The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), South West zone, on Thursday, April 20, 2023, disclosed that poultry farmers in the region lost over N50 billion due to egg gluts and perishable products occasioned by the recent Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) naira redesign policy.
Besides, the farmers expressed the fear that about 25 million jobs are under threat in the poultry industry if the Federal Government fails to urgently intervene in mitigating the challenges in the sub-sector of the economy.
Addressing a press conference in Ibadan, the South West zonal chairman of PAN, Reverend Gideon Oluleye, averred that though farmers were not against the policy of CBN on naira redesign, unimaginable loss associated with its implementation before the Supreme Court judgement, had almost wrecked the poultry industry.
According to him, “We want the Federal Government to know that losses incurred by farmers are heavy and crushing. A lot of farms have collapsed, others are running at half capacity while many others will soon close down if the government does not come to the aid of poultry farmers.
“Let me remind you that the negative impact that COVID-19 had on farmers and farms is yet to abate. Hardly farmers recover from this when the CBN brought another hardship on the farmers through the policy of naira redesign. As we speak now between 15 to 20 million crates of eggs are in the economy looking for buyers,” Oluleye posited.
To save the poultry sub-sector of the economy, which is generating about six per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from total collapse, he added: “We are pleading with the federal and state governments to mop up about 15 to 20 million crates of eggs and chicken unsold to ameliorate the losses of the farmers.
“These products should be used in feeding the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in camps and all correctional facilities all over the country. Some could be used in government hospitals where meals are served as eggs helps in quick recovery and build up the immunity of sick patients.
“We also want the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency resuscitate the school feeding programme as eggs and chicken meat forms the major components of the programme. Some states have already stopped the school feeding programme.
“We are also pleading with the federal and state governments, including the CBN to intervene now in subsidising major inputs, particularly maize as a tonne sells for N240,000, while a tonne of soya beans goes for N450,000.”
Also speaking, the chairman of PAN in Ogun State, Idowu Asenuga, lamented that “in South West alone, sharp fall in the prices of poultry products due to naira redesign policy of CBN resulted in N40 billion loss, while our farmers incurred N10 billion loss from perishable products in our inventories.
“We want to use this medium to appeal to the international grants and donor agencies like International Funds for Agricultural Development (IFAD), World Bank, Private Financial Advisory Network (PFAN) to come to the aid of poultry farmers in Nigeria, particularly in South West region, “he remarked.
