Problem dey Naija oooo....The recent increase in the cost of poultry feed in the country has been forcing farmers to ration food for their birds.
Findings have shown that the cost of
ingredients for the composition of poultry feeds, particularly maize,
has increased by 100 per cent.
For instance, a 100kg bag of maize, which used to cost about N6, 000 in April 2016, is now being sold for about N12, 000.
Also, the cost of fish meal, another
important ingredient in poultry feeds, has increased by 60 per cent. A
kilogramme of fish meal that used to sell for N500 now costs about N800.
However, the price of egg in the market has not enjoyed similar increase.
Before the hike in the cost of poultry
feed ingredients, a crate of eggs used to sell for N600. It is now being
sold for between N650 and N700, depending on the egg size.
This development has led farmers to be rationing food for their birds or mixing their feeds with lesser nutritious ingredients.
This has consequently led to a drop in egg production as malnourished birds do not produce eggs maximally.
Findings also showed that the high cost
of maize was due to low cultivation as a result of the activities of
Boko Haram insurgents in the north, recurring attacks by Fulani herdsmen
and flooding.
This situation was confirmed in the 2016 Maize Outlook by a consulting firm, Novus Agro Nigeria Limited.
According to the outlook, the price of
maize hit N65, 000 per metric tonne in January 2016, up from around N45,
000 in October 2015 and has been on steady rise since then.
The Director-General of the Poultry
Association of Nigeria, Mr. Onallo Akpa, said the poultry industry in
the country was in crisis.
He said, “Last year, Nigeria produced
over 14 billion table eggs and was recognised as the number one egg
producer in Africa. But we have not been able to calculate the
production figure in the last one year because of the crisis we are
going through. But surely, our egg production figure has dropped. The
industry is being threatened now due to high cost of poultry feeds.
Akpa also said the problem arose as a
result of neglect of the agricultural sector and the non-supply of
inputs like fertiliser to the “few” farmers in the country.
He said, “Maize was being bought between
N4, 500 and N5, 000 per 100kg bag in October/November 2015. But now, it
is about N12, 000. Now there is pressure on maize by the poultry
industry which consumes over 2.5 million metric tonnes annually. The
breweries and other industries also compete with us.”
The Chairman of Dedora Nigeria Limited, Lagos, Mr. Emmanuel Omokwale, said his farm had been recording loss every day.
He lamented that before, his farm used
to produce 300,000 crates of eggs per day, but could hardly produce
1,000 crates now because of the rise in the prices of raw materials.
He said, “The prices of raw materials
keep on increasing every day. Maize is a major example. I have been in
this business for over 25 years, I have not bought maize above N80, 000
per tonne. But the price is now N180, 000 per tonne. With the way it is
going, only God knows when it will end.
“Other problem is non-availability of
vitamins and others which are used to produce amino acid to enrich
poultry feed. All these things are not produced in Nigeria. Maize and
soya beans are locally produced, but soya beans are sometimes imported
into the country. The foreign exchange crisis has compounded the
non-availability of vitamins.”
Omokwale added that the foreign exchange
crisis, increase in fuel price and high interest rate have also
contributed to the problem the poultry industry is facing.
“We are not breaking even because we
cannot meet the cost of feeding the birds. In my farm, I provide water,
electricity, labour and security. For instance, I buy diesel at N200 per
litre and I use a minimum of 200 litres of diesel per day, that is,
N40,000 on diesel alone daily,” he said.
Omokwale added that these problems had led to a sharp decline in the production of eggs on his farm.
He said, “We can’t meet demand for eggs
because we don’t have enough birds. We don’t have the capacity to stock
now. The problem is that the more we produce, the more we lose. We
cannot just expand because to feed the birds alone is difficult.
“Some poultry farms ration the feeding
of their birds. But the problem with that is that if you adopt that
method, you will be worse off. That is why you have to cut down your
stock. It is too expensive to stock now. Everybody will soon see the
effect of what is happening now in the country.”
The Managing Director of Abibcom Farms
in Ogun State, Dr. Habib Stephen Temitope, also said insecurity had
contributed to the non-availability of raw materials for poultry feed.
He said, “How do you feed your birds
when the cost of raw materials is increasing every day? The best thing
is to reduce your stocking capacity. A kilogramme of maize cost N44
before, but it is being sold for N105. So, if you are buying 100
kilogrammes of maize, you need N105, 000 to do so unlike before when it
cost N44, 000.
“But in spite of the rise in the cost of
raw materials, poultry farmers cannot increase the price of eggs.
Vaccine is another problem. You are to vaccinate your birds. Some
farmers are rationing food for their birds just to keep them alive
because of these problems.”
A poultry farmer in Ibadan, Oyo State,
who has about 2,000 birds, Mr. Isaac Oguntuase, said he had started
rationing feeds for his birds because of its cost implication and the
financial crisis he was going through.
He explained that the adequate quantity
of poultry feeds required daily for his birds is 250kg as each consumes
an average of 125 grammes of food per day.
He said, “I can tell you that the cost
of poultry feed has increased by 100 per cent. My birds have not been
eating as they should; instead of giving them 250 kg of feed daily, I
have reduced the ration to about 200kg.
“But the problem with that is that their
egg production has dropped by 30 per cent already. If birds don’t eat
well, they won’t produce eggs as they should and the little they produce
might also be small in size.”
A poultry farmer in Ogun State, Mr.
Johnson Anwuzie, said he had been substituting maize with dried garri
(koko) and fish meal with soya beans.
But he noted that the move had reduced
his birds’ egg production rate. Instead of an average of 180 crates of
eggs daily, Anwuzie has been getting less than 140 crates since he
started adulterating feed for his birds.
“I have been losing a lot of money because of the high cost of maize and its unavailability,” he said.
A poultry farmer in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Mr. Oladapo John, said he had reduced the stock of fowls on his farm.
He said, “Instead of adulterating their
feed, I have reduced the stock of fowls on my farm. But unlike before
when I used to produce 100 egg crates on my farm, I only produce 30
now.”
A poultry farmer, Mr. Azeez Gbolahan,
described the rising cost of feeds as disturbing, saying the trend has
had enormous effect on his business.
Gbolahan, who rears layers and
cockerels, lamented that in spite of the increasing cost of the feeds,
any attempt to increase the price of their products would lead to loss
of customers.
He said, “The prices have skyrocketed.
It is killing the business and eating into our profit. For instance, at
the beginning of the year, a bag of layers mash was around N2,200, but
now it’s N2,900. It was about N2,650 just three weeks ago, but now it
has increased again.
“Painfully, you can’t just increase the
prices of your products like that, else you will lose customers. I tried
it. I raised the price of a crate of eggs from N700 to N750, but I lost
a lot of customers as a result.”
Findings by us also
showed that many poultry farmers are moving out of the business as it
has become difficult to sustain their farms under the current
circumstances.
For example, a farmer with about 1,000
birds in Ibadan, Oyo State, Mr. Busuyi Olalekan, said he was already
searching for a buyer for his birds and other assets on his farm.
He said, “A lot of farmers are moving
out of the business, particularly small farm owners and that is what I’m
about to do. The cost of feed has increased drastically, but the price
of eggs has not increased considerably.”
An agricultural consultant and Publisher
of Farming Advice Digest, Dr. Joseph Deji-Folutile, said in his
interaction with farmers, most of them had kept on lamenting a drop in
egg production because of the high cost of maize.
He said, “Most of them have been
rationing what they feed their birds because more than 85 per cent of
poultry production cost is on feeding. A farmer was telling me that he
was thinking of closing down because production was not picking up on
time. It is from the sale of eggs that farmers make money to remain in
business, so once the birds are not producing eggs, they will be running
at a loss.
“The major thing is that the maize is
expensive and not even available. And when it is available, it is at a
high cost and the quality may not even be as high as expected. And when
farmers don’t have what they want, they make do with what they have, so
it is really a major problem.
“When birds are not well fed, their
immune system will not be at peak level and whatever infection they are
exposed to will get them down. Maize which gives energy is the major
ingredient in feed production, so the high cost of feed and other
attendant problems have really affected the farmers.
“I have a client who used to produce
about 1,500 crates of eggs daily and because of starving the birds,
production went down to about 700 crates. If they get the maize in the
right content, it takes some time for the birds to pick up again. These
are not the best of times for farmers.”
Likewise, a veterinary doctor who
consults for poultry farms, Mr. Adedayo Ojo, said underfeeding poultry
birds could affect their immunity and expose them to infections.
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