The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) has raised the alarm on the dire situation of the industry and called upon the government to save the agricultural sub-sector from total collapse following an increase in the price of feed occasioned by a scarcity of ingredients.
Ezekiel Ibrahim Mam, the national president of PAN, made the call at a press conference in Lagos, lamenting that the cost of feed in the poultry industry had risen by over 75 percent between March and November 2020.
Given a recent double-digit percentage increase in the price of maize and soybeans, many worry that the cost of eggs and poultry meat will similarly spike and eventually lead to a lack of availability in poultry proteins.
Mam expressed concern over the scarcity of maize and soybeans, which form a large percentage of poultry feed, noting the possibility that such scarcity could diminish the poultry industry to pre-2005 development levels.
He called on the government to allow the importation of soybeans and maize into the country in order to mitigate the impending collapse of the industry, adding that if urgent actions were not taken immediately by the government, the sub-sector might be forced to shut down completely by January 2021.
Conveying his thoughts on the situation, Stephen Olufemi, a former executive of PAN in Lagos State, explained that when there is insufficient money in circulation, which he viewed as likely to happen, farmers have no choice but to sell at a loss. Such conditions, he warned, would result in about 50 percent of present poultry farmers being unable to continue doing business next year.
