Food security, safety, and cooperation across the Caribbean Community will be the main focus of talks as the region’s Chief Veterinary Officers meet in Port of Spain this week.
Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Haji Kazim Hosein, raised the serious issue of diseases that cross from animals to humans at the Opening Ceremony of the 25th Meeting of the CARICOM Chief Veterinary Officers on Monday.
“We have been dealing with a situation where animals come into this country and they come in through the illegal, illegally, through the borders and we have to deal with it very seriously because these animals come into the country with a lot of diseases, and we have to take care of our health, of our people.”
Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh endorsed Minister Hosein’s concerns, adding that our neighbours in the United States are already dealing with an outbreak of bird flu.
“To protect human health, there must be an intersection with animal health. If there is no intersection and Haji and I are working in silos and something should happen in a cow, in a bird, that affects human health, we would have failed. We would have failed the country.”
Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Dr. Amery Browne said CARICOM is working toward reducing the regional food import bill by 25% this year.
“I am pleased to report that our region’s commitment to this important goal remains absolutely resolute. But you have a very important role to play in achieving this to reduce our food import bill. Through the fulfilment of your mandate to strengthen disease surveillance, diagnosis, and response capabilities across the wider region, you will help to ensure that we raise and import food that is safe from farm to table.”
The annual Veterinary Conference featured presentations of academic papers, workshops, and exhibits from various food and health sector companies.