Farmers count losses as flu ravages Delta farms

Farmers in Delta State are counting their losses following an outbreak of Avian Influenza popularly known as bird flu in the state.

The affected farmers lamented that the disease has depleted their investment as birds worth millions of naira have been killed.

Mr. Andrew Unutame of Oghenejename Farms Limited in Ekrerhavwen-Agbarho, Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state, said the birds started dying last week as a result of the attack.

Unutame who is the Production Manager of the farm, said flu has wrecked havoc on the poultry industry

He said most of the farms in the state have been affected by the influenza which they had been trying to curtain in the last three months.

Unutame said over 11,000 birds, including laying birds and the ones at the point of lay, have been eliminated by the ravaging disease.

Commissioner for Agriculture in the state, Mr. Julius Egbedi confirmed the outbreak in the state, saying that he would make a report to the state governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa. Egbedi however urged poultry farmers in the state to insure their farms in case of disasters such as the influenza attack.

(Daily Sun)