SIBURAN: Sarawak faces an urgent need to increase the number of qualified veterinarians to address livestock disease and infection issues that could affect the state’s commodities and food security.

Minister for Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development, Dato Sri Dr. Stephen Rundi Utom said, although livestock in Sarawak remain free from diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), the state’s low number of veterinarians could pose a future risk.

“We currently have only 15 veterinarians in Sarawak. During my visit to Brazil, they had more than 4,000 veterinarians, an enormous difference compared to what we have here,” he said during a working visit to the Halal Abattoir Complex, here on Thursday.

Commenting on the shortage of professionals in the field, he said the Sarawak Government is now planning to establish its own veterinary and medical training institute in Semenggoh.

He added that this move aims not only to increase the number of specialists in the livestock industry but also to develop more local professionals who can directly contribute to the growth of the state’s food and commodity sectors.

“In the short term, we will have to rely on expertise and manpower from Indonesia and Peninsular Malaysia, which even now are still insufficient.

“So, this is something we must work on, and once we are able to produce at least 50 graduates a year, I am confident we’ll be in a much better position,” he added.

Also present were Deputy Minister for Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development, Datuk Martin Ben, Chairman of Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC), Tan Sri Datuk Amar (Dr) Abdul Aziz Dato Husain, SEDC General Manager, Datu Abdul Hadi Datuk Abdul Kadir, and other dignitaries. -UKASnews