- The Nigerian poultry industry has lost over N30 billion amid cash scarcity in the country.
- Association of poultry farmers have therefore raised the alarm that the sector could be on the brink of collapse
- The poultry industry contributes about 25% of Nigeria’s Agricultural Gross Domestic Product and employs over 25 million Nigerians directly and indirectly.
The Nigerian Poultry industry lost more 15 million crates of eggs valued at over N30 billion due to the adverse effects of naira scarcity challenge in the country.
This was disclosed earlier today by Mr Sunday Onallo-Akpa, the National President of the Poultry Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), in an interview in Abuja.
N30 billion loss: He stated that the industry lost 15 million crates of eggs due to the inability of traders to sell the produce amid cash scarcity.
- “The poultry farmers in the country have lost over 15 million crates of eggs being unsold and are damaged, The average loss to the poultry industry as of this press release is in excess of over N30 billion,” he said.
He added the poultry industry in Nigeria is one of the most consolidated subsectors of Nigeria’s agriculture, contributing about 25 per cent of the Agricultural Gross Domestic Product (AGDP) and employing over 25 million Nigerians directly and indirectly.
He also noted that the sector a major employer of labour and a great source of financial empowerment and livelihood for many families, especially women and youths.
On the verge of collapse: AFAN warned that the poultry industry is on the verge of total collapse and extermination because of the negative and devastating consequences of the new currency policy on the industry, adding:
- “The industry is completely private sector driven worth over N3 trillion,” he said, adding that it has been able to contribute to the local domestication of investments in the country.
- “The near absence of Naira notes for Nigerians to make daily transactions have made businesses in the poultry industry more difficult.
- “Eggs being daily produced by poultry farmers since the first week of February 2023 till date have never been off taken by 20% because of the near absence and lack of the NAIRA notes to buy basic food items and other necessary proteins like eggs and chickens,” he said.
The association also urged FG to mop up the eggs through the association for distribution to the most vulnerable old populations as part of the Social Investment Support to Nigerians ad also Encourage the Armed Forces in various peacekeeping operations, the Nigerian Prisons, the Internally Displaced Persons and primary schools (School Feeding Programme) to be immediate off-takers of the eggs
What you should know: Around 24.8 million Nigerians across 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) could face an acute nutrition and food crisis from June to August, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)’s Cadre Harmonise (CH).
The CH is an early warning tool developed to prevent and manage food and nutrition crises, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) leads the initiative in Nigeria, with support from FAO, World Food Programme (WFP), Save the Children, UNICEF, Mercy Corps, and others.
The report projects that about 17.7 million people, including 14,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), will experience a serious crisis or worse through May 2023.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s Naira Re-design policy is cited as one of the crisis’s key drivers, as it has created significant barriers for households to access cash and food commodities.
