Correspondence from Northern Region The Savannah Regional Director of Agriculture, Seidu Sulemana, has disclosed that the Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) training program for veterinary officers has equipped them with the skills to train livestock farmers in disease prevention and management, which could save over 600,000 livestock in the region.
According to him, the trainers' program organized for veterinary technical officers from North, North East, and Central Gonja Districts of the Savannah Region will empower them to impact the knowledge learned on the farmers in the three districts, which will go a long way in increasing the productivity of the farmers.
Mr Sulemana said the three districts had a combined cattle population of 217,102, a sheep population of 202,233, and a goat population of 213,878.
He, however, noted that livestock diseases such as contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) and anthrax in cattle, Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) disease, also known as goat and sheep plague among small ruminants, have been some of the major killer diseases of livestock in the region, with farmers losing thousands of livestock annually.
