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| Poultry farmers demand compensation for culled birds |
Some poultry farmers whose birds were culled as part of measures to contain the Avian Influenza (Bird flu) disease that hit the country in 2015, have called on the government to compensate them without any further delay.The affected farmers who claimed they had not received any compensation from the government following the subsequent slaughter of their birds, as a preventive measure, said they were currently in dire financial difficulties.
According to the group, an immediate compensation would go a long way to assuage their plight and enable them to settle their debts.
Affected farmers
Speaking to journalists at Kpone, Mr Lawrence Agorsor, one of the affected farmers, said the Veterinary Services Department (VSD) culled about 66,000 birds on 35 farms at Kpone-Katamanso, Achimota and in other parts of the Greater Accra Region, between 2015 and 2016.
Mr Agorsor, who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Agrivision Farms, said the affected farmers were later issued with Certificates of Destruction and have since been waiting to receive the compensation due them.
He said the government, till date, owed them compensation to the tune of GH¢1,834,539.00 but all efforts to get the Ministry of Agriculture and the VSD to pay them had proven unsuccessful.
“We began demanding compensation when the former Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Madam Hannah Bissiw, was in charge. When this administration took over, we went to meet with the deputy minister of Agriculture in charge of livestock who told us he did not know anything about the matter. However, at a meeting held later on, the chief director at the ministry confirmed that we were owed money and that some affected farmers had received their compensation, hence the rest would be paid when money was available.”
He said since then, the unpaid farmers had made several follow-ups to the Ministry of Finance and also to the Ministry of Agriculture but no action had been taken on their situation.
Debts
Mr Agorsor said a number of farmers had run into debts as a result and others had not been able to revive their businesses.
He called on the government, the ministry and the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, to intervene and ensure that thy were duly compensated to enable them to stay in business.
Frustration
Madam Azoa Donkor of Stardom Farms Limited, said life had become difficult for her following the destruction of her birds and as such was calling on the government to speed up the compensation process.
Mr Justice Kubulai Kwame of Justice Farms, one of the affected poultry farmers, said failure by the government to compensate the distressed farmers would discourage them from reporting on the disease in the future.
“When the outbreak occurred, I wasn’t willing to have my birds culled but I was given an assurance that within three months after the exercise, I would be compensated but till now no money has been paid.
“I have had to rely on my savings to pay up my debts but I still owe a lot. I am appealing to the government to pay us our compensation,” he said.
While commending the government for its Planting for Food and Jobs programme, he urged the government to also pay attention to the poultry sector and support poultry farmers.
Writer’s email: Benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh
via: https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/poultry-farmers-demand-compensation-for-culled-birds.html
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