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

Kenya's informal milk and meat sectors targeted for improved food safety

At a Nairobi workshop, food safety experts have recognized and targeted the informal sector in discussions on reducing the risk of milk- and meat-borne diseases in Kenya.

The workshop brought together officials from the Kenya Bureau of Standards, the Kenya Dairy Board, the University of Nairobi, the Department of Veterinary Services at the Ministry of Livestock Development, the International Livestock Research Institute's (ILRI) Market Opportunities theme and GTZ's program on Private Sector Development in Agriculture (PSDA). It was jointly organized by ILRI's GTZ-funded Safe Food, Fair Food project and the GTZ's PDSA program.

Improving the safety of food delivered by Kenya's informal milk and meat value chains would impact millions of consumers, traders and farmers, because it is the provider of the great majority of animal-source foods, and is a significant employer.

The meeting resolved to enhance dialogue and information sharing amongst government, research and assistance partners, to inform and complement existing structures. This particularly addressed the informal sector.

In addition, a commitment was made towards greater efforts in disseminating information to users. This will involve transferring the existing information and tools (particularly training material and key elements of food safety legislation) to informal food sector participants.

Featured publication: Manual for participatory disease surveillance practitioners

As part of the Early Detection, Reporting and Surveillance for Avian Influenza in Africa project which was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a number of training courses in highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) participatory disease surveillance (PDS) have been conducted in western and eastern Africa in 2008 and 2009.

Produced in September 2009, the purpose of this manual is to provide a reference for veterinarians and animal health workers during and after PDS training. The main focus of this manual is on HPAI PDS but the methods can easily be adapted and applied to address other livestock diseases.

The project was implemented by the Market Opportunities theme of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in collaboration with the African Union Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and Vétérinaires sans Frontières - Belgium (VSF-B).

Download the manual

Experts meet to discuss food safety strategy for Kenya

A group of 12 Kenya-based food safety experts meet in Nairobi on Wednesday 28 July 2010 for a day-long workshop about food safety in Kenya’s livestock products. The meeting will prioritize the most important milk- and meat-borne diseases in Kenya, to contribute to formulation of a risk management strategy for animal-source foods.

Participants will be drawn from the Ministry of Livestock Development, the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, the Kenya Bureau of Standards, the Kenya Dairy Board, the University of Nairobi, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the GTZ program on Private Sector Development in Agriculture.

ILRI will be represented by Derek Baker and Kohei Makita from the Market Opportunities theme.

Key issues to be discussed include:

• Food safety laws and regulations;
• Public and private structures that relate to the animal-source food industry;
• Structure and organization of regulatory bodies; and
• Domestic livestock production and import and exports.

In addition, findings from a study on the contamination of beef carcasses with E. coli O157:H7 in three slaughterhouses in Nairobi will be presented, and approaches to risk management discussed.

The workshop takes place at GTZ Nairobi under the auspices of the Safe Food, Fair Food project currently underway in eight countries across East, West and southern Africa. The project is funded by BMZ, Germany.

For more information, please contact Derek Baker (d.baker @ cgiar.org) or visit the project website.

Video: Training makes a difference to small-scale milk business in Kenya

Training of Kenya's small-scale milk vendors on hygienic milk handling has seen them significantly increase their profit margins and milk supplies to consumers, following rising consumer demand for milk of better quality.

In this video produced by WRENmedia, we see how the training activities of the Smallholder Dairy Project (1997-2005) are having an impact in improving the livelihoods of Kenya's small-scale milk vendors through increased incomes.

Funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the Smallholder Dairy Project was jointly implemented by the Kenya Ministry of Livestock Development, the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).