Poultry farmers for Delta State say dem don lose over 500,000 birds to di recent outbreak of avian influenza.
Di disease also known as bird flu outbreak dey shelle for di southern Nigeria for some months now.
Farmers tok say dis number dey different from di 164,473 birds wey di Delta State Goment tok.
Chairman, Poultry Association of Nigeria Delta State Chapter, Chief Alfred Mrakpor tell BBC Pidgin say:
Na since March dis year dem begin suffer avian influenza and e don wipe out many Poultry farms for di State.
Mrakpor say di bird flu start from Udu local goment wia e almost wipe out all di Poultry farms dia.
And na di big farms wey dey affected. E add.
From dia e spread to Okpe Local goment, Ethiope East then e enter Sapele and Oshimili local goment.
“Di impact dey huge, as e affect my own farm. As at now we don lose 57,100 birds for my own farm alone.”
Delta State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources Julius Egbedi bin tok say ova 164,473 birds across seven local goment areas dey affected wit avian influenza.
Egbedi tell tori pipo say dem take samples from reported farms go test for di National Veterinary Institute, Jos and confam say all na H5N1 strain of di Avian influenza.
E add say farms wey dey Udi, Oshimili South, Ughelli North, Ughelli South, Okpr and Sapele local goments dey affected wit di bird flu outbreak.
But Chief Mrakpor say, “I speak wit di Commissioner for Agric yesterday wen I see di news tori and I tell am say im figures no dey correct.”
“And dis one wey dem say dem don begin disinfect farms sef no dey correct because wen I tok to di Director for Veterinary for early August, e tell me say dem dey out of stock of CID20 wey dem dey use.”
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Anoda farmer, Andrew Unugame wey get poultry farm for Agbaru, Ughelli North local goment of Delta State tell BBC Pidgin say im don lose over 15,000 birds.
E say di loss dey run into millions of naira since di outbreak happen over two months ago.
“I dey devastated wit dis outbreak because evritin wey I get na im I put for dis business. “
“Dis bird flu fit make millionaire turn to poor man because na total loss. I don lose over 15,000 birds to dis outbreak.”
“Di monetary value reach up to N12million as I dey nurture di birds from chicks to wen dem mature and e dey take up to seven months. But now I don lose most of my birds so we need help from di Goment.”
Oga Andrew ‘say dem dey tell farmers to dey bold and courageous because di devastation big.
Chief Mrakpor say di Poultry farmers for di State dey down wit di effect of di outbreak because e don dey airborne and notice say birds don dey fall down dead from di sky.
“Di Association no get capacity to check di outbreak. Wetin we dey do na to join body wit di Veterinary department to sensitise workers and farmers to increase security.”
“So we dey tell dem to disinfect vehicles wey dey come pick products for dia farm, make dem reduce human population for dia farms and make sure say di farms dey managed by specific group of pesins.”
Mrakpor add say di fact say many farmers no get insurance wey cover bird flu outbreak na anoda big issue, as dem no expect say e go happen like dis.
Right now, dem dey expect ‘political arrangement’ wey go enable goment to support di farmers no matter how little, if not di Industry go go down
“Especially for Delta Central because na dia be di hub of Poultry business for Delta State, especially for Okpe local goment wia di bigger farms dey and di loss dia dey in hundreds of thousands,” Mrakpor tok.
