Delivery of animal health services:
Opportunities and challenges in extensive
systems in Botswana
MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
& FOOD SECURITY
DEPARTMENT OF VETERINARY SERVICES (DVS)
G. Gaopatwe
Workshop on the delivery of animal health services in extensive livestock production
systems
Nairobi, 9-10 March 2017

OUTLINE
 Map of Botswana- Disease control zones
 Core mandate – DVS
 Organizational structure
 Division of Disease Control
 Responsibilities of – Disease control division
 Field Extension services
 Extension staff
 Extensive Livestock production system (Communal
Grazing areas)
 Opportunities in extensive livestock production systems
 Challenges

DVS Structure
DIRECTOR
Dep Dir
Disease Control
Field Extension
Principal Vet
Officer
Ext Agents
Import / Export Epidemiology BAITS
Dep Dic
Meat Hygiene
Dep Dir
BNVL
Dep Dir Policy
Dev & Compl

DVS - core mandate
To develop on a sustainable and competitive basis the
Livestock Industry by improving farmer incomes,
generating employment opportunities through the
promotion and adoption of appropriate technologies
and management practices.

Mandate Cont.….
 Mandate of DVS is ensure that there is a healthy,
productive and marketable herd in Botswana
 Our policy is vaccinate against endemic diseases and
remain free without vaccination for exotic diseases
 Only DVS will approve diseases to be vaccinated for
 Some vaccinations are compulsory (official) while
others are voluntary

Disease control division
Veterinary Field Extension services
 Epidemiology
 Import/export control
 Traceability - Botswana Animal Information and
Traceability System (BAITS)

Disease control division - Responsibilities
 Implementation of disease control strategy
 Vaccination programs
Disease investigation /Clinical cases
Official controls (Bio security, Import
export controls)
Maintenance of disease control
infrastructure (Fences)
 Implementation of Disease surveillance plan
 Annual plans (Design and monitoring implementation
of surveillance plans)

Veterinary Field Extension Services
Responsible for Animal disease control and prevention
through;
 Monitoring, control and prevention of epizootics
 Clinical diagnosis and treatment of animals
 Provision of extension service on animal disease
control and management
 Facilitation Livestock identification and traceability
(BAITS).
 Maintenance of disease control infrastructure

Staffing at districts/ Extension areas
 22 districts/sub districts – Headed by Veterinarians
 306 Extension areas manned by Technical staff (Ext
agents)
 Technical agents stay in their extension areas for
regular and constant contact with farmers and quick
response to farmer problems.
 Farmers develop strong working relationship with
extension agents
 47 Disease control Fence maintenance camps with
314 fence repairing staff

Extensive Livestock production
Livestock census - Botswana
 Approx. 2.6 million cattle, 1million goats, 500 000 sheep, 200 000
donkeys, 50 000 horses and 50 000 pigs
 80% in the hands of small farmers under communal / extensive farming
 The system assumes cattle post set up
 Livestock graze during the day and may be kraaled overnight to protect
them form predation
 Provision of drinking is in the hands of the owner.
 Farmers have free access to grazing areas: livestock graze on natural
pastures
 Movement of livestock within grazing areas difficult to control
 Difficult to coordinate disease control activities by individual farmers
 Uncoordinated husbandry practices by individual farmers
Farmers have free access to public disease control infrastructure
Farmers have free access to services provided by Gov.
(vaccinations, extension information on animal health issues)

Animal Health support services by Gov.
(Notifiable Diseases: Diseases of Animals Act CAP: 37.01)
Official vaccinations: Done entirely at Gov Expenses)
 Anthrax
 Black leg
 Foot and Mouth Disease (only in FMD infected zones)
Other Services
 Livestock census for plenary purposes
 Clinical diagnosis and treatment of animals- treatment drugs
bought by farmers
 Facilitation Livestock identification and traceability (BAITS).
 Issuance of movement permits Inter-zonal movements &
loadings to slaughter facilities BMC / local abattoirs)
 Feeding / livestock nutrition

Farmers driving cattle to a crush for vaccination - FMD

support services by Gov. Cont..
Extension information:(On animal health issues)
 Technical advices on livestock management
Medium for Ext messages Ext agent to farmer (One on One)
 Farmer trainings at Rural Training Centres (RTCs)
 TV programs
 Radio programs
 Agric. Magazines, newsletters and pamphlets
Private Vaccinations: (Farmers buy the vaccine for themselves)
Vaccination is done through the guidance of Extension agents
 Lumpy Skin Disease
 Pasturellosis
 Enterotoxaemia (Small stock)
 African Horse Sickness
 Botulism

Cattle in the crush for vaccination

Opportunities
Gov. has an obligation to develop on a sustainable and
competitive basis the Livestock Industry by improving
farmer incomes, generating employment opportunities
through the promotion and adoption of appropriate
technologies and management practices.
Botswana adopted and started using a digital/electronic
technology to ensure that all cattle are uniquely identified
(BAITS).The system has since grown and evolved to include
communal farmers who are essentially under extensive
production system.
 (BAITS) provide a window for compliance to lucrative beef
markets as an opportunity – income generation for Extensive
livestock production farmers.
 BAITS also addresses animal health and public health
concerns.

Challenges
 Control of livestock diseases difficult to undertake
extensive production system– vast disease control
zones
 Small farmers (low income) unable to buy vaccines
and dugs.
 Low uptake of technologies (BAITS)

Botswana Animal Information and Traceability
System(BAITS)

BAITS
Cattle with BAITS tags
for traceability

Thank you
Ke a leboga!!!

Botswana Animal Information and Traceability
System (BAITS)
 Traceability started year 2001 in Botswana
 Livestock Identification and Trace-back System (LITS)
 Requirement for export markets
 Reticular bolus with RF ID unique identification microchip number
 Bolus insertion animals done entirely by DVS – workload increased for DVS Ext officers
 LITS evolved to BAITS – launched in 2014
 BITS tag also with RFID unique identification microchip number
 BAITS is farmer centric.
 Tags are applied on cattle by owners (Farmers)
 Farmers able to access and upload information into the BAITS data base (Name, address, ext area, crush
point, color of animal, sex, age owner brand etc)
 Other transactions by farmer; transfer of ownership, arrival of animals at new crush point, treatment records
etc
 Other information by DVS; vaccination records (notifiable diseases), movement permits, disease surveillance
records
 BAITS tags = P20 (USD2)
 BAITS addresses market requirements / animal health issues.
 BAITS tagging: 3months old calves
 Gov. role:
 make tags available to farmers
 manage the national data base
 Ensure that cattle are market compliant (Ext officers at farm level)