POULTRY farmers nationwide said their members lost more than N3 trillion investments from the prevailing economic hardships in 2023.
The farmers, under the aegis of Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos State chapter, made the disclosure while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos.
The Lagos State chapter Chairman of PAN, Mr Mojeed Iyiola, said the prevailing harsh economic situation in the country had forced majority of its members to quit the business.
Iyiola said the association lost the amount in revenue in 2023 following the massive closure of poultry farms by majority of its members who could not meet up with their financial requirements to keep their businesses afloat.
According to him, the economic impact of the massive closure of poultry farms in the country since 2023 is enormous.
“Since the closure of about 50 per cent of poultry farms across the country, the sector has lost over N3 trillion.
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“This is because in each state, we are losing actually N6 billion; so, rounding it off, we have lost trillions of naira across all value chains of the poultry sector.
“We just want to continue to urge our members not to quit the industry in spite of the difficulties being faced,” Iyiola said.
A former Chairman of PAN, Lagos State chapter, Mr Lanre Bello, noted that the closure of such poultry farms had resulted in massive loss of jobs and incurred debts by members.
“The economic impacts of the massive closure of poultry farms across the country are numerous.
“One is the massive loss of jobs in the sector, a lot of people also lost their investments, and are now indebted because of their inability to pay back their loans.
“In essence, the effects of the losses cannot be quantified and the only way to rectify it is to come to the rescue of poultry farmers.
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“We must come to the aid of the sector because poultry remains a viable source of protein; chicken and egg I would not say is cheap but it is affordable,” Bello said.
He also restated the importance of poultry products to human diet, especially children.
“Nutritionists said eggs provide more than 50 per cent of protein requirements in human diet and also aids brain development in children.
“In most of our diets, protein is disappearing and if we allow it to continue, we will be dealing with a much dangerous problem.
“We are likely going to begin to experience stunted growth in children, which phenomenon we have started to witness,” he added. NAN reports that a crate of egg now sells for between N3,200 and N3,500 depending on the size. (NAN)
