Upscaling farmer-led targeted intervention for livestock health and poverty alleviation in Africa

寄生虫是全球放牧反刍动物疾病和产量损失的主要原因，气候变化和耐药性对其控制的挑战越来越大。在资源贫乏、粮食和收入高度依赖牲畜的边缘农业系统中，农民很少能获得有效控制寄生虫的工具。化学品投入往往供应有限，而且没有得到最佳应用，寄生虫减缓生长，降低产奶量并导致死亡。该项目以先前在博茨瓦纳山羊群中进行的针对性治疗研究为基础，该研究表明，农民可以有效地利用寄生虫影响的简单指数来确定针对性治疗并改善牲畜健康。使用该系统的农民在使用不到四分之一的处理方法的情况下，取得了与全群处理类似的改善。与此同时，研究提高了计算机模型预测感染风险作为气候和天气函数的能力。风险模型的应用可以使监测和有针对性的治疗集中在最危险的时候，可能节省劳动力并减少意外损失。这些预测模型已经帮助了英国的农民，但还没有交付给博茨瓦纳的农民。该地区非常高的移动电话使用率提供了提供此类工具的潜在途径，并为偏远地区和超出过度紧张的动物卫生推广人员范围的农民提供了支持。该项目将结合有针对性的治疗和风险预测，建立一个综合的寄生虫控制系统，在博茨瓦纳偏远的边缘农民手中发挥作用。风险预测将利用现有模型从气候数据中生成，并通过手机传达给农民。警报将提示训练有素的农民检查他们的动物并在需要时进行干预，再次通过手机反馈有关动物健康状况和所采用治疗的信息。这些信息反过来将有助于更新某一特定领域的风险概况。将制作支持应用有针对性的治疗方案的资源，并在一个便于移动电话使用的新网站上以硬拷贝形式分发，包括辅助备忘录和信息图表，以确保无论识字率或教育水平如何都能获得这些资源。在现场运行系统将表明它是有效的，并提供一个蓝图和材料，将其扩展到更广泛的区域，并在稍后的翻译阶段具有自动化的潜力。综合系统将与博茨瓦纳的主要伙伴一起交付，这些伙伴帮助确定了这项工作的必要性，并将为实地试验提供支助，然后将综合系统纳入现有的支助结构和培训中。项目成果将总结在一份政策报告中，并与合作伙伴和潜在用户进行讨论，以促进更广泛的吸收。在小农农场的山羊和绵羊中应用改进的寄生虫控制方法，有可能推动非洲大片地区家庭营养和生计的逐步变化。成果将通过现有网络传播到博茨瓦纳以外，以充分实现这些好处。

Parasites are a major cause of disease and production loss in grazing ruminants worldwide, and their control is increasingly challenged by climate change and drug resistance. In resource-poor marginal farming systems, where reliance on livestock for food and income is high, tools for effective parasite control are rarely available to farmers. Chemical inputs are often in limited supply and not optimally applied, and parasites slow growth, reduce milk yield and cause mortality.This project builds on previous research conducted on targeting treatment within goat herds in Botswana, which showed that simple indices of parasite impact can be used effectively by farmers to target treatments and improve livestock health. Farmers using the system achieved similar improvements as for whole-herd treatment, while using less than a quarter of the treatments. At the same time, research has advanced the capability of computer models to predict infection risk as a function of climate and weather. Application of risk models could enable monitoring and targeted treatment to focus on the most dangerous times, potentially saving labour and reducing unexpected losses. These prediction models have helped farmers in the UK, but have not yet been delivered to farmers in Botswana. Very high mobile phone use in the region provides a potential route to deliver such tools, and to support farmers who are in remote locations and out of the reach of over-stretched animal health extension personnel.This project will combine targeted treatment and risk prediction to produce an integrated parasite control system that works in the hands of remote marginal farmers in Botswana. Risk predictions will be generated from climate data using existing models, and communicated to farmers by mobile phone. Alerts will prompt trained farmers to check their animals and intervene as needed, feeding back information on animal health status and treatments applied, again by mobile phone. This information will, in turn, help to update risk profiles for a given area. Resources to support application of targeted treatment protocols will be produced and disseminated on a new mobile phone friendly website and in hard copy, including aide memoires and infographics to ensure access regardless of literacy or level of education. Running the system in the field will show that it works, and provide a blueprint and materials to upscale it across a wider area, with the potential for automation in a later translation phase. The integrated system will be delivered with key partners in Botswana, who have helped to identify the need for this work, and will provide support to the field trials and then to embed the integrated system into existing support structures and training. Project outcomes will be summarised in a policy report and discussed with partners and potential users, to promote wider uptake. Application of improved parasite control in goats and sheep on smallholder farms has the potential to drive step changes in household nutrition and livelihoods across large areas of Africa. Outcomes will be communicated beyond Botswana through existing networks to fully realise these benefits.