Tinubu Must Fight Insecurity, Change Economic Policies To Save Imminent Collapse Of Poultry Industry – Ogun PAN Chairman

…Ask FG to reduce tariff on imported chicken drugs

Segun Ayinde, Abeokuta

The Poultry industry, sector under the agriculture, has played a significant role to the Nigeria’s economic growth under President Bola Tinubu administration, contributing about 6-8% to the country’s annual Gross Domestic Products (GDP).

This is due to the the sector’s enormous production capacity within Nigeria, thus making the country the largest producer of poultry eggs and the fourth largest producer of poultry meat in Africa.

The country was able to achieve the record owing to the substantial numbers poultry farms located within the 20 Local Government Areas of Ogun State in the Southwest region of Nigeria.

But, it seems that the Tinubu led administration’s policies and insecurity perpetrated by bandits and Fulani herdsmen lurking in the Southwest region forest to carry out their nefarious activities including killing farmers and destroying of farmlands in the region.

This menace had forced governors of the Southwest to embarked on joint security operations to improve the security network by meeting with the leadership of all security agencies, including its Amotekun security outfit, to combat bandits and killer herdsmen preventing farmers from cultivating on their lands.

The Chairman of Poultry Association of Nigeria(PAN), Ogun State chapter, Alhaji Yinka Lawal, said that unless Tinubu government changed its policies the ones affecting the Agricultural sector and fight insecurity, the cost of foods from the poultry industry would continue to rise.

Lawal, who spoke exclusively with Business Times, attributed the increase in the price of poultry eggs and meat to the country’s exchange rate and persistent inflation occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy, one of Tinubu’s policies he said was affecting the industry negatively particularly the rising cost of drugs and feeds.

He lamented that most of the drugs and feeds including Maize and Soya used to take care of the chickens were imported while some of the feeds were transported from the North down to the Southwest, which makes the farmers to consider the increasing prices of eggs and chickens from time to time

The Chairman also expressed regret that about 50% of poultry farms operating in the state have closed down due to the rising cost of feeds and drugs used for the health care of the chickens stressing that the distributors of the drugs are in constant pain due to the high tariff they have to pay for importation.

He urged the federal government to find solutions to the menace so as not to kill the poultry sector, lamenting that some politicians whom he described as ‘audio farmers’ were fond of collecting grants and incentives from both federal and state government on behalf of the farmers for their personal use.

Lawal called on Governor Dapo Abiodun led government to roll out tractors, fertilisers harvesters, irrigation kits, as well as lands as largest producer of poultry eggs and meat in Nigeria, to farmers inorder save the industry from imminent collapse.

Lawal urged the state government to partner with PAN to engage farmers specialized in growing maize and Soya feeds to increase poultry products in the state to boost the state’s revenue, expressing regret that about 200 trucks of maize were used monthly by farmers to feed chickens on their farm.

He said ” the major challenges are the issue of the escalating prices of inputs, like the DOC, our grains, feeds, drugs, the cost of buying those things has gone high due to inflation and the policies of the federal government.”

“For instance, the majority of the drugs that we use on the the farm are imported and the distributors of these imported drugs are being taxed to the roof, the tariff of the federal government on the distributors of these imported drugs is spilling.”

“This makes the cost of these inputs high and such is passed down to the farmers and the farmers cannot easily passed that down to the consumers because their disposable income is nothing to write home about”

“You talked of maize, soya, finished feeds even the cost of getting a day old chick, how much are we buying it before N150 to N200 now the minimum you can get is N1200 for a day old chick.”

“The disposable income is nothing to write about. As I speak to you now more than 50% of poultry farms in Ogun State have closed down because they couldn’t afford those inputs and when they produce and people are not buying what do you do.”

“We have talked to the federal and the state government not to deal with audio farmers, let them deal with real farmers, thanked God they are trying their best on insecurity where people can go back to the farms and grow crops like Maize, Soya.”

“Let them invest on mechanized farming like tractors, fertilisers, harvesters, irrigation kits, to mention few and with such investments the cost of inputs will come down.”

“But, sadly the government is dealing with audio and political farmers that don’t even have farms. When they bring things from the federal government these politicians are the ones that cornered everything with their various offices and resell to the farmers.”

“In Ogun State, We learnt that the government have brought tractors, let them engage PAN. We are ready to partner with them using those tractors to bring down the cost of production in maize and Soya.”

“We will engage the farmers, but those are their pains, you we even have arable lands in this our Ogun State, but how many hectares can a hand seal, but a tractor can do that from here to Ibadan in one day.”

“We need a land, let them assist open up where the farmers can use tractors. The cheapest form of protein are eggs and chicken, how many people can buy eggs or chicken? So there will be less pressure on the government in terms of hospital and the likes, because people are okay when they eat good food.”

“Not only that employment opportunities that will bring to the government if you look at the value chain we at the poultry sector of the economy we employ more that what they have in the civil service.”

“Not less than 200 trailers of maize on monthly basis is being consumed by chicken in Ogun State and this maize is transported down to the Southwest from the North and imagine the cost of transportation in bring the large volume of maize here. We implore the government to deal with insecurity and let people go to the farm to plant, not use of hoe and Cutlass but mechanized farming.” he added