Kano State Agro-pastoral Development Project, KSADP, is to vaccinate at least One million cattle and 800,000 goats and sheep in this year’s annual livestock vaccination campaign, in Kano state.
Funded by the Islamic Development Bank and the Lives and Livelihood Funds, the project intends to spend not less than N160 million on the campaign, which aims to enhance livestock health and improve livelihoods of herders and livestock breeders.
The State Project Coordinator, KSADP, Malam Ibrahim Garba Muhammad, disclosed this during the kick-off of community sensitization on the exercise, held that the palace of the district Head of Kura, in Kura local government area of the state.
“The project is determined to upscale the vaccination because livestock health is tied to your livelihoods, and by extension our economy”, the Coordinator stressed.
“The objective of this interaction is to enhance your understanding of the vaccination and to seek cooperation of all stakeholders so that the exercise succeeds”, he added.
Besides the annual vaccination campaign, Malam Ibrahim said the project had embarked upon several projects including the upgrade and equipping of Kadawa Artificial Insemination Center, construction of milk collection centers, upgrade of cattle markets and crop residue utilization program, among others, to improve the livelihood of the herders.
“We shall soon award contract for demarcation of stock routes in Kano, which is major step towards ending conflict between farmers and herders in Kano”, he further revealed.
The District Head of Kura, Dokajin Rano, represented by Alhaji Balarabe Muhammad disclosed that no outbreak of livestock diseases has been reported in the area in the past three years due to consistent vaccination carried out by the KSADP.
He therefore directed village heads and herders’ community leaders in the domain to fully mobilize for the forthcoming vaccination in view of its importance.
In his comments on behalf of herders’ communities in Kura local government, Malam Zubairu Muhammad said they are familiar with livestock vaccination, having benefitted in the past three years, assuring that there will be no resistance to the exercise.
“We have seen the impact of the vaccination conducted in the past, so we appreciate the Islamic Development Bank and the LLF for their untiring support”, he asserted.
Also speaking, the Zonal Veterinary Director for Rano Zone, Dr. Idris Ibrahim, who underscored the importance of the livestock vaccination, suggested that livestock vaccination campaign should include Rabies vaccination, since the herders also possess livestock guardian dogs.
