Minister of Rural Development: Ambitious, Objective Plans Put in Place To Promote Livestock Sector
The Minister of Rural Development, Mr. Dy Ould Zein, affirmed that the livestock sector had the largest share in the ‘My Pledges’ program, which was reflected in the resources allocated to it from the state budget.
This came in a speech he made Wednesday during the inauguration of the livestock fair in its first edition in the city of Timbedra in the region of Hodh Charghi.
He added that MRO 3.6 billion were allocated for the year 2021, which represents an increase of 130% compared to the 2019 budget.
He said that the level of implementation of projects and programs funded by partners has doubled, moving from 35% at the end of 2019 to 75% by the end of 2020.
The Minister of Rural Development warned that this priority has been translated into developing and implementing ambitious and objective plans that take into account the reality of the sector and the challenges facing it. He added that these plans aim to advance the sector’s capabilities to expand its production base, increase and improve the cost-effectiveness of its assets, and modernize and develop its production systems.
In the field of animal health, he pointed out that the sector adopted the expansion of the annual campaign to vaccinate herds against various diseases and epidemics to extend throughout the year, which gave positive results in controlling endemic and surprising animal diseases.
He added that a program has been launched to construct 114 pens for vaccination during 2020, of which 73 units have been completed, while work is underway in 41 others.
In the context of taking care of the red meat sector, the minister pointed out that his department has begun completing 27 units for skinning and meat processing and 18 livestock markets, ten of which have been completed, while work is underway to complete 8 others.
He said that a program had been launched to establish 63 modern units to sell meat in Nouakchott in cooperation with the Ministry of Employment, Youth, and Sports, to contribute to absorbing youth unemployment and support the quality of meat intended for consumption.
He mentioned that the improvement of the breeds was promoted, and 48 small units of milk processing were completed in different regions of the country within the dairy sector, to contribute to the valuation and diversification of the local production of milk and its derivatives, while 6380 heads of milk sheep were distributed to the neediest families.
Mr. Dy Ould Zein talked about the Mauritanian company for dairy products in Nema, which cost about 17 million US dollars, indicating that it was not operational when it was received despite its high cost and the great hopes that this project brought to the inhabitants and the animal production sector in general. He indicated that the sector took the initiative to develop a sound plan based on financial cooperation with the Depository and Development Fund, which enabled the operation of the plant and the organization of the producers who would benefit from it.
He recalled the department’s efforts in the fields of the poultry sector, in the valuation and exploitation of animal derivatives, and in improving programs for the genetic improvement of animal breeds, with the aim of developing the national product of milk and meat in terms of quantity and quality in a first stage, and other products and derivatives in later stages.
To accelerate the pace of this program and ensure its alignment with the local environment and maintain the natural development of the local breeds, the minister explained that a natural insemination methodology was adopted to reach this goal through programming 7 model farms to improve the breeds. The Ministry also supported and encouraged producers in the field of fodder cultivation, indicating that it will work to expand the N’Beiket Lahwach farm from 40 hectares to 100 hectares, after operating the electrical station in Nema, which was received in 2019 and is inoperable.
Addressing the President of the Republic, he said: “In summary, it can be said that 50 % of your pledges in the agricultural field have been accomplished in the first year of your first term, and we will, Allah’s willing, address the details of the achievements in the agricultural sector on the occasion of the launch of the National Program for Agricultural Reclamation 2021”.