Poultry farmers across Nigeria reported a collective loss exceeding N3 trillion in investments in 2023 due to the prevailing economic challenges in the country.
The Chairman of the Lagos State chapter of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) Mojeed Iyiola, revealed this in an interview in Lagos on Monday.
Iyiola noted that the challenging economic conditions in the country compelled a majority of its members to exit the business.
Iyoha mentioned that the association incurred a loss of N3 trillion in 2023 due to the widespread closure of poultry farms by a majority of its members who struggled to meet their financial obligations, leading to the inability to sustain their businesses.
“Since the closure of about 50% of poultry farms across the country, the sector has lost over N3 trillion.
“This is because, in each state, we are losing N6 billion; so, rounding it off, we have lost trillions of Naira across all value chains of the poultry sector.
“We just want to continue to urge our members not to quit the industry despite the difficulties being faced,” Iyiola said.
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Former PAN Lagos State chapter Chairman, Mr. Lanre Bello, highlighted the significant consequences of widespread poultry farm closures, emphasizing the extensive job losses and financial debts incurred by members.
Bello emphasized the immeasurable impact of these losses, emphasizing the need to support poultry farmers as the sector plays a crucial role in providing affordable protein.
The former PAN Lagos State chapter Chairman stressed the vital role of poultry products, particularly eggs, in human nutrition, especially for children, expressing concern about potential consequences like stunted growth due to diminishing protein in diets.
What you should know
Nairametrics earlier reported that the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) announced that more than 50% of its farmers closed shop in 2023.
The association attributed the closure of poultry farms across the country to increased production costs occasioned by the rise in maize prices – a major ingredient in poultry feed production.
According to the NBS price index for December 2023, the price of chicken feed increased 81.71% between December 2022 and December 2023.
Furthermore, the NBS report indicated that the price of medium agric eggs increased 52.09% between December 2022 and December 2023.
