Pretoria -The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture, Environmental Affairs and Rural Development has handed over 11 rehabilitated dip tanks to Muden livestock farmers.
The dip tanks play a big role in ensuring that animals are given the optimum amount of care and treatment that is beneficial to their health.
MEC Lydia Johnson said the department is committed to improving the profile of communal farming in the province and diptank rehabilitation is crucial to the livestock programme.
"One of the most important aspects of the Livestock Programme is animal healthcare, the department's intention is to provide funds or make funds available to continue providing dipping material, vaccines and drugs for primary animal health care that will keep the animals healthy so that in turn when you sell some you can earn more income," Johnson told farmers.
Commenting on the current outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in Umkhanyakude District, Johnson said the department is addressing the challenge in the area and a team of veterinary doctors from the national and provincial departments are currently working with farmers on the ground to contain the spread of the disease.
"This anecdote serves as a warning to all farmers in KwaZulu-Natal to be always cautious about the health of their animals, ticks continue to be one of the most harmful livestock pests in our country and as a province we have embarked on a programme of rehabilitating all our dip tanks because we want to make sure that they can respond to the challenge of ticks."
The Provincial Executive Council, said Johnson, has approved an ambitious and far-reaching strategy to improve live stock in the province.
The strategy aims to increase the working knowledge of subsistence and emerging commercial farmers on animal husbandry and improve the health of livestock, reducing diseases and mortality and build on the existing asset base of livestock farmers.
