drug shops.
“The disadvantage is that the Government currently does not have the vaccines and the cost is on the farmers,” he said.
However, over 15,000 goats were vaccinated in the selected sub-counties facing quarantine in Pakwach district.
Panyango, Alwi and parts of Panyimur sub-counties have had their goats vaccinated.
The vaccination followed the infection of 146 head of cattle and 624 goats, which also resulted in the death of 26 head of cattle and 246 goats in the five sub-counties. Canpara said there are still more than 8,000 doses of the CCPP vaccines.
About CCPP
CCPP is an infectious disease caused by mycoplasmas and it mostly affects ruminants. The disease is transmitted through direct contact and inhalation of droplets from infected animals.
Symptoms include fever, nasal discharge and coughing, difficult respiration, edema and lung tissue abnormalities.
Information from the agriculture ministry shows that the outbreak of CCPP disease was first confirmed in 1995 in Karamoja region.
