The Poultry Association of Nigeria, Lagos State (PANLAG), Badagry chapter, has appealed to the Federal Government to ban exportation of maize in order to have sufficient feeds for chicken.
Dr Olusegun Adedayo, Chairman of PANLAG, made the appeal on Saturday at the association’s End of the Year Party/Stakeholders’ Meeting in Badagry.
Adedayo said that local poultry farmers were suffering from the impact of maize exportation, in spite of the fact that the local production could not meet the farmers’ demands.
“Government should encourage more production of maize and soya beans locally, because this is what constitutes most of the ingredients for chicken’s feed.
“But, unfortunately we heard that they are exporting maize, irrespective of the fact that they have not met the local demands.
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“We implore the government to allow the importation of maize and ban its exportation so that our chicken can have enough food to eat.
“Many farmers have closed their farms due to this challenge, because they are no longer making any profit,” he said.
The chairman also said that apart from the feeds, poultry farmers were still facing the challenge of vaccination, noting that its cost was another issue.
“The price of a day old chick keeps increasing in the hatchery; more and more farmers are moving out of business because the input cost outweighs the profits.
“We are appealing to the Federal Government to intervene and save our business from collapsing,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a seminar was held to sensitise the farmers on the advancement of poultry farm in operations through Science and Technology.
Mr Jimoh Raphael, the Manager, P and G Foods, Badagry, sensitised the farmers to hack for safety of poultry birds and frequency of vaccination and feeding.