Poultry farmers seek intervention to save sector

The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos chapter, said the country could likely experience a 10 per cent job loss if there were no interventions in the issues facing the sector. 

PAN’s Lagos chapter chair, Mr Godwin Egbebe, spoke to the Nigeria News Agency (NAN) in Lagos on Thursday.

“If the rising price of poultry feed and a host of other challenges in the sector continue, 10% of Nigerians could lose their jobs as poultry farmers continue to shut down across the country.

“The situation on the ground is that the poultry industry is actually at risk due to rising poultry feed prices.

“The situation has caused many poultry farmers to close shop due to the problems in the sector.

“On so many of our platforms, you see farmers advertising to sell their cages because they want to shut down their businesses.

“The government has to take the problems of the poultry sector very seriously, it is as if it does not take us seriously as it takes the problems of the beef sector,” he said.

“The kind of jobs that the poultry sector gives in Nigeria, the beef sector cannot provide, but the government does not take the poultry sector seriously.

“We want the government to do everything it can to intervene in the sector so that these poultry farms are not grounded.

“This is because if they do, about 10% of the population will lose their jobs.

“The Nigerian poultry sector accounts for 10 per cent of the jobs in the country, especially the young people who work in the sector. If they are unemployed, what do we expect from them? “, did he declare.

The President said that with the increasing price of poultry feed, farmers could not continue to increase the prices of poultry products due to reduced demand.

He noted that despite rising prices, the industry is currently witnessing a glut of eggs, with farmers at a loss.

“With the increase in the price of poultry feed, we are running a risk because if the price continues to increase, we cannot continue to increase the prices of poultry products because people will not buy and then we will be lost.

“The price of poultry products cannot exceed a certain level because most people barely manage to buy.

“Even with the current high price of poultry feed, we are currently experiencing a glut of eggs although we are increasing our prices according to the cost of production.

“We also want to appeal to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) to help us in the poultry sector. We will write to them shortly about this, ”said the President. (NAN)