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Chief executive Antoine-Marie Moustache of the Seychelles Agricultural Agency launched the Livestock Information Management System (Lims) yesterday at Care House in the presence of SADC officials and Seychellois who use or give information on livestock.

He also said there are plans to build an abattoir on Praslin, which will mean information will be easier to collect as all animals on the island will be slaughtered in the same place.

Mr Moustache said Seychelles has a duty to fulfil a number of obligations to the SADC after re-joining it in 2008 and is now the only member that has not yet launched its livestock information system.

“One of Seychelles’ obligations as an SADC member state is to correctly collate data on livestock and forward it to the organisation’s headquarters,” he told farmers, agricultural advisers and representatives of the Ministry of Health and Social Development, the National Bureau of Statistics, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of National Development and others.

“The launch today brings us a step closer to the adoption point, and I’m glad you are all here to witness this historic event.”

Mr Moustache said Seychelles has a number of advantages, making data collection here easier than in some SADC member countries, for example its small size and the fact that chickens, cattle and pigs are all slaughtered in one abattoir.

He noted that there is no such central slaughter of animals on Praslin but said an abattoir will be built there soon.

He said talks on details of the proposed abattoir have started, adding that the number of animals slaughtered there “in a traditional way” is big enough to satisfy the island’s demand. There are facilities for slaughtering poultry there, he added.

Mr Moustache called on farmers who rear hens to keep better records of the number of eggs they collect.

“Even though there are many who keep records, there are still a few who don’t. To get the correct data, all the layer farms without exception have to keep records of eggs laid and the number of birds left on the farm,” he said.

“Livestock officers will be going round to see how we can help, and I thank them in advance because I know they will cooperate with us.”
 
Two trainers from the SADC – Dr Pascal Bonnet and Dr Berhanu Bedan – have since Monday been showing officers who collect information on livestock the correct way to do so.

Among those present at the launch of Lims were the two trainers, special adviser for agriculture Walter Talma and principal veterinary officer Dr Jimmy Melanie.