DA demands assistance for farmers hit by avian flu

26 October 2023

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is urging Premier Panyaza Lesufi and the MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mbali Hlophe, to assist poultry farmers affected by the avian flu.

Thousands of jobs in the poultry sector are in jeopardy because of the deadly avian flu that has struck the industry. During a recent engagement with various stakeholders in the industry, we discovered that all the broiler breeder chickens have been culled, and the hen houses are currently standing empty.

One poultry farm has lost over 500 000 broiler breeders. This means that farmers now need to import eggs from Brazil. One consignment contains 224 640 eggs, which equates to 16 tons of eggs. Farmers need to import several consignments to fill up the incubators on their farms. Each consignment needs one permit.

Procuring the consignment of eggs is time-consuming and costs R590 per consignment. It is high time that the government should allow a master permit, which allows for 12 consignments using one permit.

In addition, there is a shortage of staff to process the permits for importation, placing a huge constraint on food security in the province. Currently, no permits have been approved for November, with the offices closing in December. This will affect the availability of chickens or eggs during the festive season and the beginning of 2024, as it takes several weeks for the eggs to be imported.

The DA proposes that the government should allow the use of the master permit, employ more staff to deal with the current backlog of approving permits, and reduce the price of the permit. We reiterate our call for the government to urgently approve the Section 21 applications to allow the use of the H7 vaccine to save the poultry industry and safeguard food security in Gauteng.

Issued by Bronwynn Engelbrecht, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development, 26 October 2023