The Executive Governor of Katsina State, Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, has officially flagged off the 2026 Annual Mass Livestock Vaccination Exercise, an aggressive statewide biosecurity blitz permanently eradicating major infectious diseases that affect cattle, sheep, and goat populations.
The launching ceremony, held on Tuesday, 23 June 2026, at Shifdawa Fulani Village in Batagarawa Local Government Area, signals the launch of a synchronised medical defence network across all 361 wards in the state.
The targeted veterinary intervention is specifically engineered to control three lethal livestock threats: Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP), Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), and Peste-des-Petits Ruminants (PPR).
Governor Radda described the operational rollout as an absolute strategic requirement to safeguard rural economic wealth, emphasising that animal husbandry is not an alternative hobby but a primary pillar of the state’s GDP.
He historically linked the exercise to restoring the region’s ancient mercantile dignity, reminding the assembly that the world-renowned premium “Morocco leather” historically traded across North Africa and medieval Europe originally sprouted from the master tanners of the Katsina empire.
The logistics framework of the campaign is deliberately structured for maximum field saturation over a strict 18-day timeline.
The layout splits operations into 12 days of intensive, house-to-house tactical tracking for small ruminant PPR coverage, running parallel to an aggressive 6-day statewide sweeps targeting large cattle herds for CBPP and FMD containment.
Governor Radda noted that Katsina’s proximity to the Niger Republic and its role as an international transit hub for cross-border transhumance (seasonal livestock movement) make the state highly vulnerable to transboundary animal diseases, rendering this international-standard campaign critical to national food security.
The localised launch drew wide validation from top administrative and traditional organs, including international partners like the UNDP, IOM, and the Co-group.
Detailing the underlying health strategies, the Katsina State Commissioner for Livestock Development, Professor Ahmed Bakori Mohammed, stated that regularising these multi-disease vaccination blocks is the single most cost-effective method to boost rural livelihoods and protect consumers from zoonotic infections.
The flag-off assembly concluded with an urgent community advocacy brief from the Chairman of Batagarawa LGA, Hon. Yahaya Lawal, who outlined simultaneous grass-roots policies running across local councils to guarantee peaceful farmer-herder co-existence while fast-tracking housing modules for internally displaced persons (IDPs) within the agricultural zones.
Source: Kaduna State University
