World Egg Day: Poultry Association seeks Government’s Intervention, Value Addition 

CHALLENGES

The cost of feeding and maintaining birds determines the price of eggs in the Nigerian market. And currently it is quite high.

A member of the Association, Mrs. Edith Onyeji, said the cost of feed inputs like soya beans, maize and others has become unbearable for poultry farmers.

“In the Federal Capital Territory alone, most of our farmers have closed down;

“The question is ‘what is the problem?’

“The high cost of feed inputs like maize, soya and other ingredients is becoming unbearable for farmers. Before now, a bag of feed was about 2,500 Naira to 5,000 Naira, but now it 9,000 Naira or even more,” she lamented.

She listed non-access to loans, insecurity, poor marketing (caused by bad roads) which leads to egg glut and losses and lack of modern poultry equipment as some of the challenges facing poultry farmers in Nigeria.

Explaining further on the issues of insecurity, Mrs. Onyeji said most of the poultry farms are located in the suburbs away from residential areas and, as a result, their members were getting kidnapped.

“We have this insecurity. Poultry farms cannot be sited within residential areas.

“Most of the farms are in the suburbs so we are having the issues of insecurity.

“Most of our farmers are getting kidnapped so they have no choice but to shut down.

“We also have the challenges of marketing.

“There is always egg glut: you find out that even in the midst of this high cost of inputs, when our farmers produce, they find it difficult to sell unless you sell to the middle men who are now making and reaping the farmers’ sweat,” she explained.

The Secretary of the FCT chapter, Mr. Musa Hakeem, also lent his voice to poultry farmers:

“Recently, many farms in the FCT were destroyed by windstorm which we have been looking for a way to reach out to the FCT administration to come to the aid of these affected farmers.

“Sometime in May 2022 some farm settlements were blown away by the windstorm and, we have evidence and list of the farmers.”

He also noted that poor access roads have had adverse effects on the movement of poultry products.

VALUE ADDITION AND GOVERNMENT’S INTERVENTIONS

On how to improve value addition and end egg glut, Mrs Onyeji called on the government to support them by mopping-up eggs and creating cottage industries that would process these eggs into powder and other forms, which she said would boost the egg value chain in the country.

According to her, it will also go a long way in creating job opportunities for the country’s teeming youths.

On access to loans, Mr. Musa Hakeem called on the government to create an enabling environment for the Poultry business to thrive by making loans available and tailoring the loan repayments to suit the farmer.

Hakeem explained that poultry farmers need some months of grace before commencement of loan repayment as poultry products take 3 months or more to mature before farmers would make money and start repaying the loans.

IMPORTANCE Of EGGS

A guest speaker at the event, Mr. Maikasuwa Abduljaba, spoke on the importance of eggs:

“Eggs contain a lot of very important nutrients such as selenium, Vitamin A and E, Folate, Riboflavin, Choline and Lutein which help boost the immune system.

“One hard-boiled egg is a complete meal as it contains nutrients needed.

“Eggs have lots of nutritive benefits to health and play a vital role in the health of growing children.”

According to the World Egg Organization, World Egg Day is all about recognizing the humble “egg” as an incredibly unique source of protein and essential nutrients, all within an accessible and affordable package.

This year’s theme, ‘Eggs for a Better Life’, focuses on the nutritional and environmental benefits of eggs, which improve lives worldwide.