Are smallholders willing to pay for animal disease control? Empirical evidence from a study of mass vaccination for Avian Influenza in Indonesia

A household survey to elicit information about decision-making on adoption of HPAI control strategies was implemented as a complement to the cost-effectiveness analysis of the mass vaccination activities that were evaluated as part of the operational research to identify more effective HPAI control strategies for poultry in Indonesia. The empirical estimates of adoption and willingness to pay for vaccination can provide guidance in designing appropriate mechanisms to enhance the acceptability and uptake of a massvaccination program for the backyard poultry sector. Specifically, our results suggest that the cost of the mass vaccination was much higher than what its target beneficiaries – the backyard poultry sector – are willing to pay. While there are economic incentives arising from market opportunities presented by poultry sales, particularly in native chicken markets, these appeared to be reduced by scale effects, i.e., smaller flock sizes inhibit backyard poultry raisers from adopting and willingly pay for vaccination, as compared to households that are more commercially oriented and have larger flock sizes. Also, given that household adoption decisions are influenced to a great extent by their subjective perception of uncertainty – in this case, the risk of disease outbreak from AI virus infection – more exposure by households to appropriate information that will reduce their subjective uncertainty would go a long way towards eliciting appropriate behavior

Cost effective biosecurity for NICPS operations in Indonesia

The project addressed issues of importance to the Indonesian poultry industry following the entry of HPAI into the country in 2003. Significant work was being undertaken with regard to village chicken systems but disease movement and poultry mortality issues within the non-industrial commercial poultry sector (NICPS) were not being examined. It was clear that the structure of the value chain was not encouraging farmers to improve their biosecurity with resultant continuation of human and chicken mortalities throughout Indonesia. The aim of the project was to use a value chain approach to reduce the risk of disease in NICPS farms through providing economic incentives for smallholders to invest in biosecurity. The project was managed by UNE in partnership with DGL & AHS, FMPI and IPB. Success required value chain development and ownership of project activities by both government (national, provincial and kabupaten) and the poultry industry. This project was the first to have an industry association (FMPI) as a formal project partner. Through the provincial industry partners, the project developed value chain stakeholder training and management programs which resulted in a total of 613 stakeholders including 317 smallholders being trained to better understand disease movement and how to reduce disease risk in and around the farm. These smallholders then had the opportunity to be part of a farm approval process which would allow them to participate in a trial which developed and implemented a 'clean market chain' and rewarded smallholders, through the receival of a premium price, for their investment in biosecurity