April 12, 2004

 

 

Indonesian Poultry Farmers Struggle Post Bird Flu
 

Indonesian poultry farmers are struggling in the aftermath of the bird flu outbreak in the country with little or no aid forthcoming from the authorities, according to a report in the Jakarta Post.

 

"I had more than 7,000 chickens in these coops only two months ago. I felt rich at that time. I even planned to add another while paying my debts by using profits from the sale of the chickens," Yudhi, a chicken farmer from West Java said.

 

However, when the bird flu virus struck, Yudhi's chickens all died, while the remaining live ones were culled.

 

"I simply lost everything. Last week, the creditor asked me to pay all his money back or he would take my coops. I had to empty out our savings and borrow money from someone else to pay this debt."

 

"I lost at least Rp 12 million because of the disease and I don't know how to support my wife, mother and my two children," Yudhi said.

 

The government has reiterated its willingness to help chicken farmers like Yudhi by encouraging banks to provide them loans with simple requirements. One of the state-controlled banks, BRI, announced recently that it had allocated 1.5 percent of its total funds, or Rp 450 billion, for the affected farmers.

 

"Bank, what bank? I did try to get loan from several nearby banks but their requirements were so complicated. They asked for collateral for the loan, which I didn't have. Until now, I've never heard about any of my fellow farmers obtaining loans from them," Yudhi said.

 

Yudhi's family is one of hundreds of thousands of chicken-farming families across the country who are struggling to get back on their feet after the bird flu began to destroy their businesses in November last year.

 

According to Indonesian Poultry Information Center chairman Hartono, there are over 250,000 small-scale farmers nationwide, most of who went bankrupt because of the disease.

 

Prior to the outbreak of the bird flu, these farmers accounted for 35 percent of the nation's total chicken production of 1.2 million tons, worth Rp 4 trillion per year. Most of them started their businesses using their own money, or from loans by relatives or usurers.

 

"Unless the government steps in to help out the farmers, many of them will not go back to their poultry businesses and will find other businesses instead," Hartono said.