Gov. Mai Mala Buni of Yobe on Wednesday said the state government had acquired 1.5 million doses of Anthrax Spore Vaccine, ASV, to vaccinate about seven million animals against the disease.
Mr Buni stated this at the inauguration of the livestock vaccination exercise and 2023 Tree Planting Campaign in Damaturu.
He said the vaccines were acquired as a proactive measure against Anthrax which has been reported in parts of the country.
“We have decided to take this proactive measure to protect our people and livestock, and also to safeguard the economy of our livestock farmers.
“Therefore, this event provides us with a special opportunity to take urgent and concrete steps to prevent the spread of Anthrax from other parts of the country into the state,” he said.
The governor directed relevant agencies to ensure wide coverage in the state wide vaccination exercise against the zoonotic disease.
On environmental protection, Mr Buni reitrated committment to combat desertification and drought through tree planting programme.
He said the 2023 Tree Planting Campaign tagged: ‘’Plant a tree today for our sustainable future and development’’ would partly address effect of climate change including delayed rainfall and excessive heat.
The governor urged stakeholders to educate the citizenry on the need to plant more trees and avoid acts capable of destroying the environment.
Also speaking, Dr Musa Kollere, Permanent Secretary, Yobe Ministry of Agriculture, said the phase one of the Rural Grazing Area (RUGA), a livestock development project, had reached 96 per cent completion stage in the state.
He said the project sited at the 50,000-hectares Nasari Grazing Reserve was designed with five dams, pasture development area, veterinary clinic, milk collection centre, feed mill, among others.
NAN
