15 March 2021, Gatundu, Kiambu County, Kenya - Nancy Mungai, a commercial chicken farmer and member of a FAO trained Farmer Field School prepares eggs in crates to sell to a supplier at her farm near Gatundu, Kiambu County, Kenya on March 15, 2020.
Antimicrobial resistance is the ability of a microorganism to survive and grow in the presence of antimicrobial drugs that were killing or destroying it before. AMR develops naturally, but slowly, and can be accelerated by overuse or misuse of antimicrobial drugs. The emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in several microorganisms is complicating the management of many infectious diseases. AMR is a major threat to human development and the fight against infectious diseases. It endangers animal health and welfare, as well as food production. AMR also adversely affects the functioning of human, animal and plant health systems and economies.
Interventions were set up by FAO and GoK in Gatundu North to target timely vaccinations, hygiene and proper feeding of the birds to prevent disease, reducing the use of drugs to stop AMR. The interventions were based on Farmer Field School (FFS) approach, where farmers (3 farmer groups) have been meeting at the demo farms (3 farms) on a weekly basis since September 15th 2020. In each of the FFS trainings, two facilitators (previously trained on how to run FFS) are engaged to guide the discussions.
Photo credit must be given: ©FAO/Luis Tato