By Lekan Adejuwon
Ekiti State Government has appealed to poultry farmers in the state to maintain proper hygienic environment to protect their birds from sudden death occasioned by the outbreak of birds-flu in some states of the country.
The Special Adviser on Agriculture and Food Security, Mr. Ebenezer Boluwade made the plea while fielding questions from Journalists in his office in Ado Ekiti.
Mr. Boluwade who noted that some poultry farmers have lost birds worth millions of naira in the state as a result of the outbreak of the disease, urged them to maintain cleanliness of the fowl pens and their surroundings through proper fumigation and management.
The Special Adviser maintained that poultry farmers should not entertain panic as necessary precautions have been made to checkmate the spread of the disease in the state.
He urged the poultry farmers to report any case detected to the nearest Veterinary Officials in their locality or Avian Influenza desk officer in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Ado Ekiti.
The Director of Veterinary Services in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Emmanuel Osayomi appreciated the Federal Government for its assistance to the beneficiaries on regular trainings, stipends and active surveillance to poultry farmers since inception of the outbreak in 2006.
Dr. Osayomi expressed hope that the Federal Government’s magnanimity towards states on the outbreak of the disease should continue until the disease would no longer be visible in the Country.
