LIFE AFTER CBPP: A STORY ABOUT HOW LIVESTOCK FARMERS IN KAZUNGULA ARE BEGINNING TO THRIVE

Kazungula Dairy Cooperative have embarked on producing sour milk and yoghurt to get more value from their livestock

The devastating effects of CBPP outbreak of 2005 are still visible in the lives of smallholder farmers in Kazungula district. The CBPP pandemic was one that not only robbed farmers of their cattle but also of a significant amount of their household income which they have had to work hard to recover.

Edwin Sikute remembers the CBPP outbreak as one which also threatened the food security of some homes.

“When you lose cattle, you lose all the amenities that come with cattle for example milk was a source of protein for our children and the growth of our children got stunted when our cattle was slaughtered,” he said.

FAO Country REP. Rallies Support for Women

Mrs Filippini handing in her credentials to Agriculture Minister, Mr Michael Katambo

The 2021 theme for International Women’s Day Theme is Women in Leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world. Coincidentally for FAO Zambia, the genesis of the COVID pandemic last year, brought for the organization, its first-ever female country representative in Zambia.

Mrs. Suze Percy Filippini took office as FAO Zambia Representative in July last year; taking over from Dr. George Okechi. She is an icon of women in science with an academic background as an agricultural engineer with a Master’s degree in agroforestry among other postgraduate degrees.

Her journey with the United Nations began in 1988 when

OVER SOWING THE RANGELANDS - A SUCCESS STORY FROM KATETE

Some members of Bombwe Communal Rangeland in Katete, in 

session with their area extensions service officer

Much of Zambia’s rangeland are being depleted mainly due to human activity. For smallholder livestock farmers, this has translated into limited grazing land for their livestock and consequently diminishing nutrition levels most especially during the 7 month dry period of May to November.

In Bombwe area of Katete district, smallholder livestock farmers are actively working to establish a sustainable communal grazing system through which they believe they will improve the nutrition and consequently the value of their livestock.

PASSING-ON THE GIFT: HOW LIVESTOCK FARMERS ARE GROWING THEIR GOAT POPULATION

Ackson Muwaya -  received 2 goats through ESLIP and now has 11

As the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock continues to roll-out its livestock stocking and restocking exercise countrywide, Fisheries & Livestock Minister, Prof. Nkandu Luo has continued to take keen interest in the activity and in most cases has graced the official hand-over of various livestock to the rural beneficiary households.

In recent months, the Minster has been reminding farmers of the spirit of Ubuntu – an African philosophy which emphasizes that “I AM BECAUSE WE ARE.” The characteristics of this philosophy include sharing resources and working together to uplift each other and prosper as a collective unit.

Through this spirit of Ubuntu, the sustainability of the stocking and restocking exercise is being assured through a practice that is known as passing-on the gift or simply pass-on.

ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE (AMR) - SHOULD ZAMBIA BE WORRIED?

Catastrophic pandemics such as COVID- 19 often lead to conspiracy theories as to why some people are more easily prone to infections than others. While individual immune systems do determine a person’s capacity to overcome an infection, the discovery of antimicrobials greatly improves the capacity to fight infectious agents. However there is a natural phenomenon of antimicrobial resistance which exists. This is the fact that microorganisms such as bacteria mutate over time and, they develop resistance to medications which previously could worked against them. This resistance is what is known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR). 

Antimicrobial resistance is broad to include all pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites while antibiotic resistance is specific to medicines which are used against bacteria.

While antimicrobial resistance is a natural process, over use and misuse of drugs can accelerate the rate at which microorganisms develop resistance. This entails that when the human being or animal falls sick, they may not respond accordingly to the antibiotic treatment because the bacteria has developed resistance. Thus abuse of antibiotics such as self-prescription; not finishing a course of antibiotics; sharing a course of antibiotics are some of the leading ways in which human beings are causing antimicrobial resistance in humans or livestock.