• Say 25 million jobs under threat
The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), South West zone, has said its members incurred losses running to about N50b as a result of the disruption caused by the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Addressing the media in Ibadan, Oyo State, the Zonal chairman of PAN, Reverend Gideon Oluleye, who said the losses were due to egg gluts and perished poultry products during the period, expressed fear that about 25 million jobs are under threat in the poultry industry if the Federal Government fails to urgently intervene in mitigating their challenges.
He said though the farmers were not against the policy of the CBN, but the unimaginable losses associated with its implementation before the Supreme Court judgment, had almost wrecked the poultry industry. Oluleye said the poultry sub-sector, generating about six per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) must be rescued from a looming collapse.
“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 the COVID-19 had on farmers and farms is yet to abate. Hardly had farmers recovered from this, when the CBN brought another hardship on them through the policy of the naira redesign. As we speak now, between 15 to 20 million crates of eggs are in the economy looking for buyers.
“We are pleading with the Federal and state governments to mop up about 15 to 20 million crates of eggs and chickens unsold to ameliorate the losses.
“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 egg helps in quick recovery and building up 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 government, including the CBN to intervene now in subsidising major inputs, particularly maize as a tonnage sells for N240, 000, while a tonne of soya beans goes for N450, 000.
“Let the Federal Government constitute a committee that will begin the process of mopping up all unsold eggs and chickens due to naira redesign policies as these eggs are already going bad. A situation where a single farmer has 100,000 crates of eggs unsold in the farm now, the value of which is over N200m. Mopping up these eggs and chickens now, will be a good measure in preventing the sector from imminent collapse.”
On his part, the chairman of PAN in Ogun State, Mr. Idowu Asenuga, lamented that “in South West alone, the sharp fall in the prices of poultry products resulted in N40b losses, while our farmers incurred N10b losses 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.”
