What challenges do livestock keepers in developing countries face?
In the countries where VETAID works, livestock keepers often have limited access to animal health services. Government veterinary services can be under-resourced and are not able to meet the needs of remote or nomadic communities.
In addition, the increasing privatisation of services results in fewer visits to remote rural communities as private vets are unwilling to serve areas that will be unprofitable. Veterinary medicines are often unavailable or unaffordable and illiteracy levels and a thriving black market can lead to drug misuse.
Much of the land in east Africa is difficult to farm due to the lack of access to water for irrigation. Fodder shortages are a frequent threat to livestock keepers, particularly in the dry season or in times of drought.
Communities who return to livestock production after a disruption of some years imposed by war, famine or a natural disaster such as drought or flood often lack the financial resources to restock their herds, preventing them from rebuilding their lives. They may also find that they have lost the knowledge of simple husbandry procedures after such a long time away from farming.
Farmers are often hindered in their access to markets due to remoteness or lack of infrastructure. Small-scale producers who do attempt to sell their livestock or animal products face competition from cheap imports or local intensive, grain-fed livestock systems which are on the increase, partly due to the availability of cheap grain imported from countries that subsidise their agriculture
At a higher level, trade barriers restrict international trade in livestock and animal products. This means that many producers in developing countries are denied access to higher-priced markets elsewhere.
Land rights issues pose a further threat to rural livestock keepers, many of whom are effectively landless and rely on communal land to feed their animals. Rising populations and the intensification of land use have contributed to the privatisation of large areas of land. This means that increasing numbers of small-scale farmers are excluded from their land and pastoralists are losing access to the areas of land they have traditionally used for grazing their animals.
HIV/AIDS is having a huge impact upon farming communities in east Africa. People living with HIV/AIDS face reduced physical capacity which prevents them from growing their crops and caring for their animals as they once could. When families lose a member of their family, they also have less people to look after their land and are unable to do all of the agricultural work required. Widows and orphaned children also face problems in securing rights to the land which is traditionally owned by the male heads of the families.