Dairy farmers in Ethiopia successfully adopt herbal recipes and other natural measures

Hester Foppen is secretary of the Board of the the Natural Livestock Farming Foundation (NLF), consortium partner in the Applied Research Fund (ARF) project “Enhancing safety and quality of milk in Ethiopia”. During her stay in Ethiopia, Hester contacted partner organization Ethiopian Society of Animal Production (ESAP) to visit some of the farmers in Ethiopia who have been trained in the use of herbal medicines and other natural methods.

In her blog, Hester describes how a farmer successfully uses different measures, which she learnt through training provided by NLF partners from Ethiopia, India and the Netherlands have helped her and her teenage son to improve the health of their cows.

Hester´s conclusion is that all these measures are life saving interventions which altogether are easy to apply, low cost and high impact. Within the farmer community she visited, mortality especially in calves was very high and mastitis had a negative impact on milk
productivity and quality, while the region is producing almost all dairy products for the capital town of Addis Ababa. Many farmers
decided to sell their cows because of the high mortality and high costs, now they regret this decision because they realize simple measures can keep the cows and calves healthy.

Download the complete blog “Dairy farmers in Ethiopia successfully adopt herbal recipes and other natural measures” by Hester Foppen.