@FAOGhana/David Youngs

Farmers at the fore front of tackling global threat of Antimicrobial Resistance

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has built the capacities of 46 Farmer Field School (FFS) participants on Behaviour Change in Antimicrobial Use in poultry Production in Dormaa Ahenkro and Wamfie in the Bono Region of Ghana.

Antimicrobial use and its resistance has become a threat on global public health and food security. With support from the FAO and its allied Tripartite members, Ghana has developed a National Action Plan on AMR (NAP) in alignment with the Global Action Plan on AMR (GAP) and the FAO AMR Action Plan. 

A study on behaviour change of antimicrobial use among poultry farmers was piloted in Dormaa Central Municipality and Dormaa East District. After a-  Knowledge, Attitude and Practice KAP study to identify the drivers of AMU and AMR in poultry production, the findings culminated into implementation of the intervention strategy using Farmer Field School (FFS) approach.

Farmer Field School approach

The Farmer Field School Approach is an innovative, participatory and interactive learning approach that emphasizes problem solving and discovery-based learning. FFS aims at building farmers’ capacity to analyze their production systems, identify problems, test possible solutions, and eventually encourage the participants to adopt the practices most suitable to their farming systems.

In Ghana, the FAO and the Ghana Government through Veterinary Services Directorate are working with the poultry farmers in Dormaa and Wamfie area on changing undesirable behaviours of farmers in the use of medicines in poultry production.

Speaking at the graduation of the 46 participants in Dormaa Ahenkro, the Municipal Chief executive of  Dormaa, Drissa Ouattara urged participants to hold on to what they have learnt from the school as that will lift them out of poverty and attract investors into the  poultry industry in the Bono Region.

He said the inappropriate use of antibiotics will not help the poultry industry move anywhere. He Commended the FAO for this gesture and for choosing the Region for this important programme.

Mark Caudell, the FAO Regional AMR social science coordinator observed that the graduation in Ghana and Kenya represents the regional commitment of FAO to addressing AMR. He said the results conceded together across Ghana and Kenya suggest that FFS approach may be a powerful tool to address the rise and spread of AMR.

Mark Caudell said FFS participants now report less use of antimicrobials, better biosecurity, more records keeping, and are reaching out to veterinarians as the first point of call when their birds are sick.

He stressed that, the impact of the Farmer Field School relies on the members continuing to put into practice what they have learnt as they have become pioneers of the FFS in Ghana.

On her part, the FAO Representative to Ghana Jocelyn Brown Hall in congratulating the participants, noted that, the expected impact of this global menace in 2050 is estimated at 10 million annual human deaths and a decrease in global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of USD 100 trillion.

“It is therefore necessary that to tackle this effectively, we must work with the farmers who are at the fore front of using these medicines”. She added.

She noted that the availability and use of these antimicrobial drugs in humans, animals and in crop production is essential for both health and productivity and contributes immensely to well-being, food security, food safety and animal welfare. However, inappropriate use of these drugs leads to development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Some of the areas of FAO collaboration and support include revision of AMR legislation in one health spirit; annual celebration of World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) and training of media practitioners to promote awareness creation and sensitization of stakeholders and the general public on  AMR and the assessment of laboratories for AMR surveillance.