Increased access to Newcastle disease (ND) vaccine, especially the thermo-tolerant I-2 ND, is boosting backyard indigenous poultry farming in Ugunja, a small market town in Siaya County, Kenya – near the Ugandan border. The I-2 ND vaccine, when administered regularly, has reduced significant poultry losses caused by this fatal disease, which can wipe out 80-90% of infected chicken flocks.

Access to the vaccine has been facilitated by, among others, the Global Alliance for Livestock and Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed) – a non-profit company that makes livestock vaccines accessible and affordable to smallholder farmers in Africa and South Asia. GALVmed works through vaccine distributors in Kenya and links them with local agrovet outlets. Vaccinators, government extension agents and farmers can access the vaccine from outlets spread throughout the county. Locally, a vial of 50 doses costs vaccinators Ksh100 ($0.97), and farmers can purchase a single dose for Ksh2 (US$ 0.02).

Success stories from smallholder livestock producers

Raymond Sulwe, a recently retired accountant, recalls how ND mostly wiped out entire flocks of indigenous chickens at his home in Hawagaya Village when he was young. However, since December 2016, Sulwe has reared over 100 improved indigenous chickens with superior traits such as fast growth rate and high egg production. During this time, Sulwe has also vaccinated his chickens against ND three times and has not lost a single bird to the disease.

“I have not experienced it [ND] but that’s because I’ve protected them through regular vaccinations,” says Sulwe. But he has seen his neighbours struggle with ND, which he attributes to a lack of knowledge on vthe importance of vaccinations. The increased availability of the ND vaccine has made Sulwe confident about his future in farming. He aims to expand his poultry enterprise to 1,000 birds and tap into Siaya County’s rapidly growing market for indigenous chickens.

This rising demand for indigenous chickens in Siaya has made Francis Odiwuor, a freelance consultant and part-time poultry farmer, more vigilant about vaccinating his flock against ND. At his farm in Sirang, Odiwuor currently rears approximately 1,400 birds of improved indigenous breeds including Kenbrew, rainbow rooster and Kuroiler – having started with just 40 in 2010. Through years of vaccinating his chickens, Odiwour learned that ND vaccinations should begin when chicks are just seven days old and continue, every three months, until they are sold. In the last five years, Odiwuor has seen demand for indigenous chicken breeds increase by over 30%, and he makes a 30% profit on his total costs. “They give better margins and are easier to sell in the lower pyramid [to rural people with low incomes] of the market,” Odiwuor says.

For George Omondi, a full-time crop and poultry farmer from Manyala Village, access to the I-2 ND vaccine from agrovets like the Hodari shop in Ugunja town, has diminished his concerns during ND outbreaks. Omondi rears 200 indigenous chickens and states, “I vaccinate on schedule against ND, that’s why I have never witnessed it, not even among neighbours as most people here vaccinate.”

According to Evelyne Otieno, Operations Manager at Hodari Agrovet, increased ND vaccinations in recent years has been due to ongoing aggressive awareness campaigns since 2012, carried out by organisations such as GALVmed and Technoserve (international non-profits that promote business solutions to poverty), and Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture. Support services for poultry keepers Hodari Agrovet provides extension support and livestock management advice to their customer base of roughly 2,000 farmers, spanning a 30 km radius. Hodari Agrovet sells much of its I-2 ND vaccine to poultry farmers at twice weekly local markets. According to Dr Julius Owade, Managing Director at Hodari Agrovet, 40% of its products sold are poultry-related due to the dominance of poultry farming by the local community in recent year.

In 2012, Hodari Agrovet sold between 200 and 300 doses of the I-2 ND vaccine weekly. This increased to around 2,500 doses in 2017. Monthly sales of poultry feed have also increased from less than one ton (eight to ten, 70 kg bags) in 2012, to 12 to 15 tons by March 2017. “The population of poultry in this area has grown and our turnover is highest for poultry products,” says Otieno.

Due to the economic importance of indigenous poultry farming, rearing methods in the local community have changed. According to Otieno, local chicken farmers used to keep poultry under almost zero input systems with little or no feed supplements and housing, but today farmers build sheds in which to keep their birds and have increased their uptake of improved indigenous breeds and commercial feed.

Hatching eggs from improved indigenous chicken breeds are in high demand and are costly. A tray of 30 eggs that are less than ten days old, and can be incubated for hatching, cost Ksh600 (US $5.80) whilst eggs for consumption (which are over ten days old and therefore less likely to hatch) cost Ksh300 (US $2.90). Local hatcheries, with the capacity to hatch over 6,000 chickens, have also sprung up in Ugunja to cope with the increasing demand. “Hatching is another niche for making money here,” says Otieno.

Increasing the reach of the vaccine

To keep up with Ugunja’s rapidly growing niche of indigenous chicken rearing, Otieno and Owade attended training on how to preserve the vaccine at the right temperature to ensure its efficacy when vaccinating the chickens. The training was facilitated by GALVmed and raised Hodari Agrovet’s profile locally. “Farmers insist on getting vaccines from us because of our knowledge on proper handling (of the vaccine),” says Otieno. As a result, in a week, they can sell up to 5,000 doses of livestock vaccines to local customers.

Women traditionally rear chicken in Ugunja and according to Otieno, represent about 65% of I-2 ND vaccine buyers from Hodari Agrovet. The rest are youths, middle aged men and the elderly. The aim of Hodari Agrovet is to purchase a four-wheel drive vehicle with refrigeration capacity, which would enable them to reach more farmers in rural parts of Ugunja to avoid compromising the vaccine. According to Owode, in order to increase the reach of the vaccine, more local vaccinators need to be trained in providing and maintaining ND vaccinations.

Written by: James Karuga, WRENmedia consultant

A project in Cameroon’s drought-stricken northern region is enabling an increasing number of farmers to take up traditional poultry keeping. In the villages of Bibemi and Djola in Garoua, regular access to the I-2 Newcastle Disease (ND) vaccine is protecting poultry against this fatal disease, and is providing farmers with a complimentary source of income in the face of an erratic climate and dwindling crop yields.

The campaign is run by CAPHAVET, a society of veterinarians in Cameroon, with support from the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicine (GALVmed) – a non-profit company that makes livestock vaccines accessible and affordable to smallholder farmers in Africa and South Asia. CAPHAVET distributes ND vaccinations to poultry keepers every 4 months. According to GALVmed’s poultry project manager, Jean-Narcisse Koffi, “GALVmed has continued to multiply its efforts working with partners on the ground to help smallholder farmers combat this infection, which can kill over 80-90% of poultry.”

Direct and indirect impacts

Hebena Brigitte, a farmer from the Djola village says the programme is improving farmers’ incomes and the wellbeing of their families. “From the sale of my chickens, I am now able to pay my children’s school fees and medical bills. Before, due to the prolonged drought, poor harvests from my vegetable farm left us desperate.”

In the Bibeni village where the project was introduced 2 years ago, farmers are also benefiting from the boost in poultry production. “I rear over 600 chickens and sell about 200 every month. I am also able to sell 10-15 trays of 24 eggs a week. I sold far less when there was no modern vaccine,” says local farmer Kangoube Joel.

Farmers are seeing indirect benefits to vaccinated chickens, which some are saying are at healthier weights and achieving higher market prices. “Before the programme, my chickens weighed less than 2.5 kg, but now, thanks to the vaccine, they weigh about 5 kg when they are ready for market,” attests Joel. At 4-6 months, vaccinated chickens weigh 4-5 kg and sell for between 4,000-6,000 Central African francs (XAF) (US $6-8), while a tray of 24 eggs sells at 1,200 XFA (US $2). Prior to the vaccine, Joel’s chickens sold for between 2,500-3,000 XFA (US $4.06-4.87).

Partner veterinarians from Garoua say more emphasis should be placed on farmer sensitisation to vaccine benefits and broadening vaccine distribution. Habiba Hayatou, a female farmer at Bibemi village says some of her neighbours who weren’t aware of the project initially resisted vaccinating their birds, and suffered heavy losses when the infection broke out. “I vaccinated all my 250 chickens a month before the infection was announced, which is why they all survived,” says Hayatou.

Local health service support

According to Dr Mahamat Mamate, project manager at CAPHAVET in Ngoundere, since 2013, the vaccination programme has been introduced to poultry farmers in the far north, north, northwest and western regions of Cameroon. This has been achieved partly through the continuous training of local vaccinators. Although not veterinary experts, the vaccinators, who are trained by CAPHAVET and Cameroon’s cotton production health service SODECOTON, advise poultry keepers on disease preventive measures. SODECOTON supports smallholder cotton farmers in the area with alternative income generating activities as part of their corporate social responsibility. In the Garoua region alone, over 100 vaccinators have been trained on providing poultry management advice in the local language of Fulfude.

Dr Assana Mouhamadou, the chief of service for veterinary medicine at SODECOTON and coordinator of vaccinator training, says that as well as helping smallholder farmers, these youths earn some additional income through their work. Trained vaccinators purchase vials from SODECOTON containing 50 doses of the vaccine for 2,500 XFA (US $4.06) and administer one dose per chicken for small communities of 15-20 households. In less than five hours, they can administer the vaccine to over 15 households in small villages. The vaccinator receives a contribution of roughly 3,500 XAF (US $5) from each community they deliver the vaccination to.

Upping the uptake

The vaccinating process is simple to understand says Louablbe Robert, a vaccinator in the Pitoa community.
It involves mixing 4 ml of water in a bottle of 5 ml I-2 ND vaccine, which contains 50 doses. Robert vaccinated 700 chickens from 46 households in 2015 and says this number doubled in 2016, indicating that many more families are responding positively to the new vaccine. Bouba Thomas, another vaccinator, points out that the simplicity of the new eye drop procedure is encouraging more farmers to use it. “Even farmers who used to refuse the [former injection] vaccination accept the new method,” he says. The Itanew and Multi-vax injections used 3 years ago were difficult for the local agents to administer and could not be used on chicks. However, the new application is showing positive results for the farmers, explains Dr. Mouhamadou.

ND vaccines are also supplied to commercial chicken farmers in greater volumes to cater for large-scale production of over 1,000 chickens, says Dr Azibe Mazra, CAPHAVET Director General.
But for traditional, backyard poultry farming, where fewer than 200 chickens are reared for subsistence purposes, the smaller package of I-2 is provided. “We supply the smaller packs to remote village areas, with poor road networks, experiencing problems with the infection,” explains Mazra. Over 1.5 million chickens now receive the I-2 ND vaccine every 4 months in the north regions of Cameroon since it was introduced 2 years ago, according to Azibe. And with the intensification of the campaign through increased vaccinator training and sensitisation of many more households to poultry farming, vaccination uptake shows signs of increasing.

Written by Elias Ntungwe Ngalame, WRENmedia consultant

Since July 2016, smallholder farmers in Oyo, Osun and Ogun states in southwest Nigeria have benefited from Newcastle Disease (ND) I-2 poultry vaccination and deworming. Already, the treatment is unlocking the economic potential of poultry production and improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

Initiated by the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed) – a non-profit organisation improving smallholders’ access to livestock vaccines in developing countries – the project was launched to control this highly contagious and lethal infection. Devastating for farmers, ND can kill 80-90% of infected birds. “The aim of the project is to develop sustainable smallholder poultry production in rural communities for improved livelihoods,” says Dr. Samuel Adediran, GALVmed Assistant Director for Market Development and Access.

Positive partnerships

Through GALVmed’s Nigerian partner in project delivery, Bdellium Consult, young people are trained as Community Poultry Agents (CPAs). Providing rural smallholder poultry keepers with information on improved poultry management, vaccination and deworming at an affordable cost, enables CPAs to earn a living while contributing to the improved economic wellbeing and livelihood of smallholder farmers.

Morufat Adedeji, a young mother in Osun state has meaningfully increased her income since becoming a CPA in 2016. She says, “On August 8th, I participated in GALVmed training to become a vaccinator and started enjoying the benefits of the new business immediately. I encouraged a farmer with about 15 birds to vaccinate her flock and after three days, she excitedly told me she had started seeing the positive results of the vaccination and gave me a gift of a grown live chicken.” Having carried out over 1,500 vaccinations in four months at 20 naira (US $0.06) per dose, Adedeji has realised a profit of at least 30,000 naira (US $95) from vaccinations alone. “I have been getting phone calls from people I don’t know, asking me to come and vaccinate their birds. More farmers are now vaccinating and deworming their poultry.”

Another CPA, John Olugbohunmi, is an Ordinary National Diploma graduate in pharmaceutical technology who vaccinated about 500 birds in the last four months of 2016. He purchases vials, each one containing 50 doses, and sells a dose for 10 naira (US $0.03) each. After deducting purchasing costs, he makes a profit of about 250 naira (US $0.79) per vial. John says the CPA work has also provided him with extensive information on poultry keeping, enabling him to educate his clients and consider starting up his own poultry business as an additional form of income.

Spreading the word

Adedeji currently administers around 400 vaccinations and 270 dewormings on average per month, but plans to increase sensitisation of the project to poultry keepers in surrounding towns. The target is to sell 2,500 vaccine doses per month but, with referrals mostly disseminated via word of mouth, further resources are required. “I inform people generally about the programme, but would need more posters and flyers to paste so I can distribute the message further and increase awareness,” says Adedeji.

Lack of awareness is also a problem in Oyo state where Olugbohunmi operates. The free range system practised in this area means poultry wander freely and eat what they can find. Often, the poultry keepers operate a minimum input system with little or no feeding to supplement the fowls’ diets. Mindful of these challenges, Olugbohunmi is intensifying sensitisation on best practices in poultry keeping in addition to promoting ND I-2 vaccination and deworming.

Saving village chickens

One poultry keeper whose 35-bird flock was vaccinated by Adedeji is Rachel Oyebamiji, a tailor and mother of six. Oyebamiji says, “I need the proceeds from selling live chickens to pay my children’s school fees. After my fowls were vaccinated in August, there have been no deaths, no sickness, and they have all grown so big. I also feed my family with some of the eggs and chickens.” Explaining her previous dilemma, she continues, “In 2015, I had 25 birds and about 10 died before I could sell them. The money was barely enough to pay my bills. But since I started using the ND vaccination, none of my fowls have died.”

The vision for the vaccine

According to Dr. Adediran of GALVmed, poultry keeping is an untapped resource that can generate employment for young people in rural and peri-urban areas. “GALVmed supports partners like Bdellium to promote awareness and set-up market networks which facilitate sustainable and affordable access to these and other products for improved livestock health and production,” says Adediran.

The project with Bdellium is GALVmed’s first entry into vaccine delivery in Nigeria, but the overall vision is to make the ND I-2 vaccine for ND control a routine practice among smallholder poultry producers, globally.

Article and photos by Oluyinka Alawode, WRENmedia correspondent

Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) and Sheep and Goat Pox (SGP) result in major losses in livestock productivity and also death of many small ruminants for farmers in Safèbougou, a Malian village located about 100 km north of Bamako. “Every year, there were cases of sheep pox and PPR,” says Boubacar Dramane Bah, a 65 year old Fulani livestock farmer, standing in the middle of his goat herd. “PPR is a dangerous disease. We know when they are infected, the sick animals cry and, after only two days, they
die,” continues Bah.

PPR and SGP have been recurrent diseases, not just in the region but across Mali where it devastates the local economy which is dependent on livestock. In the Malian Bambara language, the name for PPR is Berebla meaning ‘end of career’. This is due to the high mortality rate during an outbreak, which according to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), is between 90-100%. PPR can also cause abortion in female animals. SGP has a slightly lower mortality rate of between 70-90% but also causes huge economic losses resulting from decreased milk production as well as reduced quality of hides and wool.

Vaccines for both PPR and SGP are available separately, but their use has been predominantly limited to government vaccination campaigns once an outbreak occurs, which sometimes may be too late for affected communities. Non-profit company, the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed) has been supporting Morocco-based pharmaceutical company, MCI Santé Animale, to trial vaccinations using LYOPOX-PPR (a combined vaccine against both diseases) along with deworming of sheep and goats. With this new combined vaccine, farmers are able to actively manage their livestock’s health by vaccinating against both diseases before an outbreak occurs.

In Safèbougou, houses built of mud bricks dot the land owned by the Fulani – an ethnic pastoralist group whose livestock are passed from father to son. “We live only from the livestock that our parents bequeathed us,” says Bah. Each member of his family (adult men and women) has around 80 goats and sheep. With his family comprising of 10 people, they have around 800 goats and sheep in total.

For these livestock farmers, small ruminants are a critical source of income so the impact of these diseases can be economically devastating. According to Bah, when he sells a goat or a sheep, he can earn XOF 60,000 (about US $100), a sum that is sufficient to cover the monthly expenses of his family.

Until the introduction of this new combined vaccine against SGP and PPR, herders did not vaccinate their animals because of the cost. “For 20 years I have been working with livestock farmers from surrounding villages,” says Aguibou Sylla, the Sirakorola village veterinarian. “For the first time, the farmers have taken the initiative to request this new vaccine.” Sylla is one of the vets who recently took part in the vaccination and deworming project. “We received 10,000 doses of the vaccine and selected 14 surrounding villages to participate in the project, where we vaccinated all small ruminants,” states Sylla.

Bah is pleased with the recent vaccinations in his village. “There are a lot of Fulani herders in the surrounding villages, but since the animals were vaccinated, no one has told me of a single case of PPR or sheep pox,” Bah says. “One year I lost all my animals due to PPR, but the arrival of this new vaccine [LYOPOX-PPR] has saved
my flock so far.”

The vaccinators are also confident that the new vaccine does not result in any common complications in animals, such as abortion in pregnant females. The results of laboratory analysis of blood samples taken from vaccinated animals confirm the livestock farmers’ observations of the efficacy of LYOPOX-PPR. In total, more than 95,000 small ruminants were vaccinated during the project in three regions of Mali: Kayes, Sikasso and Koulikoro.

Dr Moussa Keita, who supervised the vaccination programme in Mali, states that the vaccine is efficient and cost-effective as both diseases are controlled at the same time. The trial found that smallholder herders are willing to pay for this vaccination that was previously provided by the government for free. Further data provided by the trial (which was approved by the regulatory authorities) will also support the vaccine licensing (registration) process in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), which covers 14 countries including Mali. MCI Santé Animale has filed the vaccine registration of LYOPOX-PPR with the UEMOA and when registration is complete the vaccine will be available for all countries in the UEMOA region.

Written by: Soumaila T. Diarra, WRENmedia correspondent

Produced by WRENmedia for GALVmed