Nigerian poultry farmers urged to know more about bird flu

Nigerian poultry farmers are urged to learn knowledge on how to curtail the spread of bird flu, the state-run News Agency of Nigeria reported on Friday.

Permanent Secretary of the Kano State Ministry of Agriculture Joseph Maigari was quoted as saying that "it is necessary to educate poultry farmers on how to prevent the spread of the virus. "

At a sensitization workshop for poultry owners and workers held on Friday in Kano, a leading commercial city in north Nigeria, Maigari said the workshop was aimed at forestalling a recurrence of the epidemic which led to the culling of many birds and made farmers suffer huge losses early this year.

He said the challenge of combating bird flu was gaining momentum,"especially with renewed interest in poultry farming by both the private and public sectors."

Maigari appealed to the federal government to increase the compensation paid to farmers whose birds were culled to enable them to restock their farms.

The outbreak of bird flu was first confirmed in the most populous African country with a population of over 138 million on Feb.7. But so far no human being has been infected.

Source: Xinhua