KATHMANDU, Aug 9: KP Subedi, 33, a poultry farmer in Kritipur-15, has lost everything. He has no capital left to invest further in his farm. Instead, he is now neck-deep in debt.
Officials from the district veterinary office (DVO) culled all 3,000 chickens at his farm on July 7, following confirmation of bird flu there. Subedi, originally from Tharpu-2 of Panchthar district, had started his poultry business 16 months ago on rented land. He invested Rs 2.25 million and for this he took a bank loan with his house as collateral. Banks do not provide easy loans for poultry farming as it is not in the government´s priority list. [break]
Asked about the losses he incurred, Subedi said, “I´m not even interested in calculating. I lost everything and I still have to pay off Rs 1.1 million.”
“I am now attending Korean language classes,” said Subedi, who has a master´s degree in management. “I have to go work abroad to pay off my debt.”
Another poultry farmer, Prem Manandhar of Ramkot in Kathmandu, also gave up his business after having lost Rs 1.5 million.
“I have still to clear Rs.700,000 in loans,” said Manandhar, expressing concern over how to get rid of the debt.
Surya Mohan Pokharel´s plight is not any different. “News about bird flu spreading keeps me awake all night,” he said. He incurred hundreds of thousands in losses when the virus hit his farm in January.
“I want to get out of the poultry business, but I have lots of debts to clear and there is no other option,” he said.
Officials at the Directorate of Animal Health (DoAH) concede that the latest outbreak of bird flu has created panic among poultry farmers. They now face a great challenge sustaining the industry.
“Many farmers have lost everything,” said Bolaraj Acharya, chief of the district veterinary office in Kathmandu. “We have a great challenge just sustaining this industry.”
Amidst widespread fear among the farmers and consumers also, the government on Wednesday decided to lift a week-long ban on the sale of poultry products. It had enforced the ban last week following a series of bird flu cases.
DoAH under the Ministry of Agriculture Development (MoAD) is responsible for ensuring the safety of the public and had enforced a week-long ban on the entire range poultry products last Thursday, following rapid spread of the H5N1virus, which causes bird flu.
However, even as bird flu cases continue to surface, the government has decided to lift the ban, and many accuse it of doing so under pressure from poultry farms. Government officials were actually in favor of extending the ban but failed to stick to their stance at the last hour due to immense pressure from the entrepreneurs.
Consumer rights activities have, meanwhile, expressed concern over the government decision to lift the ban at a time when over 55 cases of bird flu have been reported in the previous four weeks alone.
Even on Thursday, a day after the government lifted the ban, the virus was detected at eight different poultry farms in Bhaktapur, where veterinary technicians have culled thousands of tainted fowl.
However, Dr. Narayan Ghimire, spokesperson at DoAH, is not ready to concede allegations that it was a reckless decision.
“Consumers need not worry about infection as all tainted fowl have been culled,” he claimed, adding, “We have stepped up the surveillance, focusing on Valley poultry farms.”
Dr. Ghimire said that vets will conduct rapid tests at poultry farms before allowing the fowl into the market. Another team of experts will conduct additional tests at checkpoints.
“Chicken will be destroyed on the spot immediately if found infected,” he said. “So, only healthy chicken will be sent to market.”
DoAH has also decided to deploy teams of veterinary doctors for carrying out quarantine checks on fowl at the four entry points into the capital through which poultry farmers are allowed to bring in chicken. The office has decided to establish quarantine checkposts at Nagdhunga, Pharping, Sanga Bhanjyang and Nagarjun, where experts will conduct rapid tests on the chicken.
Although some incidents of bird flu will continue to occur, these will stop within the next few days as all tainted chicken will be culled, according to DoAH
Both entrepreneurs and govt to blame
Officials at DoAH allege that some entrepreneurs and poultry farmers are responsible for the rampant spread of bird flu in the capital´s poultry farms. They said farmers did not inform the vet officials in time about the death of fowls on their farms. Instead, the farmers supplied tainted chicken to the market.
Some even discard dead chicken at public places or transfer fowl to other farms to escape government action.
“Entrepreneurs have accepted their mistake now and expressed commitment not to repeat the mistake,” said Ghimire.
The decision to lift the ban was taken following a strong commitment by entrepreneurs to comply with professional ethics, according to Ghimire.
He said that some hatchery industries were responsible for spreading the disease. Vet technicians have destroyed eggs and chicks at several hatcheries following confirmation of the disease. Ghimire suspects that some hatcheries may have supplied tainted chicks to farmers.
Junga Bahadur BC, chairman of the National Chicken Sellers Association (NCSA), said the government is equally responsible.
As the government provides only nominal compensation, farmers tried to find other options, claimed BC. “A lot of farmers have become homeless due to losses they incurred from this business,” he claimed. “So they opted for wrong alternatives.”
He said that the entire poultry business is suffering due to the mistakes of some farmers and entrepreneurs.
The association hopes that farmers and entrepreneurs would become more responsible once a system of registering with the government is developed to include small scale farmers who do not need to register at present.
“Farmers will have to go through proper government monitoring once this system is developed,” BC said, stressing the need for separate policy to regulate the poultry business. He also asked the government to raise the compensation amount to encourage entrepreneurs.
Consuming chicken is OK: DoAH
Authorities at DoAH said that people can consume chicken and eggs without any hesitation, as all tainted chicken have been culled. Officials said that they have deployed vet doctors to ensure that no tainted chicken is supplied to the market. Another team of experts will conduct additional monitoring at checkpoints. Chicken will be destroyed on the spot immediately if found infected.
The government has appealed to people to cook their chicken properly before eating and also to wash their hands properly with soap after touching any chicken, according to government spokesperson Ghimire. “We can eat chicken after cooking it properly, as the virus dies at 70 degrees centregrade.”
Over 160 bird flu outbreaks since 2009
DoAH said that the country has witnessed over 160 bird flu outbreaks since the disease was first detected in 2009.
In the last one month the virus has been detected at over 50 poultry farms in the capital, where authorities have culled over 100,000 bird flu tainted fowl. Following are the major bird flu outbreaks in Nepal:
· January 2009 in Jhapa
· February 2010 in Pokhara and Tanahu
· April 2010 in Nepalgunj, Rupandehi, Dang and Chitwan
· December 2011 in Pharping of Kathmandu and Manohara of Bhaktapur
· February 2012 in Bhainsepati of Lalitpur
· October 2012 in Bode of Bhaktapur
· December 2012 in Naubise of Dhading
· December 2012 in Ramkot of Kathmandu
· January 2013 Sitapaila Kathmandu
· February in Jitpurfedi, Nayapati of Kathmandu
· May in Kritipur-1 Tyanglaphanta, Mulpani-3, Dhapashi-6 of Kathmandu
· June in Gothatar-6 of Kathmandu
· Over 50 cases in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur in July, following which the government enforced the ban
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