FAO teams up with the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Rangelands and provides about USD 1 million.

Two joint projects signed yesterday by the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Rangelands (MoLFR) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations will support two priorities central to the Government of Sudan’s “Second National Five Year Development Plan (2012-2016): animal health and fisheries. One project will strengthen the national capacity to control and eradicate Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) and the other aims to develop freshwater aquaculture production.

 “The development of both the fisheries and animal health is very important for the food security of the country” said Mr Abdi Jama, FAO Representative.

 The importance of the PPR project comes from the fact that “small ruminants represent about 70% of the animal resources in the country” said H.E. Dr. Fisal Hassan Ibrahim, Minister of Livestock, Fisheries and Rangelands. PPR is a threat and a priority disease to be addressed in Sudan. The disease limits the productivity of milk of the small ruminants and causes heavy losses among affected flocks. It represents a real threat to the livelihood, food security and nutrition of the poor pastoralists and rural smallholder, for whom sheep and goats are the most valuable productive assets. At a larger scale it also limits the national productivity for exports. FAO and the MoLFR are joining efforts to contain new PPR outbreaks but also to prevent further expansion of the disease into non-infected areas through effective surveillance, prompt and effective laboratory diagnosis and production of vaccines and vaccination.

 “The aquaculture project coincides with the government efforts […] to develop the sector and offers an opportunity for job creation. We consider it a high priority”, the Minister Continued. The MoFLT and FAO are joining efforts to increase the national fish production and consumption of affordable fish protein through enhanced tilapia seed and feed production and management. The fishery sector is known as “the blue economy” Mr Abdi Jama said. “We hope the project will give institutions the tools to put together a long term vision for the development of this sector”, he concluded.

 The projects build into other significant joint projects, such as the Food and Mouth Disease (FMD) project at national level funded by FAO and the Integrated Food Security Project (IFSP) in Kassala funded by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs Trade and Development (DFATD).

 | read this story online | See the pictures |

###

FAO | Sudan

Osman Digna Street, Khartoum East, Khartoum, Sudan | (+249) 18 377 9367 
(+249) 18 377 4646| [email protected]|http://www.fao.org/sudan/en/|