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Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The Nigerian poultry industry is on the brink of losing about N1 trillion annually and no less than one million jobs as a result of effects of COVID-19 and the ban on the importation of maize, according to Gbemisoye Agboola, the Chairman of Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) in Oyo State, who raised the alarm on Tuesday when he led a high-powered stakeholders in the industry to address a press conference at the Press Centre of Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Iyaganku, Ibadan.
The stakeholders include Animal Science Association of Nigeria (ASAN), Nigeria Association of Animal Health and Husbandry Technologists (NAAHHT), Day Old Chicks Merchants Association of Nigeria (DOCMAN), Livestock Industry Foundation for Africa (LIFA), Feed Millers Association of Nigeria, and Kwara State chapter of PAN.
The stakeholders have now sent distress call to President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State to urgently help salvage the largest agricultural value chain, calling on the government to also help them with palliatives as a result of about N300 million eggs that got spoil during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Agboola said: “Many are the afflictions of poultry in Oyo State. We do not need to emphasis the persisting perennial, seasonal and/sporadic egg glut, perpetually increasing price of inputs and multiple levy and taxation by the agents of government. Most recently, the untold ordeal escalated and nearly unbearable due to unfavorable government dispositions and regulations.
‘As we speak, agencies and individuals in the name of the local and state government agencies are making daily trips to poultry farms to harass farms for several illicit and other arrears of levies, taxes and so on. We know every government supports agriculture globally for obvious reasons but not so in our own Oyo State.
‘The COVID-19 lockdown has sent several farms to early grave and some poultry concerns already on the verge of collapse. The price of maize which was N80/kg in March 2020 has crept to N180/kg today and is still increasing. That cannot be said of the price of poultry products. As if that is not enough, we now have the ban on importation of maize.
‘Maize constitutes between 50 per cent to 70 per cent of chicken feeds. It is the cardinal input of poultry business. Due to high demands for maize by humans, there has been an unhealthy competition for this all important staple food. The problems of insecurity and flooding has made it impossible for farmers to go to the farm.
‘The few tonnage of maize has been hijacked and cornered by speculators, opportunists and political jobbers who also think it is their birthright to dictate the going in the industry. The truth is that we do not presently have sufficient maize for poultry industry use.
‘Between March and July this year many poultry farms have either down sized or folded up because they either cannot get maize to produce feeds or cannot afford to buy finished feeds to feed their chicken. The seeming proactiveness of the Federal Government was the release of few tonnage of maize to states. We read about the much publicised release of trailers of maize to Lagos State poultry farmers, we are still expecting those meant to cushion our hardship in Oyo State. However, it must have gone the usual route to office poultry farmers.”Poultry Association of Nigeria, Oyo State Branch is using this opportunity to call on Mr President to relax the ban on importation of maize for a period, to use this time to release the grain reserved across the country and to release all available palliatives to cushion the effect of maize scarcity to teeming suffering grass root farmers. This is to allow this essential grain to be available for feed production while we increase local production to meet up with the demand of maize. This appears to be the only way out and the most assuring pivot that the government is serious in revamping agriculture in this country.
‘We know that some individuals are feeding the presidency and state government with false information that the country has enough maize as of now to satisfy the demand of both human and livestock, but the present hardship has proven this wrong. There is dearth of maize in Nigeria as of now! These individuals are agent of destruction and mean capitalists set to hijack the industry, squeezing out life and existence from poultry farmers. They know that importation is the only way their monopoly can be broken, hence their vehement opposition of the move.
‘They claim the ban on importation of rice has paid off, yes! But they forgot that maize and soya are the only grain and seeds consumed by both humans and livestock. Only rice bran is fed to livestock, not the grain. We at least need succor till the next set of maize yet to be planted will be ready.
‘Therefore, Mr President and our own dear Governor, we appeal to you to please use your good offices to prevail on masquerading principalities, powers and authorities antagonizing the importation of maize as a way of subduing our industry, thereby subjecting poultry farmers to unwarranted hardship and sufferings.’
