The South West Zone of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) has issued a plea to key stakeholders, including President Bola Tinubu, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Governors in the region, to take immediate action to prevent the impending collapse of the poultry industry.
Addressing the press recently in Ibadan, Oyo State, Gideon Oluleye, the Zonal Chairman of PAN, highlighted the daunting challenges that have placed the industry in jeopardy.
He emphasized that the sector has yet to recover from the repercussions of the naira redesign policy, which has significantly impacted farmers.
Oluleye pointed out that the removal of the fuel subsidy has led to a sharp escalation in input costs within the subsector. This increase has further exacerbated the difficulties faced by farmers across the country.
In relation to interventions aimed at stabilizing the market, Oluleye shed light on recent developments involving maize allocation by the CBN and the Nigeria Commodity Exchange (NCX).
He revealed that approximately 40,000 metric tons of maize were allocated to farmers to counteract the surging maize prices in the market.
However, negotiations on the price per tonnage were ongoing when the NCX imposed a two-week payment deadline. As the deadline lapsed, the allocation was withdrawn by the NCX and the CBN.
The chairman expressed his concern over this development, particularly highlighting the negative impact of a strategy to hoard maize, which resulted in unnecessary scarcity and escalated maize prices.
Currently, the cost of maize in the Southwest stands at around N400,000 to N430,000 per ton, a price that has become unaffordable for farmers.
Gideon Oluleye appealed for a reduction in the price of soybeans, a critical component for the poultry and livestock sector.
He called on the Federal Government and the CBN to consider subsidizing and facilitating short-term importation of maize and soybeans to address the current shortfall and prevent a collapse of the sector.
“We are urging the Federal Government to provide capital access through the CBN for long-term lending and grants to the sector, and to establish structures that will facilitate the sale of our products,” Oluleye emphasized.
Echoing these sentiments, Elder Oyekunle Omidokun, PAN Chairman of the Oyo State chapter, underscored the vital contribution of the agricultural sector to the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and its role in generating employment opportunities for millions of Nigerians.
He implored the Federal Government to intervene swiftly to rescue the sector from its current precarious state.
Omidokun highlighted that challenges such as the high cost of Diesel, Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), and foreign exchange scarcity have affected vital aspects like vaccine and veterinary drug costs.
He called on the government to allocate 20,000 metric tonnes of maize to PAN at a discounted rate to mitigate the challenges facing the industry.
Additionally, Oyekunle urgently called on the CBN and the NCX to release the allocated maize to the poultry industry, stressing the urgency of the situation.
The appeal from the South West Zone of the Poultry Association of Nigeria underscores the critical need for collective efforts to address the multifaceted challenges that are jeopardizing the poultry industry’s stability and sustainability.
