EXPONTT.COM – The Australian government through the Partnership for Promoting Rural Incomes through Support for Markets in Agriculture (PRISMA) NTT, and the Australia Indonesia Health Security Partnership (AIHSP) handed over assistance of an African Swine Fever (ASF) virus detection tool to the Provincial Government of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.
The tool called the Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) was handed over directly by PRISMA CEO Nina Fitz Simons and John Leigh Program Director AIHSP to the Head of the NTT Province Animal Health Sector, drh. Melky Angsar and Head of the Sikka Regency Animal Husbandry Service, Y.E Satriawan Sadipun, it was held at the NTT Governor’s Office on Tuesday, 7 February 2023.
The handover was also attended by Deputy Governor of NTT, Josef Nai Soi, Head of the Agricultural Quarantine Center and Lulu Wardhani as DFAT Australia.
PRISMA’s CEO, Nina Fitz Simons said she was very happy because small-scale farmers and entrepreneurs involved in the pig sector would have access to animal disease testing facilities available on the islands of Sumba, Flores and Timor.
“This will keep farmers’ livestock safe and their income protected, while the pig sector recovers from the African Swine Fever Virus (ASF),” he said.
He also ensured that LAMP could detect ASF accurately. “Besides pigs, this tool can also be used for other farm animals,” added Nina.
With a concise form, Nina said, this tool can be easily mobilized easily. “It can be brought to remote areas, so all breeders can get access to this LAMP,” he added.
AIHSP Program Director, John Leigh hopes that LAMP can provide an economic boost for market players involved in trading livestock and their derivative products.
According to him, the handling of ASF in the Province of NTT requires multi-stakeholder cooperation, so that the Australian Government realizes that ASF brings huge losses to NTT both economically and culturally.
“So by handing over the ASF virus detection kit (LAMP) as well as building the capacity of field officers and laboratory technicians, we are supporting the NTT Government in recovering the pig farming sector quickly,” said John.
John also explained a little, PRISMA and AIHSP carried out capacity building activities or technical guidance, workshops and Training of Trainers (ToT), targeting veterinary field officers and laboratory technicians.
In the future, his party will make visits to several areas in NTT to conduct technical guidance, workshops and ToT.
For information, PRISMA and AIHSP handed over three units of LAMP tools to the NTT government. The three units will be deployed on three major islands in NTT including, Timor Island (Kupang City), Sumba (East Sumba) and Flores (Sikka).
Deputy Governor of NTT, Josef Nae Soi, took the opportunity to thank PRISMA, which has helped NTT by handing over an ASF virus detection kit. “I am very grateful to PRISMA for providing this tool for NTT,” said Josef Nae Soi.
He said the LAMP tool would be very useful for the people of NTT, especially pig farmers.
“With this tool, I hope to be able to treat people’s anxiety about the malignancy of the ASF virus,” he said.♦gor
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