Minutes of the 65^th executive committee meeting
and the 29^th session of APHCA

Minutes of the 65^th executive committee meeting and the 29^th session of APHCA

The 65^th Executive Committee Meeting:

Sunday, 25 September 2005, 17.00-18.30 hours

• The meeting was chaired by Dr M. Afzal, delegate from Pakistan, who has taken over from Dr R.H. Raja upon his retirement. Present were the delegates from India, Indonesia and Thailand. The delegate from Nepal had not yet arrived.

• The Chairperson welcomed the delegates and thanked Indonesia for hosting this meeting.

• The Secretary also welcomed the delegates and expressed his appreciation for their presence. He informed that all APHCA member countries, with the exception of Iran, have accepted the invitation. He started his report to the meeting by stating that the general situation is marked by the continuous outbreaks of HPAI since 2003/04 in a number of APHCA member countries and the risks of the emergence of a pandemic of human influenza. Some countries have been hit in addition by the tsunami and suffered serious losses economically and in staff resources. This has contributed to National Veterinary Services being stretched to the limit or even beyond. HPAI has also affected the work of the RAP livestock group which has to focus almost exclusively on support to countries in their efforts to control HPAI. The officers and staff in the RAP livestock group/APHCA Secretariat have been involved in organizing conferences, meetings, workshops and training courses (29). They have also represented FAO in various regional meetings of ASEAN, SAARC, OIE and WHO (11). Substantial financial contributions from FAO-TCPs (US$5.5 million) and a number of donors (European Union, Germany, Switzerland and the United States of America - totaling well over US$10 million), have been or are being made available to countries in the region to control HPAI. Appropriate use of substantial funds will require a full commitment of all the staff concerned.

• The continuing threat of HPAI has led the APHCA Secretariat to modify the theme of the workshop attached to the 29^th APHCA Session to "FAO-APHCA/OIE Regional Avian Influenza Economic Assessment Workshop". AGAL, FAO-HQs, has kindly agreed to support this workshop with US$ 10 000 while OIE provides two resource persons.

• The proposed agenda for the 29^th Session of APHCA was approved (APHCA 2005/01).

• The meeting briefly reviewed the financial statement and cleared it for submission to the Session (APHCA 2005/04). The cash balance as of 1 January 2005 was US$ 332 004. The contribution by countries up to 5 September 2005 was US$ 83 224.91 against US$ 84 104 due. This good response is due to the fact that two member countries paid part of their arrears. The current outstanding contributions amount to US$ 69 387.88. An additional US$ 20 000 in contributions is expected this year from countries which have different budgetary cycles. The budgetary situation is considered good.

• The Secretary reported on the first meeting of the Steering Committee of the GF-TAD for Asia held in March 2005 in Tokyo. Considering that APHCA is a Commission representing 15 Asian countries through their CVOs or Directors-General of livestock services and given the mandate of APHCA, the Ex-com members feel strongly that the APHCA Chairperson should become a member of this Steering Committee. Respective recommendations shall be formulated during the business session.

• The term of the Chair and the members of the Ex-com is expiring and have to be re-elected. According to the APHCA tradition, the host country will be proposed for the Chair. The Indonesian delegate indicated his availability and agreed to stand for the election. He indicated, however, that he will not be able to attend the full APHCA Session due to pressing HPAI issues in the country.

• BSE - The Secretary proposed that the activities in the areas of BSE diagnosis, surveillance, risk assessment, management and communication be phased out in 2006. The delegate from India suggested that some assistance might be required once OIE has come up with the criteria for recognition of BSE freedom, if countries require assistance in collating information to prepare dossiers so that their BSE status can be assessed. The advanced hands-on training course on BSE diagnosis and surveillance for selected APHCA countries will be held jointly with OIE and the Government of Japan in Tsukuba science city, Japan, between 30 November and 9 December 2005.

• The issue of the re-appearance of Brucella melitensis and its threat as a zoonotic disease was raised by the delegate of Thailand who requested APHCA to organize a relevant workshop. This suggestion was supported by the delegates of Pakistan and India. A workshop on Brucella in sheep and goats addressing Brucella in general and Brucella melitensis, including vaccination, will be proposed to the Session.

• The issue of management of waste (from cattle farms) in the urban centres of big cities in South Asia was raised again and APHCA should do something in this field. This includes the question of composting of cattle manure.

• Lao PDR confirmed its invitation to host the next session, which would mark the 30^th anniversary of APHCA. It was recorded that this invitation has been maintained, and although this would contradict to the agreed two year’s cycle meeting outside Thailand, APHCA should proceed.

The 29^th APHCA Session:

Monday, 26 September 2005 - morning

1. The opening was presided over by the Assistant to the Governor of Bali who also officially opened the APHCA Session. Dr M. Afzal, on behalf of APHCA, welcomed the delegates and observers. Other welcoming speeches were delivered by Mr Mathur Riady, Director-General of Directorate General of Livestock Services of Indonesia, Dr Yoshiyuki Oketani, Representative of OIE Regional Representation for Asia and the Pacific, Dr Juan Lubroth, Representative of FAO-HQ. The Session was attended by delegates from APHCA member countries (with the exception of Iran and Nepal - the latter joined subsequently), and observers from Cambodia, China, Viet Nam, ACIAR, ILRI and OIE.

2. The Agenda was adopted.

3. Election of the Chairperson and the members of the Executive Committee: For the Chair, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand were proposed. Sri Lanka and Thailand declined and Indonesia was elected. Thailand was then proposed for Vice-chair and was elected. India, Myanmar, Philippines and Sri Lanka were proposed for Ex-com members. Philippines declined due to fact that the delegate has only recently been appointed to the present position. He promised to play an active role in the future. There were no further nominations, thus, the three countries were elected. Pakistan, being immediate past Chairperson, turned to be Ex-officio member.

The Executive Committee comprises:

The outgoing Chairperson, Dr Afzal thanked the delegates for their support and requested Mr Mathur Raidy, Director-General of Directorate General of Livestock Services of Indonesia to further chair the Session.

4. The Minutes of the 64^th Executive Committee Meeting and the 28^th APHCA Session were reviewed and approved by the delegates.

5. Statement of Accounts:

The Secretary presented the status of the APHCA accounts for 2004 and status of expenditures for 2005. The approved budget for 2004 was US$100 598, while the expenditures amount (APHCA 2005/04) to US$44 973. The reason for this under spending is the already mentioned fact that the RAP livestock group/APHCA Secretariat focused on HPAI-related activities. Furthermore, substantial co-funding for various activities was made available by other agencies such as OIE, JLTA, JICA and by FAO-HQ. The APHCA Secretariat is most grateful for these contributions. All delegates appreciated the activities of the Secretariat in liaising for the co-funding activities. The financial situation of APHCA has improved as countries regularly pay their annual contributions and two countries have paid a substantial part of their arrears. At present, only one country has arrears of more than three years’ contributions. The cash balance without interests as of 1 January 2005 is US$332 004.

The statement of accounts for the year 2004 was approved.

6. Report of Activities:

The Secretary presented the activities conducted by APHCA and the RAP livestock group solely or in support of HQ divisions: AGAP, AGAL, AGAH and projects during 2004-05, irrespective of sources of funding and following the APHCA agreed priority areas.

• Control of transboundary animal diseases

  • Avian influenza - addressed in the workshop

  • GF-TAD SAARC Establishment of a Regional Support Unit

  • GS-HPAI and ASEAN initiative

  • GF-TAD meeting of the first steering committee

  • Classical Swine Fever

• Small-scale dairy and meat production and processing

• New projects and TCPs approved

• CFC proposal submitted, comments received - further processing awaited

• Feed and food safety

• Industrialization, poverty reduction and environment

  • GEF-PDF-B Phase of Animal Waste Management completed full project (to start in 2006)

• Training on WTO’s SPS, BSE and VPH

In the subsequent discussion, the delegates requested further clarification with regard to the composition of the GF-TAD Steering Committee for Asia and the Pacific and the selection of the three CVOs in the Committee. The representative from OIE explained that these CVOs are the three OIE Regional Commission Members. The delegates, considering the role of APHCA and the fact that it represents 15 Asia-Pacific member countries, proposed that the APHCA Chairperson should be included in this Steering Committee. The APHCA Secretariat is requested to approach the FAO-HQ to request a review of the selection of the CVO representatives on this Steering Committee and to ensure that the Chair of APHCA is included.

The delegates from Pakistan and India repeated their request to look into cattle waste and manure management in the urban dairy production of the big cities in their countries.

Other specific issues requiring feed-back by the delegates were addressed in detail as the follows:

a. FAO-APHCA/OIE/JICA Regional Workshop on Classical Swine Fever (CSF) Control in Asia, in collaboration with the Bureau of Animal Industries, Philippines;

b. FAO-APHCA/OIE Feed and Food Safety;

c. FAO-APHCA/OIE joint activities on WTO’s Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and Veterinary Public Health; and

d. Strategic Priorities for Action Report in the context of the First Report on the State of the World’s AnGR.

The 29^th APHCA Session (continues):

Monday, 26 September - afternoon

Chairperson - Dr Syamsul Bahri (Indonesia)

7 The following activities for the year 2006 are proposed by the Secretariat for the approval by the delegates:

a. 2^nd Workshop on Feed and Food Safety - US$30 000

b. Workshop on Brucella in sheep and goats with specific attention to B. melitensis as a zoonotic threat and the use of vaccination - US$20 000

c. Author’s contract for an APHCA publication on breeding plans, with specific attention to small-scale dairy improvement - US$12 000

d. Support to finalize an APHCA publication on meat and meat products by the CFC Project - US$10 000

e. Consultant for waste/manure management and manure composting for urban and suburban dairy production in big cities in South Asia - US$15 000

f. A proposal for small-scale dairy in Asia and the Pacific to answer the following questions:

i. what is the economic/resource impact of changing the mix of dairy types in a province?
ii. what is the impact of small change in inputs (e.g. dairy type, feed, land use)?
iii. should the community/province increase the number of low input or intensive dairy farms?
iv. how can a particular dairy co-operative reduce costs while maintaining good production?
v. changes in the demand and options to meet these demands.

Through the development of a flexible sector model of smallholder dairying that incorporates options for:

• evaluating and assessing options for meeting changing market demand for milk and milk products

• several scales of production

• several scales of resource allocation

• providing capacity to illustrate differences in optimal solutions based on:

  • economic returns

  • resource allocation

  • level of production.

The proposed budget is US$80 000 for two years (of which up to US$50 000 will be contributed by APHCA and at least US$30 000 from other sources).

In a subsequent discussion, delegates requested clarification with regard to the choice of countries, the linkage with other activities such as the PPLPF and ILRI as well as the International Farm Comparison Network. Delegates agreed in principle, subject to further clarification, which will be circulated to the delegates.

The new (amended) budget proposal was circulated to the delegates for review and for final decision at the wrap-up meeting on 29 September 2005.

Further requests by the Delegates:

• Bhutan requested support in small-scale slaughterhouse and meat processing facilities. This gave rise to a general discussion with regard to meat inspection, meat hygiene, meat processing, halal slaughter, slaughter-slabs and slaughterhouse hygiene. The great deficiency in these areas was highlighted and the need for assistance was stressed. The CFC Project provides some support but much more is required. Malaysia, through its own TCP programme, provided assistances to some countries through several meat processing and inspection training courses.

• Papua New Guinea inquired about the possibility of support to smallholder honey producers and in residue monitoring to meet international export requirements. As honey bees are not covered by APHCA and residue monitoring is part of the FFS activities, the Secretariat will follow up this request and investigate the possibility of a TCP to develop a residue monitoring plan.

• The meeting requested the Secretariat to convene APHCA’s appreciation to Dr J.Q. Molina and Dr Tri Satya Putri Naipospos for their support and contributions to APHCA during the past years and in particular to Dr Naipospos for her support in organizing the 29^th APHCA Session and the AI Workshop in Bali.

• The Secretariat was requested to pursue with China in joining APHCA and to invite new members such as Afghanistan, Cambodia and Viet Nam.

^[1]Conclusion and adoption of Minutes of the 65^th Ex-com Meeting/the 29^th APHCA Session

Thursday 29 September 2005 - afternoon

Chairperson - Dr Chaweewan Leowijuk (Thailand)^[2]

The Minutes of the 65^th Ex-com and the 29^th APHCA Session were adopted with some amendments and modifications.

The proposed budget for 2006 with the necessary amendments for the Regional Dairy Initiative was approved.

The delegate from Lao PDR invited the 30^th Session to be held in Luang Prabang, during the second week of October 2006.

The delegate from Myanmar proposed to host the 31^st APHCA Session in Yangon or Mandalay in 2007.

Other business:

The delegate from Australia informed the meeting about the forthcoming International Symposium on Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics, which will be held in Cairns, Australia, between 6 and 11 August 2006. The main themes of this Symposium comprise:

1. Aquatic animal epidemiology;
2. Investigation of disease distribution and determinants (companion/food animals and wildlife);
3. Animal health delivery and response;
4. Tools and training for epidemiologists;
5. Evaluation of animal disease;
6. Global response (to AI, BSE and FMD); and
7. Epidemiology of emerging and zoonotic diseases

The Secretary informed the meeting that sponsorship for officials from APHCA countries to the above Symposium, in the context of the APHCA partnership programme (still limited to the least costly airfare only), can be envisaged subject to the agreement of the APHCA Executive Committee and acceptance of the paper by the Symposium organizer.

The representative from ILRI informed the meeting about the International Conference on Livestock Services Enhancing Rural Development which will be organized in Beijing, China, between 16 and 22 April 2006.

The delegate from Lao PDR requested that the APHCA website should be more regularly updated with details on relevant APHCA events and activities.

The representative from OIE informed the meeting about the OIE’s forthcoming events:

1. The 24th Conference of the OIE Regional Commission for Asia, the Far East and Oceania, 15-18 November, Seoul (Republic of Korea); and

2. OIE Regional Meeting on Avian Influenza Control (legislation and preparedness including carcass disposal workshop) and OIE workshop on development of animal health legislation (highly pathogenic avian influenza prevention and control) to be organized in Asia in January 2006; and

3. Session on Vaccines and Vaccination of Transboundary Animal Diseases to be organized in Asia in February 2006.

The delegate from Bangladesh urged the APHCA Secretariat to support and follow-up the country’s request for FAO assistance in activities relevant to HPAI.

The delegate from Papua New Guinea requested training in TAD-Info. He was informed that the country is part of a recently approved regional project on disease information systems with a component on training.

The delegates reminded the secretariat to send the letters of appreciation to Dr Molina and Dr Naipospos.

The Chairperson and the Secretary thanked the host country and all those involved in organizing the APHCA Session and the AI Workshop for the excellent arrangements and the great hospitality.

The next session will take place in Luang Prabang in 2006.

The Session was closed at 17:30 hours.

Summary of the actions requested:

a. Circulate for final endorsement the proposal of small-scale dairying.

b. To explore with/propose to FAO-HQ that the APHCA Chairperson become a member in the Regional GF-TAD Steering Committee.

c. Workshop on Brucella in sheep and goats with specific attention to B. melitensis as a zoonotic threat and the use of vaccination.

d. Consultant for animal waste management and composting.

e. Small-scale slaughterhouse and meat processing facilities.

f. Possibility of TCP or other support to residue monitoring.

g. Support to countries once OIE pathway for BSE-free declaration is decided.