Bird flu drives men to suicide

Mumbai - Seven Indian poultry farmers have committed suicide after their businesses were destroyed by tumbling prices due to the bird flu scare, reports a farmer's organisation on Tuesday.

The National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC), which represented 25 000 farmers in India, said seven people had killed themselves after the drop in prices since the first outbreak of H5N1 in western India in February.

The group said that chicken prices had fallen from 30 rupees ($0.67) a kilo to a low-point of two rupees. Rates had risen slightly since then, but still were well below normal at 6.5 rupees.

Poultry farming future 'not known'

It said: "Small farmers are wiped out due to the unprecedented fall in the farm gate price of chicken and eggs and large farmers - unsure of the industry's future do no know whether to continue in poultry farming or not."

The group said that the crisis had cost the industry 80 billion rupees ($1.8bn) in just one month and a half. None of the farmers, from five different states, had chickens infected with bird flu.

The western state of Maharashtra, which included India's economic hub, Mumbai, was a key poultry-producing area. No human cases had yet been reported.

Farmers 'not being listened to'

The state government announced last week plans to provide 20 rupees per bird outside of bird flu affected areas because of the falling prices.

It said that it would also ask hospitals, hotels and prisons to put eggs on their menus to help the farmers.

OP Singh, chief executive of Venkateshwara Hatcheries, one of Asia's largest poultry groups, said: "Poultry farmers are not being listened to. They have financial burdens and pressure from the banks."

According to reports, the suicides came against a backdrop of general farming suicides in India with nearly 9 000 people in four states killing themselves for the last five years owing to rising costs, debt and repeated crop failures.

- AFP