Poultry farmers in Akwa Ibom State are smiling to the bank as they record significant gains following an increase in the prices of live chicken during this festive season.
Checks by BusinessDay show that prices of live chicken have tripled, making it one of the most expensive food items for households in the state.
A medium-sized chicken is being sold for N5,000 as against N2,000 before the celebration, while a large-sized costs as much as N15,000, the highest ever seen in the state.
Poultry products are a major source of protein, according to nutrition experts.
According to one farmer, birds are fed for up to six months saying this requires a lot of labour and high cost of feed to take the birds to maturity saying that much of the profit margin is eroded by the cost of feed.
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Etorobong Inyang, a poultry farmer in an interview with BusinessDay, however, lamented the harsh economic condition farmers have to go through to rear their chickens, adding that there has been little or no support from the government.
“For the years I have been in poultry farming, this is the first time that poultry farmers have been so harshly affected by both economic and non-economic factors and quite, unfortunately, nobody is available to offer any explanation,’’ he said
According to observers, if the high cost of chicken continues without any intervention, it would not be long before consumers would be asked to pay as high as N20,000 for a live chicken.
