Worried by unfavourable attention given to local poultry production in the country, farmers under the auspices of Poultry Association of Nigeria, Ogun State (PANOG) have requested government to develop the entire value chain of poultry production by offering incentives that help reduce production cost in addition to the ban on imported poultry products.
The call to develop the entire value chain of poultry production, according to PANOG was borne out of sincere desire to grow the sector, starting from feeds production with nutrients-filled, quality feeds at reasonable prices which would in return increase production, reduce the prices of eggs and chickens, and serve as a natural panacea to imported poultry products.
Speaking at an interactive session aimed at “Providing Optimum Feed at Optimum Price” which was organised by PANOG recently in Ijebu-Ode, Blessing Alawode, Chairperson, explained that smuggling of imported poultry products was possible when the production capacity of poultry farmers in the country is too low and the prices are too high, not competitive.
Alawode declared that the less attention paid to poultry industry by government in which no incentives were given to the farmers, feeds millers and suppliers of feed inputs, is the major challenge that is facing poultry farmers which also affects the pricing of poultry products and less competitiveness of the products at the international market.
She stated that until cogent incentives in form high-yielding soya bean seeds and farm produce that form part of poultry feeds ingredients, unhindered access to farm implements and provision of other relevant infrastructure, the production capacity of farmers would remain same and the smuggling of imported poultry products would rise again due to low production capacity.
“Government should offer incentives for farmers who produce soya beans and other inputs that are used for poultry feeds and other industrial purposes.
There should be high-yielding seeds and seedlings to farmers, in that respect, the focus of governmemt should not only be on rice and other food crops, but there should be holistic approach to all farm produce and agricultural production that are used for the production of other raw materials and goods.
“In Ogun State for instance, State government has acquired tractors and farm implements which are located in Local Government Secretariats but for the farmers to get these implements for agricultural purposes, it is hell.
“That is why we call on government to help us and being about policy that addresses all these challenges.”
James Durosaro, Animal and Poultry Nutritionist, who was one of discussants, accused the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) of toying with standards and regulations on poultry feeds as all sorts of feeds are allowed in the market which affects production of quality eggs and chickens, saying if SON has been given proper monitoring such act ought to have been prevented.
He said, “In US today, we have maize grade I, maize grade II, but in Nigeria, there is nothing like that. Anybody can just supply anything without proper checking. For instance, Nigeria has the best soya in the whole world, yet it is being exported and what we have is Genetically Modified (GMO) to replace the one we have.
“One of the major issues facing us is that SON listens to their staff who are not in the field to know what exactly the challenges are, and this becomes extremely difficult for them to say they want to standardize. In most cases, they do more of theorical aspects. If proper monitoring has been in place, a lot of manufacturers would have been charged to Court.”
RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta
