Herat nomads demand govt support, veterinary services

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): For nomads ranching is the most basic economic activity in western Herat province, but they complain about not being supported by the government and they lack access to veterinary services.

Talking to Pajhwok Afghan News, some nomads (Kochis) said they lacked support and struggled with shortages of veterinary medical services, which they called he most common reason for the rapid loss of their cattle.

They said they could not support both their families and cattle so they had to sell some animals to support the rest from starving to death.

Khak Zarin Khan, an elder of the nomads from Kushk-i-Kuhna district of Herat, said he owned 200 sheep previously, but now their number had reduced by a half because of the lack of medical services.

“If not supported by the government, most of the Kochis would stop living in the deserts along with their cattle and their nomadic life will end”, he said.

He added, they had no land to cultivate crops, but they depended on rain-fed lands. “If it does not rain next year, we will be the first batch of the people to suffer the most and may need to sell animals to support families.”

Ali, another nomad from Rubat Sangi district, also described his nomadic life as hard, saying his cattle fell ill amid limited veterinary services provided by the government. “These services do not respond to our needs.”

“My sheep are ill and I am not economically capable to spend on their treatment”. During the past one month about a dozen of his sheep died. Most Kochis in Gulran and Rubat Sangi districts are thinking about reducing their cattle because of the existing problems. “If the situation continues, the sheep of the nomads will die,” he said.

These problems had forced some Kochi families to get rid of their cattle and sell them because of the problems and lack of veterinary services.

Veterinarians also talked about poor supply of animals’ medical services in remote areas, something a major factor in the reduction of their livestock.

Veterinarian Sabir Abedi told Pajhwok that most common in animals included bacterial and viral illnesses.

Most of the available veterinary medicines are sub-standard, or the Kochis get them very late to treat their herds.

The Directorate of the Nomads (Kochis) has been merged with the Borders and Tribal Affairs department.

The officials of this directorate say only 10 percent of the problems of Kochis have been addressed that is why they face many problems.

Provincial Borders and Tribal Affairs director Maulvi Jamaluddin Omari said that the challenges and problems being faced by Kochis had been surveyed and shared with relevant authorities for solution.

Omari said they currently had no resources to support Kochis while the cooperation of other non-governmental organization to support Kochis was also very limited.

The Directorate of Borders and Tribal Affairs is trying to find a general solution to their problems, Omari added.

aw/ma