The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Western Regional Veterinary Office have held a capacity training workshop for Poultry Farmers in the region.
Dubbed “FAO Broiler Farmer Field School”, the workshop was in two phases. The first phase saw the farmers undergo training in brooding, littering, farm records and most importantly bio-security.
The facilitators for the workshop included Ambassador Kofi Dossah, Chairman of the Effia-Kwesimintsim Poultry Farmers Association, Simon Gben, Regional Veterinary Officer and Jones Allen Ampah amongst others.
At the closing ceremony of the workshop for Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipal Assembly (EKMA) Poultry farmers, Ambassador Kofi Dossah reiterated that the workshop had come to help the poultry farmers, most especially, in the use of anti-microbial (anti biotics).
He said hitherto, farmers were administering the anti-microbial drugs arbitrary with the view to checkmating diseases.
However, with the workshop, they have come to learn that the administration of the anti-microbial drug should be the last option.
According to Dossah, it came out during practical demonstration that fowls, which were not administered with the drug, were weightier and stronger than the opposite.
This knowledge, he said, would save the farmers’ cost of purchasing the anti-microbial drugs. This is because they would only buy the drugs when necessary.
Thirty poultry farmers from EKMA attended the capacity building workshop.
Present at the closing ceremony were; Nanabeyin Acquah Thompson, Regional Director (MOFA), Simon Gben, Regional Veterinary Officer, Mrs Sarah Bedu-Mensah, Joyce Bagina, Municipal Health Director, Ebo Nketsiah, Municipal MOFA Director and Francis Nsiah, Vice Chairman EKMA Poultry farmers amongst others.
The participants at the review of the phase two of the training workshop took turn to answer questions on the various subjects they have been taken through for the eight week period by the facilitators.
