Farmers must report animal diseases
The Meat Board of Namibia has urged Namibian farmers and veterinary personnel to report any notifiable diseases."Producers and veterinary personnel from both the government and private sector are requested to report all notifiable animal diseases. It is also mandatory in terms of the Animal Health Act of 2011," it said.
Notifiable diseases, include, for example, foot-and-mouth disease, bovine lung disease, rabies, and measles.
"Reporting is extremely essential to monitor disease trends and prevent outbreaks or be able to contain them in time," the Meat Board said.
Keep track
The board also reminded producers that it is mandatory to keep records in terms of farming activities, as stipulated in the Animal Health Act and the Animal Identification Regulations (2017).
"Records must be kept by all producers, regardless of whether the relevant producer delivers to the export market or not. "Record keeping is a national requirement, so is the identification of livestock by means of stock brand and ear tags/tattooing," it said.
Study seeds
In other agricultural news, as part of the agreement signed between the Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB) and the University of Namibia (Unam) in 2020, the two institutions have since embarked on a trial research project in various production zones across the country.
The main objective of the project is to produce high-quality seed varieties that are adaptable to Namibia’s soil and climatic conditions and have increased yield potential.
To further enhance the implementation, the research project collaborated with key seed companies in Zambia to offer training and share best agricultural practices with Namibian seed researchers.
A delegation of agricultural experts from the two institutions is currently undergoing training in areas of seed breeding, production, storage and processing of high-quality seed varieties for white maize, wheat and soy beans in Lusaka, Zambia.
In addition, the training will also incorporate field trial observations for practical learning.
As a host to some of the most established quality seed suppliers in SADC, Zambia makes the training collaboration beneficial to the seed research project and is a step closer to addressing the gap in the seed production industry.