A Good Rainy Season Can Be Bad

A good rainy season should be perceived as one that starts in time, is well distributed throughout the season, and ultimately rehydrates the soil, refills water sources and revegetates rangeland.

But rainfall activities are conspicuously erratic lately, and their effects can be of concern.

To this end, although rainfall brings farmers relief, it is also associated with several adverse conditions that affect the farm environment, as well as livestock and crops in particular.

These conditions include lightning strikes, floods, mud traps and pest and disease outbreaks.

This poses a significant threat to livestock health, nutrition and general well-being, consequently compromising their productive performance and survival.

Therefore, farmers need to be wary of the threats brought about by rainfall and find means of mitigating the consequences.

The occurrence of pests has been a common threat in Namibia. For example, the outbreak of army worms in recent years in the northern regions, and the outbreak of locusts in the southern regions had a devastating impact on productivity and livelihoods.

Crop farmers have lost their yields to worms, and livestock farmers in the south have lost grass to locusts.

Moreover, livestock diseases during rainfall are highly prevalent, and the common ones farmers should look out for include footrot, sweating sickness, gall sickness and lumpy skin disease (LSD) among others.

Footrot is a bacterial infection of the hoof, characterised by lameness and a smelly wound on the hoof.

The predisposing factors include dampness or wet soils. Footrot can be prevented by keeping animals out of damp kraals or surfaces.

The treatments include cleaning and disinfecting the wound, using footbaths at kraals and injecting livestock with common antibiotics when necessary.

Furthermore, with the prevailing moist environment, the tick population is on the rise. Therefore, the prevalence of tick-borne diseases should be expected.

Sweating sickness mainly affects young calves, and the symptoms, among others, include hyperthermia, anorexia, sweating, hair loss, sensitivity and pain.

Gall sickness is characterised by fever and anaemia.

It is important to note that these diseases are deadly if not treated in time. Moreover, they can be prevented by controlling tick infestations by means of applying common anti-parasitic remedies on animals.

In addition, humans are also at risk of tick bites as some ticks carry the Congo fever virus.

Congo fever is a deadly viral disease that can be transmitted to humans through a bite by the tick carrying the virus.

It is worth noting that there have been cases of Congo fever infections reported in the country in recent years.

Therefore, everyone on a farm or handling animals should always take precautionary measures and seek immediate assistance from health professionals for tick bites.

Another disease gaining prevalence during the rainy season in the country is LSD. LSD is a viral disease affecting cattle, and is transmitted by biting insects such as flies, ticks and mosquitoes.

The predisposing factor is a wet environment that influences the proliferation of insect populations.

Animals are vulnerable as they are found around water holes and sources that are breeding grounds for insects such as mosquitoes.

LSD is, however, preventable with an annual vaccine readily available at veterinary medicine shops.

It is also advisable that farmers keep their farming environments clean and safe for themselves and their animals, and always observe and report abnormal livestock conditions or behaviours to the nearest veterinary office or livestock health experts.

Lastly, farmers should note that each rainfall season is unique in terms of commencement, distribution, intensity and associated risks.

Therefore, farmers need to adopt appropriate management strategies to circumvent possible adverse conditions.

• Erastus Ngaruka is a technical adviser of livestock and rangeland management.