Time for farmers to remain vigilant

Obert Chifamba

Agri-Insight

IT is not a coincidence but fact that the current rains, which are largely credited with instigating the prevailing lull in cattle poverty deaths will most likely set off another problem in the form of tick-borne diseases if farmers lose their guard.

The country is already in the January disease (Theileriosis) season, a development that requires farmers to be overly protective of their cattle and dip them religiously while also ensuring that they are safe from other wet season diseases like foot and mouth.

The January disease peak period stretches from December to March in Zimbabwe and during that time it is important for farmers to be on high alert lest tick populations grow to ungovernable proportions that will spread diseases the way a fire spreads in the Harmattan.

In recent times, however, January disease has tended to haunt farmers throughout the year and has not been restricted to the rainy season.

Cattle deaths due to the disease have been recorded during any month of the year, which requires farmers to avoid breaking their cattle dipping culture but maintain it.

Presently, farmers have to be extra alert given that besides giving crops a fresh lease of life, the rains also serve as the bedrock for the breeding and spreading of ticks – vectors of diseases that have in recent times taken the cattle industry through some harrowing experiences.

And as farmers revel in the possibility of salvaging their season from the drought that hit them during the first half of the season, it is important for them not to forget that a slip in concentration will take them back to those years when diseases of both zoonotic and economic importance wreaked havoc in their communities robbing them of their most prized assets.

Essentially, the heavy rains hitting most parts of the country are creating wet and humid conditions that are naturally ideal for the spread of diseases and parasites that can be a high-risk to animal health – and potentially fatal if not caught early. Rainy weather is known to provide a perfect breeding ground for both external and internal parasites and biting insects that spread diseases.

If conditions remain warm and wet for a long time, ticks will breed lavishly making it critical for farmers to be alert.

There is also a high risk of tick-fever if cattle have been displaced due to flooding and broken fences.

This effectively means that farmers have to follow the dipping schedules provided by the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) or use their own chemicals correctly to save their cattle from the danger currently stalking them.

It is refreshing to note that DVS chief director Dr Pius Makaya has confirmed the availability of dipping chemicals to see the country through the perilous January disease season.

“We have enough dipping chemicals and should there be shortages, we can always get more from our local suppliers, so farmers have no excuse for not dipping their cattle.

“Those in A2 communities where there are no common plunge dips have to make sure they dip their cattle using any of the available methods, for instance, spraying, plunge dipping or pouring on. Cattle belong to the farmers, hence the need for them to safeguard their health,” said Dr Makaya recently.

The long and short of what Dr Makaya was saying is that farmers must not dip their cattle because the Government is saying they should.  As business people, farmers must act responsibly if they are to generate meaningful revenue from all their activities – crop and animal husbandry.

The road to earning that money is not easy so they should be prepared to get their hands soiled in the process of saving their wealth. They should also not feel like they are doing someone a favour when they go out of their way to save their animals.

I hear some farmers are in the habit of under-declaring the numbers of cattle they have to avoid paying dipping fees of US$2 per beast per annum.

As a result, such farmers leave some of their animals at home when they go to dip the registered ones, which defeats the logic of going to dip the rest when they will still get ticks from those that do not go for dipping.

The other group of farmers comprises farmers that take their cattle for relief grazing in areas where there are no dipping facilities and stay there for lengthy periods without practising any kind of tick control.

In some cases, they will be camped adjacent or in areas frequented by wild animals like buffalo that can also act as hosts of the ticks.

Effectively, this means that the animals are prone to many diseases other than those transmitted by ticks.

Buffaloes are known to transmit foot and mouth, which they pick from the soil, as they forage for germinating grass usually during the transition from dry to wet season.

Under the current scenario, the first half of the 2024/25 season has turned out to be disastrous courtesy of the prolonged dry spell that routed most of the early planted dry land crops and left farmers licking bruised egos.

It was a double tragedy for those farmers situated in the country’s perennially dry regions where poverty deaths among cattle are not uncommon.

Such farmers are currently doing gap-filling or outright planting, as some had not even planted anything due to the dryness that characterised the beginning of the season.

 On a positive side, the current rains have improved access to water for their animals thereby reducing deaths from starvation and lack of water.

Such farmers run the risk of concentrating on making up for the lost time in their cropping programmes at the expense of the surviving cattle.

The DVS should also help the situation by regularly enforcing compliance to regulations by farmers. It is refreshing to note that they are working with community animal health workers who stay in the communities in which cattle are kept.

This alliance with the community animal health workers will help reduce chicanery among those farmers who always seek excuses for not taking animals for dipping.

Farmers must also take advantage of the availability of dipping chemicals locally and secure their own to complement what DVS would have done.

They can always secure tick grease and apply to those animal parts that are not easily accessed by plunge dip chemicals. On the one hand, it is also beneficial for farmers to deworm their cattle according to schedules availed by DVS officers stationed in their different localities.

Deworming helps take care of internal parasites. Vaccination programmes are also not a bad idea even when DVS is not doing it.

Farmers can always secure their own vaccinations and enlist the assistance of veterinary extension officers working in their areas to do the exercise correctly.