FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE AND ITS EFFECT ON MILK YIELD: AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS ON CATTLE AND BUFFALO HOLDERS IN HYDERABAD, SINDH

Abstract

An investigation of the impact of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) on milk production among cattle and buffalo farmers was conducted in Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan. 120 farmers who owned buffaloes participated in the study, equally distributed across the upper and lower parts of Hyderabad. Clinical symptoms led to the initial suspicion of FMD, which was later validated by field tests or laboratory findings. Prior to FMD, a buffalo produced an average of 12 liters of milk every day. However, throughout the course of the next 60 days, milk output drastically dropped after the commencement of the clinical illness. In one region, the projected milk loss per buffalo during this time was about 250 liters, whereas in the other, it was about 210 liters. According to the study, the total milk loss for the 120 lactating cattle and buffaloes was about 5,914,800 Pakistani rupees. Based on the supposition that cow milk was worth around 250 PKR per liter and buffalo milk about 200 PKR, this computation was made. This demonstrates the FMD's significant economic impact on local milk production. The expected benefit-to-cost ratio for immunizing all animals in the two locations was calculated to be 6.1 under the assumption that giving a high-quality vaccine that corresponds to the circulating FMD strains might avoid clinical illness.