Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Mr. Akinwumi Adesina has stated that 299.883 birds out of 417,041 killed nationwide as a result of the recent outbreak of the avian influenza are from Kano State’s affected farms. The minister made this known when he led the ministry’s delegation to Kano State Governor, Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, over the bird flu outbreak. He added that out of the total number of 104 farms affected nationwide, Kano State has 58 affected farms which constitutes about 56% of the affected poultry farms in the country. Adesina also stated that in the Federal Government’s attempt to address the situation, it has approved the payment of N140 million as compensation to farmers affected by the outbreak in the 16 affected states of the country, adding that Kano State has the highest share of the approved amount with N100 million allocated to it out of the total amount approved by the government. The minister further stated that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and agric ministries in the affected states have been working hand-in-hand to see that the spread of the virus is curtailed through taking various preventive measures. According to him, with the avian influenza outbreak on January 8, 2015, there is need for the state governments to improve on the provision of logistic and that of personal protective gadgets to speed up quarantine and other curtailing measures. Governor Kwankwaso in his address reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to the agricultural sector and assured the minister of the state’s cooperation in tackling the menace.
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