Agriculture Ministry, ACSAD sign MoU on livestock

DAMASCUS, (ST) – The Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform and the Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Areas “ACSAD” recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the development of livestock.

The MoU aimed at establishing a national system in Syria including a database for numbering farm animals and the development of the reality of producing veterinary vaccines produced locally in the ministry in coordination with the concerned authorities. The MoU also aimed at participating in the activities of field schools to sheep breeders in order to transfer modern technologies and some of the concepts related to the development of stockbreeding, care and marketing of products according to project strategies.

The MoU stipulated the preparation of a national system for numbering herds of livestock, identifying technical indicators for the national database concerning the record of the herd and areas that require support and developing the expertise of employees, especially the production of veterinary vaccines. The MoU also stressed on the coordination with the Agricultural Scientific Research Association to prepare an artificial insemination laboratory and ensure the necessary funding to accomplish all activities.

The MoU included training the Ministry’s cadres in the laboratories of vaccine production according to international standards, providing technical studies required to create and equip a laboratory for the circulation the technique of industrial pruning technology.  The MoU underlined the need to ensure opportunities of scientific visits and training courses for the staff of the ministry and the project’s partners at home and abroad.

The Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, Ahmed Qadri, confirmed that signing the MoU is the result of fruitful cooperation with ACSAD which reflected positively on the agricultural production through the development of new varieties of agricultural crops and improving the breeds of livestock.

For his part, Director General of ACSAD, Dr. Rafiq Ali Saleh, noted the importance of the memorandum signed in developing and improving the situation of livestock and raising the capabilities of national cadres in the areas of training and rehabilitation.

Sh. Kh.