THE Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department started a program on December 1 to research the socioeconomic effects of bird flu control activities on poultry farmers in rural regions of Myanmar, said Dr Wah Wah Han, the head of the department’s veterinary assay laboratory.

The research, the first of its kind to be conducted in Myanmar, will also assess the impact of bird flu control on livestock breeding and agriculture farms in areas of the country that have been affected by the disease, she said.

The program is being conducted by the department in collaboration with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation and Winrock International Organisation, under the arrangement of the John D Rockefeller III Scholar Program.

Dr Wah Wah Han said the research will be conducted in a total of 10 villages in Mon State and Mandalay, Sagaing, Yangon and Bago divisions.

The researchers will spend seven days in each village gathering data and holding workshops, educational talks and other educational activities on bird flu, livestock breeding and agriculture.

The research team will comprise 10 researchers divided into two groups – consisting of four researchers each – to study upper and lower Myanmar, Dr Wah Wah Han said.

The team is scheduled to complete its research in November 2008 and will submit its findings the following month.