The Poultry Association of Nigeria has said that the country is likely to experience a period of farming in 2021, as a result of the nationwide lockdown caused by the outbreak of coronavirus.
Mr Ezekiel Ibrahim Mam, President of the association, made this public in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday.
He said, “This year 2020, we are at least better off because we have enough food on ground but in 2021 we are going to face clear starvation, not just hunger because of lockdown and restriction of movement of people since farmers cannot move to their farms.
“Already, the rainy season has set in so, if the maize producers, soybeans farmers could not go to their farms that is a threat to the poultry industry.
“This is because 70 per cent of the raw materials for the poultry industry, especially poultry production is soya and maize. We have two issues, which are the lockdown, security, and activities of bandits.”
The president of Poultry Association of Nigeria, however, appealed to the Federal Government to rise to the occasion and take responsibility to secure farmers by mobilising them to resume back at their farm land and produce food for Nigeria.
Ibrahim pointed out that easing the lockdown on the movement of Nigerian farmers and mobilising them would evade the foreseen starvation of the country in 2021.
“We need to wake up, the government needs to wake up to its duties because we are generally experiencing terrible and tough times,” he added.
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