AGRIC MINISTRY COMPENSATES POULTRY FARMERS, ANNOUNCES INTERVENTIONS TO HALT FLU AND GETS CLEARANCE TO EMPLOY 1100 PERSONS.
Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Ghana’s Agric Minister has announced government’s
intervention in the poultry sector.
The intervention, the Minister intimated seeks to ensure the effective containment of the spread of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in the country.
Addressing a press conference in Accra this morning, he noted that the containment would be done through the strengthening of the Veterinary Services Directorate of the Ministry.
The Minister also announced that it has gotten clearance to employ 1100 professionals in various agencies and departments in the Ministry.
Dr Afriyie Akoto also announced plans by the Agric Ministry to compensate all farmers whose birds were killed through the Avian Influenza and noted that data to make the payments is available.
BACKGROUND:
The HPAI is a virulent zoonotic disease easily transferrable from birds to humans.
This occurs through direct contact with infected birds, contaminated feed, fomites and interaction between
farm hands.
Historically, Ghana has experienced HPAI outbreaks in 2007, 2015 and 2018 prior to the current
outbreak in 2021.
In all cases, the disease has led to a high mortality of birds running into
thousands, loss of livelihoods and investments.
DETAILS:
Official records in the Ministry indicate that in 2015 during the second outbreak, a total of One Hundred and Forty- Eight Thousand (148,000) birds were destroyed nationwide; the highest till date.
At the time, the Government of the day intervened by releasing Eleven million Ghana cedis (GHC11,000,000.00) to cover compensation, logistics and other containment measures.
Since then, the VSD has relied on the logistics procured from the Eleven Million Ghana cedis (GHC11,000,000.00) emergency support for its operations of disease surveillance and management.
Coupled with an acute staffing problem over the years, the existing logistics
especially vehicles have all outlived their usefulness compromising the institutional capacity of
the VSD.
