From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
Members of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Ekiti State chapter, on Friday, joined their counterparts across the globe to celebrate the 2023 World Egg Day.
As part of activities marking this year’s celebration, members of the Association paid a visit to an orphanage home – Erelu Adebayo Children’s Home, Iyin- Ekiti, Irepodun/Ifelofun Local Government Area of the state to felicitate with the children and present fresh crates of eggs to them as part of their contribution for their upkeep.
Chairman of the Association in the state, Mr Alonge Oluwasetemi, who said the World Egg Day is an annual celebration that comes up every 2nd Friday in October, explained that their presence at the facility was anchored on the theme of this year’s celebration,” Egg For A Healthy Future”, underscoring the point that who are the future, if not the children? hence, the need to celebrate with the children and highlight the health benefits of consuming eggs.
“Eggs are very good and eggs remain the cheapest or the most affordable source of animal protein we have today.
And we the poultry farmers in Ekiti state, we work tirelessly to make sure we provide quality eggs and chickens to our people in Ekiti state”.
Oluwasetemi added that their operations have a very large value chain starting from the farm where they produce eggs and raise chickens. He remarked that the Association can boast of a lot of people on the farm and some other kinds of value chain, talking about the transportation, the drivers, and the traders that market the products. “So we engage a lot of people. We help to curb the problem of unemployment to a large extent. Today, Nigeria remains the largest producer of eggs in Africa”.
On the challenges facing the Association, he posited that there is no business operation without challenges and that poultry farmers are very resilient people. But unfortunately, they were hit by series of problems starting from year 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to him, they were hit by the negative effects of the lockdown. Expantiating, he bemoaned the situation as one that resulted in poor sales of their products.
“Moreover, this brought down our production by almost fifty per cent. So, while recovering from that, earlier this year, we were also hit by the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) cashless policy. Our business is very cash-related. We were hit by the negative effect of not having cash. We were producing, but we couldn’t sell, because there was no means of legal tender and our business is that we produce everyday”.
The Chairman further said that since they produce perishable items,.once they are not ready to produce within a week or two, it becomes a total loss to them.
He regretted that this completely eroded most of their working capital. According to him, while they were trying to recover from the cash crisis, they were also hit by the removal of subsidy.on fuel. Therefore, whatever little gain they make, they end up spending on fuel and transportation.
He stressed that these are just a few of the factors that have really hit the poultry sector. While the two major materials that are used in making poultry feed, maize and soya beans are almost not available in the market anymore. The poultry association chief said the few things that are available have inflated by almost two to three hundred per cent, crippling the ability of farmers to afford them.
“The situation has sent us to a nosedive presently. And as you can see Poultry Association of Nigeria has remained a very benevolent association. We would have loved to extend this gesture practically to all the schools in Ekiti, all primary schools and hospitals. We did that in the past. But presently our members are not producing optimally. Many farmers have closed shops. We just have about fifteen to twenty-five per cent of our farmers in operation right now. That is why we are doing this one on a low key as we are just here to felicitate with the children”.
On the rising prices of eggs, Oluwasetemi attributed such to lack of inputs from the farm in the production of eggs. For example, unaffordable bags of chicken feeds, adding that presently eggs are under-priced. A crate of eggs he said now sells for between N2,500 and N2,800, these prices he maintained yield no profit, hence selling at low production cost.
On the way out of the quagmire, he remarked, “considering the fact that we are always challenged by yearly glut in the supply of eggs. We continue to appeal to the government at all levels to reintroduce the school feeding programme, where eggs are being used to feed the children. If this is done,.it is going to mop up a reasonable amount of eggs in the markets, and it is likely going to stop the annual egg glut we always experience”. This appeal, he stressed is imperative because as he said many of the farmers are not employing. Noting that this is an industry that employs a good number of people. He also suggested that the government should look into assisting farmers with soft loans and grants to get them back in business. This he believed will
keep the employment chain by engaging more people. “If you have a farm of just about one thousand birds, by the time you look at the value chain in terms of employment you will discover that you can engage a minimum of twenty to thirty people starting from the farm workers to drivers and marketers. That’s why we are appealing to the government to open the importation window for maize for its price to come down and possibly subsidize maize and soya beans”.
The Chairmen appreciated the State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji for what he described as his giant strides in the development of the agriculture sector.
He also commended the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Boluwade Ebenezer for his efforts so far in the sector, adding that the government should always give a pride of place to the farmers in its policies and programmes.
The Association’s Vice Chairman, Mr Ajise Olusegun, who addressed the children, counselled them not to see themselves as orphans but get encouraged by the visit of members of the association to share the joy of the global celebration with them.
Speaking on the health benefits of eggs, the PAN’s Financial Secretary in the state, Mr Akanle Samuel, who advised that eggs should be taken on a daily basis, said that the “consumption of eggs increases mental ability. Eggs are a good source of protein, they reduce the risk of having stroke, support eye health, support heart health, support weight management, support immune system, support optimal body composition and the cholesterol in eggs are positive for proper human growth.”
In her remarks, the state’s Treasurer of the Association, Mrs Tosin Oladimeji, urged parents to take good care of their children. She said no matter the situation, children should be seen as future leaders, and they should be well catered for. She admonished women to know that they have value.
She appealed to women to shun what could lead to unwanted pregnancies which she identified as the major cause of abandoned babies in the society.
Responding to the belief that people who are above 40 years of age should no longer consume eggs, Oladimeji said : ” We have done a lot of research. The cholesterol in eggs is a good one that we need in the body, that is why it is good to always take eggs daily. Egg is a complete food.”
Appreciating the gesture, a social worker at the facility who received the crates of eggs, Mrs Comfort Kehinde, on behalf of the state’s Commissioner for Women Affairs, the Permanent Secretary and Staff of the Ministry, Matron and workers of Erelu Adebayo Children’s Home, Iyin-Ekiti, thanked members of the Association for visiting the children and presenting them with the gift for their upkeep.
She pledged that the eggs would be properly channelled to the purpose they were meant.
Other members of the Poultry Association present are, Mr Alim Dauda Ayeni( General Secretary), Mrs Adeyanju Kemisola(Assistant Gen-Sec), Mr Abidoye Rashid(Public Relations Officer), Mr Agboola Samuel Gbenga and Mrs. Obilana Elizabeth