The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), has disclosed its plan to embark on aggressive measures against the outbreak of avian influenza, otherwise known as bird flu, in the country.
This was made known by the Federal Director of Veterinary and Pest Control Services, Dr Maimuna Abdullahi Habbib, while addressing journalists in Abuja, pointing out that the Federal Government would soon embark on vaccination of birds.
She noted that the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammad Abubakar, would be meeting with stakeholders in the poultry industry to take steps to curb the spread of the disease.
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“It has become endemic all over the world. We have met at the international and regional level, and we have decided that the government of Nigeria should change its policy from no vaccination to vaccination.”
“We are meeting with the minister next week with stakeholders in the poultry industry; we want to discuss and see how we can change the policy from no vaccination to vaccination, which has been done in other countries and is helping a lot to curtail the disease,” she said.
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The figures released by the ministry revealed that more than one million birds have been affected and depopulated, adding that over 110, 000 crates of eggs were destroyed and that over N484 billion is needed to pay compensation to farmers.
She added that they are tightening borders to control the movements of birds internationally and from anywhere in the world in order to prevent transmission from other countries with the activation of rapid response measures in Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina, Jigawa, and Yobe states.
