Time Frame: 2006 – 2009   The On-Farm Biosecurity Initiative (OFBI) was funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and administered by the CDAQ in 2006 in response to the outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza. The program offered financial support to the poultry industry in order to accelerate the implementation of projects to reduce outbreaks and propagation of avian influenza and other zoonotic diseases threatening the industry.   Objectives Impeccable Objectives   This initiative offered the poultry industry the opportunity to improve its information-exchange mechanisms in order to quickly develop health and safety measures.  The initiative’s primary objectives were to:   Offer the poultry industry the chance to become actively engaged in the development and implementation of improved biosecurity protocols; Expand the industry’s capacity to prevent zoonotic diseases and to intervene in case of illness in commercial and non-commercial poultry flocks; Integrate the projects and trials into the context of federal, provincial and territorial initiatives, and of the industry itself.   Program Committee A committee of eggsperts   As with all programs, a management committee comprised of industry stakeholders and partners was formed to assess the project’s directions and action priorities, and to complete project evaluations.   For the OFBI, the committee members were representatives from the following organizations:

·    Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)

·    The Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ)

·    The Éleveurs de volailles du Québec (EVQ)

·    The Fédération des producteurs d'œufs de consommation du Québec (FPOCQ)

·    The Syndicat des producteurs d’œufs d’incubation du Québec (SPOIQ)

·    The Association des abattoirs avicoles du Québec (AAAQ)

·    The Association québécoise des industries de nutrition animale et céréalières (AQINAC) and the Association des couvoiriers du Québec (ACQ)

Nature of the projects and funding

Golden Eggs

The funded projects could include a variety of approaches, including risk self-assessments, training sessions, workbooks or industry fairs. OFBI funding extended to a maximum of 70% of the total project costs up to $100,000.

Results

The program provided support for 13 projects, including, among others: training activities; the development of equipment washing protocols; a crisis toolkit; biosecurity protocols fact cards; crisis simulations; and the implementation of an emergency hotline.

Through these projects, Quebec’s poultry industry was able to make the most of the resources offered by AAFC by working on crucial aspects of on-farm biosecurity. The OFBI contribution furthermore greatly improved the industry’s capacity to react in a crisis situation. The Équipe québécoise de contrôle des maladies avicoles (ÉQCMA), comprised of stakeholders in this production sector, now has a permanent framework and a three-year action plan, which will help ensure the long-term benefits of the OFBI projects, and extend those advantages across the industry as a whole.

For more information on these projects…

A summary of each project is available on this website under “Projects.” The complete list of projects by program is available through the advanced search option.

OFBI: Program Numbers

* Including requested amounts by applicants and partners.