Nyokabi Ndungu S, Berg Stefan, Mihret Adane, Almaw Gizat, Worku Gizachew Gemechu, Lindahl Johanna F, Wood James L N, Moore Henrietta L
Institute for Global Prosperity, University College London, London, UK.
Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
Transbound Emerg Dis. 2023 Aug 14;2023:2277409. doi: 10.1155/2023/2277409. eCollection 2023.
Dairy production is an important livelihood source for smallholder dairy farmers who produce the majority of milk consumed and traded in Ethiopia. Dairy production is, however, constrained by livestock diseases that impact farm productivity, food safety, and animal welfare. Biosecurity measures (BSM) include all risk reduction strategies designed to avoid the introduction of pathogenic infections from outside and minimise the spread of diseases within dairy herds. This study used a cross-sectional survey to investigate the adoption of BSM in dairy farms in Addis Ababa and Oromia regions of Ethiopia. Using a questionnaire, scores for adopted external and internal BSM were calculated based on the Ghent's University Biocheck tool to compare the performance of different farms in Ethiopia. The weighted external biosecurity score was 49.1%, which was below average (below 50% adoption), while the weighted internal biosecurity score was 55.5%. Low adoption of crucial BSM increases the risk of disease introduction into dairy farms and transmission within herds. Adoption of BSM at the farm level was driven by individual, demographic, and socio-economic drivers, including education, farming system, milk value chain, and farming experience among others. Results of this research reveal low adoption of BSM and the imperative to encourage farmers to implement BSM can lead to a reduction in disease pressures and, thus, a reduction in antibiotic use and increased dairy farms productivity, and improved animal health and welfare. Farmers can be encouraged through proactive engagement with veterinarians and extension professionals. Moreover, creating a favourable policy environment can support farmers to adopt and implement BSM, given the known fact that "prevention is better and cheaper than curing diseases."
乳制品生产是埃塞俄比亚小农户重要的生计来源，这些小农户生产了该国大部分消费和交易的牛奶。然而，乳制品生产受到牲畜疾病的制约，这些疾病影响农场生产力、食品安全和动物福利。生物安全措施（BSM）包括所有旨在避免引入外部病原感染并尽量减少疾病在奶牛群中传播的风险降低策略。本研究采用横断面调查方法，调查埃塞俄比亚亚的斯亚贝巴和奥罗米亚地区奶牛场生物安全措施的采用情况。通过问卷调查，基于根特大学的Biocheck工具计算采用的外部和内部生物安全措施得分，以比较埃塞俄比亚不同农场的表现。加权外部生物安全得分是49.1%，低于平均水平（采用率低于50%），而加权内部生物安全得分是55.5%。关键生物安全措施采用率低会增加疾病引入奶牛场并在牛群中传播的风险。农场层面生物安全措施的采用受到个人、人口统计学和社会经济因素的驱动，包括教育、养殖系统、牛奶价值链和养殖经验等。本研究结果显示生物安全措施采用率低，鼓励农民实施生物安全措施势在必行，这可以减轻疾病压力，从而减少抗生素使用，提高奶牛场生产力，并改善动物健康和福利。可以通过与兽医和推广专业人员积极互动来鼓励农民。此外，鉴于“预防优于治疗且成本更低”这一已知事实，营造有利的政策环境可以支持农民采用和实施生物安全措施。
