Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto
Bird Flu hit Ghana
550 veterinary officers to be recruited to fight bird flu, Afriyie Akoto
Poultry farmers to be educated on bird flu, Agric Minister
Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has said an amount of GH¢44 million has been allocated to contain the outbreak of bird flu.
He noted that the money will be used to create public awareness on bird flu, engagement with key stakeholders, stamping out decontamination, procurement of disposal materials and other logistics.
Farmers who have been affected by the bird flu will also be compensated for this money.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra, the agric minister said, “It will be recalled that government granted approval for the immediate recruitment and deployment of an initial 550 veterinary professionals out of a total 1,100 professionals throughout the country. The intervention also includes approval for the release of an emergency budget support of approximately GH¢44 million to the ministry.”
“This is for the implementation of an action plan involving some key activities for combating the bird flu. These are the creation of public awareness on the bird flu, engagement with key stakeholders, stamping out decontamination, procurement of disposal materials and other logistics as well as payment of compensation to affected farmers,” he stated.
So far, the bird flu has hit Greater Accra, Bono, Ashanti and Central regions and about 700,000 birds have been affected.