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The Socio-Economic Impact of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) on Livestock Farming in Sierra Leone, an Empirical Evidence from Six (6) Districts

Received: 11 January 2024    Accepted: 26 January 2024    Published: 13 March 2024
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Abstract

As a highly infectious disease, Foot and Mouth disease (FMD) has been eradicated by many wealthy nations but remains endemic in most of the world especially countries in Sub-Saharan Africa1. When FMD outbreaks occur in disease free countries and zones that produce livestock for export, the economic impact is clear to see; however, the impact of the disease in endemic countries is more controversial, particularly when compared to diseases that cause greater mortality. Taking into account the limited resources of veterinary services for the implementation of animal disease surveillance anywhere and anytime in Sierra Leone, a socio-economic impact assessment study was conducted to quantify the impacts, spread and occurrence of the disease, in order to target and put in place precautionary control measures including targeted surveillance. The main socio-economic impact question of the study was “What is the social and economic impact of FMD in the districts under review. The study was conducted in 6 districts in the North and East of Sierra Leone. A total of 240 respondents using purposive sampling were interviewed to elicit information on the main socio-economic variables that informed the study. The study established (80%) of the sampled farmers are livestock farmers, while 32 people (13.3%) are crop farmers who mainly practice subsistence farming. The study proved that the yearly income from the sales of livestock both especially large ruminants increase to 154 (64.2%). This percentage plummeted when FMD struck in 2018-2019. The study showed that (55.8% of the household indicated that their cattle suffered from Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) during the outbreak of July-August 2018-2019, while goats and sheep suffered Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) with households reporting (70.8%) and 162 (68%) of Infection rates before the commencement of this study. The study recommended that the veterinary division of maintain and improve on active surveillance of FMD, update surveillance plan targeting priority districts and hotspots of FMD outbreak such as livestock markets to maintain the current status of Low risk to prevent social and economic impacts’

Published in International Journal of Agricultural Economics (Volume 9, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijae.20240902.13
Page(s) 59-75
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Foot and Mouth Disease, Ruminants, Veterinary, Sierra Leone, Paddocks

References
[1] Abbot, Husby (2013)- Animal health and FMD in sub-saharan Africa, a compelling situation for action.
[2] Benson Jamie (2012) – The African perspective- Transboundary Animal disease and its impact on smallholder farmers.
[3] Bently, Pearce (2022)- The impact of FMD on smallholder livestock farmers- Practices and principles.
[4] Cotlet, Philips J (2018). Emerging trends of FMD in Sub-Saharan Africa.
[5] FAO (2017). i. http://empres-i.fao.org/eipws3g/ FAO (2018). A Study on the FMD in Afri-ca.
[6] GIS Development Team (2016). – GIS Geographic Information System. Open Source Geospatial Foundation Project. http://www.qgis.org/http://www.fao.org/ag/agai
[7] Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (2019)- Veterinary services and disease control measures in risk areas of Sierra Leone.
[8] Perry and Rich, (2007)- Understanding the impact of FMD in Africa and Asia- A qualitative assessment.
[9] Thompson, (1994) – The risk phenomenon on livestock diseases in Sub-Saharan.
[10] Tholley (2020)- The risk assessment of FMD spread and impact on livestock farmers in Sierra Leone Africa.
[11] UNDP (2014) - The foundation of an environment free animal disease, prevention and control.
[12] UNDP (2016) Annual reports of Transboundary Animal diseases in Sierra Leone.
[13] World Animal Health Information Database (2020) (WAHIS Interface) https://www.oie.int/wahis_2/public/wahid.php/Countryinformation/Countryreports
[14] World Organization of Animal Health (WOAH) (2015) - Reports on animal deaths and economic loss to farmers.
[15] World Bank (2015) –The financial implications of animal disease in third world economies.
[16] World Health Organization (2020) Reports of zoonotic diseases and animal health in sub-saharan Africa.
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    Kargbo, M. B., Bangura, S. R. (2024). The Socio-Economic Impact of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) on Livestock Farming in Sierra Leone, an Empirical Evidence from Six (6) Districts. International Journal of Agricultural Economics, 9(2), 59-75. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20240902.13

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    ACS Style

    Kargbo, M. B.; Bangura, S. R. The Socio-Economic Impact of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) on Livestock Farming in Sierra Leone, an Empirical Evidence from Six (6) Districts. Int. J. Agric. Econ. 2024, 9(2), 59-75. doi: 10.11648/j.ijae.20240902.13

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    AMA Style

    Kargbo MB, Bangura SR. The Socio-Economic Impact of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) on Livestock Farming in Sierra Leone, an Empirical Evidence from Six (6) Districts. Int J Agric Econ. 2024;9(2):59-75. doi: 10.11648/j.ijae.20240902.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijae.20240902.13,
      author = {Maurice Baimba Kargbo and Sheka Ramadan Bangura},
      title = {The Socio-Economic Impact of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) on Livestock Farming in Sierra Leone, an Empirical Evidence from Six (6) Districts},
      journal = {International Journal of Agricultural Economics},
      volume = {9},
      number = {2},
      pages = {59-75},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijae.20240902.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20240902.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijae.20240902.13},
      abstract = {As a highly infectious disease, Foot and Mouth disease (FMD) has been eradicated by many wealthy nations but remains endemic in most of the world especially countries in Sub-Saharan Africa1. When FMD outbreaks occur in disease free countries and zones that produce livestock for export, the economic impact is clear to see; however, the impact of the disease in endemic countries is more controversial, particularly when compared to diseases that cause greater mortality. Taking into account the limited resources of veterinary services for the implementation of animal disease surveillance anywhere and anytime in Sierra Leone, a socio-economic impact assessment study was conducted to quantify the impacts, spread and occurrence of the disease, in order to target and put in place precautionary control measures including targeted surveillance. The main socio-economic impact question of the study was “What is the social and economic impact of FMD in the districts under review. The study was conducted in 6 districts in the North and East of Sierra Leone. A total of 240 respondents using purposive sampling were interviewed to elicit information on the main socio-economic variables that informed the study. The study established (80%) of the sampled farmers are livestock farmers, while 32 people (13.3%) are crop farmers who mainly practice subsistence farming. The study proved that the yearly income from the sales of livestock both especially large ruminants increase to 154 (64.2%). This percentage plummeted when FMD struck in 2018-2019. The study showed that (55.8% of the household indicated that their cattle suffered from Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) during the outbreak of July-August 2018-2019, while goats and sheep suffered Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) with households reporting (70.8%) and 162 (68%) of Infection rates before the commencement of this study. The study recommended that the veterinary division of maintain and improve on active surveillance of FMD, update surveillance plan targeting priority districts and hotspots of FMD outbreak such as livestock markets to maintain the current status of Low risk to prevent social and economic impacts’
    },
     year = {2024}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - The Socio-Economic Impact of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) on Livestock Farming in Sierra Leone, an Empirical Evidence from Six (6) Districts
    AU  - Maurice Baimba Kargbo
    AU  - Sheka Ramadan Bangura
    Y1  - 2024/03/13
    PY  - 2024
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20240902.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijae.20240902.13
    T2  - International Journal of Agricultural Economics
    JF  - International Journal of Agricultural Economics
    JO  - International Journal of Agricultural Economics
    SP  - 59
    EP  - 75
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-3843
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20240902.13
    AB  - As a highly infectious disease, Foot and Mouth disease (FMD) has been eradicated by many wealthy nations but remains endemic in most of the world especially countries in Sub-Saharan Africa1. When FMD outbreaks occur in disease free countries and zones that produce livestock for export, the economic impact is clear to see; however, the impact of the disease in endemic countries is more controversial, particularly when compared to diseases that cause greater mortality. Taking into account the limited resources of veterinary services for the implementation of animal disease surveillance anywhere and anytime in Sierra Leone, a socio-economic impact assessment study was conducted to quantify the impacts, spread and occurrence of the disease, in order to target and put in place precautionary control measures including targeted surveillance. The main socio-economic impact question of the study was “What is the social and economic impact of FMD in the districts under review. The study was conducted in 6 districts in the North and East of Sierra Leone. A total of 240 respondents using purposive sampling were interviewed to elicit information on the main socio-economic variables that informed the study. The study established (80%) of the sampled farmers are livestock farmers, while 32 people (13.3%) are crop farmers who mainly practice subsistence farming. The study proved that the yearly income from the sales of livestock both especially large ruminants increase to 154 (64.2%). This percentage plummeted when FMD struck in 2018-2019. The study showed that (55.8% of the household indicated that their cattle suffered from Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) during the outbreak of July-August 2018-2019, while goats and sheep suffered Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) with households reporting (70.8%) and 162 (68%) of Infection rates before the commencement of this study. The study recommended that the veterinary division of maintain and improve on active surveillance of FMD, update surveillance plan targeting priority districts and hotspots of FMD outbreak such as livestock markets to maintain the current status of Low risk to prevent social and economic impacts’
    
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources Management, Ernest Bai Koroma University of Science and Technology, Magburaka, Sierra Leone

  • Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources Management, Ernest Bai Koroma University of Science and Technology, Magburaka, Sierra Leone

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