Farming school and buildings to be upgraded or rebuilt |19 February 2014

The Seychelles Agricultural and Horticultural Training Centre (SAHTC) will be upgraded while the veterinary building and the abattoir will be rebuilt.

The announcement was made on Monday by the Minister for Natural Resource Peter Sinon while officially opening an in-country livestock training programme for Seychelles Agricultural Agency (SAA) trainers of the Ministry of Natural Resources.

The course is being run by the Galilee International Management Institute and the Agriculture & Environment Twinning Centre (AETEC) of Israel.

Talking about the state of the SAHTC, Minister Sinon said the school needs a face-lift to meet the basic requirements to ensure that the trade is one that is taken at real face value.  

He said the Kuwait Fund will be considering his ministry’s request at its Board meeting at the end of this month and he hopes that the Fund will early March dispatch an appraisal mission in relation to the upgrading of the school.

As for the veterinary building at Union Vale which Minister Sinon has described as “structurally condemned”, the existing structure will be demolished and a new one built that will also host the ministry’s headquarters.

“The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has agreed to fund the equipment that will make up the very first Veterinary Laboratory in Seychelles. This would be a major boost to the livestock sector. It would allow us to identify and treat diseases more effectively, test imported and locally produced meat for substances that could be a threat to our health and ensure that what goes on to the market are safe and nutritious. Such development will fit in well with our strategy to be equipped and capable of installing a system that ensures that our local products are of the highest standard because this is the comparative and competitive edge that we can rely on to confidently claim a share of our local market,” he said.

He also mentioned the present abattoir which he said has outlasted its economic life and needs to be replaced.

“The difficulties that farmers currently face with the operations and service delivery of the abattoir cannot continue if the sub-sector is going to prosper,” Minister Sinon said.

“For this reason the ministry is trying to secure funding and a site for the installation of a new abattoir. The Pig Genetic Centre has recently witnessed some restructuring and it has taken a good turn of late. Interests in pork production are cautiously but steadily increasing. The rearing of goats is also encouraging by few farmers. Thus there are positive signs that give reasons for optimism, for further investment and for hope for the future of this sub-sector in our beloved country,” said Minister Sinon