Bird flu: Victims to meet minister over $5m World Bank assistance

Speaking to newsmen in Kano on the latest development on the non-payment of compensation to affected farmers, Kano State chairman of the Poultry Farmers Association, Dr. Muhammad Auwal Haruna, stated that the association has waited for the federal government’s assistance which, he lamented, was not forthcoming.He said the association has reliably gathered that the $5 […]

Speaking to newsmen in Kano on the latest development on the non-payment of compensation to affected farmers, Kano State chairman of the Poultry Farmers Association, Dr. Muhammad Auwal Haruna, stated that the association has waited for the federal government’s assistance which, he lamented, was not forthcoming.
He said the association has reliably gathered that the $5 million has since been converted into Nigerian currency and that the minister has been delaying disbursement to farmers.
“It is on this note that, the association has resolved to meet the minister on the issue. Our members are presently facing harsh situations and some have already closed down their farm houses because they can no longer produce,” Dr. Haruna said.
It could be recalled that the association in Kano State had claimed that out of over 170 farms affected, only 21 received payment from the government’s first disbursement of N100 million.
Similarly, Kano State has the highest number of affected farms and also the highest number of depopulated poultry chickens where 299.883 birds out of 417,041 depopulated nationwide as a result of the outbreak of the avian influenza were from Kano.