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HO CHI MINH CITY, Feb 24 (AFP): Chicken is the fastest growing meat sector in the world but millions of farmers livelihoods are at risk as Asia seeks to tackle bird flu, a UN expert said.
Meat from pigs is still the largest animal protein source, but poultry farming is growing exponentially, Dr Samuel Jutzi, Director of Animal Production and Health at the Food and Agriculture Organisation told newsmen on the sidelines of a conference being held in Vietnam's southern business capital.
In 2000, the world produced 89 million tonnes in pig meat, 66 million tonnes of poultry and 59 million tonnes of beef, Jutzi pointed out.
But poultry's efficiency makes it the most attractive meat source.
"The conversion efficiency of poultry in terms of meat or eggs is highest of all animals," Jutzi said, adding out that two kilograms of grain fed to poultry yields one kilogram of meat whereas the ratio is six to one in pigs.
According to the FAO, Southeast Asia, where the bird flu virus has become entrenched in poultry, accounted for approximately a quarter of the world's poultry trade, with China and Thailand as the largest exporters.
The FAO noted that in Vietnam, "poultry serves as a supplier of high-quality protein to farming families, as well as providing cash income through the sale of meat and eggs.
"Most of the production comes from backyard poultry raised by about eight million smallholders," the FAO said in a special report on the avian influenza.
Protecting those smallholders from poverty would be one of the biggest challenges facing authorities as they attempt to reform the industry by centralising production at larger factories, Jutzi said.
"We advise governments to ensure small farmers participate in expanding markets," so that they do not get alienated in a globalising economy, Jutzi said.
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