Poultry farmers lament: We lost N3trn investment to economic hardship

Poultry farmers across Nigeria say they lost more than N3 trillion investments over the economic hardship in the country in 2023.

The farmers, under the aegis of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos State chapter, made the disclosure in Lagos on Monday, February 5, 2024.

The Lagos PAN Chairman, Mojeed Iyiola, said the prevailing harsh economic situation in the country forced many poultry farmers to quit the business.

Iyiola said the association lost the amount in revenue in 2023, following the massive closure of poultry farms by many members who could not meet 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.

PAN: Over 50% Nigerian poultry farms shut down operations in 2023

“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 told NAN.

Also speaking, a former Lagos PAN Chairman, Lanre Bello, said the closure of some poultry farms had resulted in massive loss of jobs and incurred debt by members.

Bello said: “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.

“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.”

A crate of eggs now sells for between N3,200 and N3,500 depending on the size.

The Star