dc.description.abstract | Veterinary services and inputs in the ASAL, as
most other services in the rest of the
country, has for sometime now been offered fr
ee, with the Governme
nt meeting the costs
of drugs, service, disease control and surv
eillance and employment and deployment of
personnel. This structure and mode of deliver
y of services, which is based on extension
packages tested in the sedentary and semi-s
edentary production systems, has proved to be
impractical and unsustainable. The situati
on is compounded by the collapse of basic
infrastructure, including service delivery sy
stems and insecurity and the “almost total
control” of livestock marketing by middlemen.
The provision of veterinary inputs and servic
es is unlikely to improve if the present
delivery systems are left in place. Thus there is need to empower the animal health
technicians (AHTs) and selected
livestock producers in the pa
storal areas to be service
and input providers. This is especially critic
al now that the donor
nations, international
financial institutions and non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), which are deeply
entrenched in the process of economic a
nd social change, are insisting on reduced
Government spending, right sizing Govern
ment service delivery personnel and
privatization of deliver
y of goods and services.
The alleviation or easing of the current liv
estock production constraints alone, however,
will not serve the livestock producers if the
current livestock marketing system remains
in place. This system is between an “informed and wealthy middlemen” and “unaware
and often desperate livestock producers”. The od
ds have to be made more even through
regular provision of current
livestock market informati
on and training of livestock
producers (and their school age
children whenever possible) in the art of livestock
pricing.
It is our humble opinion that
the current marketing and the
veterinary services delivery
system has to evolve to become truly pa
rticipatory if livestock productivity, food
security, increased rural income
s and improved quality of life is
to be come a reality in
the ASAL areas. This will not only ease pr
oduction and marketing constraints currently
facing farmers but also stabil
ize their economic base and
change their socio-economic
status to one that gives them
hope of rising to the next notch
in their hierarchy of needs. | en |