By Mercy Omoike
Some poultry farmers have decried the rising cost of production in the industry.
The farmers said this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos
Mr Emmanuel Iregbeyen, the Chief Executive Officer of Emiraz Farms Ojo, said the cost of transportation alone had almost crippled the sector’s productivity.
“Transportation is a major challenge to the poultry industry because it increases the cost production generally.
“Transportation is a major challenge for poultry farmers since the hike in price diesel. It costs a lot to run the limited value-chain of sector coupled with the rising of transportation.
“This cost of transportation is having more impact on the poultry industry even more than the cost of feeds.
“This is because the cost of transportation affects all aspects of poultry production,” Iregbeyen told NAN.
He also called on the government to cushion the effects of production costs on the sector by allowing grain imports.
“We are praying for respite for the sector even as we elect a new administration into power come 2023.
“The government can also help cushion the problem of feed cost if it allows the importation of grains into the country.
“The sector is becoming discouraging to a number of us, some farmers have been forced to even close down their farms.
“The cost of production keeps going up that is why even from the major farms a crate of egg is sold for as high as N1,900 as wholesale price.
“For a retailer who buys at that price, he will sell above N2,000, it is not our fault. The cost of material for the poultry sector is not coming down at all, rather it is going higher,” he said
On his part, Mr Joel Oduware, a poultry farmer and processor, said the cost of production would always impact negatively on every aspect of the poultry value-chain.
“The cost of poultry produce will keep increasing as the cost of production keeps soaring.
“All year round we need the cost of production to be stable to be able to break even in the sector.
“Without suitable prices in the production process, we may not be able to stabilise prices in the sector,” Oduware said.
(NAN)
