Tapping Indigenous Knowledge to Time Strategic De-worming Treatment of Livestock on Communal Grazing Lands in the East of Namibia

Abstract

Strategic de-worming is a cost-effective management intervention to which farm animals are subjected at specific times in the year to prevent pasture contamination, reduce infestation rates and eliminate the negative effects of parasitosis to maximize production and economic gain. No studies, on which strategic de-worming interventions could be based, have been undertaken to establish the epidemiology of parasitic diseases on communal livestock farms in Namibia. In this study, the participatory workshop approach (PWA), whereby communal farmers were involved in generating epidemiological information based on local experiences, was used. The PWA was found to be a useful tool in shedding light on the evolution of annual events related to local environment, farm management, and the health conditions of animals, which determine infestation rates and the onset of manifestations caused by parasites in farm animals. It was found that there exist seasonal variations in local environmental conditions, some of which are favourable others unfavourable for free-living forms of parasites. It was also found that the negative effect of parasites on livestock was most severe during the hot-dry season (September – December), a season when available livestock feed is generally scarce. Based on the findings, the first halt of winter was suggested as an optimum time for the strategic de-worming of farm animals in the eastern communal area of Namibia.