BIOSAFETY RISK STATUS OF BACKYARD POULTRY FARMS IN SOME RURAL AREAS OF NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA

Abstract

Using a sample of 50 backyard poultry farmers selected using a snow ball sampling technique; the study determined the awareness, adoption levels of biosafety practices and biosafety risk status of backyard poultry farms in a rural area of north central Nigeria. Simple descriptive statistics and the traffic light model were used
for data analysis. The level of awareness of biosafety practices was very high and up to 100% in some cases for
some biosafety measures such as daily inspection of flocks, vaccination of birds, provision of clean water and
provision of good ventilation in the poultry house. The awareness level was however very low for biosafety
measures such as provision of foot-dip with disinfectant, use of protective clothing and hand gloves. On the
other hand, the adoption levels was above 80% for most biosafety practices but as low as 2% for biosafety
measures such as isolation of sick birds, checking symptoms of diseases before purchasing birds, use of hands
gloves, use of dry litter material, restraining of visitors into the farm and provision of foot-dip with disinfectant.
In terms of biosafety risk status, half of the farms (50.0 %) have a high biosafety risk status while 42.0 % have a
medium biosafety risk status. The remaining 8% have a low biosafety risk status. From the fore going, there is
an indication that backyard poultry farms may not be able to sufficiently safeguard against or reduce an
outbreak of poultry diseases. Sensitization and more awareness on the need for the adoption of all biosafety
measures need to be intensified by extension workers and veterinary officers.