FG, China Plan $900m Poultry Project to Produce 6 Million Eggs Daily

The Federal Government, in partnership with China, is planning a 900-million-dollar investment in large-scale poultry projects aimed at producing up to six million eggs daily to address Nigeria’s protein deficit and strengthen food security.

Source: businesselitesafrica

Joseph Tegbe, Director-General and Global Liaison for the Nigeria–China Strategic Partnership, disclosed this in an interview in Abuja. He said the initiative reflects a shift in Nigeria-China relations from infrastructure cooperation to partnerships focused on agriculture, industrial production, and technology transfer.

According to him, the plan includes six integrated poultry farms across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, with each farm designed to produce one million eggs daily.

Tegbe said Oyo State and Kaduna State will host the pilot projects, while four additional farms will follow after the initial phase.

Each facility will operate as an integrated agricultural complex with about one million laying hens and 300,000 broilers. The farms will also include hatcheries, abattoirs, power-generation plants and feed-processing facilities.

He said each project will also have about 10,000 hectares of farmland to grow maize and soybeans used for feed production in order to reduce feed costs, which account for about 80 percent of poultry production expenses.

Tegbe said each poultry farm will require about 150 million dollars in investment covering land cultivation, irrigation systems, feed processing facilities, poultry housing and other infrastructure.

The first two pilot projects will be fully financed by the Nigerian government, while the remaining four will be funded through a partnership with Chinese investors.

Under the arrangement, China will provide 85 percent of the financing for the four farms, while Nigeria will contribute 15 percent as counterpart funding.

The funding is expected to come with a 10-year repayment plan and a three-year moratorium.

Tegbe said the projects will operate on a commercial basis and are projected to repay their investment within about three and a half years.

He added that reducing feed costs could help lower egg prices and make protein more affordable for households.

Eggs currently sell for between 250 and 300 naira across Nigeria, making them increasingly expensive for many families.

The projects will also supply about half of the feedstock produced to smaller poultry farmers to help reduce their operating costs.

Tegbe said the poultry complexes will use modern production technology and temperature-controlled systems similar to large-scale poultry farms in China.

Construction of the pilot farms is expected to start after approvals, with egg production projected to begin within six to eight months after construction begins.

He added that the government plans to eventually transfer management of the facilities to Nigerian private sector operators and list the projects on the Nigerian Exchange so citizens can acquire shares.