JOHANNESBURG - MEC of Economic Development, Environment,
Agriculture and Rural Development Lebogang Maile, on Tuesday would be
visiting the Rooikraal Arendnes Farm in Boksburg,
Gauteng.
The farm has been affected
by bird flu (Avian Influenza) and has resulted in the closure of operations.
The MEC’s visit would be to solicit a deeper understanding of the impact of the
disease outbreak. the MEC would engage with senior management of the farm,
amidst the looming job losses, as a result of the closure of the farm.
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The farm produces table eggs
and they supply the big retailers with eggs. Since the outbreak of the bird flu
(Avian Influenza), the farm had close to 400,000 layer hens which produced around 400,000
eggs per day.
Already the confectionary
market was negatively affected by the short supply of eggs to the market. What
was more worrying was that poor communities depend on eggs as an affordable
source of protein. The shortage due to the outbreak could inevitably fuel an
increase in the price of eggs.