Maziwa Zaidi (More Milk) in Tanzania: Best-bet
Technologies and Innovations
Control of East Coast Fever by Immunization
H.Kiara, N.Teufel, J.Rao, N.Ngowi, C.Dulle, L.Mwakalukwa, H.Mbwille, A.Omore, I.Balteweck,
Key messages and solutions
• East Coast fever (ECF) is a major constraint to improving
livestock productivity in Tanzania
• The Infection and Treatment Method (ITM) gives life-long
immunity to cattle following a single vaccination
• ITM reduces mortality by 95%, reduces the frequency of
use of chemical acaricides by at least 50% and improves
profitability of the dairy enterprise
Opportunities and benefits
• ITM allows smallholders to keep improved dairy animals in ECF
endemic areas with considerably reduced risk of loss
• ITM is critical for the success of the AI programme by ensuring
the product of AI (improved genotypes) survive
• Because of the relatively high cost of ITM, farmers need to be
educated for adoption to take place
• Types of agribusiness best suited to deliver the technology
• Agrovet dealers
• AI providers
• Producer organizations
• Private veterinarians
Pictures
Suitability
• Farmers willing to invest in livestock as a business
• Agribusiness that are willing to expand the scope of their
businesses
• Adequate investment in information dissemination to farmers
• Due to the large dose packages, the technology is more difficult
to deliver among smallholders
Evidence
• ITM as a product is registered in Malawi, Tanzania and
Kenya
• The technology has been delivered commercially in
Tanzania for over 10 years
• The technology is widely used in Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya
and Uganda
• More than one million cattle have been vaccinated in
Tanzania
• ITM must be used strictly according to the
manufacturers’ instructions
• It must be delivered by trained and certified personnel
This document has a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. October 2019
March 2017
Problem statement
• ECF is responsible for about two thirds of calf mortality in
Tanzania
• The diseases is more serious in improved breeds (the
focus of dairy development) than in zebu breeds
• Alternative control methods (tick control, treatment,
grazing management) have serious limitations
Maziwa Zaidi thanks all donors and organizations which globally support the work of ILRI and its partners through their contributions to the CGIAR system
Resource requirements (low to high, between 1 and 5)
Land
Water
Labour
Cash
Access to inputs
Knowledge and skills
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Impact areas (low to high, between 1 and 5)
Food security
Nutrition and food safety
Youth empowerment
Women empowerment
Livelihoods
Market access and linkages
Outcome difficulty (low to high, between 1 and 5)
Business profitability
Environmental sustainability
Youth empowerment
Women empowerment
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