A new crush. Wait...not that kind of crush!

My first week at the Faculty of Agriculture at the Nabong Campus of the National University of Laos (NUOL) was spent out in the field with the Primary Animal Health Workers (PAHWs) and community members.

Taffese, the veterinarian volunteer from Ethiopia and Lampheuy, one of our project coordinators from NUOL, began interviewing the PAHWs about their experiences and progress since their training in February. They also held community meetings for the first 4 villages to discuss the project as well as their needs for education on animal health and production.

Our discussions with the first 12 PAHWs were very rewarding. We gained great insight as to their feelings about the project, where we have been successful and where we can direct our future efforts. We learned that they are very comfortable with many technical skills such as administering injections. They also brought some of their challenges to our attention, the most common challenge being that the nearest pharmacy is in Vientiane which is about an hour’s drive away. We were pleased to learn that the PAHWs are communicating with each other quite frequently, sharing experiences and helping with treatments.


The community members feel that when they asked for the PAHWs’ support, they were very helpful and often responded to their calls very quickly despite their other commitments (the PAHWs are volunteers and most of them are also farmers, only working part-time at this job). We heard that the community is unsure about vaccination and would like to learn more about preventing various diseases as well as improving their animal management practices.

We will be using this information to create training and information sessions for the PAHWs and the communities.

Another exciting activity of the week was the building of a crush in Paksapmai village on Sunday. Safe animal handling has been an issue for most of the PAHWs and it was recommended that all livestock owners build crushes. Under Taffese’s guidance some of the teachers from the university, the chief of the village and the PAHW herself, Miss Saiponh collected the materials. On one of the hottest days since we arrived, in a matter of about 4 hours, the crush was complete!

As for my own experiences in Laos, I was thrilled to find that I feel very much at home here and I believe that this is due to the overwhelming warmth and hospitality extended to Taffesse and myself both by our colleagues at the Faculty of Agriculture and the community members.

Images from the PAHW Basic Training Workshop

PAHW training complete

The Basic Training of Primary Animal Health Workers (PAHWs) now complete, the new recruits have set off to practice theirs skills in their communities! Mentors from DAFO and the National University will be supporting the PAHWs in their work, with an initial focus on cattle vaccination.

Interviews with farmers

The farmer interviewed here in Palai village provided a good example of how to implement good management practices on limited resources. However others in the village, who had less access to land or other resources, were struggling to make ends meet and replace chickens which had been wiped out from disease last year.

Observations

Now that the baseline surveys are complete, initial observations already point to some interesting findings. For example, interviews with farmers indicate low rates of livestock vaccination in most villages, with low awareness of which vaccinations are important. Moreover, whilst some farmers have had their cattle vaccinated in the past year, most do not vaccinate poultry, considering the time and costs involved not to be worth it given the relatively lower value of poultry.

There is a significant need for support amongst low-income households who struggle to invest in livestock and feed. Through improved support for livestock health in these villages, and tailoring of project activities to beneft those in need, we hope to help resolve some of these barriers to income generation and healthy livestock production.

Village surveys

This week we are conducting baseline surveys in villages in central Laos.

It has been very informative and we are learning a lot about the different attitudes and opportunities available to farmers.

The wide differences show that there is much room for awareness-raising, income-generating activities and animal health improvements.

Photos from the farm