AGRICULTURAL NEWS - The correct use of vaccines and medicines is crucial to increase food security and improve animal protein production in Africa, said Dr Riaan du Preez, manager for Afrivet’s sub-Sahara Africa export and product development unit.
He was speaking at the Farmer’s Weekly Agribusiness Africa conference, at Emperors Palace in Johannesburg.
Du Preez was a panellist for the ‘Preparing for a drought’ session.
He said Africa’s track record for animal protein production, for example, is dismal, and attributed this to the incorrect use of vaccines and medicines.
He added that the conception rate in Africa is 35% to 40% for cattle, which means that, on average, six out of ten cows are eating grass without calving.
He also pointed out that about 28% of calves die before weaning, and said such poor efficiency could be managed and prevented, and “we could probably produce double the animal protein we are now”.
Read more on Farmer's Weekly.
Du Preez was a panellist for the ‘Preparing for a drought’ session.
He said Africa’s track record for animal protein production, for example, is dismal, and attributed this to the incorrect use of vaccines and medicines.
He added that the conception rate in Africa is 35% to 40% for cattle, which means that, on average, six out of ten cows are eating grass without calving.
He also pointed out that about 28% of calves die before weaning, and said such poor efficiency could be managed and prevented, and “we could probably produce double the animal protein we are now”.
Read more on Farmer's Weekly.
