USNS Mercy conducts Veterinarian Engagements in SI

A Veterinary team from the USNS Mercy have visited local farms in Honiara as part of their veterinarian engagements under the Pacific Partnership 2022.

Pacific Partnership 2022 Mission Commander, US Navy Capt. Hank Kim at a media conference yesterday said, the team will be engaging with farms in the capital as well as Guadalcanal province to provide veterinary counselling and services.

“We’ve brought about 7 or 8 veterinary professionals, two officers from the US army to provide veterinary counselling and services to personnel here in Honiara and Guadalcanal. Today I personally visited two piggeries while our team visited four, to talk about what are the needs and the concerns that the farmers there have. We also saw a couple of chicken coops and we talked about supply chains and some of the veterinary concerns that we might have for the poultry there,” he said.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock is currently working with the veterinary team on its veterinary engagements in the country.

Army Pacific Partnership Veterinarian Services Planner Capt. Kathleen Stewart, at a press conference last week said they have developed a robust program through their close collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture to address some of the agricultural and veterinary needs in the Solomon Islands.

“We’ll go out to Pig farms, chicken farms and slaughterhouses so we can conduct inspections and see how you raise pigs, chickens, and different types of animals here.

From there we will go through some discussions where I can learn from your professionals, and you can learn from me, and we can exchange that knowledge to increase productivity and efficiency of the agriculture and livestock system here in the Solomon Islands.”

The veterinary program will end with general consultations for dogs and cats whose consultation days will be confirmed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.

This consultation will include conducting examinations and providing advice for any issues or health concerns found in dogs and cats.

By Eliza Kukutu