•Say eggs, birds shortfall imminent
From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Poultry dealers under the aegis of Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), has decried the high cost and scarcity of chicken feeds, especially maize.
PAN National President, Sunday Ezeobiora and Director General, Onallo Akpa, in a statement yesterday, warned that the situation could lead to scarcity eggs and birds, if not urgently addressed.
“At the moment, the poultry industry in Nigeria is on the verge of total collapse if urgent intervention is not channelled to it without further delays. We are aware that the Government have declared a State of Emergency on the Food Security situation of the country, but the situation of the Poultry industry calls for an urgent intervention to save the industry from total collapse. The high surges of prices of Maize and the near absence or scarcity of the product is causing farmers to close down their poultry farms at the moment because it is no longer sustainable to feed the birds and be in business thereby threatening the further development of the Nigerian poultry industry.
“It will interest Nigerians to know that as part of the measures to ensure the food security of the nation through the supply of cheap protein to Nigerians, the poultry industry in the country have benefited from allocation of Maize from the Strategic Food Reserve (SFR) of the Federal Government as well as the Strategic Maize Reserve (SMR) Programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) anchored on the Accelerated Agriculture programmes of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“In the current dispensation and scheme of things, the Poultry industry is being frustrated by the Nigeria Commodity Exchange (NCX) and the Strategic Maize Reserve (SMR) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) whence it was allocated 40,000 Metric tons of Maize to assist poultry production in the country and in two weeks, they cancelled the allocation and stopped poultry farmers from lifting the Maize on the conditions best known to them and thereby majorly contributing to the high prices of Maize in the markets because of holding down their stocks of Maize.”
“The Poultry industry in Nigeria is the most critical subsector of the Nigeria Agriculture, and allowing the industry to collapse on the watch of Nigerians in situations where there are visible immediate solutions will be a disaster to the industry and the Protein supply and nutrition security for the country,” they said.
Ezeobiora suggested that the Nigeria Commodity Exchange (NCX) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which manage the Strategic Maize Reserve Programme (SMRP) to ensure free allocations of 40,000 metric tons to the poultry industry through PAN.
He said: “In view of the above and inorder to salvage the Poultry industry from the imminent collapse it is witnessing, the leadership of the Poultry Association of Nigeria prays as follows:-
“Directing both the Nigeria Commodity Exchange (NCX) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which manages the Strategic Maize Reserve Programme (SMRP) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to FREE the allocations of 40,000 metric tons to the Poultry industry through the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN).
“That the Government should direct the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural to release 20,000 Metric Tons of Maize from the Strategic Food Reserves of the Ministry to the Poultry industry through the Poultry Association of Nigeria at discounted prices so as to mitigate the current challenges to the Poultry industry in the country.
“That the allocations by both organizations should be at the rate (price) per metric ton that the allocations were made understanding that these organizations are to intervene in critical sectors of the economy for developmental purposes and not merchandise.
“Since the poultry industry is the most capitalised subsector of the Nigerian Agriculture, every effort and support should be given to the subsector so that the industry do not collapse and the country once more becoming dumping grounds for all sorts of poultry and poultry products from abroad.