Old Proposal – Agriculture Surveillance in Haiti

Source: vethno

¶ After the Haitian earthquake, I published several posts regarding agricultural surveillance, as well as surveillance of human disease using open source technology. Later, I was contacted by a consortium to submit some additional information for a proposal to obtain funding to continue to build out disease and infrastructure surveillance mechanisms in the country. I didn’t hear anything more from them, so I thought it would be interesting to publish a portion of my submission. It’s quite general, as I did not want to provide additional details at the time. Additionally, some of it is information already provided on this site. In any event, I ran across this the other day and I thought it might be interesting to put out there.

Agricultural Surveillance in Haiti:

¶ With over two thirds of the Haitian population engaged or reliant upon agriculture, support to this sector is critical for both the near-term and long-term health of the country and it’s people. Interventions and support must take a truly ‘One Health’ approach, where human, animal, crop and environmental health are all included in a holistic strategy for recovery. Critical needs exist in human disease surveillance, particularly in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, but this need is also present in rural areas, largely untouched by international response mechanisms.

¶ Over 500,000 people fled the urban centers for rural regions following the earthquake, and even though some might have returned in the interim, many still remain in rural areas, thereby creating a variety of additional burdens on an already overtaxed system. Smallholder farms are the mainstay for much of the Haitian population, acting to not only feed individual families, but also to drive a portion of the economy that is important to the overall health of the nation. As early as 2009, farmers’ groups were engaged in protests at the national level, lobbying the government to focus on developing the country’s neglected agricultural sector in an effort to avert famine and decrease Haiti’s dependence on foreign food imports. Prior to the earthquake, Haiti imported 80% of its food, and now, some rural areas have experienced a population growth due to urban migrants that has doubled pre-quake numbers. This silent population growth has created a situation, not currently being addressed by the international community that could quickly lead to additional food insecurity, disease, and further degradation of the Haitian economy.

¶ These effects will carry on in the long-term, as crop and livestock production take time to reconstitute. Livestock are already nutritionally stressed at the end of the dry season, when forage is at its lowest quality and availability. With the arrival of the wet season, these stressed animals are more susceptible to parasites, infectious disease, and decreased reproductive capacity; thereby creating long-term implications to the overall production cycle. The sudden increases in human population act to form additional burdens on the system, since production capacity prior to the earthquake barely met individual family nutritional and monetary needs.

Source: vethno

Internal Migration and Impact on Rural Households:

The following is a map that combines information on agricultural regions in Haiti (via USAID Famine Early Warning System Network) to show food insecurity areas, as well as population displacement densities following the earthquake (via the UNOffice for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs). The size of the circles represents the relative proportions of total population migration. Notice the correlation of population movements with traditional agricultural areas. For instance, immediately following the earthquake, an estimated 62,500 Haitians relocated to the Artibonite Valley, a region that has historically received long-term foreign agriculture assistance. Due to the large population migration, it’s previous history as a site for agricultural studies and support, and it’s proximity to Port-au-Prince, this region might be one region to begin obtaining agricultural baseline information and assess the requirements of the farmers and livestock populations.

Livestock in Haiti:

¶ Haiti is comprised mostly of small, individual family farms that grow both crops and livestock for personal consumption. Excess livestock are sold to slaughter to generate additional income. Horses and donkeys are used for transportation and as draft/pack animals to carry goods.

¶ Unlike the danger of emerging human diseases directly resulting from disrupted infrastructure and living conditions following the earthquake in Haiti, the concern regarding livestock disease presents a different challenge. Haitian livestock production consists mainly of small-holder farms that grow crops and livestock primarily for their own consumption. Excess livestock are sold at market or used as a ‘bank account’ of sorts for payment and trade. Therefore, a major hurdle is obtaining baseline information about the type of livestock, the number of animals, their condition, and various production challenges faced by rural families in the different geographical regions in Haiti. Prior to the earthquake, livestock were already stressed by forage/feed limitations, parasite loads, vitamin and mineral deficiencies or excess, and lack of farmer education regarding production methods. Additionally, livestock feed sources are usually at their lowest point around February due to the dry season and crop harvests, thereby making the timing of the earthquake even more of a strain on an already stressed system. The potential destruction of animal shelters and neglect of normal production practices following the earthquake could present additional challenges and further decrease livestock growth, reproduction, and milk production. March and April begin the primary breeding season for goats and cattle in Haiti, therefore, additional stressors could cause detrimental effects upon this cycle’s kid and calf crop.

¶ Producer perspective might also not match with the true nature of disease risk in the livestock population. A previous study of livestock diseases and production methods describes how livestock owners were less likely to recognize production-related diseases as true problems; instead, catastrophic diseases like anthrax (‘Malcharbon’) were cited by Haitian farmers as the ‘most seen’ and ‘most serious’ of cattle diseases, even though the actual incidence is quite low. Parasitism (internal and external), feed deficiencies, and vitamin/mineral imbalances were observed to be the most serious production-related conditions; these were probably not as recognizable to producers, since they were chronically present for many years.

¶ Other disease concerns for the Haitian population include those affecting working animals and a variety of zoonotic diseases. Poor health of horses and donkeys translates directly to decreased productivity and livelihoods of their Haitian owners as they are relied upon to transport people, goods, water, etc. Zoonotic organisms like rabies, leptospirosis, tuberculosis, brucellosis, campylobacteriosis, escherichia coli, salmonella, and staphylococcus also pose significant risk to both animal and human populations – especially if milk is not pasteurized.

Environmental Implications:

¶ There is a wide-range of agricultural interventions that can be introduced to communities to improve livelihoods and increase incomes in rural Haiti. However, without concurrent environmental assessment and support, soil will continue to be of low quality for crop development and poor forage quality will keep livestock in a state of nutritional deficiency – affecting growth, disease prevalence and reproduction. Therefore, as an integral segment of any agricultural training and surveillance, environmental conditions in the specific location must also be considered and addressed. Cutting of trees for fuel and burning of vegetation have also led to derangements of macro and trace mineral content of the soil, thereby creating second and third order disruptions in the agricultural ecosystem whereby plants have deficiencies (or have high levels) of certain nutrients, which also affect the livestock that use the plant material for nutrition. An example of this is the high levels of phosphorus in the soil in certain regions, which is taken up by vegetation. This creates a derangement of mineral intake in livestock, contributing to a myriad of metabolic and reproductive problems. Environmental conditions set the stage for crop and animal health, which creates either opportunity or challenges for human public health, market conditions, and livelihood. Therefore, we consider environmental conditions to be instrumental in any long-term development in Haiti. While support to this arm might not be seen for some time, immediate interventions in crop and livestock production and health can be implemented in the interim, with consideration for long-term environmental support.

Source: vethno

Monitoring and Support:

¶ In parallel to the requirement to monitor for disease in the human population, measures must be put into place to collect information on the condition and disease burden in Haitian crops and livestock. Unlike it’s human counterpart however, agricultural surveillance must include broader components that incorporate production system indicators, market conditions, and environmental issues. Further, within this more holistic approach, there must be direct benefit to the local producer and individual household above and beyond the mere collection of information. Therefore, incorporated into this surveillance strategy are components that focus on training, business and production management, market value chains, continued access to information/outreach.

• Direct Assessment: Due to the nature of Haitian agriculture, obtaining baseline assessments in 2-3 locations is essential to correctly targeting critical training and surveillance components.
  • Production methods
  • Disease conditions
  • Animal and crop environmental carrying capacity
  • Food safety and consumer practices
  • Household conditions
  • Market value chains
  • Soil and forage considerations
  • Veterinary, animal health worker, and extension agent regional capacity
  • Governmental/NGO/Community organization presence and program focus

• Training: Focused on the individual producer and community-based animal health workers, leveraging existing farmer community groups
  • Production methods
  • Physical signs of disease and treatment options
    • visual aids to include pictures, video, and flow charts
    • production practices and treatment options
    • directly tied into surveillance system
  • Business practices, marketing, and integrated production management
  • Environmental impact and long-term sustainable production
  • Mobile and web-based surveillance reporting, information requests and production tracking

• Surveillance: Continued development of mobile and web-based capabilities already operational in the country, coupled with underlying disease and production-related indicators
  • SMS/MMS infrastructure
  • Standardized mobile and web-based forms for conducting assessments and surveillance
  • Capability to incorporate non-standardized (‘crowdsourced’) reporting
  • Use of an underlying taxonomy for physical signs of disease, production indicators, and market/household conditions
  • Ability to request addition information or provide feedback to the user base via both automated, taxonomy-based queries and situation-specific, human network interactions
  • Provide information compatible with local and international programs (e.g. community organizations, FEWSNET, LEGS, FAO, etc.)

• Facilitation and Information:
  • Maintain a central repository of information gathered from the system, accessible by cooperating entities and engaged population
  • Develop multi-format, informational resources for user-level training, agricultural production information, public health, and environmental methodology
  • Provide an open forum for entities engaged in agricultural, public health, and environmental programs, to facilitate coordination and sharing of information related to ongoing successes and challenges

Tagged as: Agriculture, Biosurveillance, education and training, emergency response, Haiti, Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards