ECONOMY > GEORGIA
Healthy cattle means a healthy livelihood Causing big losses to livestock farming and posing a risk to www.enpi-info.eu humans, cases of brucellosis are heavily affecting some areas of Georgia, a country where more than half the population is employed in the agriculture sector. A project implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and funded by the EU is striving to support the national authorities in containing brucellosis, and to develop a sound control strategy. An EU Neighbourhood Info Centre journalist visited an affected area. She sends us this report. Text by Maia Edilashvili Pictures by AFP © EU/Neighbourhood INFO CENTRE
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“This firm gives a livelihood to five households. For me this is an ancestral business,” says Gia Bediashvili, 48. Owning a farm of 74 cattle and 50 sheep in Sagaredjo municipality (Khakheti region), he has taken out a loan to purchase 14 cows. “So, it’s extremely important that all are healthy,” he notes, adding that just recently, blood samples were N Cows in a farm benefitting taken from his cattle for brucellosis and he is waiting anxiously for the results. from the EU funded project. Sagaredjo is among many rural areas in Georgia, where livestock farming is the only or major livelihood for locals. Throughout the country – according to the state statistics office – farming of animals is in the top five of 45 activities in terms of gross output. As of 2013, the number of cattle in Georgia almost doubled compared with 2010, exceeding 1 million. Although not an issue at national level, brucellosis is a threat for many livelihoods in several parts of the country. This “Mediterranean fever” or “Malta fever” is a zoonotic disease, meaning it can be transmitted from animals to humans, by direct or indirect contact with infected animals like cattle, sheep, goats and pigs, thus creating serious challenges to both farmers and consumers. EU Neighbourhood Info Centre What further complicates the situation is that only laboratory tests can Feature no. 137 provide a correct diagnosis. This is a series of features on The National Centre for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC) projects funded by the EU Regional reports that in the first five months of 2014, a total of 93 cases were Programme, prepared by journalists and photographers on the ground recorded. Every year for the last 10 years between 90 and 200 peo- or the EU Neighbourhood Info Centre. ple have been affected in Georgia. The most vulnerable areas are © 2014 EU Neighbourhood Info Centre
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Healthy cattle means a healthy livelihood
the Khakheti and the Kvemo Kartli regions. “Chronic Brucellosis causes infertility in most cases, but not always - says Dragan Angelovski, Chief Technical Advisor and FAO representative in Georgia - therefore it also gets easily unnoticed, especially when clinical symptoms are very weak or non-existent”. Angelovski says that because treatment is very complicated, the only way out is to destroy sick animals. He explains that in humans brucellosis is transmitted through bodily secretions: infected people can be cured, but they may be left with consequences for their whole life. N Blood sample from cows.
“As part of a long-term control strategy we have started collecting blood samples from the cattle to identify sick animals. By now we have 38,000 samples; soon we will have 250,000 samples”
Vaccination is the key According to the National Food Agency (NFA) at the Ministry of Agriculture, which is the national authority for veterinary control, villages with the highest prevalence of brucellosis in cattle are located around Tbilisi (positive cases were reported in 50% of the sampled villages) as well as in Kakheti (45%), Mtskheta-Mtianeti (32%), Kvemo Kartli (23%) and Samtskhe-Javakheti (19%). Mikheil Sokhadze, Chief Veterinary Officer and Deputy Head at the Agency, says that the average number for the whole Georgia is not very high – 5% at this moment – though the final picture has yet to be established. Sokhadze underlines that no study has been conducted in Georgia for the past 20 years. Currently, the country has no vaccination programme either. “So, as part of a long-term control strategy, we have started collecting blood samples from the cattle to identify sick animals. By now we have 38,000 samples; soon we will have 250,000 samples. After that, we will finance obligatory vaccination of young cows,” Sokhadze says. Presently, while the blood samples are being taken to the laboratories of Ministry of Agriculture and the Richard G. Lugar Centre for Public Health Research for diagnosis, a process of purchasing the vaccine via tender is underway. Meanwhile, veterinarians recommend preventive measures – including upholding professional safety rules – for farmers and veterinarians, as well as following food safety measures, using only pasteurized milk and meat. “Sick cattle must be slaughtered separately and after that disinfection must be conducted. The observation of sanitary norms and vaccination are the key,” said Nugzar Natenadze, 38, a veterinarian based in Sagaredjo. The blood checks commissioned by the NFA are a result of a project, aiming at improving the competitiveness of Georgia’s livestock sector through development of a sustainable and cost-effective national strategy for handling brucellosis. This project has been carried out from September 2013 till April 2014 by the FAO using
N Farmer Gia Bediashvili is speaking with veterinarians Ivane Dawitashvili and Zurab Rukhadze.
EU Neighbourhood Info Centre – Feature no. 137
“Sick cattle must be slaughtered separately and after that, disinfection must be conducted. The observation of sanitary norms and vaccination are the key”
Healthy cattle means a healthy livelihood
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the Georgian government funding and a contribution from the European Union’s Comprehensive Institution Building (CIB) programme. To maximize impact, the project has prioritised capacity building within the government and the veterinary services. CIB is a broader EU-funded programme developed for Eastern Partnership countries to improve their institutional performance and compatibility with the EU institutions. Under this 2012-2015 programme, the EU will allocate up to €9.7 million to key Georgian institutions to undertake the necessary reforms. For the brucellosis project in Georgia, the FAO was selected as the implementing agency. In the framework of the project, a research was conducted in the Kakheti region to study the level of awareness among locals. As a result, educational leaflets have been handed out among farmers, and posters were placed in public spaces. Also, a training workshop was organised for NFA staff. To move from strategy into broader implementation, a follow-up project valued at US$250,000 – with the same Georgia/ CIB funding mechanism – has already been approved for the period 2015-16. This new initiative places an even stronger emphasis on national capacity building, public awareness and a widespread vaccination campaign.
No compensation for culled animals If a cow or bull is diagnosed with brucellosis, the only solution is to cull them in a slaughterhouse in the presence of a veterinarian. There is no compensation for owners, but they can sell infected animals’ meat at a discounted price for use in the processing industries, where pasteurisation kills the Brucella bacteria. Pavle, 41, from the village of Ude in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region, was told recently that five out of his 13 cows were diagnosed with brucellosis. He says, it’s a “big loss” for his household business. Once farmers are notified of having a sick animal, they are
N Sheep flock from a farm.
EU Neighbourhood Info Centre – Feature no. 137
“Over time, consumers in Georgia should learn to ask important questions to farmers – show me the passport to make sure it is healthy”.
Healthy cattle means a healthy livelihood
obliged to take it to the slaughterhouse within two weeks. A fine is imposed for failing to meet the obligation. In the Sagaredjo region, where cattle breeding is the mains source of income, farmers are happy about their cattle being diagnosed, notes Jimsher Osiashvili, the NFA representative in the Kakheti region. In some places, however, owners are unwilling to believe that there is a disease. “That is why education at all levels is critical,” Angelovski stresses. Interestingly, one of the initiatives under the EU-funded project will be advocating artificial insemination. Because the Brucella is mainly concentrated in the milking part of the body and the genitals, infected bulls can often spread the infection quickly. “In rural areas, sometimes one bull is used in several villages for fertilisation. So, you can just imagine how high the risk is! This is why we will start promoting artificial insemination,” Sokhadze says. Above all, the key measure will be to give passports to all vaccinated cows so that there is a document accounting which vaccinations have been done and when. “Over time, consumers in Georgia should learn to ask important questions to farmers – show me the passport to make sure it is healthy,” Sokhadze says. “Then, there will no longer be sellers of bad product. This is why a public awareness component is paramount for this project.”
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N Grazing sheep in the protected area.
Support for brucellosis prevention, control and surveillance in Georgia – inception phase www.ge.undp.org/content/georgia/en/home/operations/projects/environment_and_energy/pastures.html
The project aims at improving the competitiveness of the livestock sector in Georgia, through development of a national brucellosis control strategy. Reduced incidence of brucellosis in susceptible animal populations will lead to higher livestock productivity and improved livelihoods. Particular focus is given to capacity building within the government and veterinary services, to maximize impact and sustainability.
Donor Georgia / EU-CIB Implementing agency FAO Government counterpart National Food Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Georgia Timeframe Sept 2013 – April 2014
To find out more FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia www.fao.org/europe/en/ EU Neighbourhood Info Centre country page: GEORGIA www.enpi-info.eu/countryeast.php?country=59 EU Neighbourhood Info Centre thematic portal: ECONOMY www.enpi-info.eu/themeeast.php?subject=4
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