March 7, 2006

Nigeria begins bird flu compensation to farmers

On Monday, Nigeria's government started to pay compensation to farmers whose poultry have been killed because of bird flu.

Some 23 million naira (US$180,000) was paid to 47 farmers in the northern state of Kano, home to half of Nigeria's 450,000 birds to have died or been culled.

The farmers had demanded more than the 250 naira for each chicken, saying this was just half the market price.

But the BBC says that none of the farmers have refused to take up the government's offer.

Some, however, are unhappy that the payments only cover those birds which were killed by the authorities, not those who died from disease.

Nevertheless, the authorities hope the payments will encourage other farmers to alert the authorities if their poultry starts dying, instead of trying to hide it.

Some public health officials have urged Nigerians to carry on eating chickens and eggs, as long as they are well-cooked.

They fear that a consumer boycott of poultry products could worsen the economic impacts of the bird flu.