Mass Vaccination Programme: Preventing Deadly Diseases in Small Livestock in Keonjhar

Establishing sustainable private-public delivery systems for basic vaccination of BYP and small ruminants is bringing about change in Keonjhar, combating deadly diseases that wipe out the stock on a regular basis thereby offering hope to the landless poor.

L ivestock, especially backyard poultry birds (BYP) and shoats (sheep and goat), has been the most significant contributor to the livelihoods of the poor and marginalized rural families of society, especially women—it not only enhances their food security but also meets most of their cash flow needs, including in emergencies. The poorer the family, the higher is the relevance of small livestock in their life. That is why probably poultry birds are called the poor woman’s ATM and goats are called a poor man’s cow.

However, livestock suffer immensely due to the absence of proper supporting service systems in the area. The occurrence of destructive diseases such as Newcastle Disease (ND) and fowl-pox in poultry birds, and Peste Des Petits Ruminants (PPR), enterotoxaemia and goat-pox in goats has severely affected this sector, causing frequent mass mortality. In spite of this, the poor farmers do not give up and continue to rear poultry and shoats. Most poor families either borrow new stock from relatives and neighbours or take a loan from their SHGs to restart the activity.

Both poultry birds and shoats have a high regeneration potential and, thus, within a small period, a sizeable increase in flock or herd size can be attained. If mortality can be checked and some improved rearing practices ensured, this intervention can bring in a substantial income. In the absence of control over mass mortality, the families lack the confidence to make investments to rear poultry or shoats for business, and thus allow these to grow on their own at a sub-optimal level. This situation calls for a systematic intervention to control the mass mortality of livestock, in order to help poor families make a decent income.