Five Point Check©-based management of goat health can be self-sustainable without long-term public funding : a 5-year retrospective study of Malawi smallholdings

Abstract

Failure to manage goat nutrition or control gastrointestinal nematode parasites (GINs) can lead to low performance and livestock losses on smallholdings. Programs to improve smallholder goat health can have an immediate positive impact but often depend on external expertise and resources such as anthelmintic interventions. As a result, programs may fail to support smallholders once external resources, such as grant funding, are removed. With this in mind, a low-resource targeted-selective treatment (TST) program based on a hands-on Five Point Check© (FPC) scoring system was undertaken from 2020 to 2021 in rural Central Malawi. Participating smallholders were educated and equipped to perform goat health scoring and provide interventions on an as needed basis. In April 2025, five years after the study began, original participants were surveyed alongside control non-participants to determine the impact, uptake, and dissemination of TST using the FPC. 97.5 % of participants remembered the FPC and 73.8–92.9 % still used FPC tests on their goats. Practicing the FPC increased farmers’ confidence and success and decreased the likelihood of being impacted by disease or ill health. As a result of the FPC, targeted beneficial plant supplementation and anthelmintic use to treat sick goats was maintained among study participants. Non-study controls were unanimously in favour of using the FPC, but gaps exist in supporting dissemination of training and materials (such as FAMACHA cards and anthelmintic) to the wider smallholder community. Overall, this study shows that education and sustainable practices can be adopted and self-sustained in low-resource areas following initial investment.

HIGHLIGHTS • 5 years after its introduction, the majority of farmers continue to perform the FPC on their goats. • 88 % of farmers kept their FAMACHA card with 69 % still using it to check goat health. • Practicing the FPC increased farmers’ confidence and decreased the likelihood of being impacted by disease or ill health. • The targeted use of beneficial plants to supplement sick goats was maintained by study farmers. • Farmers share knowledge of best practices, but a lack of formal training and materials limits the uptake to new farmers.