>> Livestock Health Extension Services Project (LHESP)

The China Canada Animal Health Initiative (CCAHI) is being implemented under a memorandum of understanding between the Governments of China and Canada and is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency. In China, the project is coordinated by the Department of International Cooperation and the Department of Animal Husbandry and Disease Control of the Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China.

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) bilateral projects have been involved in many aspects of the development of the livestock industry in China since 1983. This experience has clearly demonstrated that smallholder livestock producers are at significant risk as a result of compromised animal health with production losses. In addition, major concerns have been raised over the health status of the national livestock resources in China with particular emphasis on recent outbreaks of important diseases and the impact on food safety. This situation has been further exacerbated with China’s accession to the World Trade Organization. Annual increases in livestock production of 12-15% and concurrent increase in demand for dietary protein from meat and dairy products is expected to continue for at least the next 10 years. The livestock industry is required to provide consumers with safe, high quality food products and the most important constraints to efficient livestock production and food safety are the losses due to diseases and inadequate animal health services.

The China Canada animal health initiative, as outlined below, will be implemented through the co-operation of the ongoing swine and dairy projects. The contribution of resources from these projects will consist of Canadian Technical Assistance (TA), training programs and operational expenses for the Canadian TA. The swine (Agriteam Canada) and dairy (Semex Alliance) projects are presently being implemented by separate Canadian Executing Agencies (CEA’S) and these CEAs will work together to integrate their respective budgets and activities in support of this initiative.

The project activities cover the period April 2002 to March 2004 and are intended to be adjuncts to the existing swine and dairy projects. The initiative will complete a needs analysis and will provide a human resource base and a springboard for the Government of China, Ministry of Agriculture and CIDA to expand upon in future programs.

This initiative will attempt to achieve two basic types of outcomes on a pilot basis. The first is the national animal health program which is primarily related to the development of recognized Disease Free Zones in accordance with the national program and which meets international standards under the WTO/OIE guidelines. The second area of emphasis will be the development of on-farm herd health programs for both dairy and swine. Within the context of these three outcomes, efforts will be made to develop and test sustainable models for the effective reform of the veterinary service system in China. Activities will be restricted to manageable geographical areas and technical parameters related to swine and dairy herd health programs.

Baseline studies, needs analysis, diagnostic laboratories, quality control standards, testing protocols, herd health programs, immunization strategies and food safety issues will be addressed and dealt with (to the extent feasible) within the limited budget and resources. The joint project is expected to facilitate institutional linkages that will serve as the framework for policy development and a basis for long-term GOC commitment to these initiatives. This work will provide some immediate short-term results to provide the appropriate technical parameters and justification for future, more comprehensive and wide-reaching programs in support of effective animal health services. Consideration will also be given to farm level quality assurance strategies for the millions of livestock producers who depend on this agriculture for their livelihood, which will produce safe food products for consumers.