By: Saidou S Baldeh
The Department of Livestock under the ministry agriculture validated the livestock veterinary legislation aims to enhance the performance of the veterinary Services for an improved livestock sector in the country, held at Bao Bao hotel.
Amie Fabureh minister of agriculture said its overall contribution to the national Gross Domestic Product GDP is equally significant.
“Am talking about the 20% that has been quoted in literature even though a lot of livestock experts continue to argue that this is an underestimation,” she said.
According to her, now almost every provincial household either has a sheep, goat, horse, donkey or chicken, adding traditional cattle rearing continues to be a major sustenance activity for some of the rural communities.
Speaking further she the Gambia government through her ministry endeavors to revive the livestock sector as they continues to engage their partners in that initiative, saying the need to create the right policy environment continues to be a priority for the ministry. “We cannot continue to see a trend in which more than 5% of our animals are lost to disease,” she noted.
Dr. Abdou Ceesay, director general for the department of livestock said the Government of the Gambia through the Agricultural ministry had over the years indicated the need to modernize its veterinary legislation in order to enhance the performance of the veterinary Services for an improved livestock sector, saying this sector plays importance role in the nation’s socio-economic development.
“Through its partnership with the Africa Union Inter-Africa Bureau for animal resource [AU-IBAR] ,this continental body agreed to support the country in reviewing and updating our veterinary legislation,” he said.
“Although climate change affect the whole agricultural sector in the Gambia’s livestock production seems to be a bit more resilient such that farmers have always resorted to their animals for their sustenance incase of crop failure.”
“The process started since and production of animals health bill, proposed amendments to the GVC Act 2000 and proposed amendment to the obsolete disease of animals Act 1944 Regulations.”
He said as a member of the OIE [World Animal Health Organization],we ensure that this review and update process made use of the OIE guideline for veterinary legislation as much as possible so that the final instrument are in line with international standards . He added that the process took the form of an audit exercise of the legal instrument affecting the veterinary domain in the Gambia as well as the organization of consultation of consultation with relevant stakeholders.
