The stakeholders who spoke to Businessday attributed the low patronage of poultry products in the state to the closure of neighbouring state borders such as Delta and Lagos.
They opined that the post-COVID-19 recovery period will not be the same as the pre- COVID-19 era for the industry in the state.
Agharese Osifo, a poultry farmer and consultant agricultural finance said the coronavirus pandemic has dealt a devastating blow to Nigeria’s poultry industry while noting that farmers now find it difficult to get feeds for their birds owing to the obstruction in the supply chain.
“The decrease in demand is due to the lockdown in the three locations for feed production: Abuja, Lagos & Ogun State. Small scale poultry farmers are badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; they also have cash flow problems as the increased price of feeds and other inputs have made the business unprofitable to them,” he said.
“The lockdown has affected businesses; hotels and restaurants that are now operating skeletal services in compliance with the social distance instructions to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” he added.
He said that prices of key inputs such as feeds and vaccines have increased.
“As of April 21, the 25kg bag of Layers Marsh sells for N3,600 against N3, 200 prior to COVID-19 outbreak while broiler finisher marsh is N4,200 up from N3, 750 pre – COVID-19,” he further said.
“We will then have an oligopoly rather than the perfect market with numerous atomistic farmers,” Osifo added.
He urged the Federal Government to release maize, guinea corn and groundnut from its silos strategic grains reserve to the poultry industry in the country.
He further pleaded with the government to grant Value Added Tax (VAT) exemption for the poultry industry as well as exempt poultry feed manufacturing companies truck like the petroleum products from the lockdown orders.
On his part, Kingsley Imasuen, chairman, Edo State Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) noted that the stay-at-home directive by the government has affected many industries, of which agricultural products like eggs and chicken aren’t exempted.
Also speaking, Ogbes Gabriel, manager of Elect Agric appealed to government at all levels and philanthropists to include eggs as part of the palliatives they are currently distributing to vulnerable and indigent persons in the country.
IDRIS UMAR MOMOH & CHURCHILL OKORO, Benin
