AM: government helps waterfowl farmers with additional resources to prevent bird flu

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In view of the significant interest of the affected producers, the ministry has doubled the resource that minimizes the risk of bird flu epidemics by reducing the density of poultry farms. Thus, the previous 2 billion forints budget will increase to 4 billion forints – Minister of Agriculture István Nagy announced in the statement. In the past month, 2.038 billion forints have already reached the affected producers, but thanks to the current budget increase, the possibility has been created that those who submitted their applications will receive an additional 1.89 billion forints in November. This way, all farmers can access the compensation support – the minister emphasized.

The Minister stated that the regular appearance of the avian influenza virus causes serious losses for the entire Hungarian poultry sector.

Therefore, the most important task is to mitigate epidemiological risks, increase the safety of farms and strengthen the resilience of poultry. Since the protection is significantly complicated by the high density of duck and goose flocks, which are particularly exposed to the epidemic, the Ministry of Agriculture has launched a support program in which farmers who have undertaken to suspend their production for three years (i.e. not keep waterfowl) and not establish a new farm can receive funds. The support specifically provides compensation for farms previously affected by an outbreak of avian influenza, while also reducing the risk of the spread of the epidemic, contributing to strengthening farmers’ awareness and the long-term stability of the sector – the Ministry of Agriculture’s statement reads.

MTI