A contract worth N68 million was awarded by Kano State Agro-Pastoral Development Project (KSADP) to construct a Veterinary Reference Laboratory at Gwale Veterinary Clinic. This was announced by Mr Ameen Yassar, the project’s communications specialist, in a recent statement to the journalists in Kano.
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According to Yassar, the veterinary reference laboratories are service institutions that perform a variety of critical veterinary scientific functions, including illness diagnosis, treatment option determination, prevention, and monitoring. He explained that the laboratory plays an important role in animal health care by preventing and controlling livestock diseases, adding that veterinary reference laboratories have significant implications for human health due to disease transmission from animal to human.
The Veterinary Reference Laboratory contractor
The contract for the Kano Vet Laboratory was awarded to an indigenous firm, Golden Ripples Construction Company Nigeria Limited, with a 12-month completion period.
Malam Ibrahim Muhammad, the State Project Coordinator for the KSADP, also stated that the Veterinary Reference Laboratory project is the first of its kind in Northern Nigeria. Considering the state’s high livestock population and the rising demand for animal-derived foods, he said it was created to safeguard both livestock and human health.
Once completed, Muhammad said that the Veterinary Reference Laboratory will serve not only Kano, but also the nearby states. the State Project Coordinator for the KSADP believes that the project will significantly reduce the cost of controlling animal health problems in Nigerian communities.
KSADP main job
One of the main tasks of the KSADP, according to Ibrahim, is to improve livestock health, productivity, and output, and this intervention is one of those activities. Dr Ibrahim Alkali, Managing Director of Golden Ripples Construction Company, stated that professional standards would be observed in the project’s implementation.
The Permanent Secretary of the Kano State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Alhaji Balarabe Karaye, urged the contractors to deliver quality work on time as he handed over the site for the Veterinary Reference Laboratory construction.
