Paskin leaves PIRSA on high note

When took on the role five years ago, he was determined to build an internationally credible veterinary service in SA.

He set about having the service audited to international standards by the World Organisation for Animal Health.

“We were the very first veterinary service in Australia to do that,” he said.

“Since then, the rest of Australia’s veterinary services have followed suit, undertaking the same audit.”

Dr Paskin said the audit showed where the service was strong and gaps that needed to be addressed.

“Addressing those gaps would be the first, big step to building a world-class, internationally-credible veterinary service,” he said.

“As a CVO, you are in charge of an industry that exports most of its product – for us, about 70 per cent of our livestock product is exported.

“My job was to make sure that we had market access credibility, through our surveillance and traceability.”

After the audit, Dr Paskin said they then began to brainstorm how to better market the state’s commitment to good livestock management, which was the beginnings of the revolutionary One Biosecurity program – a joint program of PIRSA and Livestock SA.

“We were keen to harness the popularity of social media and business connections made via the internet for our livestock industry,” he said.

“So we created a portal where the producer can set-up a profile of their livestock business, where they can declare what biosecurity and disease control they undertake on-farm.

“It links livestock agents, abattoirs, livestock buyers and farmers together, and from there, viewers can find the livestock that suits their needs, such as risk statuses or farming practices, and buy from that property.

“In a sense, users can advertise their credentials online and use those credentials to sell their livestock.”

Dr Paskin said innovations like this were important in this age of traceability.

“These days we need a body of evidence to convince trading partners that we have a handle on what we are doing and that our farming methods and biosecurity is credible,” he said.

“Our overseas clients are becoming more and more finicky in what they require.

“They want to know that we are free of trade-threatening diseases, they want to know our farming practices are secure and safe, they want to know that the animals and the products they are receiving from those farms are secure and safe and free of disease, they want to know we have good credibility in term of our traceability systems.

“One Biosecurity does all of that, rolled into one website. A one-stop-shop where we can check the health of our livestock farming community and present that as evidence to our trading partners that we are doing the right thing.”

Launched in August this year, the online program attracts about 20 producers a week.

With the enthusiastic help of Livestock SA, Dr Paskin hopes to increase that enrollment figure to nearly 50 a week.

“We have about 3000 producers that produce about 90pc of our livestock output, we would like to get more than 1000 of them on One Biosecurity within 12 months and bring the rest in over a period of time.

“Every farm that we enrol has to go through an online audit process, so we are being very systematic and methodical int hat process.

“We can’t go too quickly as we wouldn’t want to overwhelm the audit process.”

Dr Paskin hopes the program is extended Australia-wide, and maybe even globally.

“It’s a game changer, I am very proud of what we have achieved,” he said.

But for now, Dr Paskin says it’s time to hand over the reins to the next generation, with Dr Mary Carr, SA’s first female CVO, to step into the role on December 20.

“It has been an interesting five years,” Dr Paskin said.

“My function here was to set the scene for the future for the farming community and I believe I have achieved that. I am definitely leaving on a high note.

“After a long holiday, I will return to SA to continue working within the farming community, just under my own terms.”

Before taking on the CVO role at PIRSA in 2013, Dr Paskin worked in Vic as an epidemiologist with the Department of Primary Industries before becoming that state’s CVO.

“It’s been a great ride and I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of my time in the public service, it’s been the best and most challenging job I have done,” he said.