FAO is implementing a Progressive Management Pathway for terrestrial animal biosecurity(FAO-PMP-TAB) to strengthen biosecurity in terrestrial animal production and associated value chains (including traditional livestock species and others such as captive wildlife). Biosecurity, as defined by FAO, is an integrated approach that analyzes and manages risks to human, animal, plant life and health, and the environment. The PMP-TAB framework is currently being piloted in Tanzania, Guinea and Ghana. 

In Tanzania, the PMP-TAB pilot intervention was officially launched on 25 April 2024 in Sumbawanga, Rukwa region. The pig sub-sector was selected as priority area of work, given the devastating impact of African swine fever (ASF) to farmers and their livelihoods in the region. Adoption of basic biosecurity practices is the best and only way to prevent the introduction and spread of ASF and many other diseases on farms. 

Back in December 2023, public and private stakeholders gathered at a participatory workshop to co-create the pilot intervention with the aim of progressively adopting biosecurity practices in pig farms across the 19 wards of Sumbawanga District. A biosecurity checklist was developed (based on reviewing existing literature, consultation with local stakeholders, subject experts and field visits), which outlines the recommended practices to adopt and is intended to be tailored and practical. The development of biosecurity checklists represents a common entry point to engage governments and local stakeholders in a participatory process of change. 

In preparation to the pilot, 19 public and private livestock field officers from Sumbawanga participated in a three-day participatory training in Mpanda, Katavi region where they learnt about on-farm biosecurity; auditing farms using the biosecurity checklist and working with farmers to understand their needs and propose biosecurity practices that are effective, practical and feasible.  

By providing guidance to farmers to progressively improve biosecurity, livestock will be healthier and more productive; farmers will generate more income; the risk of zoonotic disease transmission to humans is reduced and the reliance on antimicrobials and costs of veterinary services and drugs to farmers is reduced. 

Livestock field officers were also trained to use Kobo Collect (an application used to collect data in the field) to audit biosecurity on pig farms and monitor the implementation of good biosecurity practices included in the checklist. This data will be used by FAO to monitor and evaluate the pilot intervention in Sumbawanga. 

The official launching of the pilot intervention in Sumbawanga represents a milestone in strengthening biosecurity in Tanzania, through the engagement of local and national stakeholders to promote the adoption of the co-developed biosecurity checklist.