Indonesia Works with International Partners to Control Foot and Mouth Disease
Editor
2 August 2022 20:04 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia has been battling foot and mouth disease (FMD) which has affected cattle in 22 out of 34 provinces. To date, the country has launched a vaccination campaign in those provinces, along with other national containment efforts such as animal quarantine and enhanced biosecurity protocols.
To increase its efforts to control the disease, the Indonesian government has extended international collaboration by working closely with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and numerous international partners, such as Australia.
The Indonesian Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Yasin Limpo (SYL), said that in addition to maximizing vaccination as a temporary and permanent agenda in controlling FMD; the government also continues medical treatment for sick cattle and farm disinfection as the efforts to suppress FMD transmission. Regarding this matter, the Minister of Agriculture expressed his gratitude for the attention and great contribution of all parties in controlling FMD.
FAO Expert Team discussed with the veterinary laboratory personnel - (c) FAO/Melissa McLaws
Regarding the visit of the Australian Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Minister SYL said that many things were discussed related to cooperation between the two countries in the agricultural sector.
"We discussed many things, global issues, challenges of climate change, and the needs of two countries in agriculture security for both Indonesia and Australia," said Minister SYL.
One of the issues that was seriously discussed in this cooperation agreement was FMD. Australia as a country that is geographically close to Indonesia pays special attention to this issue.
“FAO has been working closely with the Government of Indonesia since the outbreak to control FMD that has threatened food supply chain and livelihoods of farmers”, stated Rajendra Aryal, FAO Representative for Indonesia and Timor Leste.
FAO has been facilitating further international collaborative efforts, such as by delivering 10 thousand doses of FMD vaccines thanks to the support from the Government of Australia through FAO-Australia-ASEAN joint project on Strengthening Mechanism in Animal Health (SMART-ASEAN). These were among the first batches of doses that kick-started the national vaccination campaign in June this year.
FAO
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