Ogun boosts poultry output with 1.3 million-bird processing plant in Odeda

Ogun State has expanded its poultry processing capacity with the completion of a 5,000-bird-per-day facility at Ajegunle Farm Settlement in Odeda Local Government Area, a move the government says will allow it to process an additional 1.3 million chickens each year and cut down poultry imports.

The plant was delivered under the Ogun State Economic Transformation Project and forms part of a broader effort to strengthen local food production and keep more value within the state. Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Bolu Owotomo, disclosed this during an inspection tour of agricultural projects in Odeda and Yewa South.

Ajegunle Farm Settlement has been designated as a poultry hub and currently accommodates about 400 resident farmers. The site has been equipped with cold rooms, blast freezers, waste processing facilities, warehouses and high-capacity poultry pens, infrastructure that has already begun to draw private investors. One investor recently completed a 13,000-capacity poultry pen, increasing the volume of birds raised and processed at the settlement.

Owotomo said Ogun has completed 28 agricultural projects in the last two years, with a focus on reducing post-harvest losses estimated at about ₦3.5 trillion annually nationwide. He said locating processing and storage facilities close to farms is helping farmers move products to market faster and with less waste.

Nigeria’s poultry supply gap remains evident in consumption figures. Average chicken consumption per person stands at under two kilograms annually, far below Ghana’s 13 kilograms, South Africa’s 36 kilograms and Brazil’s 46 kilograms, even as the country continues to rely heavily on imports.

Similar investments are underway at Eweje Farm Institute, where new poultry pens and residential buildings have been completed, and at Odo Fufu in Ilaro, where a cassava processing facility is set to serve surrounding farmers. State officials say farmers will run the facilities under close government monitoring and public-private partnerships, with the aim of keeping production steady and commercially viable.