Poultry farmers in Lagos State have called for increased financing to scale up production capacity and address persistent challenges in the sector.
One of the farmers, Mrs Queeneth Kingsley, appealed in separate interviews conducted on Monday in the Shasha area of Lagos, noting that limited access to capital remains a major constraint.
According to her, many farmers lack the funds needed to expand operations.
“One of the major challenges poultry farmers face is scaling up production, but the problem is lack of finance.
“Most times, I spend over N1 million to stock my pens with point-of-lay birds. This January alone, I spent N1.9 million, but such capital is not always available. Right now, I even have an empty pen with no birds,” she said.
Kingsley explained that due to financial constraints, many farmers resort to raising day-old chicks to point-of-lay stage, a process she described as increasingly expensive.
“The cost of day-old chicks keeps rising, and feeding them to maturity is also eating deep into our profits.
“The major factor limiting increased production capacity among local poultry farmers is the unavailability of finance,” she added.
She noted that improved access to funding would enable farmers to purchase feed in bulk, expand their land, and increase stock.
“As of today, a day-old chick costs about N3,315. I bought some for N2,950 on April 26, and three cartons of about 250 birds sold for over N400,000.
“If a farmer can stock 1,000 birds, they can produce about 27 crates of eggs daily. At the current farm gate price of N5,300 per crate, farmers can break even,” she said.
Also speaking, Mr Shittu Asimi, an elder statesman of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos State chapter, attributed declining productivity in the sector to the influx of imported poultry products.
“The massive importation of poultry products, especially frozen chicken, is a major factor affecting local production.
“Prices of locally produced chicken are dropping due to low patronage, while the cost of day-old chicks and feed continues to rise,” he said.
Asimi added that consumer preference for imported frozen chicken is undermining local producers.
“We bought day-old chicks at about N1,150 at the beginning of the year. Now, they sell between N1,900 and N3,000, depending on availability,” he noted.
He said many farmers are scaling down operations due to high production costs and weak demand.
“The best thing government can do is to increase the number of local hatcheries and address the high cost of feed.
“Reducing the cost of raw materials will make production more affordable and encourage more investment in agriculture,” he said.
