Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
The Steynsburg Animal Hospital in the Eastern Cape called a meeting with commonage and communal producers on 11 February. The meeting took place at the Khayamnandi community hall in Steynsburg and the council chambers of Molteno. Dr Johan van Rooyen and his co-worker, Wandile Khave, in partnership with Karoo farming enterprises, discussed and implemented a health plan for livestock in these areas.
“We will do pregnancy examinations, treat sick animals, vaccinate and control parasites, and keep records,” said Dr Van Rooyen. “A committee was elected for each town’s communal producers, and we endeavour to appoint someone to oversee control measures, with the co-operation of the South African police service and the municipality. It is heartening to see how willing the people are to co-operate, despite the lack of resources to obtain medicine and feed for their animals.”
Aiming for sustainable funding
Dr Van Rooyen believes they will eventually find a steady source of income to fund the programme sustainably. “We will find partners and sponsors to assist with expenses,” he said. “By applying the principle of ‘treat and tag’ we will be able to build a comprehensive database of animals and their owners, as well as treatment records, ensuring all animals are protected against disease. This will promote mass communication and upskilling.” He added that monitoring diseases will protect herds and benefit the entire district. “We will also address the major threat of plastics that are killing cattle and goats.”
A computer-based recordkeeping program will be used to keep full records for the national livestock identification and tagging system. “The data will help to find sponsors and plan the use of vaccine and medicine, as well as marketing of livestock. Furthermore, we will work towards creating a central cattle handling facility to ensure cattle is handled safely when they are dehorned, tagged, castrated, branded, dipped or loaded. The focus will be on water supply and grazing management. In addition, the facility will be designed to hold sick animals.”
The program will actively upskill all participants in livestock farming and vegetable production. “We will progress towards a more formal farmer and farm worker training in co-operation with employers.” – Carin Venter, Plaas Media
