continent , leaving smallholder farmers struggling . These farmers have been the targets of anti-poverty programmes usually run by NGOs and donors for a long time . However , efforts by outsiders to plug the gaps left by inattentive governments have made little difference .
By way of illustration , some years ago , while on a research trip to the Northern Uganda District of Kope ( not actual name ), I encountered an interesting event as I went about looking for local people to talk to about a well-funded post-war reconstruction programme whose results and impact were highly contested in media and academia . I had set off early . On the way to a trading centre not so far away from the main town , I saw a large number of people walking along the highway that connects the district to Uganda ’ s capital , Kampala . They were accompanied by animals of different kinds . Some carried chickens in their hands , others in baskets . Some had dogs on chains . Others were carrying cats . Others had goats , sheep , pigs and cattle on ropes . Some were chaperoning whole herds of livestock , goats and sheep with sticks and canes . I wondered what had happened . Was it market day ? Soon enough I came across an open field where they were all gathering . I looked closely . This was no market scene . I stopped and asked a young man with a handful of goats on ropes , what was happening .
The crowd before me had brought their animals to be vaccinated . In the distance , I caught sight of white people in military uniforms . They were the ones doing the vaccinating . Overcome by curiosity , I decided to go and take a closer look . It was a group of American soldiers . They belonged to Africom , the US army ’ s Africa Command . They were on some kind of outreach . Why here , though ? And why livestock vaccination ? They were busy , so I decided not to bother them with questions . Off I went , feeling intrigued , and contemplating further what I had just witnessed . I had not witnessed anything similar in the many years I had been traversing the country on research trips . And I knew from personal experience and from observation that the lack of veterinary services in rural areas was a serious impediment to successful animal husbandry by small-scale farmers . That afternoon , after I had finished chatting with villagers about their lives and livelihoods and the controversial reconstruction programme , I headed back to town . I wanted to locate the district veterinary officer and ask him some questions about what I had witnessed that morning . When I eventually found him , the district veterinary officer graciously agreed to set aside time for a conversation . After the usual greetings and introductions , I narrated the story of what I had seen that morning . He listened attentively . How did the Americans come to be in the district , doing what was supposed to be the work of the district administration ? Why had he or others from his department not been at the scene when the Americans were working ? Did his department carry out similar exercises across the district ?
The Americans had approached the district administration and volunteered to do what they were doing . His department did not carry out such exercises . The main reason for not doing so was that the veterinary department did not have the financial resources necessary to engage in such an exercise . They had no money for the required drugs . They had no vehicles that could transport staff around the district . They had only one motorcycle which was for his use as head of the department . They might have borrowed vehicles from other departments . However , the district administration did not always have money for fuel . Also , there was the challenge of remuneration . For such an exercise to be carried out by local government personnel , there had to be money for field allowances for his staff . There was no money for that . The reason I had seen such a large number of people turning up to have their animals vaccinated was twofold . First , like elsewhere in the country , it was quite common for animals to die of diseases that mass vaccination easily prevents . So , when people heard that there was an opportunity to have their animals vaccinated , they saw a chance to save their animals . It was therefore not surprising that they turned up in such large num-
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