HIS EXCELLENCY RATU EPELI NAILATIKAU
CF, LVO, OBE (Mil), OStJ, CSM, MSD
President of the Republic of Fiji

ADDRESS AT THE OPENING OF THE INAUGURAL COMMONWEALTH VETERINARY ASSOCIATION (CVA) CONFERENCE IN FIJI

TanoaHotel Monday, 2nd September, 2013 NADI 9.00a.m.


• Dr Abdul Rahman, President of the Commonwealth Veterinary Association

• Presidents of the Veterinary Associations of both Australia and Malaysia

• Representatives of Global Organization including the Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO], the World Organization for Animal Health [OIE], the World Society for the Protection of Animals [WSPA] and the International Fund for Agricultural Development [IFAD]

• Distinguished Guests and Participants, which I understand includes some farmers and in particular, those of you from overseas

• Ladies and Gentlemen

Good morning, ni sa bula vinaka, salaam alaykum, namaste.

I bid you all a very warm welcome to the 15th Australiasia/Oceania Commonwealth Veterinary Association Conference (CVA), and the first to be staged in Fiji. We are especially honoured and happy to be your host and to be hosting a conference of such significance, given the importance of livestock and other animals to our lives.

I understand that the CVA was established in 1967 to promote the veterinary profession by encouraging the highest professional standards within the Commonwealth, of education, ethics and service in order to advance animal health, productivity and welfare and to improve the quality of life of the people. This is achieved by various means, including workshops, study attachments, producing a journal, small projects and conferences.

This is a noble mission indeed and does recognize just how important the animal kingdom is to our well-being and increasingly to the ongoing sustainability of our existence on a planet which is facing unprecedented stresses and challenges. At the end of the day we must not forget that we humans are also part of God’s family of creatures.

The vast Pacific Ocean is the largest geographical feature on our planet. While from a distance our Pacific region seems a pristine and beautiful one – which, of course it is - our highly scattered and mainly small Pacific Island countries and territories [PICTS] have to contend with huge challenges in national development because of their relative isolation, diseconomies of scale, fragmentation, proneness to natural disasters [and increasingly to climate change] and also their limited human resource skills base coupled with the ongoing brain-drain, which includes highly trained veterinarians. I am reliably informed that this last key point is intended as a major focus area during your conference.

The consumption and, therefore, imports of livestock products, from dairy products like powdered milk, ice cream, cheese and yoghurts to meat, leather and fibre are increasing steadily right across the region. For example, Fiji imported $68million worth of dairy products last year while animal and meat product imports reached $57million.
So, the major challenge is to produce more of these requirements locally in-country, while providing economic opportunities, greater self-reliance and enhanced food security in the process.

The government is ensuring greater cohesion and effective implementation of the import substitution programme to increase self-reliance and reduce imports.

The demand-driven approach both for exports and import substitution commodities including dairy, sheep, beef and pork involves commercialization and strengthening industry organizations and agri-business networks; promotion of young farmer training; recognition of industry priorities by government; and the provision of support to medium-sized entrepreneurs and exporters with existing market protocols.

Government has been injecting around $4m - $5m annually to the livestock sector in terms of improving livestock research & breeding; upgrading of the veterinary pathology laboratory; dairy industry support through the demand driven approach programme; livestock rehab programme; smallholder sheep and apiculture development programme; livestock feed technology and goat and pig development programme.

Government has also allocated $1m this year for the dairy development programme to assist farmers through subsidizing agro input cost.

Livestock are an integral part of the Pacific Island social and cultural systems and feature prominently in many traditional ceremonies.

Indeed, it is not generally recognized that the concentrations of livestock, in particular of pigs and poultry in some of our very small island countries, are amongst the highest in the world, underlining the point I made earlier about how significant these can be to our existence. They play a major part in the provision of food and in maintaining good nutrition and therefore human health and also often equate with security wealth.
However, growing urbanization and expanding tourism are both adding to the demand for livestock products but are also changing the dynamic of the livestock sector to a more commercial one.

Of course, animals are important to us humans in many other ways not just as food.

Precious endemic biodiversity including animals of all types, shapes and sizes are essential components of our natural ecosystems which are in turn critical to our life here on earth. Without sound functioning ecosystems producing an array of ecosystem services, our future existence will have to be under threat as indeed it already is in several countries.

Even here in the Pacific we have the reality of communities which have had to be re-located due to sea level rise, such as those in the Carteret group of islets in the Solomon Islands.

Animals are valued also because of their companionship and security roles and special niche sectors such as horse racing, zoos and wildlife parks or reserves.

All these provide increasing opportunities and benefits to more and more people. There has been a resurgence of interest here in Fiji in horse-racing. Who knows, we might even have a locally-famous Nadi cup horserace one of these day.

After all, an established racing event used to be located only a kilometre from here at Votualevu, for decades and could well be revived; taking into account the increasing numbers of visitors we receive from two immediate neighbours, Australia and New Zealand.



Another form of wildlife activity of relevance is in the marine sector. A possible ‘marine world’ here in Fiji has been under consideration by interested parties over the years and could materialize in the future. This would of course ‘fit in’ very well with Fiji’s island status. The beautiful Mamanuca group of islands in Nadi bay could be one potential location for such a facility.

Referring to the steadily increasing demand for livestock products, this is now providing greater opportunities to producers and in some situations, regional export markets are also developing. This is already the case here in Fiji with so many smaller island neighbours relatively close by.

I stress the word relatively because as you are all aware distances in the Pacific can be extreme. A good example of this fact is the Republic of Kiribati to our north. If this archipelago were to be super-imposed on the mainland United States of America in a map sense, the islands would stretch right across the US Mainland from the west coast to well into the Atlantic Ocean!

Yet the sector does not generally receive great priority in terms of policy and financial resource allocation and for this reason some of the gains made elsewhere in livestock production technology, for example in nutrition, genetics and breeding and also in disease control, have not been possible to fully access.

Fiji has recorded considerable progress in several livestock areas such as in the development of a tropical non-wool breed of sheep which is a very good meat animal and has been acquired by both Samoa and Tonga where it is performing very well.

I understand that you will see these interesting animals when you all visit the north of this island on Friday.

On the one hand, our rapidly-expanding poultry sector with production at its highest last year - 18,285 tonnes - is a credit to the many players and is already taking advantage of the significant export market. On the other hand, we need to do more in the dairy sector as our self-sufficiency level is quite low at 47%.

There is much room for improvement and expansion. Markets do exist, which is always a key element in any agri-business undertaking.

There is still a need for improved information on the sector - on numbers, trends, constraints, research requirements and infrastructural needs. Skills also need to be enhanced, not only at the farmer level but also at the professional level.

The initiative by the Fiji National University to commence a Diploma in Animal Health Program a few years ago was a very commendable move in this direction. There is an overall shortage of veterinarians in Fiji, as well as in all other PICTS except in the French territories. This important issue is on the conference agenda.

Many feel that home-grown veterinarians are now needed for our region and Fiji is perhaps the best-placed country to consider this option. After all, Fiji has been producing very competent medical doctors and dentists for the region since 1889 through the Fiji school of medicine! Locally-trained veterinarians will be more in tune with the prevalent conditions and circumstances, some of which are unique to this region.

Producing our own veterinarians will also be a better way of using the resources required – and which are available locally - for this purpose, as opposed to sourcing them from often expensive overseas institutions. New approaches such as partnerships with overseas veterinary schools are now increasingly “the way to go”, thereby building on their experience and knowledge.

The faculty of veterinary science of the University Putra in Malaysia is participating in this conference and is an example of such an institution in another developing tropical country.

The manner in which we raise and generally treat animals - now commonly referred to as ‘animal welfare’ - is important from several perspectives.

Animals feel pain, anxiety and discomfort in much the same way that we do and it is proper for us to both recognize and also respect this in a more meaningful way. In addition, it is now the norm in many developed countries that vocal consumers are actually insisting that animal products which they consume are derived from farm systems which practice good animal welfare.

The World Society for the Protection of Animals [WSPA] is also participating actively in this conference as a valued partner and we are pleased to welcome this global organization to Fiji.

Our near neighbour New Zealand is a clear world leader in rugby and introduced this great game about which we are so passionate, to Fiji in the early 1900s.

We all know that in addition to this sport - which suits the Pacific islands more than any other, New Zealand is also a major global player in livestock production and in exports. Aotearoa is now looked on as a trend setter in animal welfare standards and global best practice and it is appropriate that we have several of their highly qualified speakers participating in the conference.

Sustainable development is now recognized as the key to life on earth in the long term future. Appropriately, this was a major focus of the inaugural Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF) that was recently held in Nadi, in which Fiji played a lead role in organizing and hosting. In fact there is increasing emphasis on ‘green development’ and green growth as well as on green economies and this conference, adopted its theme of ‘sustainable animal health and production’ over a year ago when the organizing committee commenced its work! Of course, livestock development is very often based on green principles and conducted in a green setting where pasture and other natural feeds are absolutely fundamental. This conference is, therefore, in a good position to build on the principles of green growth and increasing sustainability that the recent PIDF so strongly endorsed.

Ensuring that our communities are food-secure is a major challenge and includes ensuring that our people consume nutritious, healthy and safe food in our battle against Non Communicable Diseases (NCDS) as well as for the general health and well-being of our population and also of our increasing numbers of visitors.

The Pacific Island region is of course very vulnerable to climate change.

I have mentioned an example of a low-lying neighbor already experiencing the effects of rising sea levels. Extreme weather conditions are being experienced more regularly, and the need to both mitigate and adapt to this is vital for our communities. The need to identify and conserve our unique biodiversity is also important in this process.

Our region is relatively free from many infectious diseases of both humans and animals. While we are fortunate to have such a situation we should vigilantly preserve it. More effective disease surveillance systems need to be in place for us to be able to detect and respond to any new disease incursions brought about by changing environmental conditions and also by the enhanced movement of people and goods.

Biosecurity is, therefore, a critical aspect for all small Pacific Island countries and territories as introductions of invasive species such as the green iguana to Fiji can wreak havoc on precious endemic species and fragile ecosystems. It is important that other PICTS learn from Fiji’s sad experience. The old adage that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link is very true in the context of regional biosecurity.

It is so necessary and vital for all PICTS to collaborate closely on shared needs such as protecting the region as a whole from undesirable pests and diseases which are not currently present, as an accidental introduction of a pest or invasive species in one country, as in Fiji’s case, will automatically expose the other states in the region to increased risk.

Partnerships between like-minded organizations are increasingly recognized as desirable practice because of the synergies, complementarities and added-value that can be capitalized on in this mode. This conference demonstrates this in several ways, including the fact that working together and cooperating crosses all frontiers and also across what we have often considered up to now as divisions.

Partnership brings out the best in people and organizations, and, therefore, should as far as possible, involve all kinds of entities, namely civil society, commercial and government. This conference is a good example of this valuable tri-partite collaboration which can benefit all stakeholders. The James Cook University located in Townsville, Queensland is a very important institution as it hosts Australia’s only veterinary faculty located in the tropics.

It is, therefore, most pleasing to see their representatives here at our meeting, in addition to those from University Putra in Kuala Lumpur! Other important partners include the World Organization for Animal Health [OIE] and the Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO] and the International Fund for Agricultural Development [IFAD]. We are indeed delighted to have you all here at this conference.

Animal health and production workers are often isolated, particularly in this vast region of highly dispersed and scattered small island countries. This conference has brought together livestock specialists from across our region including from the Pacific territories of France, to meet and network both with their colleagues and also with colleagues from as far away as Africa.

The tyranny of distance and isolation is now no longer the huge challenge and constraint that it had been for us in the Pacific as a result of modern digital technology. Distant education is a subject which fits well into this context, where mobile phones can all of a sudden transform how we ‘connect’ with subject-matter specialists from anywhere on our planet, almost as if they were in the next room.

Images can be sent anywhere in seconds and advice and knowledge can be received to assist with all kinds of situations which in the past could take weeks even to refer to head office!

Conferences can be wonderful gatherings in a professional sense, but are much more meaningful, if concrete and coherent conclusions with suggestions and recommendations are produced for follow-up.

I have been informed that this is very much the spirit which our conference organizers intend to adopt so that there will be an authoritative set of relevant outputs which have strong ‘ownership’ and which in turn will have considerable potential to contribute to concrete desired outcomes at both the national and regional level.

Our vital regional natural resources development organization, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community [SPC] which was formed immediately after WW2, is the conference’s key technical partner. The SPC has played such an important role in helping to shape this event’s program and in providing so much valuable support and advice, a fact which is much appreciated by the Fiji government.

Of course, the Fiji government is the major sponsor of the conference and this is entirely fitting and appropriate as both livestock and animals more generally do matter greatly to us and will have an increasingly important role in the future as our population continues to increase and consumption of livestock products per head continues to rise.

All conferences should endeavor to’ break out’ of the venue in order to experience more of the host country rather than just the immediate urban location, and in the process, to experience a little of what makes a country ‘tick’ including in this case, the agricultural and livestock sector. It is very pleasing to know that a visit will be made to the Crest Fiji Agriculture show at Churchill Park in Lautoka.

In fact, as a result of good strategic planning and collaboration on the part of key stakeholders in the show, in particular the principal commercial partner, Crest, this has been deliberately timed to coincide with the conference.

In addition, a post -conference trip will be made to northern Viti Levu where you will be visiting a number of relevant and interesting activities.

This includes the renowned Fiji water bottling plant and the Yaqara Pastoral Company, the largest grazing livestock enterprise on this island. Specific activities which will be looked at include tropical sheep production using the very impressive Fiji Fantastic breed which had been developed here over the last 30 years, based on the cross breed of the Barbados Black Belly breed from the United States of America and the Wiltshire Breed from Australia.

Also scheduled is a visit to the reforestation with indigenous tree species on degraded hillsides where grazing livestock are also a land-use activity. Another production method which will be visited will be the culture of fish species at the village of Vitawa - this expanding technology of aquaculture is another field where veterinarians and para veterinarians have an important role to play.
A good number of commercial entities in Fiji’s livestock sector have contributed valuable support to this conference, the largest of its kind to be held in Fiji. I know our organizers are most grateful for this show of solidarity by these key stakeholders and I wish to also recognize these important players in our national livestock development effort.

In closing, we must accept the different circumstances, challenges and opportunities that a large region, like ours face. Given the limited resources available to our various governments and administrations, are the priority issues that need to be addressed and the preferred frameworks and partnerships to ensure maximum buy-in and ownership of this process.

Such questions as: what strategic partnerships need to be established to deliver solutions to these challenges? Is there need for greater investment into research and development? Is there a need for greater investment into education, including veterinary education? How do we place more attention on the vital sustainable management of our natural resources?

These are some of the questions that we need to be asking ourselves as technical experts, scientists and professionals.

The onus is, therefore, on us all to engage seriously and to reach clear consensus on these, and other key questions and challenges, and to then deliver, at the end of the exciting week that lies ahead.

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I wish you all a very fruitful and enjoyable conference as well as a most meaningful Fiji experience.

Thank you, vinaka vakalevu, sukria and bahoot dhanyavaad.