Protection & development of animal wealth [Archives:2002/36/Business & Economy]

BY MAHYOUB AL-KAMALY
YEMEN TIMES STAFF
Field studies have proved that 70-85% of Yemen’s rural population and some portion of people living in cities own or work in the field of animal wealth. It has also been proved that the poorest Yemeni families that do not own pieces of land do care for raising animals to benefit from that in encountering the state of high living conditions.
The State Administration for Animal Wealth at the Ministry of Agriculture has drawn up a special policy aimed at increasing animal production. It has therefore put plans for combating diseases and protecting the consumer which would lead to preserve the public health against diseases that are communicable to humans through animals and their products.
The ministry of agriculture in this regard has taken a number of arrangements for the protection of public health. Among such measures are the building of a net for epidemic detection to curb spread of diseases, taking speedy measures for treating them and conducting field surveys to assess the situation concerning smallpox, rift valley disease, and foot-and-mouth disease and to set necessary plans for combating them
The ministry of agriculture also pays attention to quarantine health monitoring through checking up imported livestock or their products by carrying out inspection and veterinary check-up. This is done at five quarantine inlets mainly Mokha, Hudeida, Aden, Mukalla and Hardh.
Immunization, as a precautionary measure, is considered the most important means for fighting of most animal diseases, particularly viral epidemics which cause enormous economic losses as they cause the death of huge numbers of animals, estimated at 95% in the case of smallpox.
Veterinary Central Laboratory in Sana’a carries out acts of diagnosing of animal diseases to serve in the effort of treating and preserving animal wealth and animal products. The International Atomic Energy Agency has prepared a study for developing the Veterinary Laboratory and stressed that for the purpose of providing hygienic food for consumers a high-safety laboratory and a general laboratory must be built containing biological tests, a special place for animals and a morgue and a crematory for getting rid of the laboratory remains.
Donor countries and organizations have pledged o offer help to Yemen for the development of the animal wealth. The Netherlands would offer US$ 3 million over a period of four years starting from 2003 to contribute to developing infrastructure of the State Administration of Animal Wealth and to enhance health quarantine network in addition to guidance and qualification of local cadres and installing selected areas for animal wealth raising.
There is at present a preparation for a French project in the field of rural growth for development of animal wealth. The project includes the erection of three facilities in the areas of Tuhama, the southern heights and desert areas, improving animal production there, preparing Seiyoun’s regional center and refurbishing the laboratories of Taiz and Tuhama.
The Food and Agriculture Organization is working on implementation of a technical cooperation project for combating smallpox disease and preparing Yemen for joining the International Bureau on Epidemics and also to get necessary assistance from it.
The volume of animal wealth in Yemen has reached an amount of 10,5 million of livestock in 2000, 5 million sheep, 4,3 million goats, 1,3 million cows and 50 thousand camels.
Total amount of animal products are amounted to 52 tons of meats, 67 thousand tons of chicken meat, 180 thousand tons of dairies, 7,7 thousand tons of rawhide, around 604 million broil eggs, 200 tons of wool and about 178 tons of honey.
Animal raising is mostly carried out in the Yemeni rural areas and that consequently lessen for the them the burdens of economic reforms.

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