Govt to allocate Rp 50b to help poultry farmers
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government has allocated Rp 50 billion (US$5.9 million) in compensation for poultry farmers following the President's order to cull chickens infected with bird flu, according to the Minister of People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla on Sunday.
The announcement of compensation was coupled with Kalla's threat to "jail" farmers who failed to follow the order issued by President Megawati Soekarnoputri last week.
Antara reported that each poultry farmer would get a package of chicks and feedstock worth some Rp 5,000. The package would be distributed to farmers in 11 provinces affected by the outbreak across the country. Last month the government admitted that, since last year, bird flu had killed 40 percent of the 4.7 million chickens across the country. There has been no proof of the possible existence of a subtype of the virus which could spread to humans.
On Sunday the WHO's worst fears may have materialized as it said it suspected the first case of human-to-human transmission in Vietnam. Two girls died after the death of their brother from bird flu, or avian influenza.
In Denpasar, head of the Tabanan regency Animal Husbandry Agency, I Gusti Putu Suandi, said that government banks would provide loans to help poultry farmers resume their business after the outbreak.
An official of the Jakarta Animal Husbandry Agency said no steps had been taken by the government to carry out the cull as the guidelines had only been completed on Friday. Further discussion on the guidelines would be held on Tuesday.
The government has also ordered the vaccination of healthy chickens. The decision to carry out vaccinations and a selective cull -- instead of a mass cull as urged by the World Health Organization -- has led to criticism among veterinarians who said the measures would not be entirely effective.
WHO says a mass cull would prevent the further establishment of the bird flu virus in the country's poultry population. Indonesia's chicken population was last estimated at 135 million.
However, a pathology expert from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, Ekowati Handayani said that vaccinations could be the best option.
"We have to compare our country's situation with other countries before deciding on what steps we should take to prevent the disease from spreading," Ekowati told The Jakarta Post.
She said that in other countries, such as in Thailand and Vietnam, poultry farms were more organized. The geographical sizes of the countries made it easier to carry out a mass cull.
Meanwhile the Veterinary Pharmacy Center (Pusvetma) -- which produces vaccines for poultry -- said that it would not be able to meet the country's vaccine demand as the bird flu disease spread further. Vaccines are now allowed to be imported but veterinarians fear that imported vaccines would not be effective since samples come from chickens in the country producing the vaccine.
Head of vaccine production, Darmawan, said that Pusvetma has received orders of 20 million ampules of bird flu vaccine for this month. The East Java Animal Husbandry Agency has also ordered approximately 15 million ampules.
However, Darmawan said that Pusvetma is only capable of producing 6.6 million ampules, adding that Pusvetma has asked for Rp 1.7 trillion from the government to maximize its production.
Elderly, infants and bird flu -- Page 8