Govt reviews indemnification scheme for poultry raisers

THE agriculture department is currently reviewing its indemnification guidelines, particularly the amount for each culled bird, in its bid to encourage raisers to report suspected bird flu cases to authorities.

Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) Assistant Director Arlene Asteria Vytiaco said current market conditions prompted the agency to review the indemnification guidelines.

At present, the government pays P100 for every bird culled by authorities in curbing and controlling the spread of bird flu, which has seen a resurgence since February 2022, according to Vytiaco.

Local poultry industry stakeholders have long been urging the government to implement an indemnification system that is on a par with market prices or a payment system that is attractive enough for raisers to voluntarily report possible bird flu outbreaks in their farms.

“I cannot say what the [new] exact figure is for now because it is under review. It can go higher or lower depending on the results of the review,” Vytiaco told reporters in an interview on Wednesday.

“We are hoping that the amount will be attractive enough for the farmers to report any suspect cases.”

Vytiaco noted that some poultry farmers would rather sell their poultry even if it is suspected of carrying bird flu than wait for indemnification from the government.

“The [Department of Agriculture] recognizes the importance of indemnification for early reporting.”

Vytiaco also said the agriculture department is mulling over the adoption of vaccination as a mode of bird flu prevention.

She said there has been a “growing clamor” from poultry industry stakeholders to allow the use of avian influenza vaccines in the country.

Since the government does not allow its use, some poultry farmers have started to smuggle bird flu vaccines to protect their flocks from the transboundary animal disease, she added.

“We want to address the smuggling because that is dangerous. That is one factor we are considering in deciding whether to adopt vaccination [against avian influenza].”

Based on existing protocols, Vytiaco said two factors will prompt the government to allow the use of vaccines against bird flu: if the disease is already endemic and if the spread of the disease is already uncontrollable.

She said bird flu is not yet endemic in the Philippines and that its spread is still controllable. However, she noted that it is the clamor from stakeholders that is pushing government authorities to consider the vaccination of poultry.

Vytiaco said the BAI has already consulted stakeholders regarding the vaccination of the domestic poultry population against bird flu.

The country continues to grapple with the spread of bird f lu but authorities gave assurances that the impact of recent cases on overall poultry supply is “insignificant.” (Related story: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2023/02/15/governmentbird-f lu-cases-under-control/)

Since February 2022, the BAI recorded bird flu outbreaks in 263 poultry farms nationwide and 2 million birds culled.