AGRICULTURE MINISTRY INCREASING VETERINARIAN CAPACITY TO  ENHANCE LIVESTOCK SECTOR

(Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 15, 2023); 

Hon. Samal Duggins, continued his second in a series of meetings with Livestock farmers  and other stakeholders in the agricultural sector on Thursday, 11th May 2023 in the Large  Conference Room at the Department of Agriculture. 

During the meeting, the Acting Permanent Secretary revealed that the Ministry has been  working persistently to give farmers improved access to veterinary services. He then announced that the Department of Agriculture will soon receive assistance from two  Veterinarians who are expected to arrive on island before the end of the second quarter and  will be tasked with the surveillance, prevention, treatment, and control of animal diseases.  

Mr. Flemming said, “I am happy to announce that after consultations in December,  Livestock farmers will be able to receive veterinary care for their animals as early as this  month. Two veterinarians have been hired and the first is expected to arrive from Trinidad  on May 23rd 2023, while the other from St. Vincent and the Grenadines is expected to  arrive in St. Kitts by the end of June.” 

He added, “We know how important it is for you the farmers to have the health and welfare  of your animals taken into consideration and we at the Ministry take that very seriously.  The challenge has been finding trained vets on island because this particular job is not  popular on island so we are also grateful for the assistance and the partnership of Ross  University who provides these services and I encourage more persons to pursue this field  of study.” 

The farmers responded to the announcement with pleasure and expressed that they looked  forward to receiving quality service from the new Vet personnel. The group of livestock rearing food producers then expressed their views on several other topics such as the  availability of feed, land allocation, equipment management and road preparation, duty  free concessions, veterinary care and medical services, partnerships with other government  departments and allied agencies. 

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