The President, Veterinary Council of Nigeria (VCN), Garba Sharubutu, has
called for adequate funding of the Veterinary Research Institute (VRI)
to enable it to produce potent vaccines for livestock in the country.
Sharubutu who made the call at the annual summit of the Nigerian
Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA) in Abuja, said that the veterinary
research institute, located in Jos, was mandated to produce vaccines
for livestock.
He added that the rate of vaccines failure in the country was
alarming, thereby leading to massive death of livestock. He attributed
the situation to importation of vaccines instead of relying on the Jos
research institute.
The VCN president said “viruses change their forms due to
environmental effect, so if we are using foreign vaccines for our
livestock here, the tendency is that there will be vaccines failure.
“So, a single research institute should be empowered and be adequately funded to produce potent vaccines.
“The research institute located in Jos is the only institute
empowered and mandated to produce vaccines for livestock, but its
capacity is limited because it cannot produce all vaccines for disease
prevention.
“It is very important for government to adequately fund the
institute’s activities to enable it to function accordingly because
diseases both in human and animals can only be prevented with proper and
potent vaccination.
“This will not only assist farmers but will in the long run assist in
enhancing the nation’s economic development by way of improved health
of livestock and robust harvest and for the betterment of citizens.”
According to him, the strength of organisms in the countries where
those vaccines are produced is different, thereby making such vaccines
to fail when administered on Nigerian livestock.
He noted that the present challenges facing livestock farmers could
only be averted if the institute was adequately funded to carry out its
statutory responsibility.
Sharubutu expressed displeasure on the economic hardship such disaster had inflicted on farmers and the nation at large.
Dr Godwin Abonyi, the President of NVMA, said that the meeting was
aimed at addressing the challenges in livestock industry, herdsmen and
farmers crises, among others.
Abonyi, who identified livestock industry as an alternative to the dwindling fortunes
from oil, however, noted that there was need for the industry to be effectively and comprehensive harnessed to fill the gap.
According to him, this can only be possible when the relevant
professionals and expertise are deployed in strategic places to ensure
timely response to issues affecting the sector
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA) have
urged the Federal Government to compensate farmers whose birds were
ravaged by the avian influenza virus, popular called bird flu to curtail
its further spread.
The President of the association, Dr Godwin Abonyi, who made the
appeal while speaking with Nigerian Tribune in Abuja said “ more robust
and vigorous approach to the menace should be adopted.
“The payment of acceptable compensation to affected farmers should
commence to encourage prompt reportage of outbreaks.‘‘Veterinary
extension services should also be strengthened through provision of
functional logistics”
Abonyi stressed that such measures would encourage farmers to
promptly report fresh cases of the virus.He bemoaned the continuous
spread of the highly pathogenic Avian Influenza to some states in the
country.
Avian Influenza is an infection that naturally occurs among wild
aquatic birds but can infect domestic poultry, other bird and animal
species as well as humans.
Describing Avian Influenza as a zoonotic disease, Abonyi stressed
that its outbreak could cripple the nation’s poultry industry, while
posing grave danger to public health.
He added that some of its public health dangers included
conjunctivitis and other infections like fever, cough, sore throat,
muscle ache and severe respiratory diseases.
Abonyi appealed to the government to treat bird flu like other national emergencies devoid of undue bureaucratic bottlenecks