The Society of Cattle Farmers of Samoa has held a meeting after a five-year hiatus in a bid to reunite its members and revive the organisation to capitalise on various opportunities. 

The meeting was held on Thursday at the Livestock Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries at Vailima with the current S.C.F. President Taua Latu Lome appealing for the society’s old and new members to unite in order to take advantage of benefits offered by the Government and donor partners.

Taua said they needed to develop and grow stronger together and that can be done if the organisation is back on its two feet and running.

“It’s been a while since our society met due to the pandemic and other reasons, but I believe it's time for us to start over again and gather all cattle farmers to form the society again," said Taua. 

"The plan is if we have the right numbers today then we will have a look at our position holders like the president, vice president, secretary and treasurer if the society needs to change or continue.”

The S.C.F. at the height of its operations had 60 registered members according to Taua and it was time to reunite everyone.

“There were more than 60 registered members of our society we had before, now we will try to bring in all those old members as well as some new members who want to join us,” he said.

"Also we will discuss our financial report and talk about our expenses and the money that is left from our budget, because it’s been a long time since we have had these meetings.”

There are benefits for S.C.F. members if the society is revived, says the MAF Assistant Chief Executive Officer (Animal Protection Health Division), Fesiliai Tulia Iosefa.

She said that the majority of the benefits and funding is offered by donors and even the Government which flows on to societies and organisations.

“The Government has sector plans that benefit farmers and other sectors and the Ministry is pushing hard for these sectors to stand together and connect together as one in a strong society so that their voice will be heard by retailers," said Mrs Iosefa. 

"There are other benefits that individuals cannot get access to, only societies and organizations, so if the Government and donors see that a society is growing and united, then they bring in lots of blessings and benefits for them.

“We have a current program S.A.P.R.O.M. that creates lots of opportunities and benefits for farmers and sometimes overseas donors donate with terms, like it's only for societies and organizations to access it." 

Mrs Iosefa said that it was important to have strong societies to work together with the Ministry for the development of the community.

"We also need to reduce the importing of meat from overseas but focus on our own farms to supply meat for our markets and industries,” she said. 

The next meeting for the S.C.F. members is 29 July with the President appealing for all cattle farmers to become involved.