Eat-chicken campaign continues

JAKARTA: Hundreds of students, officials and poultry breeders gathered at the office of the East Jakarta municipal administration on Friday morning to partake in various chicken dishes, an event held as part of the campaign to promote chicken after the recent bird-flu scare.

A similar event was hosted by the Bogor Agriculture Institute, with students and residents invited to dine on chicken in the campus' Grawida hall in Bogor.

The two organizers claimed the events would help revive the poultry industry.

In Jakarta alone, the demand for chicken meat has dropped by up to 40 percent.

Pardamean Lubis, who owns small poultry farm in East Jakarta, said that his business had been badly hit.

"This campaign is effective to restore the public's confidence in eating chicken meat," he said. -- JP