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West Kalimantan Declared Free from Avian Influenza
Pontianak - West Kalimantan has become the first province to achieve certification for avian influenza freedom from the Ministry of Agriculture. This certification is believed to create a positive domino effect for the development of poultry and agricultural industries in West Kalimantan.
“The declaration was announced by the Minister of Agriculture just moments ago. The Minister plans to directly give the certificate to the Governor of West Kalimantan on January 26, 2010,” said Head of the Livestock and Animal Health Service Office of West Kalimantan Abdul Manaf on Monday (11/1).
Two other provinces declared free from Avian Influenza by statement of the Director General of Livestock were North Maluku province and Gorontalo province. West Kalimantan was the first province to follow through on certification.
The AI free status, said Manaf, will bring consequences to West Kalimantan. The province must increase monitoring on poultry and poultry products coming in from other provinces.
The office will apply more vigilant monitoring on entry sites at provincial borders and coastlines.
“Poultry products and chicks coming into West Kalimantan must come from AI free regions or farms,” he said.
The last case of AI associated poultry death in West Kalimantan was in 2005.
Export basis
With the status, said Manaf, market trust on poultry products from West Kalimantan will increase. There is even a possibility for West Kalimantan to develop into poultry product exporting area in the future.
Data from the Livestock and Animal Health Service Office of West Kalimantan shows that the province has 60 layer chicken operations with a population of 2.8 million birds and a production of 80 tons of eggs per day.
About 20% of the eggs produced are exported to Pangkalan Bun in Central Kalimantan, Jakarta, and Serasan Island in Riau Islands. The remaining 80% goes to fulfill local demands in West Kalimantan.
The average broiler chicken production in West Kalimantan reaches 1.5 million birds per month with the birds being an average weight of 1.5 kilograms.
Secretary of the West Kalimantan Poultry Agribusiness Association Bambang Mulyantono said the status will encourage regions supplying chicks to West Kalimantan to gain the AI free status. So far chicks in West Kalimantan are still imported from Jakarta and West Java.
“Investment in the poultry industry in West Kalimantan is also predicted to increase,” said Bambang.
Manaf said that investors are not only interested in investing in the poultry industry, but some are also interested in building sausage factories for export purposes.
“If the poultry industry in West Kalimantan improves, demand for corn, cassava, coconut oil, and palm oil, which are main ingredients for chicken feed, will increase. These are business opportunities which could develop from the AI free status,” he said. (WHY)
Source : Kompas