Poultry Farm in Blitar

Malang, East Java - The production process on farms determines the quality of the poultry products we consume daily. This process comprises several components, but one of the most essential aspects to consider are poultry farm's hygiene and sanitation, which has a significant impact on the health and safety of poultry products that will not threaten human health.

One of the many efforts that Indonesian government made to ensure that people have access to healthy and safe poultry products is conducting antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) which focuses on the interventions to improve IPC-Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (IPC-WASH) in poultry farms. Under the AMR Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF), Government of Indonesia through Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and Ministry of Health (MoH), with tripartite organisations—FAO, The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and World Health Organization (WHO)—conducts Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) control activities with One Health approach in four pilot areas: (1) Boyolali and Karanganyar regencies in Central Java province; and (2) Malang and Blitar regencies in East Java province. IPC cannot be met without adequate access to water, sanitation, and hygiene services as its foundation. As a result of strong IPC-WASH in farms, the use of antimicrobials, particularly for treatments, can be reduced in healthy poultry.

At early stage of this project, field teams from the MoA, FAO, and local government conducted pre-assessment visits to several poultry farms in the pilot areas in March 21-24, 2022. In this activity, the team evaluated the application of water management, medical and non-medical waste management, biosecurity, sanitation, hygiene practices, and vaccination programme in farms since these are the most critical measures to prevent microbials from entering the farm and infecting poultry.

As a result of surveys to 40 poultry farms by trained enumerators early this year, 20 farms were selected to receive intervention. The intervention project will assist farmers to optimize antimicrobial use in poultry as well as improve farm hygiene and sanitation practices as well as providing clean water and proper waste management, all of which are critical priorities for controlling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) risks. Government of Indonesia and the tripartite organisations have worked together to develop assessment tools which will be used to assess the progress of these interventions.

Wiwi, owner of one of the farms that have applied IPC-WASH measures told the team how he has obliged workers to wear special attire when inside the farm and establishing a laundry unit to wash workers' clothing daily ever since. He also established an incinerator for disposal management. "After a year, I saw the benefits of implementing IPC measures, such as having fewer sick poultry” he said. Moreover, enhancing IPC-WASH are some of the conditions for acquiring NKV (Nomor Kontrol Veteriner/Veterinary Control Number) farm certificates, which ensures the health and safety of livestock products. Wiwi further strived to improve his farm's biosecurity, hygiene, and sanitation standards to be eligible to obtain an NKV certificate soon.

About AMR MPTF in Indonesia

Since the launch of AMR MPTF in 2019, Government of Indonesia through MoA and MoH, with tripartite organisations—FAO, OIE, and WHO—have been working collaboratively to effectively counter and control the threat of AMR through One Health approach, while ensuring the safety of poultry products in Indonesia. There are several MPTF activities in Indonesia that support AMR control, the two of them are Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS)—a coordinated programme that promotes the appropriate use of antimicrobials—and Infection Prevention and Control (IPC).