Poultry farmers battle high cost of feed, others

The prices of eggs and chickens may rise soon as poultry farmers continue to battle high increase in the cost of production, including feed.

Our correspondent learnt that the crisis in the industry had sent many farmers out of business while some were forced to reduce their capacity by as much as 75 per cent.

The Chairman, Comtrade Group and founder of Ope Olu farms, Mr. Abiodun Oladapo, disclosed in an interview with our correspondent that the business of animal husbandry was becoming too costly because of high cost of feed.

The President, Poultry Association of Nigeria, Dr. Ayoola Oduntan, confirmed this during a recent media briefing to announce the 2016 edition of the Nigerian Poultry Show.

According to the PAN president, the feed makes up 70 per cent of the cost of poultry production, adding that the cost has risen with the high cost of maize and soya beans being used for the material.

“The reason why we have not achieved the level of success we should in the poultry industry is because of the cost of production, 70 per cent of which is accounted for by poultry feed.

“Two years ago, the price of maize was N50,000 per metric tonne, this has increased to N150, 000. Also, soya beans, which sold for N100, 000/MT in 2014, now sells for N150,000/MT.

“In addition to the cost of diesel for generators, prices of pre-mixes keep increasing with the increasing rate of the dollar and many farmers have shut down their businesses because their margins have been wiped out and they cannot transfer the cost to the prices of eggs.”

He anticipated that prices of raw materials would keep rising in the months ahead, compounded by high dollar rate.

A feed mill operator, Alhaji Abdul Kadir, blamed the rising cost on scarcity of maize brought about by exportation of maize seed by farmers.

For soya beans, Oduntan explained that the local demand was 1.2 million MT whereas the country could only produce 700,000MT.

He said the poultry conference, themed ‘Sustaining the poultry industry in an economic recession’, was meant to raise awareness about the importance of poultry and agriculture.

Kadir added that for the first time, the association would introduce a poultry award ceremony to honour journalists and non-governmental organistations and private sector operators that were committed to the agricultural sector.