Based on this, PAN stated that the poultry subsector in
Nigeria was heading for a crash if the government failed to salvage the
industry.
In a statement on Monday, the association said, “At the
moment, the poultry industry in Nigeria is on the verge of total collapse if
urgent intervention is not channelled to it without further delay.
“We are aware that the government has declared a state of
emergency on the food security situation of the country, but the situation of
the poultry industry calls for an urgent intervention to save the industry from
total collapse.”
The statement, which was jointly signed by PAN’s National
President, Sunday Ezeobiora, and Director-General, Onallo Akpa, stated that
there had been an upward surge in the cost of maize, forcing farmers to shut
down their operations.
It said, “The high surge in the price of maize and the near
absence or scarcity of the product is causing farmers to close down their
poultry farms at the moment because it is no longer sustainable to feed the
birds and be in business.
“This is threatening the further development of the Nigerian
poultry industry.”
Findings also revealed that the price of eggs, a daily
protein source for many Nigerians, had soared by over 118.34 per cent after
maize importation fell by 97.91 per cent.
According to data obtained from the National Bureau of
Statistics, the price of one agric egg medium size rose to N89.17 as of May
2023 from N40.84 as of May 2020. This was as the importation of maize, a major
component of poultry feeds, fell to $1.82m as of the end of 2022 from $87.08m
as of the end of 2020 according to data from the International Trade Center.
According to farmers who spoke with The PUNCH, maize is a
major component (60 per cent to 70 per cent) of poultry feed, and the increase
in the cause of maize because of an import ban had translated to a rise in the
price of eggs for the average Nigerian.
In 2020, the Federal Government banned the importation of
maize into the country as the CBN added maize to the list of items restricted
from accessing foreign exchange.
While Nigeria had banned the importation of maize, its local
production has also suffered due to sustained banditry in the north.
A circular signed by the Director, Trade and Exchange
Department, CBN, OS Nnaji, in 2020 stated, “As part of efforts by the Central
Bank of Nigeria to increase local production, stimulate a rapid economic
recovery, safeguard rural livelihoods and increase jobs which were lost as a
result of the ongoing COVlD-19 pandemic, authorised dealers are hereby directed
to discontinue the processing of Forms M for the importation of maize/corn with
immediate effect.”
The FG later gave concessions to four companies (Premier
Feeds, Mills Wacot, Chi Farms, and Crown Flour) to import 262,000 tonnes of maize
because of the importance of maize to the poultry industry. Nigeria has 400,000
metric tonnes of maize production shortfall.
According to a farmer, Dr Azeez Gbadamosi, the continued
increase in the price of eggs was directly related to the increase in feeds. He
told The PUNCH, “The increase in the price of eggs is due to the cost of feeds.
Almost every week, the cost of feeds rises.
“Also, there is the cost of medication, transportation, and
others too. The cost of feeds is majorly increasing because of the cost of
maize; you know maize makes up more than 50 per cent of the feed. The cost of
maize is on the rise because local production has really been hindered.”
Another farmer, who is also a veterinary doctor, Akintade
Akintayo, said that the price of feeds was the major reason why egg prices were
rising. He lamented that in the last two weeks, the price of New Hope feeds, a
poultry feed, had increased thrice.
The farmer, who
operates Atade Farms, said, “Maize is
like 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the whole feeds. The increase in the price
of maize is one of the major factors. Maize is expensive because a few years
ago, the importation of maize was limited. And the bulk of the maize we use for
many of our general activities, including human consumption, is imported.”