Consumers, farmers and organised agriculture have started to feel the impact of bird flu that has hit the country with fears that if not dealt with, the livelihood of many poultry producers will be shattered with little hope of a comeback amid the struggling economic climate.
The South African government along with the South African Poultry Association (Sapa) have constructed a contingency plan to combat the decrease in egg production in the country.
A clear plan is needed
African Poultry Producers (APP) chairperson Kobedi Pilane said bird flu has affected many poultry producers across the country, mainly the large corporations that supplies larger quantities of poultry products. This is threatening job sustainability if no tangible plan is put on the table.
“Compensation for big breeders who are also badly affected by highly-pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) will relieve local growers and egg producers greatly as the price of day-old chicks had increased by more than double the price from on average R8 to R17.
“This is the price transferred to the consumer and it makes poultry less affordable and therefore less available to consumers – especially those in low-income households,” he said.
Pilane said it would be beneficial for farmers and consumers if the government could make vaccines available to all farmers, while in the meantime, making sure all producers are compensated.
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Losses across the board
He explained that APP has encountered several farmers who have suffered losses directly and indirectly due to the HPAI outbreak.
“On the other hand, the consumer is paying more for poultry products because the prices have been pushed up to levels that are unjustified in some instances.
“It would be ideal for the government to start looking at regulating the price of eggs as they are staple foods. As APP we would like to see the prices returned to their pre-outbreak levels and more black producers be given support to ensure that they remain competitive and make the price of poultry more affordable,” he said.
The interests of the farmer are at heart
General manager of Sapa Izaak Breitenbach explained that currently the country is importing 83 million hatching eggs to replace the eggs lost due to culling for bird flu.
“This is not only for the integrated businesses but the day-old chick producers also import and will be able to supply the small and medium enterprises as well.
“They are also extending the production life of existing flocks and use the eggs from young flocks to make up the shortfall in eggs,” he said.
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Keeping poultry producers going
According to Breitenbach, the plan is aimed at keeping poultry producers going amid the outbreak and keeping people in jobs, and it will help a lot to reduce the impact of bird flu.
“To date, 8.5 million chickens have been culled to curb outbreaks of the H7 and H5 bird flu strains; this includes slightly over 2.5 million broiler breeder chickens and approximately 6 million of SA’s layer flock.
“This is a significant portion of the national flock. Many poultry farmers have been badly affected by the outbreak and aren’t compensated for these losses in line with the Animal Diseases Act,” he said.
Breitenbach explained that the industry has extended the age of non-affected flocks by an additional two to three weeks, which will result in additional egg-hatching production.
“While it seems the domestic poultry industry has no shortage of opportunities to demonstrate its resilience, the outbreak has put many livelihoods at risk. Farmers are having a difficult time recovering costs, especially during a period of recovery.
“A policy change is needed to support impacted producers, and such a cost recovery mechanism will serve well to keep consumer prices low and our farmers afloat,” he said.
Hoping for welcome relief
Meanwhile, Pretoria-based poultry farmer Mikie Mkhatha said the contingency plan is promising to farmers as it might change the situation they find themselves in because of bird flu.
“The first thing will be for us to push the production while keeping our customers happy. I am sure you are aware that hatcheries had to decrease their supply to 25% per order and give 75% to contract growers.
“I believe small-scale farmers and middle farmers will be back in business and the feed will be affordable, and the supply of chicken will be high again. We do hope that this plan succeeds so that the poultry business can run smoothly,” she said.
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