WINDOEK – Animal health has been in the spotlight like never before during the past two years after South Africa brought the Namibian livestock industry virtually to its knees with stringent animal health export requirements.
For Namibian farmers, including communal ones, animal husbandry serves as a livelihood with communal farmers contributing more than 60 percent of the total exports of some 160 000 weaners a year. The government has been taking the necessary measures to comply with every international animal health requirements as has been confirmed by the International Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) during a mission to Namibia at the end of 2013.
According to the Annual Report for 2013/14 of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF), tabled last week in Parliament by Minister John Mutorwa, the strategy for the eradication of trans-boundary animal diseases in the Northern Communal Areas (NACs) was completed but awaits Cabinet approval after a detailed draft implementation plan was developed and submitted to the MAWF.
This was expected to be endorsed by the OIE. The main strategy involves separating the livestock population of Namibia from that of Angola by means of a fence to be constructed on the border between the two countries. The strategy also involves the relocation of livestock dependent on grazing in Angola to identified razing areas within Namibia. In addition, the strategy advocates for the restructuring of the Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS), skills development, development of surveillance response guidelines, construction of veterinary infrastructure, procurement of equipment and vehicles, community mobilisation and participation in veterinary activities and strengthening international collaboration in the management of trans-boundary animal diseases.
These processes are still ongoing and a number of infrastructural development programmes were completed in 2013/14.