Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor, July 1998

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Focus on: Farmers' reliance on ethnoveterinary practices to cope with common cattle ailments
by V. Padmakumar

A survey among members of the Malabar Regional Co-op Milk Producers Union in Kerala (South India) shows that 70% of livestock farmers use traditional knowledge and therapies in caring for their animals. Foot-and-mouth disease, mastitis, fever, bloat, diarrhoea, and helminthiasis are the main diseases treated. The plants customarily used for ethnoveterinary treatment are pepper, ginger, turmeric, garlic, and preparations made from neem and tamarind.

The author is an assistant manager at the Malabar Regional Co-op Milk Producers Union (MRCMPU), which was set up to improve the socioeconomic position of dairy farmers in Kerala. During post-graduate work at the University of Edinburgh (Scotland), he selected two of the 14 districts in his native Kerala, where he identified and documented the use of ethnoveterinary medicine. The author had previously observed that although a large number of livestock owners in Kerala, especially those who are poor and live in remote areas, use ethnoveterinary medicine for the primary health care of their animals, there were no systematic scientific studies devoted to traditional veterinary practices in Kerala.

The two districts selected were Palakkad and Wayanad, both of which traditionally raise cattle. Palakkad district lies mainly in the plains, where paddy is the main crop. In the past cattle were kept mainly for draft purposes, but today there is more and more emphasis on milk production. Wayanad district is situated in the higher regions of Kerala and has a cool climate, ideal for rearing cattle. The main crops are spices such as pepper (Piper nigrum), ginger (Zingiber officinale), turmeric (Curcuma longa), and cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum). Most of the farmers in Wynadu keep breeds of cattle with a high milk yield. In each district, 75 farmers were selected at random from among those supplying milk to local co-operatives; 19 traditional healers were also selected at random. Of the 150 farmers questioned, 32 were women. Although the whole family is involved in caring for the cattle, the women do over 60% of the work. For most of the farmers, raising cattle is a subsidiary activity.

Findings
The survey showed that about 75% of the farmers questioned use traditional veterinary methods; of these, 70% administer the treatment themselves. The main reasons for turning to traditional treatment are 1) no side effects, 2) low cost, and 3) lack of modern veterinary facilities. Foot-and-mouth disease, mastitis, fever, bloat, diarrhoea and helminthiasis are the diseases most commonly treated by means of ethnoveterinary medicine. The main plants used for ethnoveterinary treatment are pepper, ginger, turmeric, garlic, (Allium sativum), and preparations made from neem (Azadirachta indica) and tamarind (Tamarindus indicus). Local traditional healers are one of the sources of indigenous knowledge pertaining to the treatment of animals.

Level of use
Some 75% of the respondents said they use traditional methods in treating their animals. In Kerala, these traditional veterinary practices are influenced by Ayurveda, the indigenous system of medicine used to treat humans. Most of the farmers began using ethnomedicine as a form of first aid. If the animal failed to respond, then either the animal was taken to the nearest veterinary hospital or a veterinarian was called in, depending on the severity of the symptoms and the value of the animal. This indicates that farmers combine traditional and modern methods of treatment.

Reasons for use
The majority of farmers said that they used traditional medicine because it had no side effects. This aspect will need further investigation. Wilkinson (1984) reported that any modern drug used in veterinary medicine has side effects, most of which are minor and usually go unnoticed. Certain drugs may inadvertently terminate a pregnancy, while others may cross the placental barrier and produce abnormalities in the foetus. Some drugs, including tetracaine, chloramphenicol, penicillin and ampicillin can cause skin eruptions in animals which have been on the drug for longer periods (from some weeks to several years). It is not clear why traditional drugs produce no side effects. Ayurvedic experts believe that it is due to their holistic properties, which in some cases can be used to counteract the side effects of modern drugs (Majumdar 1989). The low cost and availability of the ingredients encourage farmers to try ethnomedicine first. In villages where the nearest veterinary hospital is 10-15 km away, farmers often consult the traditional healer. A small number of the healers involved in the present research were said to be remarkably professional, enjoying an excellent reputation among the farmers in their locality. These healers have their own ready-made drug preparations, such as herbal tablets, decoctions, and ointments.

Diseases treated
Many of the diseases treated with traditional remedies are husbandry-related ailments such as mastitis, bloat, and diarrhoea. Farmers said that these conditions could be adequately treated with local knowledge and that no outside expertise was needed. However, they acknowledged that the effectiveness of the treatment depends on the stage and severity of the disease. In modern medicine, fever is not regarded as a disease, but rather as a clinical sign of a disease. In Ayurveda, however, fever is a disease, and specific drugs are prescribed to cure it. It is noteworthy that almost all the farmers and traditional healers in the survey also considered fever a disease. The farmers were quite satisfied with their own treatment for fever; this is in line with the holistic approach of Ayurveda, in which the use of a drug in its natural state is seen as more effective than the chemical isolated from the drug (Varier 1996).

Plant material used to treat animals
Neem was reported to be the most popular plant, but tamarind also has many uses. Both neem and tamarind trees are found in every village in Kerala, and all the various parts of the tree–bark, leaves, roots, and fruit–are utilised in the preparations. Many of the ingredients employed by farmers are spices, which are found in every household and are also widely used to obtain relief from certain human ailments. This underlines the fact that the availability or non-availability of the ingredients is one of the major factors determining the popularity of a particular remedy. The Ayurvedic and medicinal value of all the plant species mentioned above has been well documented. Mathias-Mundy and McCorkle (1989) and Varier (1996) reported that medicinal plants used to treat human ailments may also be effective in the treatment of animals, but in different doses. However, the use which farmers commonly make of these medicinal plants for animal ailments is the only evidence that this is indeed the case.

Traditional healers
The traditional healers had a good working knowledge of all herbs with Ayurvedic properties. There is a specific combination for the treatment of each disease, and all the healers combined two or more plants in the preparation of each drug. A great many healers collect their ingredients locally, but some also buy them from local Ayurvedic shops ("angadi"), which sell the roots, bark, fruit and seeds of medicinal plants in dried form. The majority of traditional healers treat about 5 to 10 cases a month. Most of them do not treat the animals themselves, but when approached by farmers, they give the necessary instructions and accept any payment offered. Most of these healers said that it was difficult to make a living from the sale of medicinal plants, and that the remuneration was significantly disproportionate to the time and effort involved in collecting the herbs, preparing the drugs and keeping records. For this reason, healing is frequently a subsidiary source of income. See photo.

This is in sharp contrast to the position of the small number of exceptionally successful healers referred to above. The latter treat over 50 cases a month, and traditional healing is their primary source of income; they are even in a position to hire tribal people to collect herbs from forest areas. In conclusion, the number of farmers who depend on traditional healers is at present quite small. This further reinforces the observation that 70% of the ethnoveterinary farmers who took part in the research carried out the treatment themselves.

Policy implications
There is reason to believe that in spite of a wide network of modern veterinary services, the farmers in Kerala still have recourse to ethnoveterinary medicines for their animals. These practices clearly do not require the participation of traditional healers. The rediscovery of traditional knowledge and ancient practices, and a suitable blending of these with Western therapies may ultimately promote the emancipation of the local dairy farmers.

For more information, contact:
V. Padmakumar
Assistant Manager
MILMA (Malabar Regional Co-op Milk Producers Union)
Kunnamangalam PO
Calicut, Kerala
India
Fax: +91-495-200 652.

References
- Majumdar, A.K. (1989) ‘Ayurveda and modern medicine’, Ancient Scientific Life 8:117-190.
- Mathias-Mundy, E. and C.M. McCorkle (1989) Ethnoveterinary medicine: an annotated bibliography. Bibliographies in Technology and Social Change Series No. 6. Iowa State University, USA.
- Varier, N.V.K. (1996) ‘Repossession of our ancient wisdom’, Symposium on Traditional veterinary medicine held at Malabar Regional Co-operative Milk Producers Union, Calicut, Kerala, India, 15 May 1996.
- Wilkinson, G.T. (1984) ‘Adverse effects of drugs’, Current Therapeutics: Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 25:47-60.

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