Bill Gates to help African farmers

Bill Gates to help African farmers

A GRANT of US$28 million to combat disease in African farm animals aims to save the livelihoods of some of the world’s poorest farmers.

Currently, an estimated one-quarter of all livestock in the developing world die from preventable diseases each year. The grant was given to the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed), a non-profit UK agency, by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK Department for International Development.The first disease to be tackled is East Coast fever, which costs Africa US$200 million every year.”African governments used to make a vaccine,” says Steve Sloan of GALVmed, but this stopped when many state veterinary services were dismantled during the 1990s debt crisis.GALVmed hopes to launch vaccines or drugs for six major livestock diseases by 2015.The list includes Rift Valley fever, which killed thousands of animals and hundreds of people in an outbreak in 2007, and is now spreading out of Africa.- Meatonline Electronic ear tags THE Meat Board is still investigating the utilisation of two specific types of electronic ear tags for use in the Namibian meat industry.Due to the fact that the price of electronic ear tags is higher than that of visual ear tags and that the producer will be responsible for it, the cost benefit for the use of electronic ear tags within the total meat industry will have to be determined.Producers are therefore requested to continue with the purchasing of the current ear tags.They will be given adequate time to order the new ear tags.More meat to Norway THE Meat Board has officially requested Government to start negotiations with Norway to raise Namibia’s Norwegian meat quota from 2 700 to 4 500 tonnes.Seeing that Government requested the meat industry, in the light of negotiations with the EU, to diversify exports to other possible markets, the nearest profitable alternative market is Norway.Norway is an excellent market for Namibian beef.It also includes a market for mutton and venison (game).Bonus for northern farmers GOVERNMENT has endorsed the Meat Board’s suggestion for a marketing incentive for meat producers north of the Red Line or veterinary cordon fence.The aim of this incentive is to assist the farmers in those areas so they can pay off certain costs regarding quarantine requirements.An amount of N$2,16 million has been voted for this purpose.Animals brought to northern abattoirs must be put in quarantine for at least three weeks before slaughtering.This brings expenses to farmers, as these animals must be fed for that period.Meat BoardThe grant was given to the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed), a non-profit UK agency, by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK Department for International Development.The first disease to be tackled is East Coast fever, which costs Africa US$200 million every year.”African governments used to make a vaccine,” says Steve Sloan of GALVmed, but this stopped when many state veterinary services were dismantled during the 1990s debt crisis.GALVmed hopes to launch vaccines or drugs for six major livestock diseases by 2015.The list includes Rift Valley fever, which killed thousands of animals and hundreds of people in an outbreak in 2007, and is now spreading out of Africa.- Meatonline Electronic ear tags THE Meat Board is still investigating the utilisation of two specific types of electronic ear tags for use in the Namibian meat industry.Due to the fact that the price of electronic ear tags is higher than that of visual ear tags and that the producer will be responsible for it, the cost benefit for the use of electronic ear tags within the total meat industry will have to be determined.Producers are therefore requested to continue with the purchasing of the current ear tags.They will be given adequate time to order the new ear tags.More meat to Norway THE Meat Board has officially requested Government to start negotiations with Norway to raise Namibia’s Norwegian meat quota from 2 700 to 4 500 tonnes.Seeing that Government requested the meat industry, in the light of negotiations with the EU, to diversify exports to other possible markets, the nearest profitable alternative market is Norway.Norway is an excellent market for Namibian beef.It also includes a market for mutton and venison (game). Bonus for northern farmers GOVERNMENT has endorsed the Meat Board’s suggestion for a marketing incentive for meat producers north of the Red Line or veterinary cordon fence.The aim of this incentive is to assist the farmers in those areas so they can pay off certain costs regarding quarantine requirements.An amount of N$2,16 million has been voted for this purpose.Animals brought to northern abattoirs must be put in quarantine for at least three weeks before slaughtering.This brings expenses to farmers, as these animals must be fed for that period.Meat Board

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