Poor vet services affecting farmers

Friesian cows :Cattle-keepers counting lossesRwamagana — Farmers in the Eastern Province have expressed dissatisfaction over the quality of veterinary services to rear exotic cows with a number of them turning to traditional cows.This was disclosed at meeting that attracted farmers and officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources yesterday.A prominent farmer in the Province, Tom Rwagasana, lamented that veterinary services farmers receive were insufficient to support modern cattle keeping.He pointed out that traditional cows out-compete modern cows in the open market.“It is astonishingly true that we are in retrogression…farmers are now using long horned bulls to change their cows back to typical Rwandan cows. We are desperate…recently I lost five cows I had just brought to my farm,” he bemoaned.Rwagasana further warned that unless something was done soon, exotic cows would in future be extinct.“I am a large scale farmer but I lose cows worth millions! What about small farmers? It is true that keeping traditional cows on a big farm is more rewarding than having exotic cows.”The government has for years been encouraging exotic or cross-breed cows, which are far more rewarding in terms of milk production than indigenous breeds.It is also part of a government initiative to have animals kept on a smaller parcel of land to maximise milk production. Damascene Ngabonziza, a farmer in Kirehe District, also heaped blame on poor veterinary services.He wondered why there was no demonstration farm operated by skilled veterinary personnel.“Veterinary officers should have set up a demonstration farm for us to learn from. The failure is greatly attributed to farmers’ ignorance about modern farming.”David Gakuba, a farmer in Kayonza, advocated for a shift from dairy farming.“Cows offering us beef could be an alternative or an addition…we can’t stick only to dairy farming for ages,” he opined.When contacted, Dr Christine Kanyandekwe from Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB), acknowledged that there was a shortage of veterinary officers, but said plans are underway to ensure that more are deployed.“A sector is very big for one veterinary officer, much as they are equipped with motorcycles to facilitate them. We want to enlist more, especially in the Eastern Province where there are more animals,” said Kanyandekwe, who is the deputy director in charge of animal resources extension.She said that they intend to post veterinary officers at milk collection centres who will supplement the sector vets. Kanyandekwe said the strategy is to eventually equip community health workers with skills to offer basic veterinary services in their respective villages.

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Poor vet services affecting farmers