article · Scientific Reports
Parasitic worm infections cause significant disease in goats on resource-poor smallholdings. A trial conducted in rural Malawi evaluated a farmer-led targeted selective treatment regime combining regular health monitoring with botanical supplementation. Goats were assessed using the Five Point Check diagnostic method. Animals identified as borderline or sick received five days of daily feed supplementation with local plant species, specifically Commiphora africana, Ficus ingens, or Gmelina arborea, chosen for their availability and antiparasitic properties. Only sick animals received standard chemical anthelmintics. The targeted plant supplementation regime reduced the need for chemical anthelmintic drugs by 54 percent compared to standard targeted monitoring alone. The approach also improved recovery times, accelerated parasite clearance in infected goats, and reduced the harvesting pressure on local plant species by 86 to 97 percent compared to whole-herd feeding strategies.
Gastrointestinal parasites threaten livestock productivity and livelihoods in resource-poor farming communities. Conventional pharmaceutical treatments can be costly and difficult to access. Combining simple visual health checks with targeted feeding of locally available medicinal plants provides a low-cost, sustainable method to manage livestock health, preserve plant resources, and substantially lower reliance on commercial veterinary medications.
This applied and field-tested approach directly targets smallholder livestock farmers and rural agricultural extension programmes. It provides a validated, low-cost operational protocol integrating diagnostic monitoring with local botanical feeds rather than requiring a manufactured product. Future implementation could enable veterinary services, development agencies, and livestock cooperatives to deploy standardised training frameworks, reducing medication expenses while ensuring sustainable use of local botanical resources.
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Abstract Locally available botanical resources offer low-cost nature-based solutions to control gastrointestinal nematodes among resource-poor goat smallholdings. To evaluate the impact of botanical resources with veterinary tools for GIN monitoring, a smallholder-led targeted selective treatment (TST) regime was trialled in rural Malawi. TST was performed using the Five Point Check (FPC) to monitor goat health and provide interventions to goats with health scores indicative of GIN disease. Half the participants formed the plant-TST group, where ‘borderline’ or ‘sick’ goats were supplemented with 250 g per day of Commiphora africana , Ficus ingens , or Gmelina arborea for five days. Supplementation species were selected based on local awareness, availability, and anthelmintic activity. The control-TST group performed the FPC but performed feeding as normal. For both groups, ‘sick’ goats were provided anthelmintic, with GIN infections confirmed by faecal egg counts. The FPC-TST approach supported goat health, minimising misdiagnosis and ‘missed’ diagnosis of GINs. Plant-TST reduced anthelmintic need by 54% compared to control-TST, enhanced GIN clearance, and improved recovery time in sick goats. Plant-TST also reduced the harvesting of experimental plants by 86–97% compared to whole-herd approaches. These findings demonstrate the potential of integrative nature-based approaches for farmers and enhancing smallholding in low-resource areas.
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DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-68869-w
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