The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) has revealed that more than 30% of poultry farms across the country closed in the past six months, citing sector challenges.
PAN’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Godwin Egbebe, disclosed this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday.
He attributed the shutdowns to the exorbitant operational costs, which have also driven up egg prices nationwide.
“About 30% of local poultry farmers nationwide have shut down their farms due to the hardship faced in the sector in the first half of the year.
“The government needs to know the severity of the situation poultry farmers are facing in the sector.
“The disbursement of palliatives is not alleviating the ills in the sector, we seek sustainable solutions to the problems on the ground.
“The palliatives most times even end in wrong coffers and not legitimate farmers.
“Most farmers are leaving the sector because they cannot sustain the cost of operating their farms.
“Some have sold their cages and some have sold their farms,” he said.
Increasing feed cost forcing closure
In addition, Egbebe identified the rising cost of feed as a significant challenge facing the sector.
He said that the increasing cost of feed has put immense pressure on poultry farms, making it difficult for many to sustain operations.
“The price of poultry produce keeps increasing because the price of feed increases every other week.
“As at two weeks ago, we bought 25kg of feed at N14,300, just this past weekend, it is now N14,800.
“Early this year, we bought a bag for N12,000 and it sold for N9,000 last year. The increment is affecting the sector.
“Transportation is also another major bane in the sector, transportation of poultry produce increases the cost,” he said.
What you should know
Nairametrics earlier reported that there has been about a 25% increase in the price of eggs over the last months.
Farmers and traders attribute the increase to scarcity following significant closures of poultry farms in the country and also to a renewed increase in the prices of maize and soya, ingredients used in poultry feed production.
It is noteworthy that the spike in egg prices is not an isolated case but cuts across different food products.
On a month-on-month basis, the price of beans, for instance, has increased by a whopping 70% between April and May 2024 and there has been a 100% increase in the price of staple foods across the country.
