"Animal protein plays an enormous role in building a healthy and strong nation, and a large part of it comes from the poultry sector. So a trained workforce is needed to develop the poultry industry. Training of this kind is necessary to build skilled human resources to take the sector forward," said Md Raisul Alam Mondal, secretary of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock.

He said this on the afternoon of 10 September at the opening of a training workshop in the seminar gallery of the Sheikh Kamal faculty building of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU). The workshop was organised by the Department of Medicine and Public Health of SAU's Faculty of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine.

The workshop began with the cooperation of the well-known US animal health company Phibro Animal Health Corporation, to help Bangladeshi veterinarians diagnose poultry diseases and ensure public health through correct treatment. The three-day workshop was held in the presence of foreign experts.

The opening ceremony was chaired by the faculty's dean, Professor Dr Jahangir Alam, and moderated by Dr KBM Saiful Islam. Fisheries and livestock secretary Md Raisul Alam Mondal was the chief guest. SAU vice-chancellor Professor Dr Kamal Uddin Ahammad and Department of Livestock Services director general Dr Hiresh Ranjan Bhowmik were special guests.

The keynote paper was presented by poultry disease expert Dr Cesar Lopez, director of technology development at Phibro Brazil. Also present were Dr Charles Costello, marketing and technical director of Phibro South Africa; Dr Erkin Erkmen, commercial manager for the South-East Asia region at Phibro USA; Dr Leandro Ferreira, marketing and technical manager of Phibro Malaysia; and Dr Shamim Ahmed, director of Provet Resources Limited, the Bangladeshi local partner of Phibro USA.

Over the three days, with experts from the United States, Brazil, Malaysia and South Africa present, 60 veterinarians took part, including vets working for the Department of Livestock Services and private organisations, and university teachers.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.