Cattle dips in Busia will be revived, three decades since their collapse now that the country assembly has adopted a report to that effect.
The dips' collapse followed the introduction of the World Bank/ International Monetary Fund supported structural adjustments programme demanding the privatisation of veterinary services in the early 1980s.
Malaba Central MCA Bernard Papa, who moved the motion, said the revival of cattle dips will help farmers who can’t afford high charges of spraying their animals. It will also ensure the repossession of grabbed cattle dip land.
Agriculture committee chairman Joab Oteba said Busia has a high prevalence of tick-borne diseases such as East Coast fever. He said control of ticks and tsetse flies is key to improved livestock husbandry.
Oteba said spraying the animals using hand sprayers had not been effective.
Agriculture executive Moses Osia said the collapse of the cattle dips was due to among others, lack of budgetary allocation for their maintenance, lack of ownership and laxity of farmers.
Osia said the department intends to construct nine crush-pens for restraining animals during vaccination, mass disease testing and surveillance, restraining during the breed upgrading and artificial insemination services.
