The presence of tsetse flies in the Upper West Region is making it difficult for improved breeds of cattle, sheep and pigs to be introduced to farmers in the area.
Dr Alfred Tia Sugri, Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in charge of Livestock, who said this last Friday, indicated that until they were totally eradicated, it would be difficult to introduce improved breeds of animals.
He said this at the launch of an aerial spraying of tsetse flies in the region to help eradicate the flies in order to promote animal husbandry.
He said, the Upper West Region situated in the Guinea Savannah Zone, had the potential to be a leading producer of livestock in the country.
He, however, noted that because of the presence of the tsetse flies that transmitted trypanosomiasis to the animals, there was a high mortality rate among them.
"The disease causes decrease in meat and milk production, reduces animal traction, increases mortality rate among affected animals and poses a threat to human health.
"The eradication of the trypanosomiasis among animals is considered to be a major economic importance in the region," he said.
Dr Sugri said because of the threat that the flies posed to animal production and health, 200 African heads of states and governments passed a resolution calling for the eradication of tsetse flies in the African continent.
He said the resolution called on member states to work in a concerted manner to make the continent a tsetse fly free zone to help promote food security and reduce poverty as well as enhanced human welfare and livelihoods.
Dr Sugri said Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya, had, therefore, obtained loans from the African Development Bank and initiated a multinational project for the creation of sustainable tsetse and trypanosomiasis free areas in East and West Africa.
The project, which is being coordinated at the continental level by the Pan African Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Campaign office of the African Union, is being implemented in Ghana by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
It is a multi-sectoral project involving the Ghana Health Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission with the active participation of rural communities in the Upper West Region.
Dr Sugri commended Ghana and Burkina Faso for demonstrating that African countries could work together to solve the problems that confronted them.
Mr Charles Mahama, the Project Coordinator, said over 289 personnel of collaborating agencies had already received hands-on training in various aspects of tsetse and trypanosomiasis eradication.
He said awareness in the control and management of the disease had been created in more than 800 communities in the region.
The exercise involved various techniques including ground spraying, the use of insecticide impregnated devices and aerial spraying which had been considered to be the most cost-effective method for tsetse fly eradication.
Mr Mahama said by the end of the operation, about 7,500 square kilometers of tsetse-infested areas in the region would be cleared of the vector.
He said about 93 per cent of the vector of tsetse flies were killed during the first flight and attributed that to the effective aerial spraying, which covered a vast area of land.
Mr Caesar Kale, Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, commended the Ministry of Agric and its collaborating agencies for their effort in starting the project first in the region.
He also commended the chiefs for lending their support to the staff of the project and urged the public to cooperate to ensure its successful completion.