Agri-Officers from the Disease surveillance unit and the veterinary services department in the Volta region have advised farmers to consult with the agriculture office before embarking on any farming venture.
This assertion was made during a visit to inspect Poultry farms in the Akatsi South Municipality, which were infected by bird flu from Accra and Ho in Akatsi in recent months.
Mr. Charles Grunitzky, the Akatsi South Municipal Director of the Department of Agriculture, advised farmers to consult with the Agriculture Department before starting any farming venture for advice, “most important when setting up poultry or livestock farms.”
“This decision would go a long way in improving the protection of the life of birds also known as ‘bio-security’ in their farms.”
Mr. Charles Grunitzky
Mr. Charles Grunitzky, the Akatsi South Municipal Director of the Department of Agriculture, said in an interview that the department, in a joint exercise with the veterinary services department, would use five days to visit infected farms to trace the source of infection, detect how it was being spread, and advice on measures to put in place to stop the spread from farm to farm.
He said the exercise involved everything a farmer would need to do to prevent the disease from entering their farms leaving to other farms.
The team is expected to come out with reports and measures to be put in place to prevent any further outbreaks, he added. Among the team is Dr. Saviour Genueme, Akatsi South Municipal Director of Veterinary Services.
Insure poultry farmers against viral diseases
In a recent interview on measures to protect poultry farmers, Mr. Victor Oppong Adjei, Chairman of the Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers (GNAPF), appealed to insurance companies for an insurance package for viral diseases to cushion poultry farmers likely to be affected by the outbreaks of the viral infection among birds across the country.
Mr. Adjei said the state of insurance cover for poultry farmers amidst the disease outbreak of Avian Flu in the country leaves many farmers with no hope. He thus, said, “Poultry farmers are running at a loss due to reoccurring outbreak and lack of insurance cover for such viral emergencies.”
“Some farms have been insured already, but most of the insurance goes to fire and other things which the insurance companies are ready to insure. Much as human beings have life, so also do birds have life. There are some pertinent things that a farmer is expected to have, especially in insuring the birds on health issues. We have two basic health issues. We have the bacteria and the viral ones. But we had some discussions with some insurance companies, and they are only ready to insure those that are bacteria-infected, but for most of our cases, it is the viral that is disturbing the farmers.”
Mr. Victor Oppong Adjei
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