After bird flu virus was detected in his chickens, officials from District Veterinary Office (DVO), Kathmandu culled all the chickens at Manandhar´s farm in January. Manandhar said the episode resulted in Rs 1.5 million loss for him and he still has to clear a debt of Rs 700,000. "As I did not see any future in the business, I decided to give it up," said Manandhar. He said that he is now worried about how to get rid of the debt. [break]
Maniram Ghimire, another poultry farmer of Danchi-9 Kathmandu, also gave up the profession after his debt mounted to over Rs 2.1 million. Like Manandhar, Ghimire also has similar tale to tell. Ghimire had been involved in the poultry business for 15 years.
He had 7,000 chickens at his farm. "I quit after the debt reached Rs 2.1 million," said Ghimire, adding, "Poultry has become like gambling, where chances of earning is slim and losing high."
According to Ghimire, only new farmers are taking up poultry business and old farmers are giving it up. He said that majority of the households in Danchhi had chickens in the past but now it is hard to find a poultry farm in the VDC.
Only hatchery, feed companies and the cold stores have been making profit from the profession. "Most of the farmers here owe around Rs 2 million in debt but the owners of cold stores we supply chickens to erect building in one year," he complained. Cold stores and contractors operate under a syndicate and deny farmers a good price.
Ghimire had started his farm when the price of a chick was Rs 15 and feed cost Rs 800 per sack. Now, the price of a chick has reached Rs 80 and feed Rs 2,500 per sack. Ghimire complained that both chicks and feeds are of poor quality compared to the past.
"If the feed isn´t good, chickens do not grow, causing heavy losses to farmers," he added. He said that chickens suffered from multiple other diseases, including bird flu virus.
Surya Mohan Pokhrel, another poultry farmer, said that he cannot sleep well at night due to worries. "The news of bird flu spread keeps me awake all night," Pokhrel said. He lost hundreds of thousands of rupees when the virus hit his farm in January. "I want to get out of the poultry business, but I have lots of debt to clear and have no other alternative," said Pokhrel.
Chief of the District Veterinary Office (DVO) Kathmandu, Bolaraj Acharya said that the flu has created panic among farmers. "A lot of farmers have lost all they had to poultry business. We have a great challenge to sustain this profession," he said.
Acharya said that instead of getting involved in other agriculture development work, the bird flu outbreak has kept officials at his department busy since a long time. "We have to impart training to farmers, inspect the fields and conduct other works.
But the rapid spread of the virus has prevented us from doing all that," he added. Acharya said that he has found several poultry farmers giving up the profession. "Most of them have opted to growing vegetables," he added. Acharya concedes that farmers have been affected by the syndicate of contractors and stresses on the need to regulate the market.
Dr Dinesh Gautam, deputy executive officer of Pro Biotech Industries Pvt. Ltd, said that time has come to do something to sustain poultry business in which over 100,000 people are directly involved.
"Government should provide compensation to the farmers, otherwise, the whole industry will collapse and hundreds of jobs could be lost," said Gautam. He said that poultry farming is a good source of income and employment in the country. He said that his company provides compensation to farmers, who use feeds from his company, equal to the amount given by the government.
Dr Bijaya Kant Jha, an official at the Directorate of Animal Health (DoAH), concedes that a lot of poultry farmers have run into losses in recent years. "Due to the spread of virus, poultry farmers have been under terror. A lot of farmers are in the mood to give up the profession," he said.
Dr Jha said that the office has urged the ministry to support the farmers. Officials at DoAH said that the country is independent in chicken production and does not rely on supply from abroad.
He said that the office has urged the government to increase compensation amount.
Government working sustain poultry industry: Ministry
The Ministry of Agriculture Development (MoAD) said that the government is working to help poultries that have suffered losses due to bird flu get back on their feet. Officials at ministry said that the government has allocated Rs 50 million to start poultry insurance.
"Risk would be minimized if farmers insure their farms. We will implement the insurance policy in coordination with entrepreneurs," said Jaya Mukunda Khanal, secretary at MoAD. Khanal said that the ministry is consulting with experts to overcome ongoing problems.
Price of chickens rising
With the news about bird flu spread refusing to die down, supply of chickens has dropped in the capital. Due to short supply, the price of the chicken increased on Friday by Rs 10.
Now, consumers have to pay Rs 280 per kilo of chicken in the capital. "Supply has declined. Poultry farmers have been terrified by the spread of virus," said Jung Bahadur BC, chairman of National Chicken Seller Association.
Bird flu out of control
A strain of bird flu virus has been continuously spreading in the capital´s poultry farms with six outbreaks reported in the last seven days. The DoAH said that the virus has been detected in 17 poultry farms in last three weeks, in which about 50,000 chickens have been culled.
The DOAH said that the country has witnessed 108 bird flu outbreaks since the disease was detected first on 2009. The DoAH has stepped up surveillance of poultry farms in the Valley.
Meanwhile, the DoAH has sent samples of bird flu virus to a London-based laboratory to find out whether the virus circulating in the capital is of the same strain that has been identified in the past. Officials at DoAH said that the bird flu virus has been constantly changing its nature. The virus has changed its form thrice since the first outbreak in 2009.
The vet doctors say avian flu (H5N1) virus mostly spread in winter season, but in Nepal the virus has been spreading even in summer.
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