KAYONZA -  Veterinary officers in Eastern  province last Friday gathered in Gahini sector, where they vowed to put in more efforts in boosting their outputs within their working sites. Speaking to the officers, Jean Baptiste Zimurinda, the provincial veterinary officer emphasized the importance of inculcating a better mode of  work ethics.

"It is inconceivable to see a veterinary doctor working only on orders of their superiors. We must change the way we  work for the purposes of boosting local productivity,”  Zimurinda said.

Veterinary officers were advised to go beyond treating of cows. They were reminded that extension services covered other livestock varieties apart from cattle.

The meeting was called after farmers complained that extension services were not reaching them sufficiently.

"I have about a hundred rabbits in my farm, but no single veterinary officer has offered me any form of assistance. This doesn’t mean they do not know that I have the animals, some are my neighbours.

We need more responsible veterinary officers if we are to develop farming in this region,” said one Peter Kayibanda, a rabbit farmer.

Sources within  the local agricultural industry revealed that there is  an overwhelming shortage of veterinary officers in the province. According to authorities, one veterinary officer handles an entire sector .

"The field of veterinary medicine is a highly competitive one. Deployment to the field is a problem. There is thus a shortage of such skilled officers in the province,” said Fred Kayinamura, 57, a farmer.

According to the local officials, the Eastern province has a very large population of cattle that demands deployment of more veterinary officers .

They said that cross-breeding the indigenous cows with the exotic ones has further exacerbated the workload of the officers on ground.

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