| Distinguished
Guests,
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
A
very good morning to you. I am happy to see so many
of you here today to witness the official opening of
AVA’s Animal and Plant Health Centre, or the APHC.
2
The opening of the APHC today marks a significant milestone.
It not only symbolizes the coming of age of AVA’s
advanced diagnostic capability, but also represents
the high standards of animal and plant health we have
attained and our state of readiness.
Key
Role and facilities of the APHC
3 Built at a cost of $35 million, the APHC houses some
of the most advanced testing laboratories in the region.
As the national reference centre for animal and plant
diseases, it is the cornerstone of AVA’s disease
monitoring and surveillance programmes.
4
These comprehensive programmes include the establishment
of stringent animal and plant health standards, and
strict import controls.
5 Ladies and Gentlemen, you may wonder, what is the
use of all these diagnostic capability and programmes?
After all, the agriculture sector of our island State
is small, and we currently import 90% of our food.
6
Is it then, worthwhile to spend $35 million on the APHC.
My answer is a resounding “yes”. Let me
explain.
APHC’s role in ensuring food safety and
human health
7 Being an international hub for transshipment, we are
vulnerable to, among other things, the effects of animal
and plant-related disease outbreaks. Our farmers and
slaughterhouse workers are at risk from imported diseases,
and our population is also not spared the consequences
of consuming diseased food imports. Once such diseases
enter our country, they could become entrenched, pose
a threat to public health, and bring about significant
economic losses.
8
In recent years, we have seen the devastating effects
of animal disease outbreaks on human lives and livelihoods
in some countries. For example, the West Nile virus
outbreak in USA caused the deaths of humans and horses;
the Nipah virus outbreak in Malaysia devastated its
pig industry and killed several farm and abattoir workers.
9 To prevent this, we must forever maintain vigilance
against emerging1 and re-emerging2
animal and plant diseases around the world. This is
why we have invested heavily to build a state of the
art APHC. Its rapid and accurate disease diagnostic
capabilities will enable us to detect and prevent the
entry of these diseases into Singapore.
10
Take the case of the recent Highly Pathogenic Avian
Influenza, or HPAI outbreaks in the region. HPAI has
become endemic in this region, and recurring outbreaks
continue to claim human lives and disrupt the supply
of poultry food products.
11
In August last year, HPAI came close to our doorsteps
when some chickens in Kelantan were infected. Since
December 2004, another wave of outbreaks has broken
out in Vietnam and Thailand. Even today, reports of
new outbreaks in China and Indonesia have surfaced,
and experts predict that it would take many years for
this region to be rid of the disease.
12
When the bird flu hit Kelantan last year, we were not
spared its consequences, even though we managed to keep
the disease out of Singapore. AVA immediately suspended
the import of live poultry and poultry products from
Malaysia. Poultry and egg supplies dropped considerably
and retail prices of these products rose.
13
The situation improved when AVA managed to put in place
new food safety measures that allowed poultry imports
to resume from other parts of Malaysia not infected
with the bird flu. These included establishing bio-security
measures within bird flu disease-free zones, and implementing
an effective monitoring and surveillance programme.
Working behind the scene, the APHC was effective in
protecting Singapore against the disease, while enabling
poultry imports to resume in a risk-managed way.
14
Underpinning the effectiveness of the surveillance system
was the advanced diagnostic capability of our laboratory
services. For detection of HPAI viruses, the APHC has
built up a spectrum of advanced diagnostic tests, including
the capability to rapidly detect the presence of Influenza
A group antigens in poultry within 2 hours.
15
AVA’s laboratories has also successfully validated
the Gene-based Polymerase Chain Reaction tests, based
on US protocols, which could confirm the presence of
H5 or H7 sub-types of HPAI within 7 hours. Complementing
these tests is the gold standard virus isolation test,
which can give virtually 100% accurate results in 3
days.
16
We have learned that we need to strike a better balance
between food safety on one hand, and stable food supply
and prices on the other. Instead of a zero-risk approach
with regard to food safety, we need to adopt a risk-management
approach in order to have a more resilient food supply
and stable prices.
17
An example of a risk management approach is the zonal
approach in managing poultry imports from Malaysia.
For it to work, we must be able to diagnose quickly
and accurately all animal diseases and food-borne pathogens.
18 This is precisely the capability that the APHC demonstrated
in developing its diagnostic tests for HPAI. I am confident
that it will continue to fulfill its main role of ensuring
our food safety and human health, and underpin our risk
management approach in food safety.
Protecting
our Garden City
19 The APHC also makes another significant contribution
that is often not noticed. The APHC’s plant health
experts have been playing an important role to keep
our Garden City in the pink of health.
20
Our maturing urban forest requires increased capabilities
and expertise to diagnose, detect and manage pests and
plant diseases. Over the years, AVA has fought many
silent battles in the control of outbreaks of Hispid
beetles in Palms, Root Rot in Khaya trees and the Angsana
Wilt disease.
21
If not for their efforts, we could have lost many of
our Angsana trees, which have been and still are a distinctive
feature of our streetscape. The situation would have
mirrored that of the Elm trees in many European and
North American cities, which were virtually wiped out
overnight due to the Dutch Elm Disease.
22
The new APHC, with its modern plant health laboratories
and experimental plant houses, is well placed to monitor
the spread of these pests and diseases.
Providing
Economic Value-add
23 The role of the APHC has also expanded beyond just
safeguarding our animal and public health, as well as
the Garden City. The APHC’s diagnostic capability
has become an asset to our economy. Singapore has attained
international recognition for its export health certificates,
as a result of our high standards of animal and plant
health, and the APHC’s stringent testing standards
and credibility. The APHC facilitates an estimated $1.5
billion3 in the animal and plant
export trade annually, and helps to strengthen Singapore’s
position as a transshipment hub for this trade.
Conclusion
24 Finally, I am glad to note that AVA’s good
work in safeguarding our animal and plant health has
received international accolades. An international panel
of experts, here to assess AVA’s animal and plant
bio-security programmes in 2003, concluded that they
were ahead of or on par with many countries in the world.
25
All this would not have been possible without the dedication
and commitment of the men and women of AVA. In particular,
I would like to acknowledge the contribution of one
man, Dr Ngiam Tong Tau. He has served AVA for more than
35 years. During this time, he orchestrated the transformation
of Singapore’s then-backyard farms to modern Agro-technology
parks.
He
spearheaded improvements to the level of animal health
in Singapore, and also brought about tremendous improvements
in food safety, by overseeing development of AVA’s
integrated food safety system. Dr Ngiam will be retiring
from service in August this year. I am sure all of us
wish him a happy and fulfilling retirement. He has earned
it.
26
The new APHC will add to AVA’s capabilities and
ensure that the AVA remains at the forefront of developments
in animal and plant disease control.
27
It is my pleasure now, to declare the Animal and Plant
Health Centre open. Thank you
| 1 |
Emerging
disease – New diseases or diseases which have
become important because of a change in the farming
system like Nipah disease and SARs |
| 2 |
Re-emerging
disease - A disease which has become less important
because it was well controlled or "disappeared"
but has re-emerged recently to become important
again like Fowl Cholera and Newcastle disease. |
| 3 |
Estimated
figures are based on the average import and export
figures for live animals, eggs, aquarium fish, animal
feed, aquarium plants, orchid flowers and plants
and other plant products. |
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