The financial woes rocking the poultry industry in Nigeria is worsening, threatening the over N2 trillion investments and 10 million jobs.
The South-west wing of the Poultry Association Nigeria (PAN), which on Tuesday declared this, alerted of the imminent collapse of the industry, particularly in the region of the country.
Raising the alarm at a press conference held at the Oyo state NUJ Press Centre Ibadan through its General Secretary, Dr Olalekan Odunsi, the association hinted that over N2 trillion investment as well as 10 million jobs were presently being threatened.
According to the association, to avert the looming disaster in the industry, the federal government should without wasting time “approve urgent importation of Animal Feed Grade of Maize to Sustain the over 50 million layers, 100million broilers, 1million breeders, and other classes of poultry until the next harvest season.”
The association maintained that in the interim, government should enforce a ban on export of soya, both seed and processed meal, as well as ensuring strong collaboration between Maize Farmers Association of Nigeria, Soya Farmers Association of Nigeria and PAN to determine the body’s actual yearly need and assessing the later yield vis a’ vis her need for proper planning.
“The poultry industry in the South West geopolitical zone is over six decades growing consistently and steadily to a population of 30 million, a number representing more than 60% of the national poultry population.
In investment, this sector is worth over N2 trillion, in job creation, it employs over 10 million people directly and indirectly, using its wide value chain from farm to field.
“It is worthy of note that this sector is almost 100% private-driven.
However, if urgent attention is not given to the lingering crisis of grains, especially maize and soya, we fear that an industry with such enviable statistics may suffer a total collapse,” he said.
Dr Odunsi stressed that “about July, 2020, the price of maize due to inadequate supply against the huge demand by poultry sector and other users, rose from a price of 105,000 – 165,000.”
He added; “in the midst of this hike in price the Central Bank of Nigeria announced a ban on forex for the importation of maize which further drove the price to as high as 185,000/tonne.”
Emphasizing that the principal among the reasons for the ban was to encourage local production, the association said “Currently, the jobs of maize and soya beans growers are not in any way threatened because they cannot even meet the huge local demand for the products.”
The association however tasked the governors in the South-west to put as much efforts to the cultivation of maize as they have done with rice, saying, ” as at today, maize is 210,000/MT in most states of the South West, Soya Meal 240000/MT. Due to the fact that these two items form about 75-78 % of an average poultry ration, the price of poultry feed has continuously been on the increase from about 2750 -3000 in April 2020 to 4850-5300 today.”
