More than GH¢1 million has been paid by the government to 25 poultry farmers as compensation, following the destruction of 76,326 of birds that were affected by the avian influenza last year.
The affected birds were culled to control the spread of the disease.
The government paid GH¢1,067,355, representing 90 per cent of the total current market value of GH¢1,185,928, for the birds that were destroyed by the staff of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
The Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Hanna Bisiw, made this known at a multi-sectorial stakeholders workshop to train people on how to contain any future outbreak of avian influenza and other emergency diseases.
The training was done with technical support from the United States Department of Agriculture and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS).
Dr Bisiw said Parliament’s approval of GH¢11 million for emergencies and other contingencies, including sending experts abroad for enhanced training, had positioned Ghana to fight any such diseases in the future.
She added that the government recognised the critical contribution of the poultry industry as a catalyst for economic transformation.
The Area Director, West and Central Africa, USDA-APHIS, Dr Cynthia Duerr, commended Ghana for taking steps to prevent a recurrence of the disease.
She stated that it was important to collaborate with other sub-regional countries, especially Nigeria and Burkina Faso, to prevent infected birds from entering the country.
