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LAGOS – This is definitely not a good time for most farmers in the country, especially those in the poultry industry as they express worries that if nothing cogent is done to salvage the sector it may be difficult to salvage it.
For some years now, farmers have lamented the various challenges the industry faced and there seems to be no meaningful response from the government, they said.
The farmers identified some of the challenges which, according to them, are too numerous ranging from high cost of grains and feed cost to poor product pricing due to its perishable nature.
They explained that it is only the government that can assist the sector and bring it out of the woods which it is currently in.
They thereby called on the government at all levels to urgently beam their searchlight on the sector.
The farmers said that the government should formulate policies that would encourage local consumption and discourage importation of poultry products as it is having a very negative impact on the sector.
Ezekiel Ibrahim, National President, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), said there had been challenges since the advent of COVID-19 pandemic which restricted the movement of both humans and goods.
He said though the association appreciated the various interventions by both the presidency, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), he advised that government should allow importation of maize and soybeans because the association anticipated global food shortages.
Ibrahim noted that while the CBN anchor borrower’s programme is a good policy, it has not reached out to majority of the real farmers.
“The medium and the small scale poultry farmers and even some of the big players have not benefited from the CBN financial interventions and soft loans,” he said.
He also said the collapse of the value of the national currency and the unavailability of the dollars at official rates made it near impossible for input suppliers, feed millers and hatcheries to import materials to keep their business afloat.
He noted that the purchasing power of citizens have been eroded that they can’t afford the cost of poultry products and that currently there is a resurgence of the smuggling of all poultry products, diseased commercial and parents stock (PS) eggs which will earlier than expected bring the poultry industry to total collapse.
Ibrahim, however, advised that the CBN should fulfill its promises of financial palliatives and or soft loans at low interest rate to the poultry association.
He said that agriculture loans or any assistance should go directly to farmers engaged in production and that the CBN should make available forex at official rates to the input suppliers, hatcheries and feed millers in order to reduce their costs of production.
He added that the government should do all within its powers to stop the smuggling and the importation of adulterated poultry products, commercial and parent stock eggs.
“If the government allows the poultry industry to collapse, the result would not be palatable to everyone and history would judge it,” he said.
Sulaiman Taofeek, Chairman, Ikorodu chapter of PAN, Lagos State, said it is only the government that can help the sector.
Taofeek said that the government should formulate policies that would encourage consumption of local products and discourage proxy importation through the neighbouring countries.
He added that the government should encourage and fund research on high yield crops and tackle insecurity and provide a safe farming environment.
He also stated that the government should provide long-term interest-free financing for farmers, off-take farm products and regulate pricing policy.
Idowu Asenuga, Chairman, PAN, Ogun State chapter, stated that the poultry industry is in dire need of strong and vibrant leadership that could make strong advocacy for the industry before its imminent collapse.
“Unfortunately, the value chain of poultry is so extensive that the growth recorded in the past few years which has helped the profitability of the grain sector will be lost if nothing is done urgently,” he stated.
Asenuga noted that the federal and sub-national governments must quickly sit with the leadership of the association at both levels to salvage what is left because the rate at which farms are closing or scaling down might lead to high prices of the products, insufficiency and poor protein intake by Nigerians.
Prince Wale Oyekoya, an agribusiness expert, said that the poultry industry has been in trouble for over five years and the government failed to rescue the industry from collapsing.
He said there were too many challenges facing the industry ranging from shortage of feed materials especially maize to soya bean.
“Maize is a major component of the feed that supplies the birds with carbohydrates while the soya provides the protein. The prices of these major ingredients have gone beyond the reach of the average farmers and this led to the collapse of most farms.
“After production, to sell the eggs is another problem as the middle men buy at ridiculous prices, claiming egg glut. Most of the farmers in the poultry industry barely break even and some have abandoned their farms.
“Security is another major issue as some poultry farmers have been kidnapped in their various farms and ransom has been paid in millions by their families to gain their freedom,” he said.
Oyekoya stated that the sector can only be saved if the security issue can be tackled head on and herdsmen cautioned not to go near people’s farm and sanctioned if breached.
“Government needs to encourage more mechanised farms to plant maize, soya, sorghum and other livestock feeds. Encourage more real farmers with very low interest rates. Introduce commodity trading boards to control prices,” he added.
Foluso Adams, General Secretary, PAN, Lagos State chapter, said if the government can be serious and sincere to stop banditry, insurgencies and also stop grazing of farmland by cattle herders it would go a long way in reviving the sector.
He said that the government can also help by giving high yield maize to farmers to plant, while also engaging specialised agencies to do more in research in order to boost production.
He also called for a conducive environment for people to be encouraged to go back to farm and also a reduction in tariff of micro and macro items and tax holiday for agricultural items.