Nigeria’s poultry sector is suffering from high feed costs, inconsistent vaccination and lack of government support, says Abdulkadir Junaidu, national auditor of the Poultry Farmers Association of Nigeria.
According to the Daily Triumph, a Nigerian newspaper, Junaidu said in an interview that the government could improve production by providing feed and medication subsidies, technical assistance and loans. The country also needs to make better use of its dam network to grow more food for domestic consumption and export, he said. “We should not be paying a lip service to the agricultural sector. We have abundant natural resources which, if fully exploited and utilized, will boost the economy of the country,” he said.
The poultry association is working with the French embassy to educate small-scale poultry farmers, Junaidu told the newspaper.
Olatunde Agbato, president of Animal Care Services Konsult Nigeria Ltd., also backs increased government support for the poultry industry, according to Nigerian Compass newspaper. Speaking at a recent company press conference, he added that Nigerian farmers need to reinvest their profits in technology that will increase productivity. “Most Nigerian poultry farmers obtain about 270 eggs per hen per year, while farmers in other nations have been obtaining between 320 and 365,” he said.
Agbato said the industry has room for growth because most Nigerians currently eat fewer than 40 eggs a year.
However, Kabir Ibrahim, president of the Poultry Association of Nigeria, said at a recent seminar in Abuja that eggs account for 36.5% of protein in the Nigerian diet. He added that poultry farming can play an integral role in meeting the Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations, the newspaper Leadership Nigeria reported.
