By Asmau Ahmad
The Kano State Agro-Pastoral Development Project (KSADP), has awarded a contract, worth N68 million, for construction of a Veterinary Reference laboratory at Gwale Veterinary Clinic.
Mr Ameen Yassar, the project’s communications specialist, said this in a statement to newsmen on Thursday in Kano.
“Veterinary reference laboratories are service facilities where several vital functions related to veterinary sciences, such as the diagnosis, determination of treatment options, prevention, and monitoring of animal diseases are undertaken.
“The laboratory plays key role in animal health protection by preventing and controlling livestock diseases.
“Vet reference laboratories have major implications on human health because of the animal to human transmission of diseases,” he said.
Yassar said the contract for the Kano Vet laboratory was awarded to an indigenous firm, Golden Ripples Construction Company Nigeria Limited, with a completion period of 12 months.
Also, the State Project Coordinator, KSADP, Malam Ibrahim Muhammad, said the project is the first of its kind in Northern Nigeria.
He said it was aimed at securing both livestock and human health in view of the large population of livestock and the increasing demand for animal-derived foods in the state.
“When completed, the facility will not only serve Kano but all the neighboring states.
“It will drastically cut the cost of managing animal health problems in our communities,” he said.
According to Ibrahim, one of the key activities of the KSADP is to enhance livestock health, productivity and production, and this intervention is one of the activities in that regard.
The Managing Director, Golden Ripples Construction Company, Dr. Ibrahim Alkali, said that professional standards would be adhered to in executing the project.
He said that the edifice would be a model for other states.
While handing over the site for the construction of the Veterinary laboratory, the Permanent Secretary, Kano State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Alhaji Balarabe Karaye, charged the contractors to deliver qualitative work promptly.
KSADP is a project of the Islamic Development Bank, Lives and livelihood Funds (LLF) and the Kano State government.
Its primary objective is to contribute to reducing poverty and strengthening the food and nutritional security of the state by developing agro-pastoral production systems.
