Kisinga Village, Iringa District (Photo: Penny Farrell, University of Sydney)
This village was visited by the project team on 20 November, 2012 as part of a series of field trips to help determine project sites. We were delighted that through our work, some very important intersectorial connections were made. In particular, Mr Martin Cacha, Iringa District Nutrition Officer (second left) from the human health sector and Mrs Rose Luvanda, Principal Agriculture Field Officer (pink suit) from the agriculture sector, responsible for human nutrition, met for the first time.
Tropical Diseases Research Centre, Ndola, Zambia. November 2012 (Photo: Penny Farrell, University of Sydney)
Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre, Dar es Salaam. September 2012 (Photo: Robyn Alders, University of Sydney)
The project has created a collaborative opportunity between these laboratories in Tanzania and Zambia. It will be the first time the two laboratories have worked together and the respective laboratory scientists are looking forward to sharing their knowledge and skills with their neighbours.
First international workshop, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, November 2012 (Photo: Penny Farrell, University of Sydney)
Many of the Country Coordinating Committee members met for the first time here to discuss the project.
Article by Penny Farrell
Controlling Newcastle Disease - positive outcomes for farmers and their families
Women ranking their expenses using the money from the sale of the chickens. Singida district, Tanzania, November 2012 (Photo: Brigitte Bagnol, KYEEMA Foundation)
The “Newcastle disease control project” in Tanzania is a community-based Newcastle disease (ND) control program implemented in Singida district collaboration with the Ministry of Livestock Development and Fisheries (MLDF), with the technical support of the International Rural Poultry Centre (IRPC) of the KYEEMA Foundation. The success of this project is one key factor contributing to the establishment of our new food security project. The Singida project carried out the first vaccination campaign in January 2010 using the I-2 thermotolerant vaccine produced by the Central Veterinary Laboratory (CVL) in Dar es Salaam. Each chicken received a drop of vaccine in one eye, three times a year and farmers were charged 50 TzS (corresponding to 0.031 USD) by community vaccinators. A participatory impact assessment was carried out in November 2012.
Data collected in focus group discussions with women in Musungua, Mwakiti and Unyangwe indicate that ND control has a wide impact with nutritional, health, economic and social benefits. School fees, school uniforms and school material for children are the most frequent expenses, corresponding to between 43.2% (Mwakati) and 50.7% (Musungua) of the total money earned from the sale of chickens. Food and hospital fees were ranked as the second most important expenses, between 17.9% (Mwakati) and 48% (Musungua).
ND also has implications on gender relations, poverty and food security, in terms of food availability, access, and utilisation. By converting chickens into goats, sheep and cattle women increase their food security and ensure that in the event of disease among one species, the other species will survive ensuring that the household will be food secure.
Article by Brigitte Bagnol