| Summary: | Protecting commercial poultry farms Cue: When avian flu first broke out in Africa, the outbreaks occurred not in backyard birds, but in commercial poultry flocks. For the owners of large poultry farms, the impact of an avian flu outbreak is devastating. Not only are all their birds slaughtered, but often the public loses confidence in poultry products and the whole poultry sector is affected. Keeping commercial poultry farms free of disease, by tight controls and good hygiene practices is therefore essential. In Malawi the government has established three avian flu rapid response teams, for the three regions of the country. It has also run training workshops for those involved in rearing poultry. Mr Jampa Banda, owner of Tiyanjane Poultry farm near Blantyre, has attended several such workshops. He told Patrick Mphaka about what he is now doing to prevent the disease affecting his farm. IN: ?In general, avian flu can be prevented ?? OUT: ??and that will be terrible.? DUR?N: 4?44? BACK ANNOUNCEMENT: Mr Jampa Banda, a commercial poultry farmer, was telling Patrick Mphaka about the measures that have been taken to protect his farm from the risk of avian flu. The interview comes from a radio resource pack produced by CTA. Transcript Banda In general, avian flu can be prevented through general cleanliness starting from the infrastructure itself, that?s the cages, as well as the personal hygiene involving all those individuals working in the poultry farm. Mphaka What changes can I see now if I am to visit and see some of the cages around, see how the chicks are doing? Banda There are several things which have been implemented. One is the change in the strategy in terms of raising the flocks. Initially we used to have a single flock mixed with the other flocks, may be younger ones, but now, we have to sell one lot before we introduce another one. That?s a major change which is obviously affecting our production, since now we are taking much longer to produce one lot of a flock. Again, we have improved the general ...
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