Kumasi (Ash), Dec 21, -
Smallholder poultry farmers across three selected regions – Ashanti, Greater
Accra and Brong-Ahafo are to benefit from free veterinary services under the
Ghana Poultry Project (GPP).
One hundred and sixty-six (166)
community animal health workers have been trained for the purpose – to
administer vaccination against the Newcastle disease in poultry producing
households.
They have been supplied with
toolkits – cold boxes, rain and laboratory coats, bicycles, biosafety sandals,
disposable bags, torch lights, batteries and eardrop applicator to perform the
assigned task.
Speaking at a ceremony held to
hand over to the community animal health workers in Ashanti with their
toolkits, Mr. Kweku Bombason Tuoho, Value Chain Team Leader of the GPP, said it
was being funded by the United States (US) Department of Agriculture.
He added that the project “seeks
to strengthen the capacity of veterinary service providers and input dealers to
expand their reach to commercial and smallholder poultry farmers.
He indicated that the smallholder
farmers – engaged mainly in raising indigenous poultry, had been producing in
excess of 80 per cent of the country’s poultry.
Mr. Tuoho said disease outbreaks,
particularly, that of the Newcastle among their birds therefore tended to have
significant impact not just on households but the commercial farms.
It was against this background
that there was the need to ensure that these farmers had access to effective
and affordable veterinary services.
He expressed confidence that the
intervention would tremendously aid the growth of the sector.
He stated that the project would
be working closely with the Veterinary Service Department (VSD) to achieve the
intended outcomes.
Dr. Emmanuel Edward Effah, the Ashanti Regional
Director of the VSD, applauded the US Government for funding the project, which
he labeled as “a key intervention in the poultry sector”.
He said the Newcastle disease had
been and continued to be one of the major threats to the poultry industry.
GNA
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