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US$2.5M Vet Lab now for June commission
Although it was scheduled for a November 2013 opening, the Ministry of Agriculture is hoping to have the US$2.5M Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory located at Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara, commissioned in June.
According to Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, “the building is completed and the installation of the equipment is being completed.”
He noted that the training of staffers, who will be responsible for carrying out the lab’s procedures and operating the equipment, will soon get underway. These persons have already been identified.
Agriculture Minister,
Dr. Leslie Ramsammy
In an invited comment, Dr. Ramsammy said that the facility will have at least 22 staff members.
Initially, the Minister had said that the completion of the structure was dependent on the arrival of an air conditioning unit, which recently arrived from Texas, United States.
He said that an additional contract had to be awarded for the installation of the equipment. This, Dr. Ramsammy explained, was inclusive in the lab’s overall cost.
Dr. Ramsammy recently expressed pleasure with the construction of the facility, expressing confidence that it will be beneficial to the livestock sector. The lab will have the capability to test, detect and diagnose diseases affecting animals.
It is located on the site where the Animal Health Laboratory once stood. That building was demolished and redesigned, since the facility was hardly ever used, and had not been functioning as a full-fledged laboratory.
Dr. Ramsammy explained that the Animal Health Lab operated as a sample holding facility, and that tests had to be done overseas. However, with the new diagnostic lab, resources will be made available to allow for testing to be done locally.
When the laboratory is commissioned, it will be equipped to test for brucellosis, which affects mainly sheep, goats, pigs, cattle and dogs, as well as bovine (cattle) diseases, leptospirosis, and tuberculosis, among others.
The Minister noted also, that his Ministry is working to have the laboratory accredited, so that the tests done here can be recognized abroad.
Earlier, Dr. Ramsammy added that the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab is critical as Guyana moves towards consolidating its food security and lowering its high importation cost. It was further noted that soon there will be a database on the Veterinary Practitioners’ Act, and a Veterinary Council will be set up to register all veterinarians and veterinary technicians across the country.
He also made mention of the Animals (Movement and Disease Prevention) Act, which is intended to address the wellbeing of animals.
The Agriculture Minister said that wanting to improve the quality of meat produced locally, especially for export, would call for healthy animals, thus, a credible animal health lab is necessary.
Once fully completed and functional, the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab will be handed over to, and remain under the supervision of the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA), which is headed by Dr. Dindyal Permaul.
Meanwhile, in the 2014 budget presentation, Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh announced that agriculture continues to be one of the sectors that offer brighter prospects for diversification of productive activity in Guyana.
“Whether it is other crops or livestock for meat production, the potential exists for Guyana to meet considerably more of our domestic food requirements from local production. In much the same manner, the potential exists for a much larger share of the Caribbean’s food import bill to be met from our domestic production.”
Singh pointed out that, to this end, an expanded effort will be launched by Government to promote increased and more diversified food production.
This includes the distribution of materials to farmers, for “which purpose a sum of $200 million has been allocated,” Singh said.
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