By Bakary Touray Jnr
The African Union (AU) Member States’ continental meeting on veterinary legislation is underway in the West African state of The Gambia.
The regional meeting, which kicked off on 30th October, 2019 and is expected to wrap up on the 11th of October, is organized by the Gambia’s Department of Livestock Services (DLS) under the purview of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA).
The meeting also brought together people from over twenty (20) countries across all the Continents, so as to put their heads together on the collective review and update of Veterinary legislation for the AU Member states.
Opening the meeting on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture, Madam Amie Fabureh was her Permanent Secretary (PS), Mr. Momodou Mbye Jabang. The PS said the meeting is yet another effort geared towards improving one of the Continent’s very valued resources base- the livestock sector animal resources. He reported that agriculture has already been identified by the AU Agenda 2063 as a key driver of the economic transformation process on the continent.
Mbye Jabang recollected that in the most recent Malabo Declaration of 2014, the need to make Agriculture in the African continent more productive, competitive and inclusive was clearly stated.
However, he admitted that a lot of challenges still lie ahead, charging that “these must be overcome if we are, indeed, to achieve this mighty goal”. He noted that today, the African continent continues to face difficulties in meeting its food security needs, including a very important aspect, which is “our untraditional security requirement”.
The Agriculture PS told the continental gathering on the Gambian soil, that livestock comprises the majority of their animal resources, providing for many, the route out of the poverty trap.
He proffered that its contribution towards food and nutritional security is increasingly significant across the continent, adding that the livestock sector “contributes between 30 per cent and 50 per cent to the Agriculture GDP across the continent. Our livestock, especially the indigenous ones, have many unique characteristics”.
Still on the importance of the Livestock resources, PS Mbye Jabang submitted that, they are the heritage of Africa’s diverse rural communities and contribute significantly to the livelihood of many rural people.
“These livestock resources are not just a source for good health, but also of wealth and continue to be among the most traded food commodities on the continent,” the senior Agriculture Ministry official told the opening ceremony audience.
Speaking on behalf of the African Union-Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), Dr. Baboucarr Jaw, Chief Animal Health officer, stressed that Veterinary legislation is a sine qua non{an essential condition} to satisfactory performance of veterinary services.
Jaw enlightened that good veterinary legislation facilitates adherence to key fundamental principles of quality which the veterinarians are expected to comply with, to wit: Professional judgment, independence, impartiality, integrity, and objectivity.
He stated that cognizant of the need to support AU Member States and Regional Economic communities, AU-IBAR initiated the process of harmonization of priority domains of veterinary legislation.
He informed them that during the 11 days meeting, participants would review a priority domain of their national Veterinary legislation in order to make it more responsive to the needs of national and regional stakeholders.
