The Ministry of Agriculture today handed over a tractor worth $27,500.00 to the Fiji Meat Industry Board (FMIB) to bolster their services.
While officially handing over the tractor at the FMIB headquarters in Nakasi today, Deputy Secretary for Agriculture Development Jone Sovalawa said the machine was part of the Ministry’s assistance.
“The Ministry will continue to support FMIB and the tractor is one of the assistance the Ministry gives to develop and mitigate challenges faced and we assure you the Ministry will continue to assist and address issues affecting the meat industry,” he said.
“FMIB not only benefits from the Ministry in terms of financing and technical areas but also in terms of the supply of human resource,” he said.
“The challenges are on our side in terms of products from the farm level and we are working to make sure we lift the throughput here at FMIB and it drives us to not only supply but to also refrain from supplying infected meat.”
Mr. Sovalawa also highlighted the linkages between the agriculture and tourism sectors and the effect the assistance would have on the FMIB’s deliverables; “FMIB is the key player in supplying meat and linking Agriculture to the tourism industry is one of our key areas, we are working together on how we can better improve our supply of meat to the tourism industry and the public,” he said.
In addition the Ministry is also working on the set-up of slaughterhouses and other developments and finalizing slaughter fees for farmers.
Board Chair of Fiji Meat Industry Board Joanne Young thanked the Ministry for the assistance which would help boost services.
“We are grateful to the Ministry of Agriculture for donating this tractor, it is a very critical and useful resource as we are experiencing inefficient challenges with the old ones,” she said.
“Thank you for the generous donation and the overall assistance of the Ministry of Agriculture to FMIB supporting us to carry out our functions and to deliver better services to the general public and consumers.”
With the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Ministry of Agriculture and FMIB for Tuberculosis slaughter, the tractor assistance will be used in disposing of diseased carcass and helping to maintain minimum health and safety standards for workers.