UNAIR NEWS – The COVID-19 pandemic has changed a lot of things in various fields, including animal husbandry both on a small and wide scale ruminant breeders, poultry in Indonesia. Therefore, the Department of Animal Husbandry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) held an online discussion last weekend with the topic “Economic Awakening of Poultry Farming Amid COVID-19 Pandemic”.
In the world of veterinary medicine and the poultry farming industry, the coronavirus is not a strange thing anymore. The gamma group Coronavirus often becomes an obstacle for breeders because it can cause infection in the respiratory tract (Infesius brochitis) of poultry. Several other diseases also often cause respiratory infections, including Avian influenza, which caused an outbreak in Indonesia in recent years.
Some of the effects of COVID-19 pandemic in the poultry farming sector include reduced demand, reduced poultry production (both broilers and laying poultry), panic harvesting and market uncertainty.
Prof. Mirni Lamid, drh., MP., Professor of Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FKH) UNAIR in the beginning of the discussion said that many industries or businesses have been affected by COVID-19, but there are also several businesses that have grown well, for example, the business of delivery and logistics, communication technology, food and medicine.
“We all know that the effects of this pandemic have changed people’s behavior. In terms of marketing methods, app services are increasingly preferred and it is possible for poultry industry to develop, “said Prof. Mirni.
Dean of Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences also explained that breeders, especially in the poultry sector, need to take steps or strategies so the industry can survive through innovation, synergy between suppliers and buyers, and always carry out evaluations in each period.
“Continuous monitoring the activity with reports and data is one of the weak points of poultry farmers in Indonesia,” she said.
Furthermore, she added, breeders must also be able to be open with the existing conditions and change the way of thinking that business does not always get big profits but sustainability is necessary.
In the end, Prof. Mirni advised that a healthy business is a business that always grows; a business that stops growing is a dying business.
“A healthy business is a business that has good immunity and adaptability that will survive even when facing extreme threats,” she concluded.
Author: Muhammad Suryadiningrat
Editor: Nuri Hermawan
