The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) has called on the Federal Government to address the ongoing issue of increasing poultry feed costs in the country. This appeal was made during the opening ceremony of the 12th edition of the Nigeria Poultry Show in Abeokuta, centered around the theme "Mitigating the challenges of the Poultry Industry: Current perspectives, the role of government and the private sector."
PAN emphasized that the rising costs of poultry feed, along with other challenges confronting the poultry industry, were significantly impacting the sector.
Dr. Ayoola Oduntan, the Group Managing Director of AMO Group of Companies, who presented a paper at the event, stressed the importance of government support for the agriculture sector to ensure food security.
“Agriculture is 21% of GDP; it is the biggest employer of labour in this country. Subsidy is not a bad word if it is directed towards production rather than consumption. We would like the government to provide significant and specific support to agriculture; we have no business in importing foods.
“We need government support; we need to sit with the government to explain to them, walking the talk with them to bring agriculture to the rightful place,” Oduntan noted.
Earlier in his opening remarks, Chairman of the South-West Zone of the association, Rev. Gideon Oluleye, said the show aimed to find lasting solutions to confront the challenges facing the poultry industry and revive it.
“Let the government increase funding into agriculture, particularly the poultry subsector. We are also enjoining the government to create a market for farmers through policies like the school feeding programme.
“Let them use our products to feed Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) centres, the correctional centres. If there are concerted plans in this direction, I am sure we won’t have the problem of sales,” Oluleye said.
The association’s National President, Mr. Sunday Ezeobiora, in his remarks decried the high cost of production, listing funding, infrastructure and marketing as some of the challenges presently facing the poultry industry.
He stressed that “if these are not handled well, they may kill the poultry industry in Nigeria.”
The Commissioners for Agriculture representing the South-West geo-political zone were in attendance at the event.
Mr. Bolu Owotomo from Ogun, Hon. Abisola Olusanya from Lagos, and Mr. Olasunkunmi Oluleye from Oyo State (represented by Dr. Abimbola Oladapo) delivered goodwill messages during the opening ceremony, expressing their unwavering support for the agriculture sector in their respective states. This commitment aligns with the Federal Government's efforts to boost food production nationwide.
The event's highlight included a tour of exhibition booths featuring various poultry equipment and feeds, with around 130 exhibitors, including key players in the agro-equipments business. Notable exhibitors included Animal Care, TOPFEEDS, HI-PRO, Bifems, Agro Bar Magen, Sun Seed Nigeria, Obasanjo Farms, KEMIN, Terratiga Ltd., YAMMFY Farms, TOSAM, Big Dutchman, Jubaili Agrotec, Cifek International Limited, ADM, Vetilog Pharma Nigeria, CHI, and others.
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