15 Journalists joined media fellowship batch 2

Bandar Lampung. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), together with Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan), National Layer Chicken Farmers’ Association/PPN – Lampung  and 16 national media (print, online, and television) are conducting a 3-day USAID-FAO Media Fellowship II from 19-22 June 2019 to boost awareness on zoonotic, EIDs, and AMR threats.

This activity is the agenda of USAID-FAO's Emerging Pandemic Threat phase 2 (EPT-2) program with the Ministry of Agriculture to educate the public about the dangers of zoonoses, EIDs and AMR outbreaks through the print, online and television media.

"Indonesia is one of the zoonotic and EIDs hotspots in Asia, especially after the outbreak of Avian Influenza (AI) in 2003, we must make the prevention efforts through the dissemination of the right information that are massive, accurate, and educative to the public," said I Ketut Diarmita, Director General of Animal Health of the Ministry of Agriculture on the sidelines of today's program.

"Media is one of the effective means to educate the public about the dangers of zoonosis, EIDs, and AMR."

PPN Lampung has made some notable achievements in the implementation of 3-zone biosecurity in most layer farms to prevent the spread of the AI virus while increasing egg production by an average of 10 percent per month.

"Lampung layer farmers have a high awareness to prevent the spread of viruses or diseases originating from poultry by implementing 3-zone biosecurity measures strictly on farms," explained Jenni Soelistiani, Chair of Lampung PPN when giving information to national media.

"In addition, some of Lampung's leading layer farms have also received NKV certificates (Veterinary Control Number) - issued by the Lampung Province Plantation and Animal Husbandry Office which confirms that the egg production process meets hygienic and sanitary standards, high quality, free of antibiotic residues and ready to export," Jenni added.

With support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), FAO ECTAD EPT-2 and the layer farmers have proven that biosecurity interventions have proven effective and inexpensive in preventing the threat of AI virus at the layer farms. In addition, the latest result of the FAO study found that the application of 3-zone biosecurity at layer farms would significantly reduce the use of antibiotics by 40% and disinfectants by 30%.

"3-zone biosecurity must become a standard practice in the layer farms in producing maximum production and free of zoonotic diseases, especially AI viruses," said Luuk Schoonman, FAO EPT-2 Chief Technical Adviser.

William Slater, Indonesia’s USAID Director of Health strengthens Luuk's statement: "We must promote prevention efforts so that diseases such as AI will be significantly reduced to support food safety programs to achieve food security in Indonesia."

USAID-FAO Media Fellowship II highlights a theme "New Challenges in Handling Zoonoses, EIDs, and AMR in Indonesia." This 3-day activity involved a senior journalistic mentor from the Antara Jakarta News Office, where 16 print, online and television media participate actively. Of the 16 participants, 8 finalists will receive the funding for fellowship media coaching to write in-depth reporting and the best 3 of each respective media category with cash prizes from the organizing committee.

About 3-Zone Biosecurity

The 3-zone biosecurity model divides a farm into three separate areas according to the associated biosecurity risk; from high disease risk external areas (red zone), to medium risk service areas (yellow zone), to the clean and highly secure access-restricted green zone where the chicken flock is located.

Access from the red zone to the yellow zone requires showering and a complete change of clothing and footwear, while further inward access to the green zone requires a second change of footwear to maintain biosecurity standards.

About AMR

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a natural phenomenon in which microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites adapt to antimicrobial agents and cause medications to be ineffective to cure disease. AMR is often the consequence of over-using antimicrobial drugs, exacerbated by inappropriate use.

In order to ensure food safety and minimize the harmful effects of AMR in humans, well designed farm interventions (one of which is 3-zone biosecurity) to reduce antimicrobial usage in the egg production industry are necessary.