With the potential for the development of a sheep-rearing industry having been identified in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, but with the country currently lacking technical capacity in related activities, the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry, Forestry, Fisheries and Rural Transformation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines dispatched three of its personnel to Taiwan from March 7 to 29, to take part in a workshop on “small ruminant breeding techniques,” during which they learned from some of the skills and experience in Taiwan’s livestock industry.

For this particular case, the TaiwanICDF commissioned the Hengchun Branch of the Council of Agriculture’s Livestock Research Institute to carry out associated training, which included artificial insemination and sheep breeding management techniques, as well as arranging for the participants to visit farms involved in the breeding and rearing of sheep.

In recent years, the Vincentian Ministry of Agriculture has been importing stocks of the high-quality Kathadin and Dorper breeds of sheep from neighboring Jamaica, but inbreeding has led to degradation in the condition and size of such specimens. This situation could be improved through artificial insemination and the management of stock but for the current lack of technical capacity in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, prompting the Ministry of Agriculture to dispatch personnel to learn about Taiwan’s breeding and reproductive management techniques. The hope is that after returning home, the participants can assist their country in mastering artificial breeding techniques in small ruminants (sheep) and an industrial development strategy, reducing the cost of reproduction and thus enhancing the overall competitiveness of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ livestock industry.

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• Update: 2018/03/01
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