Featured video: The potential of livestock markets in Mozambique

What holds back Mozambican livestock keepers from making a better living from their farm animals are the country’s underdeveloped and unconnected livestock markets.

Find out more in this 6-minute film by ILRI, titled The potential of livestock markets in Mozambique.

Featured publication: Decision-support tool for prevention and control of Rift Valley fever epizootics in the Greater Horn of Africa

The August 2010 supplement of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene features a decision-support tool for the prevention and control of Rift Valley fever in the Greater Horn of Africa.

The tool was developed under a project managed by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and funded by the Emergency Coordination Office for Africa of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

It was developed by a consultative group for Rift Valley fever decision support comprising individuals from FAO, ILRI, the Kenya and Tanzania Departments of Veterinary Services, United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC), African Union-Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), Vétérinaires sans Frontières (VSF) Suisse and VETAID.

Download the report

Citation
ILRI/FAO. 2008. Decision-support tool for prevention and control of Rift Valley fever epizootics in the Greater Horn of Africa. Version 1. ILRI Guide 28 pp.

New journal article: An assessment of the regional and national socio-economic impacts of the 2007 Rift Valley fever outbreak in Kenya

Researchers at the Market Opportunities theme of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) have assessed and quantified the local and national socio-economic impacts of the 2006-07 outbreak of Rift Valley fever in Kenya.

Results of their study appear in an article published in the August 2010 supplement of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

The authors of the study, Karl Rich and Francis Wanyoike, carried out a rapid assessment of the livestock production and marketing chains in Garissa and Ijara districts of northeastern Kenya.

They focused on four main categories of actors: producers, traders, slaughterhouses and butchers.

They also assessed the impact of the Rift Valley fever outbreak on the national economy by use of the most recently available social accounting matrix for Kenya, which made it possible to estimate the changes in the value of national income commensurate with the disease outbreak.

Producers were hardest hit as a result of the death of their animals from the disease, with total economic losses from livestock deaths valued at over 610 million Kenya Shillings (KES), or over 9.3 million US dollars (USD)  at the then exchange rate of USD 1 = KES 65.

These losses had negative spin-off effects on household food security and future income.

Traders and slaughterhouses were affected by movement bans on livestock and decreased consumer demand for meat which greatly affected sales of live animals and meat products.

Several slaughterhouses and butcheries were forced to close for up to three months until the ban was lifted.

Thus, a significant number of people who indirectly depend on the slaughterhouses for their livelihoods (for instance, people involved in tea sales and cart transport of meat) were also negatively impacted as a result of the closure.

"The idling of the Garissa and Mwingi slaughterhouses resulted in economic losses of KES 189,000 (USD 2917) and KES 52,800 (USD 812) per month, respectively," the authors report.

At the national level, the study estimates that the Rift Valley fever outbreak led to a KES 2.1 billion loss to the Kenyan economy, with most of the impacts being felt in the livestock sector.

However, non-agricultural sectors also experienced economic losses, key among which were the transportation, trade, chemicals and petroleum industries.

Noting that socio-economic analysis of animal diseases often overlooks the multiplicity of stakeholders that are affected, the authors point to a need for analyses to adequately capture the diverse impacts of animal diseases instead of focusing just on the producer-level impacts.

"The failure to capture these diverse impacts may have important implications on the evolution and control of disease that may accentuate its impact," the authors caution.

Read the abstract here.

Citation
Rich KM and Wanyoike F. 2010. An assessment of the regional and national socio-economic impacts of the 2007 Rift Valley fever outbreak in Kenya. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 83(2 Suppl): 52-57.

New journal article: Epidemiological assessment of the Rift Valley fever outbreak in Kenya and Tanzania in 2006 and 2007

Livestock keepers can play a key role in veterinary surveillance as part of preparedness and response plans for future outbreaks of Rift Valley fever (RVF) in East Africa, according to new research published in the August 2010 supplement of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Researchers from the Market Opportunities theme of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), together with partners from the veterinary services of Kenya and Tanzania, carried out epidemiological studies shortly after an outbreak of RVF in the two countries in 2006-07.

The objective of the studies was to document the key lessons learned from the outbreak as tools to inform veterinary preparedness and response plans for future outbreaks of RVF in East Africa.

Pastoralist communities, especially the Somali of Northeastern Kenya, made key epidemiological observations such as unusually heavy rains and flooding before the outbreak, as well as unusually high cases of illness and death in their flocks consistent with RVF.

These changes were observed well in advance of the detection of RVF by the veterinary surveillance system.

Similarly, human cases consistent with RVF were noted by the livestock-keeping communities well in advance of the detection by the public health surveillance system.

The studies also found that emergency vaccination to control the spread of RVF in response to an early warning may not be a cost-effective strategy, given the constraints linked to timely manufacture and procurement of large quantities of vaccines and delivery to affected areas.

"Priority should be placed on developing combined economic and epidemiologic models that evaluate the economic benefits achieved by different disease prevention and control decisions at critical points before and during outbreaks," the authors conclude.

Read the abstract here

Citation
Jost C, Nzietchueng S, Kihu S, Bett B, Njogu G, Swai ES and Mariner JC. 2010. Epidemiological assessment of the Rift Valley fever outbreak in Kenya and Tanzania in 2006 and 2007. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 83(2 Suppl): 65-72.

New journal article - Research evidence accelerates process of Kenya dairy policy reform

The collaborative Smallholder Dairy Project which was implemented from 1997 to 2005 played a pivotal role in bringing about dairy policy change in Kenya, speeding up a process and outcome that, without the project, may have come many years later.

This is one of the key findings of a recently published (July 2010, online) ex post assessment of the impact of the revised Kenya dairy policy, carried out by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and partners.

Titled Kenyan dairy policy change: Influence pathways and economic impacts, the paper is published in the journal World Development.

Funded largely by the UK Department for International Development, the Smallholder Dairy Project was a collaborative research and development project involving the Kenya Ministry of Livestock Development, the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute and ILRI.

The impact assessment found that behavioural changes in dairy sector participants arising from the policy and regulatory reforms led to an average 9% reduction in milk-marketing margins, and a significant increase in the number of licensed small-scale milk vendors.

The policy change also brought about significant economic benefits to producers, consumers and small-scale milk vendors.

"Small-scale dairy operators have profited from quick, relatively high volume turnovers, and as a result, welfare benefits accruing to small-scale milk vendors increased," the paper reports.

"A large proportion of the small-scale milk vendors are also producers who have substantially benefited from the policy change... some of these benefits were also captured by consumers," the study concludes.

Read the abstract here.

Citation
Kaitibie S, Omore A, Rich K and Kristjanson P. 2010. Kenyan dairy policy change: Influence pathways and economic impacts. World Development 38(10): 1494-1505.

Indonesia stakeholders review outputs of study on bird flu risk reduction

Stakeholders in Indonesia have called for education of poultry farmers, traders and transporters; greater public awareness; and strengthening of institutional capacity as key measures towards implementing pro-poor risk reduction strategies against highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the country.

The call was made during a final project workshop held in Bogor, Indonesia last week (5-6 August 2010) to mark the end of research activities of the Indonesia component of a project on pro-poor HPAI risk reduction strategies.

The two-year project is supported by the UK Department of International Development (DFID) and is implemented in Asia (Indonesia) and Africa (Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria).

The workshop was held to review project activities and key research outputs, as well as to propose key recommendations for future research collaboration.

About 40 participants were in attendance, drawn from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Indonesia Ministry of Agriculture (MoA).

Also present were stakeholders from local universities such as Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta and Bogor Agricultural University, poultry industry/farmers, and international researchers and donors implementing or supporting similar projects in the country.

Project activities whose results were reviewed included

• qualitative and quantitative assessment of the risk of transmission of HPAI between small-scale broiler farms;
• value chain analysis focusing on a range of poultry products including local and commercial live birds, eggs, spent layers and ducks;
• analysis of degree of compliance of backyard and small-scale poultry producers with HPAI control measures;
• review of institutional response capacity to HPAI;
• qualitative and quantitative assessment of impacts of HPAI on livelihoods;
• analysis of willingness to pay for control measures;
• cost-benefit analysis; and
• communication and advocacy activities.

The key recommendations discussed at the workshop included the need to encourage uptake of basic biosecurity measures through education, provision of targeted subsidies, development of professional producer and trader associations with certification schemes, and identification of ways of encouraging prompt reporting of outbreaks.

Livelihoods studies highlighted the need for campaigns to improve the level of awareness of HPAI risks and encourage behaviour change.

The meeting also acknowledged that the ad hoc institutions that were set up after the initial HPAI outbreaks played a key role in the dissemination of information.

The Indonesia National Committee for Avian Influenza Control and Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (KOMNAS FBPI) is one such institution, which brought together animal and human health authorities in implementing a joint response to the pandemic.

It was recommended that these types of institutions be integrated into the relevant government departments throughout the country’s administrative units. These recommendations will be further developed in consultation with the MoA.

IFPRI will take the lead role in developing and disseminating communication and advocacy materials. The project will also develop an 8-minute video to capture the main messages generated. Future research and potential publications will be discussed in a feedback meeting with the MoA scheduled for October 2010.

In a courtesy meeting during the workshop, the Director General for Livestock Services in Jakarta, Dr Tjeppy Soedjana, was briefed about the project objectives and achievements and emphasized his interest in future collaboration with ILRI, IFPRI and RVC.

For more information about the project and to view the project reports, please visit the project web page.

Contributed by Bernard Bett and Fred Unger