The following story is provided by Mary Young at the KYEEMA Foundation. Two decades ago, ACIAR and AusAID funded research into developing and using thermotolerant vaccines to protect poultry against Newcastle disease (ND). The ND (I-2) vaccine has been rolled out in many countries around the world. This work has delivered exceptionally high socio-economic returns and outcomes on the ground. This is one story in a small collection of impacts on smallholder farmers in Singida, Tanzania.
Asha Ramadhani
Asha lives in Musungua Village in Singida. She grows crops and keeps livestock, and is a Community Vaccinator. Asha was selected to be a Community Vaccinator by the sub-village members due to her diligence and integrity. She went to training on ND control and learned about the disease and how to vaccinate chickens. In the last campaign in May 2012 she vaccinated 1,500 chickens in 98 households in her sub-village over a period of eight days.
She started keeping chickens a long time ago. Before the introduction of the ND control project she usually owned up to 20 chickens but when outbreaks of ND occurred, all the chickens died. After the introduction and implementation of ND vaccination campaigns there were no more outbreaks of ND. Asha also vaccinates her own chickens during the campaigns and currently owns around 50 chickens. At the last vaccination campaign in May she owned 70 chickens but sold 20 cocks (at TZS 9000 each, approximately A$5.40) to buy four goats.
She is now practising improved husbandry by providing her chickens with supplementary feed she formulates herself using sorghum, maize bran, sunflower seed cake and calcium.
Asha Ramadhani with children from Musungua Village. Photo Credit: M Young (KYEEMA)