The recent increase in the cost of poultry feed in the country has been forcing farmers to ration food for their birds.
Findings have shown that the cost of ingredients for the
composition of poultry feeds, particularly maize, has increased by 100
per cent.
For instance, a 100kg bag of maize, which used to cost about N6, 000 in April 2016, is now being sold for about N12, 000.
Also, the cost of fish meal, another important ingredient in
poultry feeds, has increased by 60 per cent. A kilogramme of fish meal
that used to sell for N500 now costs about N800.
However, the price of egg in the market has not enjoyed similar increase.
Before the hike in the cost of poultry feed ingredients, a crate of
eggs used to sell for N600. It is now being sold for between N650 and
N700, depending on the egg size.
This development has led farmers to be rationing food for their birds or mixing their feeds with lesser nutritious ingredients.
This has consequently led to a drop in egg production as malnourished birds do not produce eggs maximally.
Findings also showed that the high cost of maize was due to low
cultivation as a result of the activities of Boko Haram insurgents in
the north, recurring attacks by Fulani herdsmen and flooding.
This situation was confirmed in the 2016 Maize Outlook by a consulting firm, Novus Agro Nigeria Limited.
According to the outlook, the price of maize hit N65, 000 per
metric tonne in January 2016, up from around N45, 000 in October 2015
and has been on steady rise since then.
The Director-General of the Poultry Association of Nigeria, Mr.
Onallo Akpa, said the poultry industry in the country was in crisis.
He said, “Last year, Nigeria produced over 14 billion table
eggs and was recognised as the number one egg producer in Africa. But we
have not been able to calculate the production figure in the last one
year because of the crisis we are going through. But surely, our egg
production figure has dropped. The industry is being threatened now due
to high cost of poultry feeds."
Akpa also said the problem arose as a result of neglect of the
agricultural sector and the non-supply of inputs like fertiliser to the
“few” farmers in the country.
He said, “Maize was being bought between N4, 500 and N5, 000
per 100kg bag in October/November 2015. But now, it is about N12, 000.
Now there is pressure on maize by the poultry industry which consumes
over 2.5 million metric tonnes annually. The breweries and other
industries also compete with us.”
The Chairman of Dedora Nigeria Limited, Lagos, Mr. Emmanuel Omokwale, said his farm had been recording loss every day.
He lamented that before, his farm used to produce 300,000 crates of
eggs per day, but could hardly produce 1,000 crates now because of the
rise in the prices of raw materials.
He said, “The prices of raw materials keep on increasing every
day. Maize is a major example. I have been in this business for over 25
years, I have not bought maize above N80, 000 per tonne. But the price
is now N180, 000 per tonne. With the way it is going, only God knows
when it will end.
“Other problem is non-availability of vitamins and others which
are used to produce amino acid to enrich poultry feed. All these things
are not produced in Nigeria. Maize and soya beans are locally produced,
but soya beans are sometimes imported into the country. The foreign
exchange crisis has compounded the non-availability of vitamins.”
Omokwale added that the foreign exchange crisis, increase in fuel
price and high interest rate have also contributed to the problem the
poultry industry is facing.
“We are not breaking even because we cannot meet the cost of
feeding the birds. In my farm, I provide water, electricity, labour and
security. For instance, I buy diesel at N200 per litre and I use a
minimum of 200 litres of diesel per day, that is, N40,000 on diesel
alone daily,” he said.
Omokwale added that these problems had led to a sharp decline in the production of eggs on his farm.
He said, “We can’t meet demand for eggs because we don’t have
enough birds. We don’t have the capacity to stock now. The problem is
that the more we produce, the more we lose. We cannot just expand
because to feed the birds alone is difficult.
“Some poultry farms ration the feeding of their birds. But the
problem with that is that if you adopt that method, you will be worse
off. That is why you have to cut down your stock. It is too expensive to
stock now. Everybody will soon see the effect of what is happening now
in the country.”
The Managing Director of Abibcom Farms in Ogun State, Dr. Habib
Stephen Temitope, also said insecurity had contributed to the
non-availability of raw materials for poultry feed.
He said, “How do you feed your birds when the cost of raw
materials is increasing every day? The best thing is to reduce your
stocking capacity. A kilogramme of maize cost N44 before, but it is
being sold for N105. So, if you are buying 100 kilogrammes of maize, you
need N105, 000 to do so unlike before when it cost N44, 000.
“But in spite of the rise in the cost of raw materials, poultry
farmers cannot increase the price of eggs. Vaccine is another problem.
You are to vaccinate your birds. Some farmers are rationing food for
their birds just to keep them alive because of these problems.”
A poultry farmer in Ibadan, Oyo State, who has about 2,000 birds,
Mr. Isaac Oguntuase, said he had started rationing feeds for his birds
because of its cost implication and the financial crisis he was going
through.
He explained that the adequate quantity of poultry feeds required
daily for his birds is 250kg as each consumes an average of 125 grammes
of food per day.
He said, “I can tell you that the cost of poultry feed has
increased by 100 per cent. My birds have not been eating as they should;
instead of giving them 250 kg of feed daily, I have reduced the ration
to about 200kg.
“But the problem with that is that their egg production has
dropped by 30 per cent already. If birds don’t eat well, they won’t
produce eggs as they should and the little they produce might also be
small in size.”
A poultry farmer in Ogun State, Mr. Johnson Anwuzie, said he had
been substituting maize with dried garri (koko) and fish meal with soya
beans.
But he noted that the move had reduced his birds’ egg production
rate. Instead of an average of 180 crates of eggs daily, Anwuzie has
been getting less than 140 crates since he started adulterating feed for
his birds.
“I have been losing a lot of money because of the high cost of maize and its unavailability,” he said.
A poultry farmer in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Mr. Oladapo John, said he had reduced the stock of fowls on his farm.
He said, “Instead of adulterating their feed, I have reduced
the stock of fowls on my farm. But unlike before when I used to produce
100 egg crates on my farm, I only produce 30 now.”
A poultry farmer, Mr. Azeez Gbolahan, described the rising cost of
feeds as disturbing, saying the trend has had enormous effect on his
business.
Gbolahan, who rears layers and cockerels, lamented that in spite of
the increasing cost of the feeds, any attempt to increase the price of
their products would lead to loss of customers.
He said, “The prices have skyrocketed. It is killing the
business and eating into our profit. For instance, at the beginning of
the year, a bag of layers mash was around N2,200, but now it’s N2,900.
It was about N2,650 just three weeks ago, but now it has increased
again.
“Painfully, you can’t just increase the prices of your products
like that, else you will lose customers. I tried it. I raised the price
of a crate of eggs from N700 to N750, but I lost a lot of customers as a
result.”
Findings by Saturday PUNCH also showed that many poultry farmers
are moving out of the business as it has become difficult to sustain
their farms under the current circumstances.
For example, a farmer with about 1,000 birds in Ibadan, Oyo State,
Mr. Busuyi Olalekan, said he was already searching for a buyer for his
birds and other assets on his farm.
He said, “A lot of farmers are moving out of the business,
particularly small farm owners and that is what I’m about to do. The
cost of feed has increased drastically, but the price of eggs has not
increased considerably.”
An agricultural consultant and Publisher of Farming Advice Digest,
Dr. Joseph Deji-Folutile, said in his interaction with farmers, most of
them had kept on lamenting a drop in egg production because of the high
cost of maize.
He said, “Most of them have been rationing what they feed their
birds because more than 85 per cent of poultry production cost is on
feeding. A farmer was telling me that he was thinking of closing down
because production was not picking up on time. It is from the sale of
eggs that farmers make money to remain in business, so once the birds
are not producing eggs, they will be running at a loss.
“The major thing is that the maize is expensive and not even
available. And when it is available, it is at a high cost and the
quality may not even be as high as expected. And when farmers don’t have
what they want, they make do with what they have, so it is really a
major problem.
“When birds are not well fed, their immune system will not be
at peak level and whatever infection they are exposed to will get them
down. Maize which gives energy is the major ingredient in feed
production, so the high cost of feed and other attendant problems have
really affected the farmers.
“I have a client who used to produce about 1,500 crates of eggs
daily and because of starving the birds, production went down to about
700 crates. If they get the maize in the right content, it takes some
time for the birds to pick up again. These are not the best of times for
farmers.”
Likewise, a veterinary doctor who consults for poultry farms, Mr.
Adedayo Ojo, said underfeeding poultry birds could affect their immunity
and expose them to infections.
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Culled from Saturday Punch
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