Livestock get jab to protect them from tsetse fly diseases

By Gardy Chaacha

Kenya: Infestation of farms by tsetse flies greatly hampers livestock production, consequently pinching away valuable profits that farmers ought to be making.

This is the exact scenario that livestock keepers and crop producers in Galana and Gulalu areas of Malindi have grappled with for decades now.

“Every month we lose livestock,” Ayub Kazungu Chome, a farmer from the area lamented while at a government-sponsored activity held in the area last week to vaccinate and treat livestock against tsetse fly related diseases.

“Since 1994, when I began rearing cows and goats, I have consistently lost animals to tsetse fly bites. I could not increase my goats to more than 15 as they kept dying, cancelling out birth of young ones.”

Chome is one of many residents in Galana who are finding it hard to cope with the hot and humid sub-oceanic weather — which has been made worse by tsetse fly infestation. 

For a long time, farmers along the Sabaki River, in Galana and Kulalu, left it to fate that their agriculture driven means of livelihood would forever be held back by weather patterns.

Tsetse infested

“We discovered what was ailing us when health officers visited and told us that our land is infested by tsetse flies. We learnt that tsetse flies cause disease in cattle which reduces their productivity and eventually kills them,” Chome said.

Speaking to journalists at the event, county executive member in charge of Agriculture, Mwalimu Menza, said the entire coastal belt is a hot spot for tsetse flies.

“Sixty per cent of Coast province is infested by tsetse flies. In the Sabaki-Gulalu area alone, 40 per cent of the land has been infested by these dangerous insects. Our livestock numbers have stagnated and this can be largely attributed to tsetse flies.”

At the event, attended by the Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Felix Koskei, it emerged that majority of area residents depend almost entirely on livestock and agriculture for livelihood.

Losses incurred

“We value livestock so much. Even before we learnt about agribusiness livestock played very important roles in our lives. Without cows, goats and sheep you cannot get a wife. Dowry is a core part of our socio-economic culture. Without livestock you are literally a poor man,” Chome said.

Another farmer, James Sanita Charo, concurred with his colleague but derided government officials saying they visit farmers in the area once after a very long time.

“This month alone, I have lost two goats and two cows which were worth a lot of money. Had these vaccination activities been brought here earlier, I would not have incurred these losses,” he said.

Dr Joseph Othieno, a veterinary officer at Kenya Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Council (KenTTEC) – the organisers of the vaccination – said tsetse flies do cause trypanosomiasis.

“This disease affects cattle, sheep and goats, camels and donkeys and is expensive to treat yet if interventions are not made on time the disease is fatal. It also causes other effects such as low milk production,” he said.