Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries

APHD Division,
Vaea

Visit us

+685 21052,

Call us

aphd-info@maf.gov.ws

Contact Us

Mon - Fri:
9:00am - 5:00pm

Working Hours

This division consists of 7 main sections

OUTPUT DESCRIPTION

“Undertake research and development for the provision of advice and animal health services to improve livestock production for subsistence and commercial producers”

SECTIONS

Navigate to the following sections by clicking on each one

ANIMAL HEALTH & REGULATORY SECTION

SECTION
OBJECTIVE

“To provide expert animal healthcare and treatment, ensure wholesome meat & meat products fit for human consumption, develop import risk analysis for all animal cases as well as certification for exports”

CORE FUNCTIONS

01

carryout animal disease surveillance and control

02

Provide veterinary care for sick
or injured animals

03

Assist in farm advisory & training with focus on disease management.

04

Oversee regulatory functions through issuance of certificates for importation/exportation of live animal & export permits for meat & meat production

05

Liaise with the Quarantine Division on animal quarantine matters

06

Perform diagnostic tests when required at the Division laboratory.

07

Monitor & ensure hygiene standards in butcher shops

08

Collect data on slaughtered carcasses and/or processed meat from meat every meat outlet.

09

Demonstrate to train farmers on proper slaughtering practices & hygienic handling of carcasses.

ANIMAL PRODUCTION SECTION

section
Objective

“To provide advice and technical assistance to farmers to improve and promote Livestock production”

CORE FUNCTIONS

01 -To provide technical advice through:

  • Livestock farm monitoring & assessment field visits
  • Training of trainers
  • School awareness programs
  • Farmer Field days
  • Career Days
  • Livestock Farmer’s Technical group trainings
  • One on One consultations
  • Farm visits to approve cattle, pigs, chickens and sheep applications
  • Radio and Television awareness programs
  • Extension Knowledge materials such as Production Manuals, leaflets, posters, flyers, pull up banners etc.
  • Assisting farmers in devising proposals to seek for funds.

02 - Carry out Farm monitoring, of the different Livestock population to assess

  • Livestock farm production efficiency
  • Stocking Rates
  • BCS
  • Pasture production and nutrition
  • Identifying farm production gaps
  • Environmental impacts and environmentally friendly farming measures
  • Climate change impacts and mitigation measures
  • Animal Welfare issues that needs to be addressed

03 - Demonstrate And Advise On Animal Husbandry Programs​

  • Castration
  • Drenching
  • De-worming
  • dentification of cattle, pigs and sheep
  • De-horning
  • Hoof-trimming
  • Milking practices in dairy animals
  • Administering iron injections (pigs)
  • Teeth clipping
  • De-beaking (poultry)
  • De-beaking (poultry)
  • Artificial brooding in chickens
  • Rearing systems for all livestock
  • Fencing & housing

04 - Demonstrate pasture establishment and maintenance on cattle farms

  • Distribute planting materials of improved pasture types
  • Ruminant pasture requirement and supply assessment

05 - Demonstrate feeding practices for all livestock

  • Rotational grazing
  • Supplementation and cut ‘n’ carry
  • Basic feed formulation
  • Seasonal feed mapping

06- Organize and develop livestock farmer groups

  • Cattle Farmer’s Association
  • Meat Advisory Committee (MAC)
  • Livestock Farmers social media groups
  • Cattle Multiplier group
  • Sheep Multiplier group
  • Meat retailers’ group
  • Youth Groups
  • Livestock Women Farmer groups
  • School programs
  • Livestock tools & equipment supplier group

07 - Assist students in areas of animal research and development

  • College students field days
  • College Agriculture-Livestock production curriculum review
  • University student’s practical attachment programs
  • American community college practical attachment program

08 - Assist in organizing livestock auctions

  • Link Livestock buyers to local Livestock suppliers

09 - Produce and prepare technical information for livestock farmers

  • Cattle production manual
  • Sheep production manual
  • Chicken production manual
  • Pig production manual
  • Leaflets
  • Posters
  • Flyers
  • Bookmarkers
  • Pull-up banners
  • Banners
  • Information sheets
  • Livestock education video clips
  • Newspaper articles
  • Radio and Television programs
  • News articles
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT SECTION
Previous
Next

Section Objective

“To facilitate development of technologies for the improvement of local livestock industries”

Core Functions

  • Develop new techniques to improve and promote livestock production in terms of breeding genetics and animal nutrition
  • Develop and analyze different farm management practices including model farms in order to support animal production systems and long term economic viability
  • Conduct, monitor and evaluate pasture species and feeding trials
  • Produce reports on findings from research and technology development
  • Monitor and assess livestock numbers natural increase statistics & growth of stock on MAF farms
  • Implement livestock distribution schemes to farmers
  • Monitor breeding programs for all stock on MAF
  • Provide expertise for designing and constructing specialized equipment and tools used for animal production and repairs to infrastructure on MAF farms
  • Provide technical assistance to apiary farmers
SUPPORT SERVICES

Section Objective

“Provide administrative and general support services for Animal Production and Health Division”

Core Functions

  • Provide quality customer services to the public
  • Procurement of tools & equipment required by the division for implementation
SERVICES & CHARGES

The Animal Health & Regulatory Section of the Animal Production & Health Division (APHD, also known as the Livestock Divi-sion) is responsible for the provision of qual-ity veterinary services to farmers and their livestock, as well as the regulation and devel-opment of the meat industry.
Our team of experienced paraveterinarians and veterinarians is ready to respond to any health concern regarding your livestock. All you need to do is call our team on 21052 (Upolu) or 51050 (Savaii) and request assis-tance.
Our hygienic slaughter and meat inspection team are also available should you have a cattlebeast you wish to slaughter for sale to the shops. They use the Mobile Slaughter Unit to make sure your animal is slaughtered humanely and hygienically. This initiative is part of a move towards compliance with the Slaughter and Meat Supply Act 2015, and will be complemented by retailer and farmer training and workshops.

CATTLE MUSTER SERVICE

Cattle muster program which includes ear tagging, castration, drenching, de-horning, health checks, formulate record keeping systems and Pasture production assessment. (Farmers to provide ear tags and drench at own expense)

LIVESTOCK TRANSPORTATION

Movement of livestock from one farm location to another. For Inter-island transfers, terms and conditions applies.

ANIMAL WELFARE ARTICLES

When it comes to farming, incorporating good animal welfare practices isn’t just about caring for the
animals’ wellbeing; it can actually be a cost-effective way of improving a business. Depending on the
implementation, it can help improve productivity, reduce costs and prevent losses, helping farmers
to provide a secure food supply and income for themselves, their families and the community.
Good animal welfare practices lead to healthy and happy animals, and a healthy and happy animal
produces more eggs/offspring as well as milk and meat, which to a farmer equates to financial
income. Good health management reduces disease risks to other animals and humans, reducing
animal losses. Likewise, good animal handling improves growth rates, while maintaining high
standards of transport and slaughter can have many direct economic and market benefits.
Using the case study of beef production in Columbia, this article shows that rather than being a drain
on potential profits, being animal welfare conscious can actually be beneficial to both farmers and
their animals. 

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