The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Oyo State branch has sought the intervention of the Federal and State government to save the poultry industry from collapse.
Mr Gbemisoye Agboola, the PAN Chairman made the call on Tuesday during a news conference at the Nigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ) Press Centre in Ibadan.
Agboola led leaders of other relevant associations and stakeholders to the news conference.
Agboola lamented the dearth of maize in the country for feed production, which he said could lead to total collapse of the industry.
He appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to relax the ban on importation of maize for a period before the next planting season.
“In the light of the foregoing, Poultry Association of Nigeria, Oyo State branch is using this opportunity to call on Mr President to relax the ban on importation of maize for a period
“To use this time to release the grain reserved across the country and to release all available palliatives to cushion the effect of scarcity of maize to teeming grassroots farmers, who are suffering.
“This is to allow this essential grain to be available for feed production, while we increase local production to meet up with the demand of maize,” he said.
Agboola said that such appeared to be the only way to achieve Federal Government’s resolve to revamp agriculture sector.
“Therefore, Mr. President and our own dear governor, we appeal to you to please use your good offices to prevail on masquerading principalities, powers and authorities antagonising the importation of maize.
“Thank you, Mr. President and our governor because we know you will listen to our plights and save poultry industry from unconscionable efforts to kill the poultry industry.
“We must as a nation avert the anticipated calamity of such in Nigeria,” he said.
Dr Segun Makanjuola, a former General-Secretary of PAN, urged both governments to act urgently to save the poultry industry from collapse.
“We have about 160 million lay birds in Nigeria. If it takes us N5,000 to rear one, that is N800 billion, a close to a trillion naira.
“We have other breeds like brokers that are not taken into cognisance.
“I can vividly say that the volume of money we are losing now and what we can lose totally is far more than a trillion naira annually.
“Something has to be done so urgently, so that we can salvage this collapse.”
Makanjuola said that the collapse would not only have adverse effect on the nation in terms of farmers losing their incomes, it would also increase unemployment.
He recalled the experiences of poultry farmers during the COVID-19 lockdon which led poultry farmers burying eggs resulting to loss of billions of naira worth of chickens that were spoilt in cold rooms.
Alhaji Asimiyu Oyetunde, the Chairman, Day Old Chicks Merchants Association of Nigeria, lamented the increasing prices of the products due to the current economic situation.
“We get broilers ranging from N200 to N300 maximum and as I am talking today, as at yesterday, prices of a day-old broiler rang from N400 to N450.
“Since I have been in the industry, I have neverbought layers at the rate of N300 in my life. In the last six months now, for you to get a layer, you must have a minimum of N300,” he said.
NAN reports other stakeholders also called on both tiers of government to extend palliative to poultry farmers as a way of saving the industry from collapse.
