Avian influenza control to be stepped up in Africa

Initiatives to control highly pathogenic avian influenza in West Africa are to be stepped up following a grant of $87 million by The United States Agency for International Development to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s animal disease control programs.
The new funding will support animal disease prevention and control work across Asia, Africa and the Middle East and, in West Africa, it will be used to boost prevention and emergency response efforts to stem the spread of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza.
The FAO’s work in the region is aimed at eliminating the disease in the poultry sector, and building the capacity of animal health authorities and poultry producers to avoid future recurrences of the disease and economic losses.
The first incursion of H5N1 in West Africa occurred in 2006, but it was successfully eliminated within three years.
In late 2014, however, the avian influenza was reintroduced in Nigeria, where it has since spread rapidly to Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Niger with more than 2.5 million birds culled or dead from the virus.
With outbreaks recently detected in Ghana, FAO is concerned that, without a region-spanning effort to contain and stamp it out, H5N1 could expand to other countries in the region.
The funding will also be used to tackle other diseases with human health implications, including ebola and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, for which studies will be conducted to better understand any link that livestock may have in transmitting the diseases to humans.

Avian influenza kills 110,000 layers in Burkina Faso

An outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza was responsible for the deaths of nearly 116,000 birds in two regions of the African nation of Burkina Faso. The biggest loss was suffered at a layer farm in the Kadiogo province, where 110,000 hens were lost.
Burkina Faso’s last outbreak of avian influenza was reported in 2006.
The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) reported four outbreaks of avian influenza, with 115,394 birds being killed by the virus between the four affected premises. An additional 400 birds were destroyed.
A layer farm in the Kadiogo province saw the deaths of 110,000 layers among a flock of 180,000. Another Kadiogo farm lost 4,028 hens, guinea fowls and turkeys, and had another 400 birds destroyed.
In Burkina Faso’s Sanguie province, one farm with chickens, guineas and ducks had 1,066 birds die out of a susceptible 1,330. The other Sanguie property, also containing chickens, guineas and ducks had 300 deaths with an additional 30 birds susceptible.
The source of the infections has not yet been determined, OIE stated.
The affected premises have been disinfected, and movement control actions within the country have been applied. OIE stated that weekly updates will be submitted until the avian influenza situation in Burkina Faso has been resolved.

Cobb, Tyson help kids in Africa, Haiti through One Egg program

The expanding One Egg program benefits kids in Africa and Haiti. 
Cobb-Vantress and Tyson Foods are supporting the One Egg program, which originated in Rwanda and is now expanding into Haiti and Uganda. The project seeks to provide children with protein, but also to create a sustainable local market.
Cobb veterinarian Dr. Bret Rings has njoined Dave Juenger, Cobb corporate director of support services, who has been involved with the One Egg program in Rwanda over the past four years.  Each visits at different times, so every six weeks one of them is there to provide hands-on support.
One Egg project making a difference in Rwanda
Rwanda is the most densely populated area of Africa.  Slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Massachusetts, it is home to nearly 10 million people, mostly engaged in subsistence agriculture in a fertile and hilly terrain.
One Egg focused on providing nursery schools with protein each day. Thanks to poultry farms operated by Ikiraro Investments, these schools provide an egg to every child each day of the school week. The project involves 10,000 laying hens per site, using stock from Irvine’s Africa who are also Cobb distributors in central Africa.
Seventeen schools are currently involved, with other sponsorships in prospect. Around 100 children from ages two to five attend these schools.  It costs $6,000 per year to sponsor one school, with surplus eggs sold locally and so helping to create a sustainable market in Rwanda.
”We’re providing them with knowledge that is everlasting - teaching them how to help themselves so that they can pass that knowledge on to younger generations,” said Juenger.  “After nearly three years in Rwanda, we tried a new model in Haiti, utilizing an already existing poultry company and a similar sponsorship program.”
One Egg’s entry into Haiti
The idea was to provide orphanages in Haiti with protein by purchasing eggs through sponsorship from the local Haiti Broilers company. To date, around 500 children are receiving an egg a day from this program.
Combining One Egg models for Uganda
Expanding into Uganda, the One Egg program wanted to try out a different approach, combining the first model in Rwanda with the second in Haiti. This aimed not only to provide children with protein, but again to sell eggs to create a sustainable local market.
Research is being conducted to determine the benefit of increased nutrition through eggs in the children’s diet. In Uganda, they have completed building a sustainable poultry house, modeled after the one in Rwanda to provide the eggs.
“The Rwanda government are aware of what we are doing and fully supports our efforts. They want us to succeed, hoping to see Northern Rwanda eventually develop into a poultry capital,” said Rings.
The first modern feed mill was built recently in Rwanda, and will have a substantial impact providing many farms with the feed they need.
Now the program is looking for ways to reach more people by creating new partnerships. The goal is to provide more people with protein, and also to create jobs on these farms as well as developing a sustainable local market.

Africa must increase safeguards against avian influenza A(H7N9)

Following the emergence of the novel influenza A(H7N9) virus in birds in China, countries in Africa are being encouraged to increase their preparedness for the new, low-pathogenic strain of avian influenza.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the African Union's Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) have identified the need to invest in a project that would assist selected African countries to conduct regular H7N9 risk assessment, implement risk-based surveillance and update their contingency plans.
A number of countries have been identified due to their trade with China, their high density of poultry or a history of infection with H5N1.
Most of these countries have already established surveillance systems and contingency plans to combat the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1, which hit Africa in 2006. However, with the advent of low-pathogenic A(H7N9), these surveillance and contingency measure need to be updated.

Egg industry shows commitment to help eliminating hunger

In a first of its kind, a two-day technical seminar aimed at tackling hunger in southern Africa has started in Lusaka, Zambia.
The event, jointly organized by the International Egg Commission (IEC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), comprises technical presentations and the exchange of information vital to increasing egg consumption and helping local producers address some of the challenges that hinder egg production in the region.
The ultimate goal of the two day event is to cultivate long-term partnerships between IEC members and local egg producer associations.
Julian Madeley, director general at the IEC, explained: "It's estimated that in the world today, a billion people are underfed and undernourished, and this is going to get even worse over the next 40 years, as the global population is set to increase by another 3 billion people.
"This is unacceptable to everybody, and on behalf of the entire egg industry, the IEC is committed to doing what we can to help prevent hunger. We are committed to working with the FAO to help eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition."
The event draws together government representatives, veterinarians and egg producers from Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe and IEC members from Australia, Canada, South Africa and the U.S.
Under discussion are the challenges individual countries are facing and practical ways to increase egg production and ultimately, consumption in the region.
Event sponsor Novus is offering information on the importance of hen nutrition on egg development and sharing best practices for stronger businesses and better line management.
The event in Lusaka is part of the ongoing collaboration between the IEC and the FAO. 

Zambia’s ag minister urges farmers to consider growing poultry

Robert Sichinga, Zambia's minister of agriculture and livestock, is urging Zambian farmers to tap into the poultry sector. Speaking to a group of small-scale farmers in Kabwe, Sichinga said there is potential in the poultry industry for both small-scale and commercial farmers.
"The poultry industry has a lot of potential and more people should invest in this sector as there are a number of private companies ready to buy the produce," Schinga said.
Schinga told farmers diversifying their operations would be good for boosting the nation's economy, according to news reports, and there are good market opportunities for poultry and eggs, both locally and internationally.

Egyptian agribusiness firm Wadi Group to enter Kenyan poultry market

Wadi Group, an Egyptian agribusiness firm, plans to enter the Kenyan poultry market by establishing hatcheries in the regions of Mombasa, Mogotio, Kwale and Garissa. The group hopes to start poultry production in Kenya by April 2014.
As part of the initiative, Kenyan poultry farmers in semi-arid and arid regions will get special training on the best practices for poultry production, Wadi Group CEO Tony Freiji said during the Africa Food Security Conference. With that training, Kenyan producers can help meet the local demand for poultry meat products and be able to produce poultry for exports.
Wadi Group also intends to provide farmers with high-quality breeding stock by setting up state-of-the-art poultry farms and incubation facilities, and providing high-quality feed and advanced technical services, according to an AllAfrica report.
Wadi Group has been a player in the development of the Egyptian poultry industry since it began operations since 1984. It has also set up operations in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. 

African breeding company expands with hatchery agreement

Ross Breeders Africa, an international poultry breeding company, is expanding its Zambian operations with SmartPro incubation technologies and air handling systems from Pas Reform, a hatchery technology provider. The project includes a new broiler hatchery, additional breeder houses, a new grandparent farm, staff housing and ancillary buildings.
The SmartHatchPro hatchers incorporate anodized aluminum panels and a five-blade, Vortex-based airflow system for complete temperature stabilization. Ross Breeders Zambia is among the first in the world to adopt this incubation system.
The broiler hatchery, situated at Ross' main breeding farm close to Lusaka, will hatch one million day-old broiler chicks per week in the new building, designed to hatch six times per week rather than the conventional four. This system gives Ross Breeders Zambia customers more choice on which day of the week to place broilers.
Additional breeder houses will be constructed when the hatchery is completed in October this year, tripling Ross Breeders Zambia's production capacity with the complete relocation of the current grandparent project to the new site at Mazabuka. This will allow full veterinary compartmentalization of the facility, which will open new export markets and secure the veterinary status of the flocks. The new breeder facility will comprise a dedicated new grandparent hatchery, separate and bio-secure breeder facilities and staff housing. Grandparent farm and parent breeder houses are due for completion by the end of 2014.
"This investment is a reflection of [Ross Breeders Zambia's] continuing commitment to the Region as an expanding economy. The new facility will create 200 new jobs in the poultry sector, as a hub for the export of parent stock all over southern and central Africa, as well as providing the local industry with Ross 308 broilers and parents," said Colin Lindsay, managing director of Ross Breeders Zambia.

Zimbabwe broiler production grows by more than 500 percent

The poultry and pig industries in Zimbabwe have recorded significant growth during the past four years due to increases in small operations production, according to Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation Development Minister Joseph Made. Broiler production had grown by more than 500 percent while egg production grew by 300 percent.
"Small to medium scale producers now account for two-thirds of the broiler producers and nearly half of the egg producers," said Made. "In the same period, pig slaughters increased by 31 percent to 141,000 pigs in 2012."
Made said this development addressed dietary diversification recommendations under the country's recently launched Food Security and Nutrition Policy, allAfrica.com reported. He said that the poultry and pig industries have also contributed meaningfully to the gross domestic product, as poultry production added $357 million and the pig industry contributed $39 million to the gross domestic product.
"Close to 82 percent of all stock feeds produced in the country are consumed in the poultry and pig industries making the combined two subsectors the mainstay of the feed industry," he said.
The growth of the sectors has resulted in job creation; however, the uptick in poultry and swine production has created a feed shortage and has made Zimbabwe more reliant on imports, said Made. 

Zimbabwe government supports small poultry farmers to grow industry

Zimbabwe's government has said that it will continue to support small poultry farmers in an effort to grow the poultry sector and boost the overall agriculture industry, according to government officials.
The country's poultry industry is one of the fastest-growing agro sectors, according to Ngoni Masoka, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation Development. It's targeted to produce 72 million day-old chicks by the end of 2012, compared to 52 million in 2011, and the government is prepared to intensify its efforts towards helping small-holder farmers achieve high production levels.
"The government is aware of the problems of small-scale producers when it comes to exploitative tendencies under contract farming arrangements," said Masoka. "With the establishment of the Agricultural Marketing Authority, the government will ensure that contractual agreements are balanced to avoid exploitation. As a ministry, we believe that the development of small-scale producers can result in increased productivity, improved incomes and employment creation, as well as food and nutrition security."
The Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union is pushing for funds to assist with activities in the poultry sector, and farmers recently appealed to the Zimbabwe government for assistance in securing processing facilities and markets for local chicken to compete with imports.

Sub-Saharan Africa broiler meat production, consumption up in 2012

In 2012, broiler meat production in Sub-Saharan Africa has risen 8 percent since 2008 and 40 percent since 2002, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's International Egg & Poultry Review. Total domestic broiler meat consumption in 2012 in most Sub-Saharan Africa countries has increased by a projected 26 percent since 2008 and 91 percent since 2002.
Meanwhile, the region's estimated total turkey meat production has increased 14 percent since 2008 and 167 percent since 2002. Domestic consumption of turkey meat in Sub-Saharan Africa over the last five years has also been increasing, after decreasing several years, bringing turkey meat consumption in 2012 equal to consumption in 2008. Despite the decline to 2012, turkey meat consumption is estimated to have risen 138 percent since 2002, but still remains below the region's 110-year high in 2007 of 47,000 metric tons.
Thanks to increasing domestic poultry meat production, Sub-Saharan Africa's real gross domestic product has grown 5 to 6 percent in recent years. Although food imports have been increasing in most countries, the region primarily relies on domestic production to supply its food for consumption.
When comparing world regions for U.S. cumulative total poultry exports for the period January through July, Sub-Saharan Africa ranked fifth in broiler meat and turkey meat. From January through July, U.S. cumulative total broiler meat exports for 2012 have risen 10 percent over 2011 and 357 percent over 2002 during the same period. U.S. turkey meat cumulative total exports have risen 72 percent over 2011 and 186 percent over 2002 during the same period.