Participatory rural appraisal to investigate constraints in reporting cattle mortalities in the Odi district of North West Province, south Africa

Mortalities in cattle can have severe financial implications for small scale and communal farmers in South Africa. They could also be a measurable indicator for surveillance of animal diseases, such as those listed by the Office International des Epizooties (OIE), or diseases included in the regulations of the South African Animal Diseases Act, 1984 (Act 35 of 1984). In order to prevent further mortalities and for accurate surveillance and monitoring of diseases, it is important that farmers participate in the determination of causes of mortality in their cattle. This paper reports on constraints of the reporting diseases to the state veterinary services, the study area being Odi district, in the North West Province. The method that was followed was based on participatory rural appraisal. The selected cattle owners participated in every phase. They were the ones who first spoke to veterinary services about ways to decrease the diseases and mortalities of their cattle. A questionnaire to verify the facts complemented the survey. A total number of 60 farmers were randomly selected from 12 villages. One farmer withdrew, leaving 59 farmers. Most of the farmers in the study were men ( n = 55). The area of study was communal and the farming system traditional and extensive. It was suspected that there was a communication problem and this was proven by the results of the research, as 23 farmers were not even aware that mortalities have to be reported by law. The real problem was that causes of death were not being diagnosed because farmers were not aware that a necropsy could give information on the causes of death. Farmers were keen to receive training in elementary necropsy techniques so as to be able to discuss the cause of death of cattle with the state veterinarian.