The rapidly spreading menace of counterfeit, sub-standard and unregistered vaccines is rising risks to poultry industry and could lead to incurable diseases across the country.
Poultry farmers told Business Recorder on Monday that the Sindh government in particular failed to rein in the manufacturers and paddlers of illegal drugs. "We are seeking the Sindh government's help in controlling bird diseases being made incurable through substandard medicines spreading widely in the country," they maintained.
However, they expressed disappointment over the inaction from the Sindh government, saying that farmers are compelled to import such medicines, which also increases cost of production manifold.
Criticising the government, they said that it has issued notices to farmers to demolish the farm-walls, which have been erected to protect the human from chick diseases on bio-security reasons. "If these walls are pulled down, the spread of poultry diseases are more likely to affect the people living nearby the farms," they elaborated.
About the leases issue, which the poultry industry is facing in Sindh, they demanded of the government to extend the lease of farming land for at least 30 years and maximum 90 years so that farmers could continue poultry production.
The government's agreement of 1973 with the farmers clearly says that lease could be extended for a period of another 30 years, they said, adding that farmers cannot overnight shift businesses of millions of rupees to any other place in the area.
At a time these poultry farms have been established in Taiser Town and other areas of the city there was no human population which has phenomenally grown for the last 20 years, they said. "Honestly, it is not the farmers fault that human life is at risk of bird disease in the area, as farmers are forced to quit these areas," they said.
Expressing fears, they said that in next few years there may not be huge scale poultry farming in the province if the government did not change its non-serious attitude towards this sector.
Government policies have brought the industry's scale of production to 20 percent from 80 percent, they criticised and said that it should have stopped the people from inhabiting in these areas instead now forcing farmers to shift. "For bio-security reasons human population should be in a distance of at least five to six kilometers form farming areas," they elaborated.
They maintained that land lease of several farmers are going to lapse in next five years and if the government did not extend the lease period, huge investments made during the last 20 years will go waste and farmers will loss millions of rupees.
The city government's lease by-laws are difficult for farmers to follow, they said, adding that they have been evolved without taking the stakeholders in confidence. "They are not viable to farmers to establish business following them," they added.