CURRENT PRACTICES FOR
THE SALE AND
DISTRIBUTION OF
VETERINARY DRUGS IN
AFRICA TO FARMERS
Chris van Dijk
Introduction


The livestock sector is
of fundamental
importance to present
and future food
security in Africa
Losses due to
preventable livestock
diseases amount to
about one quarter of
the total annual
productive value of
livestock in Africa
Introduction


Commercial livestock sectors
– Highly developed
veterinary systems
– Supported by numerous
Animal Health companies
– Infrastructure for
distribution of veterinary
products and services
Nomadic or pastoral farmers
and Communal farmers
– No or very low key
distribution and supply of
veterinary products and
services
Objective
 Overview
– Sale
– Distribution
 Constraints
 Critical
requirements
THE MARKETING
PERSPECTIVE
Marketing consists of management tasks
and decisions directed at successfully
meeting opportunities and threats in a
dynamic environment by effectively
developing and transferring a needsatisfying market offering to consumers,
in such a way that the objectives of the
enterprise, the consumer and society
will be achieved.
THE MARKETING
PERSPECTIVE


Product (Solution)
– Product/packaging
– Quality
– Features
– Brand name
– Services
Price (Cost)
– Pricing


Place (Convenience)
– Distribution
channels
– Transport
Promotion (Communication)
– Advertising
– Sales force
– Training
PRODUCT
(CUSTOMER SOLUTION)
Product and packaging
variety

Commercial farmers
– Antimicrobials including mastitis
remedies
– Ectoparasiticides
– Endoparasiticides
– Endectocides
– Anti-inflammatory (steroid and nonsteroid)
– Reproductive hormones
– Biologicals
Product and packaging
variety

Nomadic/Pastoral or Communal
– Antimicrobials including mastitis
remedies
– Ectoparasiticides
– Endoparasiticides
– Endectocides
– Anti-inflammatory (steroid and nonsteroid)
– Reproductive hormones
– Biologicals
Quality


Innovator products
– Patent protection expired (generics)
– Intellectual property – poor enforcement
– Disincentive – new/existing products not
marketed
Generic products
– High quality generic drugs
– Low quality generic products
 Resistance
 Residues
 Chronic disease
 Death
Features


In countries with commercial herds most
of the needs and wants have been
addressed
Compared to this we have only a small
number of product groups in the countries
with communal or pastoral farmers
– Subclinical/erosive diseases such as
BVD need to be addressed
– Preventing and treating for external and
internal parasites only will not improve
productivity
Brand name


Certain brand
names are well
established in
Africa
Farmers tend to
be relatively
brand loyal but
price does play a
role in the
decision to buy
Services

Southern Africa
– State
extension
services
– Co-operatives
– Veterinarians
– Animal health
companies
Services

Other parts of Africa
– Veterinarians and
extension officers as
distributors
– Commercial business
not focusing on their
strength: knowledge
transfer
PRICE
(CUSTOMER COST)
Pricing

Southern Africa
– Pricing from standardised price lists, with
bulk discounts and sliding scales on
products

Rest of Africa
– Agents importing products into a country
– Supply chain



Main distributor
Distributor
Outlet
– There is no or little regulation on the mark up
or margins in this supply chain
– Smaller pastoral type of farmer will be
especially affected by this pricing structure
as large scale commercial farmers usually
buy direct from the main distributor
PLACE
(CUSTOMER CONVENIENCE)
DISTRIBUTION
CHANNELS
Southern
Africa
Co-op’s
OTC
60%
Wholesalers
OTC/POM
25%
Vets
POM /OTC
15%
DISTRIBUTION
CHANNELS
Rest
of
Africa
Distributors
Pharmacies
Agrovets
Private
Vets
Van or
Truck
Based
Sales
•Insecurities
•Political
•Weather
•Large Geographical
areas
Large
•Poor Transport
Scale
farmers
•Lack of outlets
•Cold Chain
Van/Truck Sales only legal for Ecto- and
•Poor
cash flow
Endoparasiticides.
Cold chain as well as advice questionable
PROMOTION
(CUSTOMER COMMUNICATION)
Advertising

Southern Africa
– Extensive advertising and sales
promotions
 Magazines
to Vets and Farmers
 Television and radio

Rest of Africa
– Advertising to clients by
distributors
– Advertising over regional radio in
the language or dialect of the
region
Sales force


Commercial farmers
– Major animal health companies have sales
forces either operating on a salary basis or as
commission agents
 Salaried representatives - value added
service - involved in the day to day
management decisions on the farms
 Commission agents - some instances solely
driven by sales
– Sales people are trained to communicate the
cost-benefit value of products to the end user
Nomadic/Pastoral or Communal farmers
– Many situations a case of "sell and go" with
minimal or no input from the sellers side as well
as no or minimal after sales support if for
example adverse drug reactions or lack of
efficacy is experienced
Training




SAAHA – Mission: To promote ethical
marketing practices, client and
environmental care of high standing
quality at all times, supported by
knowledgeable, experienced sales
personnel who have completed
accredited courses
2 compulsory modules
– Industry
– Anatomy/Physiology
3 modules of choice
– Ectoparasites
– Endoparasites
– Biologicals
– Mastitis
– Antimicrobials
– Nutrition and growth stimulants
Ensures an uniform knowledge base
across the industry
Training





In-house company training Product related training
Vendor vs. consultant
Assisting the end user to make the
correct decision on where, when
and how to use the correct product
for a specific animal health related
problem
Veterinarians are generally well
trained and are well versed in
diseases and problems in their
regions or countries, but as with
veterinarians almost world-wide
they are not well trained in business
skills
This needs to be addressed as it is
in almost all cases being identified
as the reason for veterinarians not
being successful in the commercial
world
Conclusion


The availability of the
correct product, in the
correct packaging at the
correct time and place
is usually good to
excellent for
commercial farmers in
Africa
In rural Africa however,
the availability, quality
and distribution to
communal farmers and
pastoralists is far from
the ideal and needs
attention
Conclusion



Extension services on the
continent of Africa have
declined over the past
decade or two and needs
to be addressed
Veterinarians can play an
important role in this, but
they will require extra
training in business skills
and acumen
Farmers are prepared to
pay market prices for
reliable drugs, treatments
as well as transfer of
information to support the
health of their animals
and herds
Conclusion


Industry representatives will play an ever
increasing role in bringing quality
products and knowledge to the end user
Imperative will also be the training of
private and government officials as well
as so called paravets and community
animal health workers to establish a
distribution network that not only
distributes veterinary pharmaceuticals,
but also helps to ensure the
dissemination of knowledge to the end
user
Educated, enthusiastic
sellers, who understand
their customers are the key
to the successful
distribution of veterinary
pharmaceuticals in Africa