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By Kehinde Aderemi
These days, farmers, especially those involved in fishery, poultry and livestock, are raising their voices over the sharp increase in the prices of feeds in the market. They lamented that prices of feeds aren’t stable and the hike is taking a huge toll on their products.
For instance, many of the farmers and sellers of farm feeds that spoke to the reporter lamented that they could no longer afford the high cost of feeds for their farms, even as the feeds sellers expressed their concerns about low patronage.
They urged government to help reduce what they described as the cutthroat prices of farm feeds in Nigeria.
Mr Busayo Ige is the CEO of Grace Sufficient Farm Feeds in Ikorodu, Lagos. He is a major distributor of farm feeds in the area. According to him, farm feeds are more expensive now than what was obtainable in the past. He said it is unfortunate that despite the sharp increase in the prices, manufacturers have also reduced the quality of the products.
Ige also identified the spate of insecurity in the country, especially in the northern part, as a major factor. He lamented that farmers could no longer go to their farms because of the fear of being kidnapped or killed by the bandits.
The reduction in the quality of the product, he said, was as a result of the high cost of materials for producing the feeds.
“Some of the materials used for producing farm feeds are imported and those that are produced here in Nigeria are not even enough for the growing demand.
“Feed materials like soya beans, fish, wheat, even maize and others are most times imported. Those that are produced locally, we cannot meet up with the demand. So, there are gaps, and that little gap became a major reason for the increase in the prices of feeds. Eight years ago, those farm feeds that were sold for N2000 or N3000 are now above N20,000.
“For instance, fish feeds like Blue Crown, Eco feeds and New Hope have no stable prices because of the economic situation in the country. The high prices of fuel have also affected the prices of farm feeds. So, government should help us to see to that.
“The Federal government should provide a place for herders to avoid moving from one farm to another to eat farm produce and destroy farms,” he stated.
Also in his remarks, Chairman of Satellite Ikorodu Livestock Allied Products Association (SILAPA), Mr Kehinde Shonoiki said the increase in the prices of feeds and other agro-products could not be ascertained because some of the materials used in producing the feeds are very much higher last year than this year.
According to him, maize is a major material for production of feeds. He noted that the price of maize has reduced significantly from what it was last year or the previous years.
“Last year, maize was N750 and 600 per kilogramme, but it has come down now to N400 and this has also affected the prices of other feed raw materials like soya beans, GNC and wheat, which is fibre source for poultry and fishery.
“So, we bought it last month for maybe N14,000, N15,000, N16,000. But it’s now N22,000 per bag That I think made the prices of the feeds rise,” he noted.
Shonoiki also mentioned insecurity as one of the reasons for the increase in the prices of the products. He explained further that all the materials are brought from the north, and the security challenges in the north could hinder farmers from going to farms to be able to harvest the farm produce.
“Nobody is ready to risk his life to travel on the road where kidnappers are kings. So, insecurity is a big issue .And the issue of exorbitant prices of diesel and petrol has also increased the amount to be paid for the transportation of the farm produce. The prices have gone up and skyrocketed.
“Even the finished feed that we are selling, we now spend N190,000 to transport 600 bags to Lagos, and because of the prices of fuel and diesel, it has increased to N320,000 to transport 600 bags of the same product to Lagos. So, what that means is that we have to add the cost of transportation to the prices of feeds,” he said.
Shonoiki, who is also the director of Unique blossom Ventures, appealed to the government to help farmers and all stakeholders including those selling farm feeds with a support mechanism .
“The government could help in ensuring that there is effective security in the north and every part of the country. Farmers are the most hit by the insurgency and it has now narrowed down to people at the grassroots who buy products at much higher prices.
“There should be a loan for farmers. If they can provide loans for each of the farmers, I am sure farm produce will definitely reduce and we will be able to make our ends meet,” he said.
Alhaja Monsurat Bolatito Otufowora is the deputy manager of HAMFA Feed Worldwide. She said that though the increase in prices of farm feeds have affected sales of the products, she identified greed and man-made difficulties as contributing factors.
She explained further that feeds are all about formulation of different materials. She also explained further that there may be about 15 materials to produce a particular feed. These materials, she stated, included the ones with protein, energy and other macro nutrients.
Alhaja Otufowora stated also that production of local feeds provides a better alternative for poultry and fishery products, but noted that as the prices of the products increase, people no longer buy and that there is low patronage of the products.
“We produce local feeds and we palletise at the rate of N80 per kilogramme. But now, we palletise at the rate of N130. The sudden increase was as a result of the crisis between the United States, Israel and Iran, which had also affected prices of fuel at the global level. We use diesel for the production of the feeds and once the prices of diesel is high, it will affect every other chain of production,” she stated
She urged the Federal government to ensure that efforts of the Nigerian farmers are not in vain.
However, Mr Olaosegbe Adeniyi also known as Akekaka said he didn’t agree with those who said there had been an increase in the prices of farm feeds.
According to him, the Federal government had intervened by making sure that prices of maize are reduced significantly so that other products could be reduced also.
“As somebody that produces local feeds, I cannot dismiss the intervention of the Federal government in the reduction in the prices of maize.
“We all know that maize is an important ingredient for both poultry and fish feeds and if there is an increase in the price of maize, it will definitely affect the prices of other products, especially chicken feed which has a direct impact on egg production.
“In the past, a kilogramme of maize was sold for N1300, but now it has reduced to N400 naira. We encourage people to patronise us now because once they produce their feeds by using local formulations, they make more profits than when they buy imported feeds.”
Adeniyi, however, appealed to the Federal government to ensure a complete reduction in the price of maize .He pointed out that if the price of maize is reduced to about N200 naira per kilogramme, it will reduce the prices of all other products.
In his views, Mr Oyegoke Joseph, also admitted that apart from insecurity, other factors that had contributed to the increase in the prices of farm feeds included erratic power supply.
According to him, most industrial machines used in the production of the feeds can only operate successfully with regular power supply so as to reduce the cost of production.
“When there is no light, most of the manufacturing companies use diesel to operate. For instance, now that the prices of fuel, including diesel, have gone up, it will drastically affect the cost of production and this will trickle down to increasing prices of feed.
“As far as I know, the Nigerian economy is harsh to both manufacturers and the farmers that produce what we eat. And until the time the Federal Government tackles the problems of insecurity, hike in the prices of diesel and petrol products boldly, we will continue to experience increasing prices of all farm feeds,” he stated.
