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From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
Members of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Ekiti State chapter have expressed relief as two hundred of them have benefitted from the distribution of One thousand, two hundred 50kg bags of maize palliatives in the state.
Distributing the bags of maize in Ado-Ekiti, capital of the state at the weekend, the Chairman of the association in the state, Mr Alonge Oluwasetemi said the federal government gesture was facilitated by the state government to cushion the effects of scarcity of maize on poultry farmers in the state.
” We hope the bags of maize will bring relief to poultry farmers because we have been suffering from scarcity of maize for a long time.”
He appreciated the state governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, for being sensitive to the plight of poultry farmers and channeling same to the appropriate quarters, thereby bringing succour to them. He hinted that governor Oyebanji’s administration is the first to recognise the association in the history of the state as he ensured that poultry farmers were among the beneficiaries of the palliative.
The PAN’s Chairman also commended the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Boluwade Ebenezer, for ensuring that the maize palliative got to the association.
Oluwasetemi who said the gesture will go a long way in boosting productivity on their farms, reducing and stabilising the prices of chicken feeds, eggs, frozen chicken and other poultry products in the market explained that the distribution which was the second phase cut across members in the 16 Local Government Areas of the state.
He noted that the first phase of the maize distribution which came up on the 24th and 25th of October covered some of their special stakeholders with big poultry farms, feed mills, corporate farms etc drawn from some of the local governmentnt areas of the state, whose farms were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the cash crunch and scarcity of maize.
The Chairman advised the beneficiaries not to sell the product but to ensure it is used appropriately for the provision of what will benefit the society.
” The maize is not for sale. We will not tolerate any form of marketing. The maize should be used in the farms as that was the intention of the government.
“The government is trying to help us revive our sector, as you all know all our farms are in distress.
The COVID-19 pandemic, the cash crunch and scarcity of maize have negatively affected our businesses and our birds have reduced drastically. The governor does not want the poultry business to become a thing of the past in Ekiti State, hence the intervention and we thank His Excellency for the gesture.”
Vice Chairman of the association, Mr Olusegun Ajise, who expressed gratitude to the current administration in the state,
hailed Governor Oyebanji for having the interest of poultry farmers at heart.
Ajise appreciated poultry farmers whose contributions have continued to sustain the growth of PAN in the state. He enjoined farmers to form formidable groups to make distribution of agricultural inputs easy for them.
The Vice Chairman stressed the need for the benefitting farmers to usher in a marketable environment for eggs and chickens in the state rather than allowing neighbouring states to infiltrate Ekiti to market their eggs and chickens.
One of the beneficiaries and Chairman of the association in Emure Local Government Area, Mr Ojo Oluwasesan, who said his local government received 60 bags of the maize, lauded the Biodun Oyebanji-led government for the gesture.
” I want to appreciate our indefatigable governor for his efforts in salvaging the poultry industry in Ekiti State.
“Poultry industry is on the verge of collapse due to the lack of maize and the other materials are too expensive that many people are vacating the industry but with this intervention many farmers are going to be relieved and we appeal that this intervention continues so that poultry farmers can remain in the industry..
” This is the first time in the history of PAN in Ekiti State whereby poultry farmers are being touched as regards this relief.”
Mr Aladejebi Oluwole, a beneficiary and Chairman of the association in Ikere Local Government Area, appreciated the state governor for the gesture and expressed the readiness of his members to ensure good use of the product. “We have been suffering from this problem since the COVID-19- period and we thank the governor for giving this assistance. We will go and mill it, and process it for the feeding of our birds. The incidence of diversion will be averted since the instruction is there that the product should not be sold. And it is strictly for the poultry association. So, no member from Ikere local government can sell the product”. He said his local government received 32 bags.
In her remarks, Mrs Esther Ajayi, a poultry farmer at Adehun area of Ado-Ekiti, who also benefitted said that by this gesture, customers cannot suffer in their hands in terms of outrageous prices since the maize was given to them for free and the cost of eggs will be reduced. “So as they have given us, I will be able to reduce the price for buyers. I want to say thank you to the governor because this thing has not happened in the history of Ekiti. He is the first executive governor that remembered the poultry farmers in the state. God bless him.”
To Mrs Abiodun Ajiboye of Mide’s Farm, the prices of maize have continued to skyrocket coupled with its scarcity. She said the intervention of the government is a great relief to the farmers. According to her, the product will be milled by them, and it will serve a lot of purposes for them. ” It is going to reduce the cost of feeds,while the number of birds we are feeding will increase and the price of eggs will reduce”.
One other beneficiary, Mrs Awoyomi Oluwatosin, owner of Damfut Farm along Ilawe road, Ado-Ekiti, noted that there are different feeds in the market but the prices have remained discouraging. She gave an assurance to egg consumers that with the free procurement of maize, the price of eggs would reduce.
Another respondent, Mr Odesanmi Temitope of Success Farm expressed joy and remarked that the gesture will impact positively on poultry business.
