By Abdulwahab Muhammad, Bauchi
Gov. Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State has flagged off the 2024 annual livestock vaccination campaign against contagious diseases, targeting three million ruminants.
TheNewsZenith reports that the vaccination will cover Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) in cattle, Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) in sheep and goats and anthrax in livestock across the state.
The event took place, on Thursday, in the Tumfur-Bashar area of Akko Local Government.
This is the fourth time the state government has carried out the vaccination exercise. It is aimed at controlling animal diseases and enhancing public health in the state.
Speaking at the flag-off, Gov. Yahaya restated the importance of vaccination in protecting livestock from preventable diseases.
According to him, such diseases have ravaged the agricultural sector and threatened the livelihood of farmers and pastoralists.
“The campaign is aimed to control the spread of these diseases. The diseases have hindered the growth of the livestock industry in our state.
“Diseases like CBPP and PPR cause severe economic losses due to high mortality rates among livestock.
“Also, Anthrax presents a grave risk to human health. It is zoonotic (meaning it can be transmitted between animals and humans),” he said.
The governor emphasized the critical role livestock plays in the state’s economy. He noted that the state was home to thousands of herders and livestock farmers.
The farmers are contributing to food security and income generation, which are vital to the state’s socio-economic development.
Yahaya reiterated that the livestock sub-sector holds immense growth potential.
“To unlock this potential, Gombe State has embraced the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) and the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support (L-PRES) Project.
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“These initiatives will enhance livestock production.
“Under the Gombe State Development Plan 2021-2030, we have outlined interventions in the agricultural sector to ensure self-sufficiency, sustainable food security and to support animal husbandry,” TheNewsZenith quotes the governor as saying.
Commenting on the farmers-herders clash, Yahaya said his administration had reconstituted the Farmers/Herders Prevention and Settlement of Disputes Committee.
According to him, this is part of broader efforts to address the long-standing problem.
“The government has also established a Task Force to reclaim encroached game reserves, grazing reserves, forest reserves and cattle corridors.”
He warned that encroachment would attract stringent punishment, according to the provisions of the law.
Earlier speaking, the Commissioner of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperatives, Dr Barnabas Malle, said the government has made available sufficient vaccine doses to cover an estimated population of 3.6 million livestock.
This, Malle said, is in collaboration with the Livestock Productivity Resilience Support Project (L-PRES).
Also speaking, the State Coordinator of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture in Gombe, Dr Ibrahim Bomoi, said vaccination of animals such as cows sheep and goats would enhance the state economy.
According to him, mass vaccination would lead to a surge in animal production and processing.
He commended Gov. Yahaya for viewing the consistent vaccination of Livestock from the prism of strategic leadership for the production of healthy animals and a qualitative end product fit for human consumption.
In his remarks, the leader of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Rearers Association in the state, Modibbo Yaya, expressed gratitude to the government for the consistent conduct of the annual vacation exercise.
TheNewsZenith quotes Yaya as saying that herders in the state “now feel a great sense of belonging considering the governor’s unwavering commitment towards the welfare of pastoralists”.
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