Over three hundred Butchers and the value chain operators across sixteen local government areas or Kwara State have been trained on meat handling and good hygiene to prevent diseases.
Speaking at the training organised by the Kwara State Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support in collaboration with the state ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Bolaniks Agricultural Enterprise in Ilorin, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazq said the programme is targeted at
butchers ,meat sellers, and abattoir workers .
Represented by the state Commisssioner for Agriculture and Rural Development,Mrs Oloruntoyosi Thomas , governor AbdulRazq said the training is part of the state government efforts to ensure food safety and prevent zoonotic diseases .
He said the programme will also feature the distribution of about three thousand Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the value chain operators in livestock business in the state.
AbdulRazq explained that the training will enable the livestock handlers acquire the expertise to improve the quality and health of the animal.
He noted that the state government has put in place measures to encourage the residents to start backyard faming to reduce high cost of food items .
In his address ,the Director Public Health ,Kwara State Ministry of Health, Dr.Oluwatosin Fakayode said the programme is aimed at ensuring good health for both human and animals.
He said building capacity of meat handlers will save cost in treatment of diseases outbreak.
In her remarks, the Director Public Health and Epidemiology, Verterinary Department,Kwara State Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development,Dr.Idiat Omolola-Amin said the programme is meant to ensure good hygiene at the various abattoir across the state.
She said the ministry would continue to sensitized the general public on the need to buy meat at government approved markets.
Earlier in his address the Kwara State Coordinator, Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support,(L-PRES), Mr Olusoji Oyawoye said the programme is expected to build capacity of meat handlers in urban and Rural communities across the state.
He appealed to those engaging in the habit of selling unhygienic meat to desist from the act to save lives.
COV/ALI MUHAMMAD RABIU
