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National Program “Healthy Farmer Healthy Livestock”

Posted Monday, 02/08/2010 by admin
On Friday, February 5, 2010, the national program “Healthy Farmer Healthy Livestock” was launched at the farmland of the Sukabumi Native Chicken Farmer Association (Kepraks) in Tenjolaya village, Cicurung subdistrict in Sukabumi district. The program is collaboration between the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture and is supported by Center for Indonesian Veterinary Analytical Studies (CIVAS), which in 2006 - 2008 had collaborated with Kepraks in conducted researches on Avian Influenza (AI) control in local poultry.

Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih in her speech said that the national program is aimed to improve public health particularly farmers, increase animal productivity in villages, and erase poverty through an integrated health and agriculture program model. Agriculture Minister Suswono in his speech said the “Healthy Farmer Healthy Livestock” national program is a form of government effort to restructure the poultry industry including those in rural areas. Poultry restructure is not elimination, but total reorganization from upstream sectors, production, downstream sectors, development structures, and financial structures. Reorganization of upstream sectors includes breeding, certification, monitoring, zoning, feed, vaccine, and other biologic materials that are still dependent on import.

The Agriculture Minister also said in production there needs to be zoning and implementation of Good Farming Practices. Until now poultry production is still vulnerable to disease transmission and has become a source of disease. Therefore the government has issued regulations on poultry farming in residential areas and poultry restructure guidelines to overcome new infectious animal diseases that could infect humans or zoonotic diseases, such as Avian Influenza.

After the launching of the program in Sukabumi, the national program will be translated into healthy local poultry farming movements in 23 provinces. Professor Tjandra Yoga Aditama, Director General of Disease Control and Environmental Health (P2PL) of the Ministry of Health said the Healthy Farmer Healthy Livestock Collaborative Program is the first in Indonesia. It is an integrated public health and animal health program and corresponds to the One World One Health concept.