AFTER MORE THAN TWO YEARS of working in cramped conditions, staff of the Animal Nutrition Centre in The Pine, St Michael, have moved into new quarters.

The 12 workers, who were working among the animals in the pound, have been moved to temporary offices in three containers on the same compound.

Workers in the Live Stock Unit, Artificial Insemination and Animal Nutrition Unit were working from the air-conditioned and office-equipped rented containers from earlier in the week.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Senator Haynesley Benn visited the site yesterday and told the workers he was happy they were able to move into more comfortable accommodations.

Benn said "the ultimate" was to find completely new facilities to house the workers, whether it was in an existing facility or in a new purpose-built building.

"Thank you for being patient, and we look forward to further improvement," the minister said.

He envisaged it would take at least a year to find permanent housing for staff and he was "hopeful and optimistic" it would be during the next financial year.

Benn said he had read about their situation in the Press and, having toured the site shortly after being appointed, made a commitment to relocate staff. It will cost Government about $20 000 in rental alone for the three containers.

He disclosed that they were looking to acquire a new vehicle to facilitate the pig improvement programme in the next financial year.

Senior Agricultural Assistant Thomas Taylor, speaking on behalf of his colleagues, said they were happy with the comfortable accommodation.

"I'm certain that the staff would be far more productive now....The conditions that we operated under before really were not conducive to being very productive," Taylor said.

Workers moved into the pens after a number of them experienced allergic reactions to something in the main building. They initially set up temporarily under a breadfruit tree in the yard and moved into the pens in August 2006 when the rains came.