Chief Sam Bello, Chairman Poultry Farmers Association of Nigeria (PAN), Kogi chapter, said farmers in the state were yet to witness any case of Bird Flu since its outbreak.
Bello, who said this while addressing newsmen in Lokoja on Monday, lauded the state government for its technical assistance to poultry farmers in the state.
The chairman recalled how the government had organised a workshop for the poultry farmers, following the news of the outbreak of the virus initially in Kano and Lagos states, which had no spread to 16 states.
He said that his members benefited from the workshop as they applied the knowledge acquired on their farms to ward off the disease.
“My members benefited tremendously from that interaction. The veterinary doctors were wonderful.
“We have been applying the technical inputs from the vet doctors on our farms and the epidemic is being kept at bay, our chicken are healthy,” he said.
On allegations that his farmers had only few birds, Bello said he had over 30, 000 layers that are producing 750 crates of eggs every day.
He disclosed that his farm was feeding eggs to different depots within and outside the state.
The chairman said that some of his members had almost the same number of birds or more.
He stated that it was on the basis of the strength of their individual farms that the state government extended credit facilities to poultry farmers in the state.
Bello said that government was doing everything to encourage them to expand their poultry farms.
He said that the necessary formal processes had been undertaken with the state Ministry of Agriculture for the registration of poultry farmers.
(NAN)
