Bird flu: FG set to complete compensation this month
Farmers whose birds were culled during the bird flu saga would receive all their outstanding compensation by the middle of this month.
The Director, Livestock and Pest Control, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Junaid Maina, made this known Monday in Abuja.
Maina told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the Ministry of Finance had released more than N53 million to pay the outstanding amount.
He said that more than N107.6 million had been committed by government for the payment of compensation to affected farmers for more than 500,000 birds depopulated in the 14 affected states of the federation.
Maina said that payment of compensation to affected farmers had always been a major problem to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
He said that since the ministry finished the payment of the first batch in August 2006, it had taken longer period than expected to pay the balance of N53 million.
The director said that after the payment of the outstanding amount the World Bank would take over subsequent payment of compensation to any affected farmer.
He said that the World Bank had also provided 50 million dollars IDA credit for the Avian Influenza Control and Human Preparedness and Response Project.
Maina said that part of the World Bank major intervention was the direct payment of variable rates based on production cost incurred by poultry producers who were affected by the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) either through mortalities or depopulation.
He said that that was an improvement on the previous direct payment of fixed rates which was an emergency measure.
The Component Coordinator for the Avian Influenza, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Mohammed Sai’du, said that the country was still at the phase two of the inter-pandemic level of the outbreak.
He said that the country was far from being free from the avian influenza because the harmattan cloud led to the resurgence of the virus.
Sai’du said that most of the poultry production in the country were at a very high risk of being affected by HPAI, because very few commercial farms had adequate bio-security measures in place.
The coordinator said that government was very mindful of the activities of the local farmers and its possible consequences on the economy.
He said that the local production system had potentials for human exposures because they were always free-ranging and in close contact with wild birds.
He said the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus was detected among the local farms in four local government areas in Nasarawa and Taraba states.
Sai’du said that government was mindful of the serious global concerns about the disease and its local impact on the food security and livelihood of the teaming population of the nation.
He said that government was working round the clock to ensure that the infection was contained and stamped out of the country.
He warned farmers to be very watchful most especially during this harmattan season because it was the migratory period for the wild and domestic birds with the pathogenic strain.