Agriculture minister Dith Tina (right) and Chinese ambassador Wang Wentian shake hands at the handover ceremony for one million doses of livestock vaccines on December 27. Heng Chivoan
With infectious disease affecting the supply of animal products and the national economy, the Chinese government has donated one million doses of livestock vaccines to Cambodia to enhance agricultural cooperation between the two countries.
The handover ceremony for the one million doses of livestock vaccines – 500,000 for lumpy skin disease (LSD) and 500,000 for foot and mouth disease (FMD) – took place on December 27 at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
Agriculture minister Dith Tina said during the handover ceremony that the one million doses of livestock vaccines will complement Cambodia’s existing stocks and contribute further to disease control.
The livestock sector plays an important role in increasing incomes, improving livelihoods and boosting the national economy, with production depending largely on factors associated with breed, feed, health management and market promotion, he added.
“While the ministry and its General Directorate of Animal Health and Production have made significant progress over the past few years in their efforts promoting the sector, we still face some challenges.
“These include limited laboratory capacity and human resources, and can have a major impact on livestock development,” Tina said.
Infectious diseases were a major obstacle to the production and supply of meat and animal products for market, which had an adverse affect on the national economy, he added.
“Cambodia has experienced outbreaks of [FMD], haemorrhagic septicaemia, classical swine fever, avian influenza, African swine fever and recently [LSD].
“These have caused economic impacts to livestock producers, particularly smallholders in rural areas,” Tina said.
Agriculture minister Dith Tina (centre right) receives 500,000 doses each of two types of livestock vaccines from China through the Chinese embassy in Cambodia on December 27.Heng Chivoan
He said China has supported the Kingdom’s livestock sector with a number of projects and collaborations, including biodigester programmes, the donation of livestock vaccines and training programmes.
Chinese ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian said his government’s regular cooperation with the Kingdom’s main agricultural sectors, such as crops, animal raising, fishing and rubber, had been implemented fully and proven productive.
The vaccines would play a positive role in raising animals in Cambodia, while the Chinese government had further projects to help develop the Kingdom’s agriculture, he added.
“We believe that under the strategic leadership of China and Cambodia, and the agriculture ministries of the two countries, this will bring agricultural cooperation between the two nations to another level,” Wang said.
The two ministries on November 9 signed two agreements for strengthening cooperation on livestock, bio-veterinary items and substances in addition to feed and animal vaccines.
ASEAN-China, meanwhile, plans to build a national-level laboratory to diagnose animal diseases for the General Directorate of Animal Health and Production.
