Improving Smallholder Farmer Biosecurity in the Mekong Region Through Change Management

Abstract

Transboundary animal diseases including foot-and-mouth disease and haemorrhagic septicaemia remain a major constraint for improving smallholder large ruminant productivity in the Mekong region, producing negative impacts on rural livelihoods and compromising efforts to reduce poverty and food insecurity. The traditional husbandry practices of smallholders largely exclude preventive health measures, increasing risks of disease transmission. Although significant efforts have been made to understand the social aspects of change development in agricultural production, attention to improving the adoption of biosecurity has been limited. This study reviews smallholder biosecurity risk factors identified in the peer-reviewed literature and from field research observations conducted in Cambodia and Laos during 2006-2013, considering these in the context of a change management perspective aimed at improving adoption of biosecurity measures. Motivation for change, resistance to change, knowledge management, cultural dimensions, systems theory and leadership are discussed. Due to geographical, physical and resource variability, the implementation of biosecurity interventions suitable for smallholders is not a 'one size fits all'. Smallholders should be educated in biosecurity principles and empowered to make personal decisions rather than adopt prescribed pre-defined interventions. Biosecurity interventions should be aligned with smallholder farmer motivations, preferably offering clear short-term risk management benefits that elicit interest from smallholders. Linking biosecurity and disease control with improved livestock productivity provides opportunities for sustainable improvements in livelihoods. Participatory research and extension that improves farmer knowledge and practices offers a pathway to elicit sustainable broad-scale social change. However, examples of successes need to be communicated both at the 'evidence-based level' to influence regional policy development and at the village or commune level, with 'champion farmers' and 'cross-visits' used to lead local change. The adoption of applied change management principles to improving regional biosecurity may assist current efforts to control and eradicate transboundary diseases in the Mekong region.

Managing control programs for ovine caseous lymphadenitis and paratuberculosis in Australia, and the need for persistent vaccination

“…15 Change management refers to the understanding of how change is leveraged through strategy, structure, and operational mechanisms, as well as informal processes, including power, politics and conflict, culture, and leadership. 16 A formal change-management perspective has rarely been applied to livestock disease management.…”

“…However a recent example was the consideration of factors involved in improving the uptake and adoption of improved biosecurity for transboundary animal disease prevention by smallholding farmers. 15 In the Mekong region of Southeast Asia, concerns have been raised that a vaccination-only policy for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) may be unsustainable, due to the porous international borders and unregulated animal movements between countries at a time of increasing demand for meat by rapidly developing economies, with a change-management perspective providing a framework for reflection on the disease-control strategies required. 15 A change-management perspective is also of relevance to a better understanding of the increasing global demand for improved animal welfare, and particularly pain management during aversive husbandry procedures.…”

“…15 In the Mekong region of Southeast Asia, concerns have been raised that a vaccination-only policy for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) may be unsustainable, due to the porous international borders and unregulated animal movements between countries at a time of increasing demand for meat by rapidly developing economies, with a change-management perspective providing a framework for reflection on the disease-control strategies required. 15 A change-management perspective is also of relevance to a better understanding of the increasing global demand for improved animal welfare, and particularly pain management during aversive husbandry procedures. 17 The impressive improvement in adoption of improved welfare practices on Australian sheep farms following the introduction of a farmer applied spray-on formulation (Tri-Solfen; Bayer Animal Health, Gordon, NSW, Australia) to manage the pain of the mulesing operation (used to create a bare area of the breech to reduce flystrike), has potential application to other invasive husbandry procedures.…”

“…It is assessed by consideration of changes in knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP), and has been particularly useful in understanding change in the subsistence smallholder farming system to FMD. 15,29 Changing farmer KAP is considered a more challenging process when invoking a disease risk-management strategy, such as a self-directed vaccination or biosecurity program, than a change in husbandry methods that results in direct increases in tangible rewards, such as financial returns from livestock that occur from improved nutrition. 15 Drivers that motivate changes in KAP can be numerous, but mostly can be categorized as those that seek to avoid losses, such as strategies that address product integrity and reputation risks, and those that create socioeconomic incentives, such as opportunities for increasing returns.…”

Risk factors associated withCampylobacterdetected by PCR in humans and animals in rural Cambodia

“…In Cambodia, 80% of the population live in rural areas and smallholder farmers represent the majority of livestock producers [18, 19]. Livestock are predominantly reared in free-range systems, with close interaction between livestock and humans and thus enabling exposure to zoonotic pathogens [18].…”