The Effects Of The Cash And Carry System In Animal Health Care Delivery On Peasant Livestock Farmers’ Output In The Bolgatanga Municipal

ABSTRACT

The main constraints to livestock development in Ghana are diseases, nutrition. The impacts of these diseases are devastating in peasant farmers’ households. However, there are no adequate veterinary services to support in Animal Health Care. The study was carried out in the Bolgatanga Municipality of the Upper East Region of Ghana to assess the effects of cash and carry of veterinary health care delivery on peasant livestock farmers’ output using hundred peasant livestock farmers from ten communities who were selected using purposive and simple random sampling techniques and ten veterinary personnel from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA). Semi-structured questionnaire and personal observation were employed. Only 54% of the farmers treat their sick livestock while 46% of them sell, slaughter or simply take no action when their livestock are sick due to their inability to afford services as veterinary officers charge high rates for services due to the absence of a regulatory mechanism to check and monitor their activities. Majority of the farmers do not also have access to veterinary health care services in the Bolgatanga municipality due to limited number of veterinary officers. Output of livestock of peasant farmers is thus seriously affected leading to high mortality rates, up to 50% or even more. This also results in high income losses to farmers’ households, between a minimum of GH¢45.00 to a maximum of GH¢2,650.00 annually. The Veterinary Services Department should educate farmers on the health needs of their livestock, MoFA should monitor services rendered by veterinary personnel, MoFA should set price ceilings for various services to make it affordable for farmers and health insurance scheme should be instituted by MoFA for livestock health care services.