Reliable animal heath services are an essential component of livestock production within Laos. They are important both for enabling smallholders to escape poverty and also to achieve national objectives for livestock export. This case study presents a new model of animal health service providers (AHSPs) applied in Paek District, Xieng Khouang. The model involves the AHSPs’: a) working for a profit; b) providing a service across a number of villages; and c) providing a range of services including vaccination, treatments and procedures. A key feature of the AHSP model is that participants pay a fee to attend the training. [ Originally posted on http://www.cop-ppld.net/cop_knowledge_base ]

1. ACHIEVING RELIABLE ANIMAL HEALTH SERVICES
Piloting ‘Animal Health Service Providers’ in Xieng
ACCELERATING DEVELOPMENT THROUGH AGRO-ENTEPRISE APPROACHES
Khouang
Lessons from the Small-scale Agro-enterprise Development for the Upland Project (CIAT /NAFRI/SDC)
Reliable animal heath services are an essential component of livestock
production within Laos. They are important both for enabling smallholders to
escape poverty, and also to achieve national objectives for livestock export.
SADU piloted a new model of animal health service providers (AHSPs) in
Paek District, Xieng Khouang. The model involves the AHSPs’: a) working for
a profit; b) providing a service across a number of villages; and c) providing a
range of services including vaccination, treatments and procedures. A key
feature of the AHSP model is that participants pay a fee to attend the training.
Application of this model established 13 AHSPs in 3 Kumban of Paek district.
Over the past 2 year period, their operation has resulted in:
- vaccination coverage for ruminants increasing to 75%
- services provided across villages, with as more ‘satellite’ villages as
‘home’ villages
- a drop in livestock mortality, from ‘a lot’ in 2005 (prior to the service),
to 41 in 2006 and just 10 in 2007.
The model has now been replicated in Khoun and Nong Het districts. In areas
where farmers have begun to manage their livestock, this model promises to
deliver reliable animal health services. It is currently being replicated in two
other districts of Xieng Khouang.

2. BACKGROUND
A recent survey in the northern provinces of Laos has shown that the mean annual
mortality rate for ruminants was 8%, and pigs 33% 1 . Over the last 2-3 decades, the
main intervention to address livestock mortality in Laos has been to provide
vaccinations against ‘classical’ livestock diseases (i.e. HMS, FMD, Swine fever, etc).
While these are important, there are other animal health issues that lead to mortality
and morbidity which have remained largely unaddressed.
The main method used to provide vaccination against the classical livestock diseases
has been to establish Village Veterinary Workers, (VVW). These were usually
farmers selected by local authorities, provided training, and given a basic vaccination
kit. Despite many projects adopting this approach, the VVWs rarely provided a
service beyond the life of the project that initiated them. The VVW were conceived at
a time when rural villages in Laos were inaccessible to both services and markets,
and so any solution for animal health had to be based on the principal of self-
sufficiency. Farmers themselves saw livestock as a way to accumulate capitol, and
so avoided providing any inputs, including paying for vaccination.
In recent years infrastructure in Laos
has improved greatly. Beyond this
an even more fundamental change
in production systems has begun to
occur, through the introduction of
planted forages as a source of high
quality feed. This enables farmers to
keep their animals confined in pens
or fenced areas. The higher
productivity, combined with the
management of their animals,
means farmers can now begin to sell
their animals on a regular basis. This
in effect changes livestock from a
wealth accumulation activity, to an
enterprise for income generation.
With this also comes a change in
farmer attitudes to the need to
protect their new source of income
Fig 1. forages are a key raise cattle as an enterprise .
through animal health measures,
Forages provide an accessible feed and so enable farmers to
and a willingness to pay for these manage their animals. This combined with high weight gain
measures. allows farmers to sell on a schedule.
FORMULATING THE AHSP MODEL.
Planted forages were introduced to selected villages in 3 Kumban of Paek district,
Xieng Khouang from 2000 2 . As a result of this a substantial number of farmers had
begun to actively manage, and sell, livestock on a regular basis. With this shift
1
Annex 4#, Final Report, Project Preparation for the Northern Regions Sustainable Livelihoods
through Livestock Development (formerly Participatory Livestock Development Project), ADB, 2006.
2
Forage and Livestock Systems Project, (AusAID / CIAT /NAFRI /NAFES)

3. towards raising livestock as an enterprise, SADU worked with the ‘forage villages’ to
carry out a study of the livestock market-chain. The study showed:
• high levels of cross-border trade to Vietnam, with 90% of these traded
informally, resulting substantial revenue losses to the Province,
• traders experiencing difficulty in sourcing good quality animals
• delays due to paper work for trade and movement of stock lead to weight loss
and a consequent loss of value
• farmers suffering from weak negotiating positions, low production rates and
high livestock mortality.
Both farmers and traders were concerned
about livestock health and wanted to see this
addressed. Given past experiences with
VVWs it was determined that an alternative
model was needed to provide a sustainable
animal health service. SADU developed a
concept of commercial ‘animal health service
providers’ (AHSP) who would:
- work for a profit and thus provide
incentives for services to continue
- work across a number of villages (4-6
villages) to ensure there was an
adequate volume of customers to
make their enterprise feasible
- provide a range of services including
prevention (vaccination); treatment
and procedures, to both address the
needs of farmers and ensure work
throughout the year.
- eventually expand the services
provided. As the AHSP services
mature their may be scope to bundle
other services into their work ie.
providing a boar or bull for breeding.
An important aspect of the AHSP concept
was that, as AHSPs were to be effectively
working as a enterprise, they should pay for
their training as an investment in their
business.
SADU designed a process for identifying and Fig. 2. Outreach service provided by AHSP.
supporting the development of AHSPs. This One of the three AHSP (red squares) now provides
design of this process was considered to be services to four satellite villages (black squares). The
outreach services begin for ‘treatment’ and later include
as important as the definition of the AHSP vaccination. (Lat Buak Kumban, Paek, 2007).
role itself. It consisted of the following steps:
Step 1. Participatory assessment of animal health issues
To raise awareness of farmers of the need for animal health services, and at
the same time to inform extension staff of key animal health issues to be
addressed.

4. Step 2. Promotion of the service as a new ‘enterprise’
To enable potential AHSPs to be aware of the opportunity and to express
their interest, and at the same time to inform all villagers (i.e. potential
customers) that a service would be forthcoming.
Step 3. Establishment of AHSPs
This included a training workshop, tailored to local needs. Farmers were
charged a fee to attend the training; this was also a means of selecting
farmers who were committed to providing a service.
Strep 4. Back-up
Back-up would be needed to support technical animal health issues, and
management of their services.
Those participating in the training would receive a certificate for attendance at the
training only, with a full certificate of competence being provided after 12 month,
following evaluation by PAFO and Kumban heads.
PILOTING OF AHSP IN PEAK, 2006/07
The AHSP model was piloted in three Kumban of Paek district in early 2006 3 where
farmers in nearly half the villages already cultivated forages and managed their
livestock. The practical application of the process for establishing AHSPs in Paek
was as follows.
1. Identification of necessary animal health measures
DAFEO staff visited each of the ‘forage-villages’ to conduct a short questionnaire on
animal health issues. This showed that although ‘classical’ diseases accounted for
the majority of mortalities, at least 25% of the ruminant mortalities in the previous 12
months were from non-‘classical’ diseases e.g. lameness, mange. While this data
collection was not overly rigorous, it did show that other types of animal health
services, in addition to vaccination, are required.
This data was presented by village representatives at a District level meeting. This
raised awareness of the animal health problems across villages. The meeting was
then used to introduce the idea of establishing AHSPs.
2. Promotion of the service as a new ‘enterprise’
The new AHSPs were promoted by providing Kumban Heads with 2 forms to
distribute to the target villages:
- a flyer to introduce the role of AHSPs, and to announce the training.
- an expression of interest to be filled out by farmers interested to work as
AHSP This required them to indicate which villages they would service, and
why they thought they were suitable.
The Kumban Heads returned the expression of interest forms to the PAFO, with their
own comments on the suitability of the interested farmers. There were 27
expressions of interest, of which 13 farmers finally registered and paid the training
fee of 250,000 K each. The Livestock Section of PAFO signed contracts with the
farmers to undertake the training. This contract included a provision for full return of
the fee to the farmers if the training was not conducted within 30 days.
3
Kang Vieng, Lat Buak and Nong Ped

5. 3. Establishment of AHSPs:
Whilst the identification of prospective AHSPs was ongoing, the SADU team along
with the PAFO and DLF prepared a curriculum for the training. The curriculum was
developed to respond to the needs for animal health interventions shown by the
village surveys. It also aimed to equip the AHSPs with skills that would be needed
throughout different times of the year, to ensure the AHSPs would have an income
flow through the year. The curriculum included disease prevention (e.g. vaccination
against HMS etc), treatment (e.g. xxxxx) and procedures (e.g. castration).
Training included a range of elements: classroom work, hands-on practice
(vaccination, castration), panel discussion (AHSP from Thangorn dist., and veterinary
medicine shops), business management training and basic field kit provision with
written handouts. The workshop of 6 days was held in April 2006 so that the AHSP
would be able to work immediately providing vaccinations prior to the wet season.
Trainers for the workshop were drawn from PAFO and DAFEO staff of the province.
4. Back-up:
A one day meeting was arranged in May YEAR? to allow the AHSP to exchange
experiences. Both technical and coordination issues were raised. This provided
guidelines for the two day top-up training held in June, YEAR?.
INCREASING SERVICES AND REDUCING MORTALITY
The AHSPs have been operating now for almost 2 full years in Paek, and have
begun to provide a basic animal health service on a reliable basis. They have
provided vaccination and treatment to cattle, buffalo, pigs and poultry. This case
study provides numbers for cattle and buffalo. There are a number of impacts of the
AHSP’s work:
Sustained operation and reach of service delivery:
• All 13 AHPS were active through 2006. Four stopped working in 2007, leaving
9 AHSP providing a service to farmers.
• In 2007, 5 of the 9 AHSP provided services outside of their own village. 11 of
these ‘satellite’ villages are being serviced.
While the number of AHSP reduced in the second year, this had been expected, and
indeed thought to be part of the process. The remaining 9 AHSPs actively continue to
provide a service, expanding their services to 11 satellite villages in the second year.
As the AHSPs consolidate their reputation, it is likely the confidence of farmers in
them will increase, and the demand for their serves will increase further.
Activity 2006 2007
Number of AHSP trained 13
Number of AHSPs active 13 9
Number of AHSP providing service to ‘satellite’ 1 5
villages
Number of ‘satellite ’ villages receiving service 1 11
Total number of village receiving service 14 20
(‘home’ + ‘satellite’ villages)
Table 1 . Activity of AHSP in Paek district

6. Coverage and range of services.
The AHSP initially provided vaccination 4 services just in their own villages, often
starting with family members. They were requested to provide treatment 5 to animals
in neighboring villages. This contact with neighboring villages often led to them being
asked to also provide vaccination. By 2007 the range of service provision was:
• vaccination coverage for cattle and buffalo in the ‘home’ villages of the
AHSPs averaged 75% of animals,
• the 9 active AHSP were providing services to 11 satellite villages. They
carried out vaccinations in 5 of these villages.
• treatments were provided to 89 large animals in 2006, and 62 in 2007.
• across the home villages of the 9 active AHSP, there appears to have been a
significant reduction in livestock mortality.
Activity in villages of 9 active AHSPs 2005 2006 2007
Coverage of cattle and buffalo 20-25% 62 75
vaccinated
Treatments provided - 89 62
Treatments un-successful - 9 5
Total Deaths (cattle + buffalo) ‘a lot’ 41 10
Table 2. Vaccination coverage and reduction of ruminant mortality
While this reduction in mortality
may be affected by natural
fluctuations in disease outbreak,
it does appear to have been a
result, at least in part, to the
activity of the AHSPs. The
reduction in requests for
treatment is consistent with this,
as most treatments are for HMS
and ‘black leg’. The high rate of
success from treatments would
also have contributed to reduced
mortality. The Heads of the
Kumban and the DAFEO Head
strongly confirm the benefit of
the AHSP work.
Economics of AHSPs
The fees that the AHSPs charge
were discussed in early Kumban
Fig. 2 Preparation of livestock a key to profitability
meetings, with rates set as:
The AHSP typically vaccinate just 40 head per day. Holding yards
vaccination for large animals and crushes should increase their output, as well as improve
(HMS) at 3,000 kip/head, and for profitability.
pigs (Swine fever) at 2,000
kip/head.
4
Vaccination for large animals was typically for HMS, and for pigs, was for swine fever.
5
Treatments for large animals was typically for HMS and Khaki Buam. For pigs the treatments were
mainly for intestinal parasites.

7. The fees for treatment are not set but are agreed on between the AHSP and farmer.
The above figures were developed solely as guides as the AHSP can vary the fees,
according to the amount of time or difficulty in providing their service. Management
and preparation of the animals for vaccination and treatment are the responsibility of
the owners; some villages do not do this preparatory work, and as such the AHSP
prefer to avoid the village, as they waste too much time.
There is some risk for the AHSPs when they are called only when the animals are
already very sick. To protect themselves, especially when the sickness is well
advanced, they may refuse to treat the animal, or warn the owner that they cannot
guarantee success. If the farmer insists on service they then proceed.
On average, over the 2 year period of their operation, the 9 active AHSPs invested
900,000 kip,in their enterprise and received a profit of 1,100,000 kip. This represents
a return of over 100% on their original investment. The 2 most active AHSPs made
profits of over 2,000,000 kip during this period.
These incomes levels are not high, and do not represent a sole enterprise for any of
the AHSPs. At present it is one of a number of livelihood activities they are
undertaking. This is evident in that just 2 of the 9 active AHSP are keen to expand
their service to additional villages. There is some risk that they could be diverted to
other activities and this would mean farmers again lacked a service. It appears
unlikely that costs for veterinary inputs can be reduced, or the fees charge to farmers
raised. A good possibility for improving the AHSPs work is to look at efficiency
issues. Currently the AHSPs vaccinate just 40 head per day, at this rate it takes them
five days to vaccinate a village herd of 200 animals. The introduction of village
‘herding yards’ and ‘crushes’ could greatly increase the efficiency of this work.
REPLICATION OF THE AHSP IN KHOUN AND NONG HET
Following the success of the AHSP in Paek, the Livestock and Fisheries Section of
the PAFO repeated the model in 2 other districts where forages had been introduced.
Nong Het – Forages were introduced in 2002. Now over 600 households in 50
villages have established forage plots and begun fattening their cattle.
Khoun – Forages were introduced in 127 households in 6 villages in 2006.Fattening
has begun in 2 villages 6 .
A similar process of identifying and supporting the establishment of AHSPs was
provided. The training fee was increased to 300,000 kip and the materials provided
reduced, to gradually move towards higher cost recovery for the training.
Activity 2007/08 Khoun Nong Het
Number of AHSP trained 18 9
Number of AHSPs active 14 5
Number of AHSP providing service to ‘satellite’ 7 3
villages
Number of ‘satellite’ villages receiving service 8 8
Total number of villages receiving service 22 13
(‘home’ + ‘satellite’ villages)
Table 3. Replication of the AHSP in Khoun and Nong Het (2007)
6
Final Report, Capacity Building for Small Holder livestock Development Project, CIAT 2008.

8. In both Khoun and Nong Het, a core group of AHSP have been active in providing a
service to other farmers. It is too early to collect data on reduction of livestock
mortality, but service delivery to these villages has significantly increased. In both
districts there are villages with > 80% vaccination of large animals. In both districts
the most active AHSPs have already begun to provide services outside their own
village to satellite villages. (see Table 3).
Fig. 4. Women AHSP s (2007/08)
Two of the five active AHSPs in Nong
Het are women. They also provide
services to cattle and buffalo which are
big income earners in the district.
Dealing with the large animals is not a
problem for them, as management of the
animal is the responsibility of the owner.
They expect to expand their services to
additional villages in the coming year.
ASSESSMENT OF THE AHSP MODEL
The AHSP in Paek have been operational for 2 years and those in Khoun and Nong
Het for one year. Their performance in all areas will continue to be monitored.
However at this point some preliminary observations can be made:
1. Farmers are willing to pay for animal health services.
A number of farmers are willing to pay for both vaccination and treatment services.
There are a number of repeat of farmer ‘clients’ in the second year and services have
expanded to additional villages. It is important to note that acceptance of the service
has not been universal. There are villages where the AHSPs could not work due to
farmers lack of interest. Examination of the factors that contribute to use of the
service has shown:
- Villages should already be managing their livestock and raising them for
regular sale before establishing AHSPs. Farmers then are keen to protect
their income, and find it easy to arrange their animals for vaccination. A key
step for achieving this is the cultivation of forages as an accessible feed
which allows better management of livestock. Many villages in Khoun had not
yet begun to do this
- Village and Kumban heads play an important role in announcing and
supporting the use of the service. While the AHSPs have technical skills, they
are not able to organize farmers to prepare for vaccination. Village Heads can
play a key role in planning for vaccination within a village. The Kumban heads
are particularly important in mobilizing the cross-village service delivery. Both
village and Kumban heads need to be involved in establishing this service.

9. - Where the process for identifying potential AHSPs is not followed, as in Nong
Het and another project in Xieng Khouang (which was trialling the AHSP
model), those trained have not been as active in providing services to other
farmers. The process to identify the potential AHSPs, and ensure that they
are committed to this enterprise, is considered a key to its success.
2. AHSP model can provide a sustainable and wide spread service
In each of the districts, there were a few trainees that chose not to work as AHSPs;
this is considered to be normal in the establishment of a new ‘industry’. Those
remaining continued to provide their service without any support by staff. This
ongoing commitment is particularly evident in the expansion of their services to
additional villages over time.
While the income the AHSPs obtain is high relative to their investment, it is still small
in absolute terms. They still regard the work as a sideline activity, and thus there is a
risk they could be attracted to other activities. Ways to make the activity more
efficient and productive need to be considered for the service to be sustainable. This
can include more efficient arrangements for vaccination, or bundling of other services
such as breeding, etc.
3. Reduction on livestock mortality is achieved
The collected data, and anecdotal evidence, strongly suggest there has been a
significant reduction in livestock mortality. The reduction may still be a natural
fluctuation in disease outbreaks, and will need to be monitored further. However
there is a strong local perception that the AHSP have been effective in reducing
livestock mortality.
There are further areas that the piloting of AHSP should examine. These include:
1. An evolution of services provided by the AHSPs can be expected.
Once endemic diseases are reduced, and/or farmers begin to apply the treatments
themselves, then the AHSP may need to focus on providing a new set of services.
These may includes treatments and procedures, such as; difficult calving, castration
etc. Additional training support may be required.
2. The national strategy for animal health refers specifically to the VVW.
The AHSP will need to be assessed by Department of Livestock and Fisheries to see
how it fits with the national strategy. Such an assessment would include: their role,
the process and curriculum for their training, and their final certification.
3. Refinement and streamlining of support provided to the AHSPs to enable
greater cost recovery by the PAFO trainers. This could include: higher training fees
(once it is clear to potential AHSPs that working as a AHSP will be profitable) and
collection of payment for the books and equipment now supplied.

10. IMPLICATIONS for LAOS
At this stage the AHSP model appears to be a viable approach to animal health
service delivery in Laos. If the model is going to continue working, there are a
number of implications.
1. Application in Laos
This model could be applied in areas where farmers have already begun to manage
their livestock. The establishment should include the process of identifying and
supporting the new AHSPs. Its application promises to significantly reduce livestock
mortality. This would both reduce a burden on smallholders, and increase the stock
for breeding.
2# Development Strategies
This model represents a shift from providing direct training and technical advice to
farmers, to focusing on the development of service providers. Service providers have
the advantage that they are motivated to spread their service and thus have the
potential to have widespread impact. In some cases they are also likely to provide
technical advice to farmer clients. Other areas of extension, where this model could
be applied include; fruit tree propagation, fish production, etc.
Small-scale Agro-enterprise Development for the Uplands Project (SADU)
SADU has been funded by SDC and implemented by NAFRI and CIAT to pilot new approaches
that will enable stallholder farmers to engage in market systems. The initial activities have been
conducted in Xieng Khouang (Paek, Khoun and Phou Khouth district) and in Louang Prabang
(Xieng Ngeun and Phak Xaeng districts).
Further information about the project, can be obtained directly from the CIAT office in NAFRI
compound Dorn Dok; the NAFRI web site; or the CIAT Asia web site.