Experts of Veterinary Services Meets in Accra

Story: Mary Mensah
EXPERTS and Directors of National Veterinary Services from the West African Sub-Region are meeting in Accra to devise strategies for the prevention and control of African Swine Fever (ASF).
The ASF is endemic in most countries of Sub Saharan Africa with outbreaks reported every year from several countries with the most recent case from neighbouring Togo.
The meeting will enable the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and other sub regional partners to address the issue of the ASF and prepare a sub regional strategy for the prevention and control taking into accounts the potential gaps identified.
Opening the meeting, the Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in charge of Livestock, Dr Alfred Tia Sugri indicated that epidermics when they occur in livestock causes havoc in developing countries.
He said some of these havoc includes the drastical reduction of herds and flocks, cause trade partners to put trade barriers, and the reduction in consumption and demand for livestock which in turn increase the cost of production.
He said ASF was also one of the major Trans-boundary Animal Diseases (TAD) which spread across international borders, and cripple the livelihood of pig producers.
Dr Suguri noted that the major pig producing countries in West Africa were Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Togo with a total population of about 12.8 million (FAO 2010) hence threatened with intermittent outbreaks of the ASF periodically.
However, with the interventions from the World Bank with the sum of US$300,000 from the National Livestock Services Project, Ghana contributed significantly to the control of ASF by paying adequate compensation to the pig farmers whose pigs were destroyed.
“This resulted in the success in eradicating the disease in Ghana”, he said.
Dr Suguri however added that the trans-boundary nature of the disease the regional approach for more effective control and for which attempts were made to come up with adequate strategies.
Earlier In a welcome address, the FAO Sub Regional Co-ordinator for West Africa, Mr Musah Saihou Mbenga said currently, there was a rapid human population growth almost everywhere but particularly in urban areas.
He said according to a recent UN report (2010), the current 40 per cent urban population of Africa would grow to 60 per cent by 2050 adding that in the particular case of West Africa, the population of major urban centers such as Ouagadougous would increase by 81 per cent , while the population of  Niamey, Lagos and Bamako were projected to grow between 47 and 57 per cent.
However, he said, one way of improving the availability of food of animal origin was by strengthening the pig sector which contributes 10 per cent of meat in West Africa as a whole.
“Pigs have a short cycle, they grow fast, are profelic and convert agro-industrial by-products and household waste into quality animal protein” he explained.
Additionally, the West African Sub region has about 14 million pigs which is about 43 percent of the pig population in Africa adding that the vast majority of the 13 million were in the hands of small holder producers.
Mr Mbenga recalled that last year, the African Swine Fever (ASF) was reported officially in Cape Verde, which affected two Island and killed numerous animals.
“Just at the beginning of September 2012, an outbreak of ASF killed about 85 pigs in Zanguera, Togo. The disease continues to kill almost all infected animals and there is no treatment or as yet any vaccine to prevent it”, he added.
He expressed optimism that the animal experts gathered at the workshop would put together their efforts and come up with a sound and realistic strategy for the prevention and control of ASF in West Africa.
According to the Animal Production Officer of the FAO, Mr Berhanu Bedane the disease was reported in Cape Verde where the FAO is assisting the country in controlling it and more recently in Togo and given the situation there is a growing recognition globally and in West Africa that measures to address in th eprevention and control of ASF in the sub-region should be initiated immediately taking into consideration the experiences and lessons learnt from other regions
He said the workshop was expected to clarify the current status of the pig value chain and the situation ASF in West African Countries and the opportunities which exist for its prevention and control and chart the way forward.