The Kano state government has revealed plans to budget the sum of one hundred and sixty million Naira for the vaccination of goats and sheep in the state.
The government, through the Kano State Agro-pastoral Development Project (KSADP), said the fund would be used to vaccinate 1.8 million goats and sheep in its livestock vaccination campaign across the state.
The Kano government made an official announcement regarding the said vaccination through a statement released on Wednesday morning by the spokesperson for the Kano State Agro-Pastoral Development Project (KSADP), Ameen Yassar.
The project, which is being financially supported by the Islamic Development Bank and the Lives and Livelihood Funds, has the objective of enhancing the overall health of livestock and improving the livelihoods of herders and livestock breeders.
Furthermore, the statement mentioned that the project coordinator for KSADP, Ibrahim Muhammad, revealed these details during the commencement of community awareness activities for the project in Kura, a location near Kano.
“The project is determined to upscale the vaccination because livestock health is tied to your livelihoods and, by extension, our economy. The objective of this interaction is to enhance vaccination and to seek the cooperation of all stakeholders so that the exercise succeeds,” Mr Muhammad explained.
He said the organization had embarked upon several projects, including the upgrade and equipping of Kadawa Artificial Insemination Centre, construction of milk collection centres, upgrade of cattle markets and crop residue utilisation Programme, to improve the livelihood of the herders.
“We shall soon award a contract for demarcation of stock routes in Kano, which is a major step towards ending conflict between farmers and herders in Kano,” Peoples Gazette quoted the official saying.
Meanwhile, the district leader of Kura, represented by Balarabe Muhammad, has revealed that there have been no instances of livestock diseases in the region over the past three years, thanks to the consistent vaccination efforts undertaken by the KSADP. Consequently, he has instructed the village leaders and community heads responsible for herders in his jurisdiction to actively prepare for the upcoming vaccination campaign due to its significance.
Speaking on behalf of the herders’ communities in Kura LGA, Zubairu Muhammad, expressed their familiarity with livestock vaccination, as they have already benefited from it over the past three years. He assured that there would be no opposition to the vaccination program.
“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 said.
Also, the zonal veterinary director for the Rano zone, Idris Ibrahim, who underscored the vaccination’s importance, suggested that the livestock vaccination campaign should include rabies vaccination since the herders also possessed livestock guard dogs.
