‘Livestock farmers should stop indiscriminate use of veterinary drugs’

By Seye Adeniyi

Dr. Olatunde Agbato, President, Animal
Care Service Konsult Nigeria Ltd,
exchanging pleasantries with
Dr. Hussein Suleiman, Egyptian
Assistant Minister of Agriculture, during
the 9th International Exhibition for
Poultry and Livestock (AGRENA)
2007 in Cairo, Egypt recently.

A prominent veterinary doctor, Kehinde Oyewole, has cautioned livestock farmers in the country to be careful with the drugs administered on their animal indiscriminately without expert’s advise or prescription. The doctor gave this advice while speaking at this year’s conference of the Nigeria Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA), Oyo State branch, held at the Institute of Agriculture, Research and Training (IAR&T), Moor Plantation, Ibadan.

According to the veterinarian who is also the chairman of NVMA in Oyo State, livestock farmers need to exercise caution in the way they administer injections and drugs on their animals. He said drug misuse and abuse is not only peculiar to human beings, adding animals also can experience it, especially if the drugs are administered by unprofessional hands. Not only that the animals stand to experience the adverse reactions of drug misuse and abuse, human beings that would consume the meats or other products from such animals are also in grave danger. “That is the more reason why the theme of this year’s conference which was “Drug Abuse in Livestock Industry, The Way Out” was more appropriate. The theme was rightly chosen in view of the increasing need to improve the quality of foods being passed to consumers,” he stated.

Speaking further, the NVMA chairman explained that livestock farmers are major contributors to food security in Nigeria, and as such, they need to be regularly educated and enlightened on how to meet the challenges in livestock industry/business, and also be updated on any latest development in the industry for a successful and profitable farming. He said while poultry meat and eggs are leading in animal protein supply in human diet, other sectors like cattle, sheep and goat, swine and recently fish are other sources of animal protein for human consumption. Livestock farming is in private hands in this country, and those livestock farmers receive little or no support from government.
“Their investments is their lives; hence, they cannot afford to experiment with money. The veterinarian of course, keeps the business going by ensuring that the animals survive the challenges of infectious agents. It is therefore necessary for stakeholders in the industry to see themselves as partners,” he further stressed.

Talking about the effects of drug misuse and abuse on animals and its attendant effects on human beings, the doctor said as antibiotic usage increases in veterinary medicine, the issue of bacteria resistance to anti-microbial therapy is becoming more worrisome, adding that the use of antibiotic in production medicine can be a potential cause of antibiotic resistance in both human and veterinary medicine, moreso that man and animal use basically same drugs.

Drug administration the veterinarian further noted can also lead to residue. In the case of antibiotics, the doctor said drug residue increase the risk of emergence of microorganisms that are resistant to specific and other antibiotics, thus leading to a population of drug resistant bacteria transferring from food to humans. “Human health is also threatened because residue of food animal drugs can acutely or cumulatively result in allergy, cancer or other terrible conditions. Also problems associated with indiscriminate use of veterinary drugs are devastating on the livestock population and also having negative impact on the livestocki farmers.

This is why the veterinary medicine professionals has been clamouring for full control on veterinary drugs usage, distribution, storage and sales. These function are inseparable in the cause of discharging our professional duties,” Dr. Oyewole stated. He also frowned at the attitude of the government towards some of the demands of the professionals and also accused the Federal Ministry of Health and most especially the National Agency for Foods, Drugs, Administration and Control (NAFDAC), for the lapses and the overall effects of veterinary drugs misuse and abuse in the country. He said all over the world, especially in other developed nations of the world like USA, the implementation of the provisions of the Act with regards to veterinary drugs is the responsibility of the ministry of agriculture in those countries.

Said he: “In the United Kingdom, for instance, both human and veterinary medicine are controlled under the Medicine Act 1968, and the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Even the licensing authorities for veterinary drugs are ministers of agriculture and health. The Veterinary Medicine Directorate is an executive agency of the Ministry of Agriculture , Fisheries and Food that implements the provision of the Acts with regards to veterinary drugs.

Similarly the Food, Drug and Cosmetic act of 1938 administered the FDA on the regulation of veterinary drugs, veterinary drug residue, pet feeds and animal health devices. It should be noted that the agencies are run by veterinary surgeons.” But in Nigeria, the doctor said the opposite is the case as NAFDAC , which is an executive agency of the Federal Ministry of Health that is responsible for the control of importation, manufacture and distribution of drugs has failed to accord due recognition to all professionals involved in drug usage, especially veterinary doctors or surgeons. He, further, lamented that “despite the fact that the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo directed NAFDAC to establish Veterinary Medicine Directorate four years ago, the leadership of the agency refused to obey the presidential directive up till now,” he stated.

He, however, called on President Umar Musa Yar’Adua to mount pressure on NAFDAC to create the directorate. “This directorate if created will be able to carry out efficient monitoring and surveillance system for veterinary drugs in the country. The chemical and drug companies are also advised to monitor their products and produce high quality drugs. Livestock farmers are also enjoined to always consult veterinary doctors for proper guidance whenever their animals fall sick instead of administering drugs and injection onthe animals by themselves,” he further emphasised. On what to do to transform the livestock industry to a profitable and rewarding enterprise, Dr. Kehinde Oyewole counselled that the consumers of animal products should also be convinced about quality of animal products before consuming them.

Government agencies, veterinary personnel, drugs and animals feed manufacturer, livestock producers and other stakeholders should ensures that animal feeds origin supplied to consumers are not only safe, but should also be drug free. This he stressed can only be achieved through effective monitoring and surveillance of veterinary drugs to control unregulated influx, sales and use of food animal drugs. “Veterinary surgeons and authorised animal health superintendents should also be involved in food animal drug regulation and control.

However, to achieve this goal, the National Assembly’s cooperation is needed and required on laws that would be enacted on livestocks and veterinary sectors and asked the legislators to be wary of those who would want to enact the laws through the back door.

‘Adequate funding of research institutes ’ll ensure food surplus’

an appeal has gone to the federal government to pay attention to the agricultural sector by making funds available for research works if the country is to ensure food sufficiency and security. An Abuja-based business man, Mr Kunle Teslim-Alao made this suggestion, while speaking at a business forum organized recently in Oyo state.

According to him, “every hand must be on deck to ensure that food is made surplus in Nigeria as this would go a long way in solving high rate of unemployment among other things. “This same call have been made at several ocassions by several people and I am making the clarion call again for us to know the importance of agriculture in nation development. That is why we are emphasising it because this country have all what it takes to be food sufficient and even feed all other African countries as, well as the rest of the world.”

We have the resources, in abundance, the agricultural potentials are there, if fully developed, the agricultural sector alone can put the country in an enviable position on global map, if we truly and sincerely exploit the great potentials we have in the sector,” he further stressed.

Teslim-Alao who is also a farmer enjoined the federal government to work out modalities that would ensure that farmers enjoy their profession and reap good profit from it “This we can do by making the economic condition conducive for farming. This would also encourage prospective entrepreneurs to invest in agriculture and make profit”.

On what it takes to be an entrepreneur in Nigeria, the Abuja-based businessman said that it is highly painful and regretable that entrepreneurs are not often given the recognition they deserve and the harsh economic condition of the country is discouraging many investors whereas entrepreneurship is the backbone of industrialization in any part of the world.

Said he: “we cannot run away from entrepreneurship just as farmers cannot make amenities with rain and sunlight. The country is seeking to attain good level of development and to achieve this, we must first of all develop our agricultural sector. The country directly or indirectly have helped many of the countries that are today referred to as world giants whereas, we are still a dwarf.