Poultry farmers decry high feed cost, seek Tinubu’s intervention

BY GODWIN OBI

With feed prices reaching stratospheric heights, thePoultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) has called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene in the matter before they are forced to shut down their businesses.

The association, who made the appeal at the weekend, said the poultry sub-sector was literally on life support and risks total collapse if nothing was done to remedy the worrisome development.PAN’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Chapter Secretary, Mr. Hakeem Musa, who made the call in Abuja, expressed concern about the continuous increase in feed prices and suggested that government grants could help farmers stay afloat.

Using layers mash as an example, Musa, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Mushak Agro Consult, explained that a 25kg bag of feed cost N8,000 in November, then rose to N9,100 in the first week of December, N9,350 in the second week, N9,550 in the third week, and has now peaked at N10,950.

“Nobody knows when this increase will stop,” Musa said.

“November and December are supposed to be times of maize surplus, so if it’s this expensive now, what are we to expect in February and March?”

He expressed confidence that the new administration would prioritise the poultry industry and provide the necessary support. “The primary intervention we need is grants, not loans, to sustain the industry. Farmers have lost a lot of money over time and they won’t be able to repay loans,” he said.

Musa attributed the high feed cost to the shortage of maize and soybeans, key ingredients in feed production, as well as the ban on maize importation.

He noted that the price hike has negatively impacted farmers, forcing many farms to close down and others to significantly reduce their bird capacity.