Poultry farmers in Nigeria are being compensated by the government to help cope with losses brought on by avian influenza.
The Nigerian Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has paid out a compensation package of NGN100.5 million (US$502,614) for 69,303 birds to affected farmers in 15 local government areas in Kano State, according to a report in The Guardian.
In a statement at the compensation ceremony, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, Nigeria’s agriculture minister, stated that it is important to support the poultry industry as Nigeria is the top egg producer in Africa. He also expressed concern that Kano had the largest number of mortality rates in the avian influenza outbreak.
The ministry released figures in February that cited the number of birds lost from avian influenza at 419,763 birds, but that number has since nearly doubled, according to estimates from Onallo Apka, director general of the Poultry Association of Nigeria.
Based on the compensation given, the government is spending about NGN1,460 (US$7.30) per bird, and about N1.2 billion (US$6 million) would be needed to help them fully recover from the losses.
Nigerian poultry farmers and traders in live bird markets are being trained and sensitized on measures to help prevent future outbreaks.
