Africa Initiatives
MAHABA (Managing Animal Health and Acaricides for Better Africa)
Overview
Applying acaricides is currently the only viable option to prevent tick infestations in cattle. However, available treatment options are often unaffordable, and inadequate use of products may lead to resistance and treatment failures.
MAHABA (Managing Animal Health and Acaricides for Better Africa) is a 5-year initiative, in collaboration with Elanco Animal Health, to support small-scale producers in Nigeria and Uganda to manage and effectively control ticks and tick-borne diseases.
The project will develop and deliver an effective and practical strategy to control tick infestations while providing small-scale producers (SSPs) the necessary tools(acaricides) and knowledge (through an innovative digital platform) to realize significant livestock productivity gains.
MAHABA activities and objectives are designed around three main pillars:
- Market intelligence: To better understand the current use of acaricide by SSPs and related resistance issues
- Awareness and education: To train and educate SSPs on effective use of acaricides to allow sustainable tick control
- Availability and adoption: To facilitate product registration of effective acaricides including small package manufacturing
Objectives
- More than 33 products registered to use against ticks
- 450,000 farmers trained
- 29m of product doses sold
Further information
The PREVENT Project
Overview
The PREVENT project (PRomoting and Enabling Vaccination Efficiently, Now and Tomorrow), is a 4-year initiative that aims to establish an innovative and pragmatic veterinary health platform in Africa through hatchery vaccination.
Improvement in poultry production is one of the most promising options to provide affordable protein and other essential nutrients to Africa’s rapidly growing population. To date, deficient effectiveness of poultry vaccination and lack of information about circulating infectious diseases, have been an issue to rural producers in Africa. The PREVENT project, that will work with 36 medium-sized hatcheries spread across eight Africa countries, will enable the hatcheries to provide high-quality, vaccinated day-old chicks to small-scale livestock producers (SSPs) together with practical advice and guidance from a team of field technicians. By these actions, which will result into improved flock health, expansion of flock sizes and ultimately transform the lives of SSPs economically.
Objectives
- To create an effective sector of medium-sized African hatcheries through vaccination, training, and technical support to SSPs
- To help 150,000 poultry producers across the targeted countries to become more productive and efficient
- To have more than 50 million hatchery-vaccinated day-old chicks distributed annually
- To be gender transformative by having women actively participating in management tasks of poultry farming in a majority of SSP households
Further information
Videos
The PREVENT project
Empowering Women in Africa with poultry
Mkuza Chicks in Tanzania Partners with PREVENT
BI LastMile Initiative
Overview
In many African countries, small-scale livestock producers (SSPs) have limited or no access to high-quality veterinary medical products. Economic losses due to livestock diseases limit farmers’ opportunities and livelihoods, as they face deficient product availability and affordability, poor distribution channels, and low levels of awareness about livestock diseases.
The LastMile Initiative, implemented in partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) across six African countries (Kenya, Cameroon, Mali, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Nigeria), is designed to address weak distribution channels of animal health products as well as helping the SSPs in these countries to increase their knowledge on disease prevention and treatment.
Objectives
The main objective of the LastMile project is to facilitate Boehringer Ingelheim’s expansion into the African market and thereby afford SSPs with an improved portfolio of animal health products. This is achieved by the registration of a range of products in the countries in scope and building awareness at farm level through visits by veterinary para professionals.
Further information
Videos
Transforming veterinary services through a digital app
Walking the Last Mile
Multi Manufacturer East Africa Initiative: A Joint Manufacturer - Distributor Driven and Led Enterprise
Overview
In Tanzania and other developing countries, veterinary professionals tend to be concentrated in urban areas leading to a very limited contact between veterinary doctors or vet paraprofessionals and rural small-scale livestock producers (SSPs), who keep most of the livestock and poultry. The Milele Animal Health project has been designed to address this gap by sourcing, promoting and distributing affordable, high-quality animal health products and services to SSPs in Tanzania.
Objectives
- Proactively supplying animal health products and services direct to SSPs
- Distributing high quality and affordable products to village agrovet shops
- Offering animal health services and advisory on best husbandry practices to SSPs
Further information
The Milele Animal Health Project brochure
Videos
Bridging veterinary access gap for smallholder farmers of Tanzania
A Manufacturer-Distributor Driven and Managed Enterprise
Overview
There are an estimated 3.8 million households which keep and depend on livestock and poultry for food and income in Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso and Senegal. Distribution systems supplying animal health products suitable for small-scale producers (SSPs) in most West African countries are often inefficient and passive and their reach is limited. There is an opportunity for a Manufacturer to extend its current activities to develop a distribution network which will better serve the needs of the SSPs and in doing so capture a significant share of the potential market value.
Objectives
The main aim of this project is to support traditional and emergent commercial poultry and ruminant farming by modernizing the distribution system and promoting prophylaxis and biosecurity measures to retailers and farmers.
Further information
Multi Manufacturer West Africa Initiative: A Joint Manufacturer - Distributor Driven and Led Enterprise
Overview
The livestock sector in West Africa is characterised by an increasingly commercially focused poultry industry, employing modern intensive production systems, and a largely pastoralist small-scale ruminant production base, employing traditional migratory practices in the region in search of grazing. The region’s livestock potential is less acknowledged, and this is reflected in, and by, the low product sales and under-developed animal health services.
The provision of animal healthcare services is important in the development of the livestock sector due to the devastating effects of diseases, known to have grave economic consequences on the livelihood of small-scale producers (SSPs) and ultimately on the economy of a nation.
Objectives
The aim of the project is to establish a new Animal Health Product Distribution enterprise serving SSPs in Cote D’Ivoire. In broad concept, the enterprise will be a joint venture between Afrivet and cooperative of private sector veterinarians or veterinary paraprofessionals. The enterprise will leverage:
- Afrivet’s veterinary extension and support materials for the benefit of SSPs
- Afrivet’s product sourcing and branding capabilities, together with the aggregate demand from the veterinary group, to optimize product supply
- The enterprise aims to reach and serve 400,000 SSPs in year 5
Further information
West Africa Upstream Initiative
Overview
The animal health inputs supply chain in Ghana and Nigeria is concentrated in large cities where importers are based. Agrovet shops in rural areas where most of the small-scale livestock production occurs are relatively underserved, typically having to travel long distances into the cities to procure products. This results in small-scale livestock producers (SSPs) experiencing unreliable supply of products which tend to be expensive.
Objectives
The aim of this project is to set up a new company that will source quality animal health inputs and supply them to rural agrovets. The project started in Ghana and will subsequently expand into Nigeria.
Videos
Strengthening Access to Livestock Health Products by Small scale Producers in Ghana