The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos State chapter, has called on the Federal Government to intervene by subsidising the prices of poultry feed and input to curb the rising cost of poultry products.
Mr Godwin Egbebe the PAN Chairman, Lagos State, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Tuesday in Lagos.
According to him, the increasing cost of poultry products is as a result of rising inflation across the entire value-chain.
“We are not surprised at the current increase in poultry products due to many factors including the hike in animal feed and others.
“For instance the cost of transportation within the value-chain affects the price of poultry products. It has a ripple effects across the entire sector.
“The only way we can stop this consistent hike in the prices of poultry products is through government intervention by subsidising the costs of inputs across the poultry sector.
This value-chain will help in price stability of the products because there is nothing much that the poultry farmers can do about the increasing prices without the governments’ intervention.
Egbebe said that Poultry farmers across the country were finding it difficult to break even because of the extra cost across the value-chain.
He noted that Poultry farmers needed the help of government to sustain the sector.
“The cost around the poultry sector value-chain is increasing on a daily basis and a lot of farmers are closing shops because they cannot break even.
“This trend has also resulted in less supply of poultry products with increasing demand, hence the continuous hike in price.
“Poultry farmers are looking for so many alternatives to help them in sourcing feed for their birds, still it is not enough.
“Poultry farmers in business are currently not really making much profit; we are only trying to stay afloat.
“Our members have been complaining about the increase in the cost of poultry feed while people are complaining about the cost of the produce.
“In addition, it is what we buy that we are selling; and so the cost of production is affecting the price of the product.
“It is the poultry farmer that is in the real quagmire. Poultry farmers are not asking for too much, we just need help,” Egbebe said. (NAN)
