The Impact of Avian Influenza Outbreaks on the Poultry Industry in the Bono East Region of Ghana

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine the effect of the outbreaks of Avian Influenza on the current status of the poultry industry in the Bono East region of Ghana. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods using primary data gathered from the use of a questionnaire, from 37 poultry farmers in six districts of the Bono East region namely; Atebubu-Amantin (4), Kintampo North (4), Nkoranza North (1), Techiman South (24), Techiman North (3) and Sene East (1). To establish some sort of priority among the impacts of the outbreak on the poultry industry in the study area, the impacts were ranked in order of importance, using an Excel spreadsheet. The results revealed that the majority of the farmers (73%) have birds less than 10,000, thus into small-scale production whilst 21.6 % and 5.4 % are into medium and large scales respectively. Also, 60% of the farmers are very well conversant with the Avian Influenza disease, whilst 40% have little knowledge of the disease. The result further reveals that 11.1 % of farmers recorded outbreaks of the disease between July 2021 and May 2022, whilst 12.5 % of the respondents had their birds destroyed as a result of the outbreak. The study concludes that, the current outbreak of Avian Influenza had a negative impact on the poultry industry in the study area. By way of recommendation, we suggest a continuous education of farmers on the recognition of the disease, and an active surveillance by officials of the Veterinary Services Directorate.