Cash crunch costs poultry farmers in unsold poultry products
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Scarcity of naira notes has cost poultry farmers 15 million crates of unsold eggs worth N30 billion, laments the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN).
PAN said only about 20 per cent of eggs produced since the first week of February has been sold because of the lack of naira notes to buy basic food items, including eggs and chickens.
Poultry is one of the most consolidated subsectors of agriculture contributing about 25 per cent of the Agricultural Gross Domestic Product (AGDP) and creating more than 25 million direct and indirect jobs, explained a statement issued by PAN National President Sunday Ezeobiora and Director General Onallo Akpa.
Over the years, they said, poultry has been a major employer of labour and a great source of financial empowerment and livelihood for many families, especially women and youths, and the N3 trillion industry is entirely private sector driven.
“At the moment, the poultry industry is on the verge of total collapse and extermination because of the negative and devastating consequences of the currency swap on the industry.
“The near absence of naira notes for Nigerians to make daily transactions have made businesses in the poultry industry more difficult.
“The poultry farmers in the country have lost over 15 million crates of eggs being unsold and are damaged. The average loss to the poultry industry as at this press release is in excess of over N30 billion”
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Measures to prevent poultry farming collapse
“Except some measures of immediate interventions [are taken] by the federal government, the poultry industry in the country is on the verge of total collapse,” the statement said, per Tribune reporting.
“Most of the poultry farmers are now debtors to commercial banks and suppliers of raw materials and other services.
“Let the poultry industry not collapse for the country to once become a dumping ground for all sorts of poultry and poultry products of eggs and chickens.”
PAN urged the government to “mop up the eggs through [PAN] for distribution to the most vulnerable old populations as part of the social investment support to Nigerians.”
It also urged
- The Armed Forces in various peacekeeping operations, the Nigerian Prisons, Internally Displaced Persons camps, primary schools (School Feeding Programme) to “be immediate off-takers of the eggs.”
- The Presidency to direct the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Directorate of Peacekeeping Operations of the Nigeria Armed Forces, and the Social Investment Programme of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management to work with PAN on how poultry farmers can get immediate relief to prevent the collapse of the poultry industry.
- Abuja to make direct grants and financial support to the industry through PAN in special packages to be worked out by the government and PAN.