Supporting Ugandan women to keep goats healthy through COVID-19 pandemic

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people living in rural pastoral and agro pastoral areas across sub-Saharan Africa are struggling to care for the animals on which their livelihoods depend.

Curfews and restrictions on movement and gatherings have cut communities off from markets, hampering their ability to buy vital animal health products and services, and decimating their incomes as they are unable to engage in petty trade.

With funding from Irish Aid, Farm Africa is working to ensure that more than 100 groups of pastoralist women in Karamoja in north-eastern Uganda, are able to keep their goats healthy throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

The women are all members of Women’s Livestock Groups, who are taking part in Farm Africa’s Livestock for Livelihoods project, funded by UK aid from the UK government and Jersey Overseas Aid.

Each woman taking part in the Livestock for Livelihoods project has received or will receive two female goats, which will enable them to earn money from goat-rearing businesses and improve their families’ nutrition through access to goats’ milk and meat and the ability to buy a wider range of foods. 

Around a third of the women received their goats direct from Farm Africa, under the condition they would pass on two goat kids to another woman in their group once they had reproduced.

The local female goats (does) are being cross-bred with Toggenburg bucks, a breed of goat known for its high milk and meat production.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Women’s Livestock Groups, each made up of 25 to 30 women, met weekly. At the meetings they each made small contributions to a central fund, which was used to pay Community Animal Health Workers to deliver vital animal health services such as vaccinations and spraying goats to reduce the incidence of ticks.

The pandemic has put an end to the weekly savings meetings, as well as the ability of many of the women to earn money and be able to afford the contributions.

The groups’ inability to pay for animal health services jeopardised the health of the new goats, and their ability to produce milk and reproduce. In turn, this risked the health and incomes of the families depending on the goats.

The Irish Aid funding has enabled Farm Africa to step in and cover Community Animal Health Workers’ fees to spray, deworm, treat and vaccinate the goats to safeguard their health and productivity during this unprecedented period of disruption.

The funding has made it possible for Farm Africa to source vital supplies for the Community Animal Health Workers, such as deworming medicines, tick prevention sprays, and treatments for common ailments, as well as equip them with PPE so they can safely interact with the goats’ owners.

By safeguarding the health of goats, the support from Irish Aid is safeguarding Karamojong women’s ability to have milk for their children, manure for their kitchen gardens and an opportunity to build their herd, as well as engage in value addition, and generate much-needed income.

For the Community Animal Health Workers, it means sustained employment when their livelihoods were at risk. And for local businesses, including agro-input dealers and other stockists, it means much needed trade that will help keep their businesses afloat during this difficult time.

Completion of the vaccination campaign will hasten the lifting of the livestock movement ban in Nakapiripirit, Napak and Kotido districts under which Farm Africa is unable to distribute the initial stock of local does and breeding stock to a further 99 groups of women.

Urgent Support Needed for Pastoralist and Agro-Pastoralist Households Impacted by the Desert Locust Crisis during the COVID-19 Pandemic

A statement from the Regional Desert Locust Alliance

The emergence of further generations of desert locusts comes with significant risks and impacts to rangelands which will converge with the current economic impact of COVID-19 to further threaten food security and the livelihoods of vulnerable pastoralist and agro-pastoralist communities throughout the greater Horn of Africa.

These already vulnerable households are now hit with a triple shock in COVID-19, desert locusts and the risk of a Rift Valley Fever (RVF) outbreak. Climatic and ecological conditions have made a favorable environment for swarms to grow and consume pasture and crops.

In response, pastoralists have begun to move to non-traditional grazing lands to find pasture and browse for their livestock. The loss of browse and pasture as well as irregular movement can lead to resource-based conflict or pastoralists may not be able to access the pasture their herds need. IGAD and FAO have also warned of a potential RVF outbreak – a disease which impacts both livestock and humans.

In addition, COVID-19 has had a negative impact on pastoral and agro-pastoral populations due to movement restrictions and curfews which have limited access to pasture. The confluence of these triple shocks poses a high risk to food security and livelihoods and particularly for the wellbeing of women and girls. Lower meat and milk production leads to poor dietary options, limited food available to herders and their families, and lower income from sales which is less resources for necessary household goods and services.

The compounded crises are also putting unprecedented pressure on women, including on their rights and their food security - as men move in search of pastureland, women are left behind with the sole responsibility of child care and providing food for the family. Moreover, expected market disruptions, food shocks, pressure on land and water resources, and increases in malnutrition will be particularly difficult for women, who often eat last and least.

Urgent support is necessary to complement the already ongoing efforts by NGOs, governments and UN agencies, otherwise the desert locust crisis will lead to increased vulnerability of pastoralist and agro-pastoralists communities throughout the greater Horn of Africa.

"The worst outbreak of desert locusts in 70 years threatens to decimate rangeland and crops in the Horn of Africa and potentially the Sahel. There is risk of a Rift Valley Fever outbreak that further threatens livestock and human health. COVID-19 is already disrupting markets, driving up food prices, squeezing small businesses and limiting livestock trade in addition to the direct health impacts. Ongoing conflict further limits trade and humanitarian access in some areas, particularly in southern Somalia. Humanitarian response is currently inadequate. Acting now would save lives and be less costly than responding to what could become a famine." – Allison Huggins, Mercy Corps Deputy Regional Director – Africa

The RDLA recommends tailored and market-sensitive responses to meet the diverse needs of affected pastoralist and agro-pastoralist communities. Responses should be designed based upon assessments which not only account for the needs of pastoralist and agro-pastoralist communities, including the identification of how men and women have been differently affected, but also market assessments to ensure that actions do not adversely impact existing fragile markets. The RDLA advocates for support to pastoralist communities by:

• protecting production through distribution of supplementary feeds as well as livestock health responses in line with the Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS)
• bolstering markets through support to traders and scaled up cash transfers to households to strengthen purchasing power
• ensuring access to nutritious foods for the most vulnerable pastoralists and agro-pastoralists
• increasing preparedness capacity to prevent frictions between groups over limited resources.

Actors should work in close partnership with local governments in their response and engage with country-level Food Security and Livelihoods clusters and/or Agriculture / Livestock sectors to build back better and more inclusive food system. Ultimately, ensuring responses are needs-driven, gender-responsive, evidence-based, results-oriented and market-sensitive is critical to mitigating the impact of the crisis for pastoralist and agro-pastoralist households and the wider systems in which they operate.

The time to support pastoralists and agro-pastoralists in locust affected areas is now, potentially until the next rains which are due in October/November. Livestock body condition needs to be sustained so that milk will be produced for the households, protecting them - especially children - against malnutrition during the upcoming dry season.

Losing economic gains may also risk the empowerment and decision-making roles that women have been able to claim for themselves to date. Support is needed in the form of direct assistance to affected households, but also to wider systemic issues such as enabling livestock trade, local government policy, fodder production, distribution and storage systems; expanding quality, affordable and reliable veterinary products and services to remote areas; maintaining and expanding locust (and other hazards) early warning systems; enabling pastoralists and agro-pastoralists to communicate and stay up to date with context changes, weather forecasts, COVID-19 mitigation measures and so on.

This work will take time and necessarily involve both public and private sectors as well as the humanitarian and development communities.

Boosting sustainability in SA’s agricultural sector

Johannesburg, South Africa – 4 August 2020: Microsoft South Africa has announced an investment of up to R40 million in South Africa’s agriculture sector, which is one of the country’s critical industries driving growth and job creation.

The investment is aimed at driving sustainability in the sector for smallholder farmers, who form an important part of the agricultural workforce in the country. Over two million of these farmers help reduce poverty for local communities and establish food systems for South Africa and the wider southern African region. However, they face challenges that prevent them from becoming commercially viable, efficient and sustainable.

“There is no doubt that South Africa’s smallholder farmers have significant potential to drive growth and employment opportunities, as well as enable other sectors within the country to ultimately drive food security. This makes it critical to invest in the sector to address the challenges they face. Key challenges are a lack of infrastructure, access to competitive formal markets, production and business skills, funding and financial support to re-invest in their farming activities, and compliance with food safety regulations and legislation,” says Lillian Barnard, Managing Director at Microsoft South Africa.

The investment is geared towards using technology as an enabler to address these challenges. Broadly, this means harnessing the power of technology to help improve the economic participation and contribution, efficiencies, viability and sustainability of South Africa’s smallholder farmers. It also aims to help meet broader South African National Development Plan goals. This includes creating job opportunities and facilitating skills development to attract more people into key sectors such as agriculture – particularly youth and women.

A report by Research ICT Africa on ‘Paving the way towards digitalising agriculture in South Africa’ shows advanced technologies like the Internet of Things, remote sensing technologies, and unmanned aerial vehicles can transform the agricultural sector and help to address South Africa’s food security challenges, create jobs, and address historical inequalities by reducing costs, conserving resources, optimising inputs and maximising outputs.

Microsoft’s investment will be aimed at identifying and appointing established tech companies in South Africa, and working with these companies to conceptualise, develop and roll-out various high-impact solutions in the agriculture sector. These solutions will address the challenges that the country’s smallholder farmers face, and make a meaningful economic impact.

“Our investment is aimed at making a real difference in one of South Africa’s most vital sectors by harnessing the power of technology. High-impact technological solutions will improve efficiencies in smallholder farming, lower the cost of production, improve access to local and international markets, improve compliance with legislation, and drive access to information, among others. By investing in the agriculture sector and unlocking the potential of technology to act as an enabler for growth and skills development, we are showing our commitment to driving sustainability and creating opportunities in one of South Africa’s most critical, job-creating industries,” concludes Barnard.