To make chicken soup, you need a chicken!

April 23, 2013 by J-Wire Staff
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An inaugural two-week course in poultry production and management run by Israeli specialists starts today in Samoa.

Samoan chickens

Samoan chickens

Exploring all facets of poultry production, the course includes workshops dealing with nutrition, feeding and breeding practices; poultry projects planning; cannibalism and prevention; bio-security and disease prevention; along with fieldtrips and opportunities for feedback and discussions.

The course was designed in response to a Pacific requests for greater technical assistance in boosting poultry production capabilities, in light of increasing poultry uptake amid insufficient, low-yield production in the region. The collaboration will work to transform the culture of poultry production in the Pacific from a pre- dominantly smallholder-based venture to a larger industry able to meet growing demands.

The venture has drawn 48 people from nations across the Pacific for two weeks of workshops delivered by industry experts Ms Arazi Hagit and Mr Malka Yitzhak Shmuel, who travelled from Israel under the auspices of the Government of Israel, to conduct the training.

Fiji has the highest representation at the course, with 15 participants, adding to the 12 participants from the Solomon Islands, eight from Samoa, five each from Vanuatu and Tonga, and one representative from New Zealand.

“The course marks a milestone in the special relationship developing between nations in the Pacific and Israel”, said Yuval Rotem, Israel’s Ambassador to Australia and Non-Resident Ambassador to Fiji and Papua New Guinea, who signed the MOU with USP last year. “It is very promising to see areas of cooperation growing in the agribusiness development sphere, and we welcome this opportunity for engagement with the Pacific.”

The Poultry Production and Management Training Course is the first of its kind to be run on a regional level. Its significance has been acknowledged by all parties involved. The opening ceremony was held on the USP campus in Apia, Samoa; attended by the CEO of the Minister for Agriculture, Mohammed Umar, Head of the School of Agriculture and Food Technology and Director of the IRETA Institute at USP and Jonathan Zadka, Regional Counsellor to the Pacific Islands.

The course is the first collaboration to take place under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in December last year between the University of the South Pacific (USP) and MASHAV – Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation.
“USP is very proud to be associated with Israel through this program and truly appreciates Israel’s contribution by providing experts in poultry production”, said USP Head of School Mohammed Umar. “Israel’s support will add to our knowledge and skills in further improving the poultry production systems and efficiencies. We look forward to further collaboration in other areas in future.”

The facilitators have previously led poultry production courses throughout Asia and Africa and expressed enthusiasm at the opportunity to share their experience with the Pacific.

Comments

One Response to “To make chicken soup, you need a chicken!”
  1. Lynne Newington says:

    It brings to mind Golda Meir and her first job at a Kibutz.
    May they be as prosperous as she was.

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