Africa-Press – Ghana. A Development Consultant, Mr. Vincent Subbey, has called on government to as a matter of urgency institute Veterinary Care Volunteering programme to work alongside local veterinarians to help address the problem of inadequate veterinary staff in the country.
These came up came up strongly when sixty peasant women farmers drawn from the Talensi and Nabdam Districts of the Upper East Region belonging to the Maltaaba Peasant Women Farmers’ Cooperative (MAPEWFAC), at a Joint Stakeholder Review Forum to review the needs assessment, of the two districts, cited lack of veterinary services as one of the major challenges facing their livelihoods.
The forum organized by MAPEWFAC with funding support from Star Ghana Foundation on Wednesday, was to review needs assessments of peasant women farmers in the Talensi and Nabdam Districts with aim advocating for support to address such needs.
Mrs. Yinwonbe Ziba one of the participants from the Namolgo community in the Talensi District stated that many community members depend on livestock rearing as one of their major livelihoods but noted that the spate of the death of many livestock as a result of lack of Veterinary staff to administer healthcare for the animals many farmers have boycotted the vacation.
Another participant from the Yarkoti community in the Nabdam District, Mrs. Zagre Yenbila –lao indicated that a result of the lack of Veterinary many farmers have lost their livestock and this he noted was affecting their livelihood.
Mr. Subbey who is also the Director of Trax Program Support Ghana, a non-governmental organization and Development Consultant to MAPEWFAC , stressed that it was very critical for the Ministry of Agriculture to form and build the capacity of community volunteers in the field of veterinary to help bridge the wide gap of veterinary extension services to communities.
He explained that after training such persons in the communities, they could help handle minor treatment of livestock and also refer the complicated cases to the professional trained Veterinary staff for treatment.
The key findings of the needs assessments which was conducted by MAPEWFAC in some communities in the two Districts, revealed that there were lack of Veterinary Services, lack of grinding mills, , lack of potable water, Inadequate Credit Facilities, lack of kindergartens , Inadequate farm inputs (Quality seeds, fertilizers) , Inadequate income generating activities, Poor Soils and lack of Electricity.
Madam Lydia Miyella, the Executive Director of MAPEWFAC explained the really rational for the forum was to find a synergy of the small rural women farmers from its operational areas to so as to build their capacity to address their own challenges as well as advocate for support in addressing such challenges.
She commended the Development Consultant of MAPEWFAC building the origination capacity to undertake such activity also facilitating the forum and expressed optimism that the intervention would bear much fruits.
She entreated the participants not only rely on government for support but to be very innovative and resilient in championing development activities in their respective communities.
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