Stop collapsing our businesses with exaggerated words - Poultry farmers bemoan

Correspondence from Ashanti region

Poultry farmers within the Afigya Kwabre North and South districts have bemoaned over how veterinary officers and other stakeholders are gradually collapsing their businesses with exaggerated fear and panic words.

According to the members of the Afigya Kwabre North and South Poultry Farmers Association, the exaggerated expressions made by the veterinary officers on bird flu is simply helping to collapse their businesses.

They revealed that lack of education and proper structures put in place by the veterinary officers, coupled with exaggerations completely scare their customers.

The disappointed farmers speaking to GhanaWeb revealed that, though they do not disagree there's bird flu and other bird-related diseases, the rate at which these veterinary officers announce it in exaggeration to scare the entire nation and customers is very worrying.

Mr. Kofi Senya, Chairman of the Afigya Kwabre North and South Poultry Farmers Association speaking to Ghanaweb said even though they perfectly believe there're poultry-related diseases such as fowl pox, Newcastle, viral arthritis, avian influenza, chickenpox etc but the rate at which these veterinary officers in Ghana exaggerate the issue do not help the progress of poultry farming.

"Poultry farming helps solve most of our unemployment issues by employing millions of people, but how these veterinary officers attached the industry with exaggerated killer diseases' names simply help collapse our business.
The way and manner these veterinary officers will pronounce the bird flu issue on a radio as if there's no solution is sometimes very worrying. As a poultry farmer, your intestines begin to shake when you hear the way they mention things in exaggeration. Now people are refusing to buy eggs, chicken etc with the fear that they're going to die due to how the veterinary officers exaggerate the bird flu as though it was going to kill everyone as soon as they take poultry product," He complained.

According to the worried Chairman, even though Veterinary Officers are good on their field but when it comes to announcing animal related diseases, they do more harm than good.

He however suggests that doctors in animal production should rather be allowed to take control of the big farms when it comes to education on bird related diseases instead of the veterinary officers.

"The same mistake happened in Nigeria after veterinary officers collapsed animal farmers' businesses through this same means. The farmers who knew the veterinary officers went extra mile at the expense of the Animal Production Doctors sued them for damages, and they won the case in Court.
We can choose to do the same thing in Ghana but for peace, we don't want to. And that's why we are pleading with them to stop the exaggerations that only create fear and panic, and allow Animal Production Doctors to do their work". He urged.

Chairman Senya however pleaded with the veterinary officers to make sure they help find an amicable solution to the current bird flu issue in the country and stop creating fear and panic.

"We understand there are such poultry related diseases, but they shouldn't exaggerate it in a way that could help collapse our businesses. We know they can do better and that's why we plead with them to help us". He concluded. Read Full Story