Ambassador Jessica Lee of the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) attended ground breaking ceremony of Taiwan Technical Mission’s (TTM) Poultry and Livestock Project in Aimeliik on June 14. Vice President J. Uduch Sengebau Senior, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment Steven Victor, State Speaker Lucio Obarkerbau and the Chair of Governors Association Herano Polloi also attended the events.
Ambassador Lee mentioned in her remarks that TTM’s construction of the poultry and livestock sheds, with total capital investment of 3.5 million, is a milestone for Taiwan and Palau’s partnership in livestock farming promotion. The project, which aims to produce 450 piglets, 2000 chickens and 21,000 eggs, will supply half of the domestic market and concurrently help the farmers to reach commercial production scale. As Palau faced with the challenges of climate change, and the inflation and roaring gas price caused by the war between Russia and Ukraine, the construction of the poultry and livestock sheds will help Palau to address the food security issue. TTM has partnered with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment to promote poultry and livestock project in 14 states, which help increase the farmer’s income and the well-beings of people.
Vice President Uduch Senior Sengebau expressed her gratitude for the help of Taiwan Government and people, and TTM’s technical assistance on the Palau’s agriculture since 1985. She echoed Ambassador’s remarks that TTM’s projects are all for the people. The Poultry and Livestock project aims to increase the meat supply, which will reduce the reliance on the import and sustains food security. The project meets Palau’s policy.
Minister Victor expressed his gratitude for Taiwan Government’s investing in the infrastructure. Taiwan’s investing in technology, knowledge and capacity building has enhanced Palauan’s interests in farming and livestock. Tourism and fisheries are Palau’s main industries. He hopes that agriculture and livestock can be the third main industry in Palau and expect to produce more Palauan farmers.
State Speaker Lucio Obakerbau and Chair of Governors Association Herano Polloi both expressed their gratitude for TTM’s close partnership with Palau and Taiwan’s continual assistance on different fields.
The Poultry and Livestock Project continuing the existing achievements of the previous Animal Production Project (APP) aims to reconstruct animal houses to increase the diversity and production scale of livestock in order to comply with the country’s food security policy. The expansion of the construction includes 2 pig houses, 1 wastewater treatment facility and 2 poultry houses. The personnel training is included in the project in order to deepen the implementation. The total budget for the project is USD 3.5 million dollars.
According to the project, the breeding scale of the piglet production will increase to 450 per year in 2025 to provide for farmers and concurrently create Palau’s employment opportunities and increase farmers’ profits in raising pigs. In terms of chickens, a commercial layer breeding model will be established to produce 210,000 eggs to provide to school so as to increase the nutrition of lunch for school children. The project is to produce 2,000 broiler chickens every year to all states in Palau. In addition, the project will introduce the meat duck flock, investigate its growth characteristics and establish artificial breeding Technology.(E)