Farmers are using ARV drugs to breed fish and chicken

Consumers lives in the East African region festive season could be put at risk if reports emanating from sections of social media are to be believed. They should not the only worry over the use of antibiotics in the breeding of fish in private fish farms where traces of mercury have been found but also the use of HIV AIDS treatment drugs known as anti retroviral drugs that are being sold by unscrupulous patients who obtain them for free in Government hospitals. Without naming a country to avoid trolls and haters feasting on my name this X-mas, a country in East Africa was reported to have HIV patients that was using their medicine to brew hard liquor which are still being sold to slum dwellers. Security agencies in the region must be racking their brain over the same issues that could affect millions of East Africans health in the future. Illegal operations, vendors and greed for quick rich are rife in the region and the new shocking revelations if proved true is yet another issue that the regional security chiefs must pay attention to as soon as yesterday. Use of drugs to increase the production in order to meet high demand is a sign that organic farming sources are being depleted and that regional fishery organizations can no longer ignore the issue of fishing capacity control and health experts cannot cotch their laurels as millions of East Africans face illnesses due to consumption of unsafe chicken bred by drugs and anti biotic bred fish.

The mainstream media both electronic and print media has always been reporting about illegal, unreported and unregulated farming is a regional problem that requires Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi to help resolve it through harmonized farming policy, regional supply management and informing consumer markets. There is need for organic farming activists to rethink twice about demonizing genetically modified foods that are by far much safer than drugs enhanced breeding and farming. Efforts in the past by western based non-governmental organizations to lobby regional suppliers, supermarkets and retailers to change their purchasing policies and pledge to supply products that comply with sustainability principles have bore no fruits. Me think that stakeholders especially in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda should work together to deal with resource depletion and promote a sustainable fishing industry in Lake Victoria, the world’s second largest fresh water lake in the world, a headwater reservoir for the Nile River. The three countries are major players in the fishing industry and must work together to curb illegal fishing that has seen number of fish depleted to alarming levels. There is need for East African governments to work hand in with fishing industry operators to discuss feasible solutions, and legislation should be passed that allows raids against illegal operators in and around major fishing water bodies like Lake Victoria, Lake Turkana, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Malawi. The region’s fishing fleet is continuously expanding, but catch volumes are not showing any marked increase and this should be a cause for concern among the policy makers and strategists in the region. It’s the same pattern with chicken farming that has seen an increased market but stagnation in production. The use of anti-retroviral drugs is harmful to consumers and perpetrators should be dealt with viciously. Despite the facts the regional governments have supported and initiated controlled fishing and a ban on unregistered fishing boats, and they have in recent years promoted a policy to manage the fishing and required that fish are landed with their fins attached to their bodies but that has been ignored in areas like Kalangala area along Lake Victoria in Uganda, Lake Turkana in Kenya and Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania.  If East African Community member states wants to achieve their goal of becoming a pioneer for sustainable fishing practices in Africa, they should show further strength and resolution by supporting sustainable development by cooperating and communicating actively with the fishing communities and increase the penalties for illegal operators and protecting the rights and interests of legal operators.