Smallholder farmers’ knowledge of and attitudes to livestock vaccinations: Challenges and policy implications in South Africa

Full text

policy brief
Smallholder farmers’
knowledge of and
attitudes to livestock
vaccinations: Challenges
and policy implications
inSouthAfrica
Summary
Smallholder livestock farmers often
lack knowledge of suitable livestock
vaccines. This is largely attributed to
inadequate training in primary animal
healthcare (PAHC). Relevant knowledge,
good practice and positive attitudes
to livestock vaccinations may reduce
the impact of diseases and maximise
smallholder livestock productivity. This
policy brief provides a comparative
overview of farmers’ knowledge of and
attitudes to livestock vaccinations in ve
provinces of South Africa: Eastern Cape,
Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga
and North West. It draws on a research
study conducted in 2016 by the Human
Sciences Research Council (HSRC)
and the Agricultural Research Council
(ARC) on smallholder livestock farmers’
knowledge, attitudes and practices
on PAHC; 593 smallholder livestock
farmers were surveyed for the study.
We found that farmers spent a sizeable
amount of money on vaccines and
other disease preventative products.
However, there was a general view
among farmers that vaccines were too
expensive and not readily available
in rural areas. We recommend that
the government should capacitate
farmers with knowledge and promote
animal vaccines and preventative and
biosecurity measures such as isolation,
vaccination and disinfection to reduce
livestock disease prevalence and
increase livestock productivity.
Background and context
It is widely recognised that smallholder
livestock farming provides pathways
out of poverty, food insecurity and
unsustainable livelihoods. Livestock has
diverse functions for rural communities
and is central to their livelihoods as it
can be used for both commercial and
non-commercial needs (Ndoro et al.
2014). For example, livestock rearing
provides a source of income, and cattle
specically serve as a measure and a
store of wealth. Many smallholder rural
farmers use livestock both as a ‘bank’,
policy brief
June 2019 www.hsrc.ac.za
MBONGENI MAZIYA, SARAH CHIUMBU and NTOMBIZONKE A. GUMEDE
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whereby cattle can be sold to pay for
emergency needs, and for cultural
purposes. It is, therefore, not surprising
that key strategic development plans in
South Africa (including the Integrated
Sustainable Rural Development
Strategy of 2004, the Agricultural Policy
Action Plan 2015–19 and the National
Development Plan [NDP] of 2011)
identify livestock farming as one of the
strategies for alleviating poverty and
improving food security in rural South
Africa. Consequently, the country’s
veterinary strategy focuses on support
to the livestock sector through animal
health programmes (DAFF 2015).
A major constraint for smallholder
livestock farmers in South Africa is
animal diseases. A highly eective way
of controlling infectious diseases is
through vaccination, as an integral part
of PAHC. However, smallholder livestock
farmers’ inadequate knowledge of
vaccines and lack of access to vaccines
compound the challenges of diseases.
It should be noted that resource-poor
livestock farmers in rural areas are
highly dependent on state veterinary
services due to their low household
income, the high cost of veterinary
medicines and private services, and
their limited understanding of animal
healthcare. However, no recent study
has been done to assess smallholder
farmers’ knowledge of and attitudes to
vaccination in South Africa.
Linkages between livestock
production systems and the National
Development Plan
Vision 2030 of the NDP sees agriculture
as a vehicle for job creation in rural
areas. However, the NDP remains largely
silent on the role of livestock systems.
Although South Africa has a range of
veterinary services to support livestock
systems, access to adequate veterinary
services in rural areas remains a
challenge. This stems from a general
shortage of veterinary personnel,
poor and ageing infrastructure, and
budgetary constraints for agricultural
services. The shortage of veterinary
personnel has meant that, in general,
livestock farmers’ access to extension
services such as dipping, vaccines and
primary animal healthcare is severely
constrained and, in particular, has
impacted on their ability to grow their
knowledge of vaccines and adopt
appropriate practices. The General
Household Survey (GHS) conducted by
Statistics South Africa in 2015 conrmed
these challenges. It was found that
only 2.1% of agricultural households
received training in agriculture, while a
mere 6.8% received dipping/livestock
vaccination services (Stats SA 2015).
Most of South Africa’s veterinary
services use a model of PAHC based on
access to an animal health technician
(AHT) as the primary contact person
with livestock farmers. The AHT-based
system has limitations in service
delivery. For example, during our
consultations with livestock farmers
in the Free State, indications were that
AHTs are severely constrained in terms
of travel as each AHT has to adhere to a
limited mileage per month and hence
cannot reach the majority of farmers.
Methodology and objectives
Information from a comparative study
on farmers’ knowledge and attitudes to
livestock vaccinations in ve provinces
(Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal,
Mpumalanga and North West) was used
for assessment. The information was
obtained in 2016 by the HSRC and the
ARC from 593 smallholder livestock
farmers who were surveyed using a
cluster sampling technique.
Identied practices adopted by
smallholder livestock farmers
Disease control measures diered
across the ve provinces, and this
had implications for PAHC policy. In
general, smallholder farmers used
various biosecurity measures to control
diseases, as shown in Figure1. Dipping,
deworming and vaccination were
the most commonly used methods
of disease control, while disinfection,
isolation and restricted access were the
least used methods.
Mpumalanga was the worst performing
province regarding disease control
across the ve methods, even though
the majority of the farmers in the
province received regular weekly and
monthly visits from AHTs (Figure1). The
province also spent the least money on
PAHC compared to the other provinces.
This low spending might explain the
low performance of Mpumalanga in
almost all the areas of animal disease
Figure : Disease control measures adopted by farmers
Deworming Disinfection Isolation Dipping Restricted
Access
Vaccinations
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Percentage
Free State Eastern Cape KZN Mpumalanga North West
Source: HSRC/ARC Survey data (2016)
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control except dipping, for which it was
the highest among the ve provinces
due to high government support. The
government had built dip tanks and
supplied dipping chemicals to farmers.
The Free State was the best performing
province in terms of disease control.
However, when it came to dipping, its
performance was relatively low due
to the lack of dipping infrastructure
(which was provided by the government
in the other four provinces). The Free
State, however, showed success in other
disease control methods. This could be
attributed to farmers spending more on
PAHC because of minimal government
support. The Free State recorded the
highest provincial average spending
at R3327; KwaZulu-Natal was the
lowest, with an annual expenditure of
R1347. Over and above the provincial
dierences in disease control measures,
smallholder farmers generally spent a
sizable amount (R2272.44 on average)
per annum on animal healthcare
and prevention products (medicines,
vaccines, dewormers, dipping,
antibiotics and food supplements).
Close to 80% of smallholder livestock
farmers purchased antibodies to boost
the immune system of their animals
and approximately 62% of the surveyed
farmers purchased animal vaccines.
Approximately 55% of the surveyed
farmers purchased supplementary
animal feed. Factors such as education
level, total household income and a high
number of cattle owned signicantly
inuenced farmers’ spending on animal
healthcare.
Farmer’s knowledge of and attitudes
to vaccines
To adequately deal with diseases,
farmers must have knowledge and
develop the right attitude to disease
prevention. Vaccines have proven to
be the most viable option for disease
prevention. In all the ve provinces,
the farmers viewed vaccines as too
expensive and not readily available in
rural areas. Accessibility of input markets
(shops where farmers buy vaccines)
was one of the major constraints for
smallholder farmers. Rural livestock
farmers often travelled long distances
to get vaccines. Although farmers in
Mpumalanga used fewer biosecurity
measures, most farmers were aware
of the importance of vaccines – which
speaks to regular contact with AHTs
and state veterinarians and high
government support (infrastructure and
dipping chemicals). Based on farmers
in the province using fewer biosecurity
measures, but with high government
support, it seems that what was lacking
was self-reliance and innovation. The
majority of smallholder farmers (97%)
in the Free State had a positive attitude
to vaccines and were aware of the
importance of PAHC. This seemed to
correspond to its high percentage of
disease control practices (Figure1).
Regarding knowledge about and
practices in vaccines, most farmers in
all the provinces could articulate the
role of vaccines and medicines. For
example, only 41% of the farmers in
the North West agreed that vaccines
are for the prevention of diseases while
84% of the farmers in the Eastern Cape
responded in the armative on the
same statement. It should be noted that
68% of the farmers in all ve provinces
indicated that they did not know
enough about vaccines and their roles
in livestock productivity. Furthermore,
it was concerning that a quarter (25%)
of the surveyed farmers in the Eastern
Cape perceived vaccines to be harmful
to livestock. A lot of advocacy is required
to capacitate smallholder farmers
in livestock production and disease
prevention and management.
The need for a robust programme of
action on PAHC in South Africa
Rural development in the context of
small-scale livestock farming in South
Africa faces a myriad of challenges, and
these challenges have a roll-back eect
on farmers’ ability to gain knowledge of
PAHC. As shown in this brief, biosecurity
measures such as isolation, restricted
access and disinfection are practised less
by communal farmers, and this could
exacerbate the spread of a disease in
the event of an outbreak. Over the past
few years, the country experienced
an upsurge in demand for veterinary
services among small-scale farmers and
declining funding in the agriculture
sector coupled with an increase in the
frequency and magnitude of serious
infectious diseases. An outbreak of
an infectious disease is an indicator
of failure in the ability to create
awareness of biosecurity measures
(isolation, vaccination and disinfection)
among farmers. The deterioration
of veterinary extension services is a
result of government cutbacks and the
privatisation of animal health services.
The objective of South Africa’s PAHC
policy is to ensure that human and
animal well-being is optimised through
strategic livestock development in
food security, agrarian transformation
and rural development. However, the
current veterinary strategy document
recognises that there is a lack of
comprehensive national programmes for
the prevention, control and eradication
of endemic diseases.
This PAHC predicament identied in
this study is conrmed by the 2014
World Health Organization report
on the performance of South African
veterinary services, which indicated that
the current veterinary strategy does
not ensure clear and full integration of
small-scale farmers in animal health or
veterinary services strategies. To achieve
the objectives set out in the veterinary
strategy, the government will have to
improve the provision of support to
smallholder farmers. A comprehensive
veterinary extension strategy that
is responsive to the needs of small-
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scale farmers is also necessary for
economic and social development in the
communal livestock sector.
Recommendations
The use of vaccines and other disease
preventative measures is central
to the welfare of livestock and the
improvement of the livelihoods of
livestock farmers. This policy brief
has shown that the government
has to step up eorts to capacitate
farmers with knowledge on animal
vaccines and other preventative
measures. The provinces should
prioritise the improvement of specic
biosecurity measures which are less
practised by farmers. The following
recommendations are therefore made:
1. Increase the number of personnel
responsible for veterinary services
so that more farmers can be reached
with information on PAHC.
2. Prioritise regular training
programmes to accommodate the
low levels of education among the
majority of farmers in rural areas.
3. Work together with non-
governmental organisations to
strengthen existing farm supply
cooperatives in order to minimise
transaction costs, and train farmers
to manage these organisations.
4. In implementing the Department of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’
vaccine delivery strategy, do not
follow a one-size-ts-all strategy but
rather take into consideration the
dierences in provincial dynamics
and contexts.
5. As provincial veterinary
departments, work together
with the aim of sharing the best
biosecurity practices adopted by
livestock farmers.
References
Department of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries (DAFF) (2015) South African
Veterinary Strategy (2016–2026).
Accessed 29November 2018.
https://www.nda.agric.za/docs/
media/veterinary%20strategy%20
03%2010%202015%20revision%20
16(a).pdf
Ndoro, JT, Mudhara, M and Chimonyo,M
(2014) Livestock extension
programmes participation and
impact on smallholder cattle
productivity in KwaZulu-Natal:
A propensity score matching
approach. South African Journal of
Agricultural Extension 42(2): 62–80
Stats SA (Statistics South Africa) (2015)
General Household Survey 2015.
Pretoria: Stats SA
World Organisation for Animal Health
(2014) PVS gap analysis report for
South Africa. Accessed on 20March
2018. https://protect-za.mimecast.
com/s/FvOCCj2JlkhnY5o3FWJ-ah
https://www.nda.agric.za/docs/
media/PVS_Gap_Analysis%20
report_S.Africa%20correct.pdf
Acknowledgements
This policy brief is based in part on
research that was co-designed and
conducted with the ARC. The research
was made possible by a research grant
from the International Development
Research Centre (IDRC) in Ottawa,
Canada. The views expressed in this
document are those of the authors and
do not represent the views of the IDRC
or its board of directors nor those of the
ARC. We thank the small-scale livestock
farmers across the ve provinces for
taking part in this research.
POLICY BRIEF AUTHORS
Mbongeni Maziya, PhD candidate, Centre for
Sustainable Agriculture, University of the Free
State
Sarah Chiumbu, Head of the School of
Communication, University of Johannesburg
Ntombizonke A Gumede, Researcher in the
Human and Social Development Programme
of the HSRC
Enquiries to:
Ntombizonke A Gumede: ngumede@hsrc.ac.za
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