Huge Unsold Stock: ‘Poultry farmers are lamenting massive losses as people shunned chicken during Christmas, New Year’

In this interview, the Director General, DG, Poultry Association of Nigeria, PAN, Dr Onallo Akpa, narrates the losses incurred by poultry farmers during Christmas and New Year celebrations as many Nigerians snubbed chicken purchases for other commodities based on their purchasing power: Excerpts:

How was the production of chicken ahead of the festivities like?

The preparations of poultry farmers for the Christmas and New Year festivities were highly expectant as, traditionally, there was the belief that Christmas and New Year seasons are periods that every family no matter how poor will be able to afford chicken for the festivals.

Hence, there were heavy investments in broiler production, especially the backyard small-scale poultry producers across the country.

Despite the high cost of Day Old Chicks, DOCs, orchestrated by demands for production for Christmas and the abnormally high cost of poultry feeds, poultry farmers stocked while expecting to sell at Christmas and New Year. There was virtually no family involved in poultry production that never stocked broilers for Christmas – with the expectations that whatever might be the reasons, there will be sales.

What were the challenges poultry farmers encountered during this period?

Sales and patronage at Christmas and New Year..in contrast to the expectations of most poultry farmers, all they produced could not be sold. Surprisingly, over 50 per cent of broilers produced for sale at Christmas could not be sold because of the low purchasing power of the people.

Families are striving to see how they can get any kind of food for their families, and therefore, the luxury of poultry meat as protein was not a consideration during Christmas and New Year. Poultry farmers who thought of making little profit at Christmas and New Year, are, at the moment, lamenting the losses they incurred.

A random survey of our communities at the moment reveals the presence of unsold broilers.The problems of poultry farmers are compounded as they cannot continue to feed the birds as that will amount to additional cost of production in the absence of patronage.

What’s the effect of poor patronage on the poultry industry?

The resultant effect of the development is that the livelihoods of the family who have had their sustenance on small family poultry production is being eroded while farmers are losing confidence in the business, leading to the closure of poultry farms all over the country. The challenge at the moment is that of the extremely high cost of production and induced purchasing power of the people.

What is the way forward in 2025?

Hope is not lost if the economy can be rejigged to look at the critical sectors of the agricultural economy of which the poultry sector is the low-hanging fruit with over 25 million Nigerians directly and indirectly involved in employment provision. More critical is the urgent need for the government to look at the nutrition and food security of the nation of which poultry plays a critical role.

(Vanguard)