Some poultry farmers in Bauchi, Gombe and Jigawa have expressed concern over rising feed costs and poor market conditions, which they said had negatively affected their production capacity.
They said the trend had forced them to embrace alternative feeds to recover their investments amid declining demand for poultry products.
The farmers, who spoke in separate interviews with reporters in Bauchi, Dutse and Gombe, said high production costs, coupled with weak purchasing power, had threatened the sustainability of their businesses.
Poultry farming involves raising birds for commercial or domestic purposes, including chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese, for meat or egg production.
Mrs Margret Yohanna, a Bauchi-based poultry farmer, said the cost of feeding birds had become a major concern, forcing her to reconsider the scale of her operations.
She said she had reduced the number of chicks she raised from 100 to 50 to cut expenses and make some profit.
“The situation reflects the wider difficulties facing poultry farmers, who must balance the rising cost of production against consumers’ ability to pay for poultry products,” she said.
Yohanna said a bag of processed feed cost between N20,000 and N23,000, adding that she spent about N8,000 to feed a chick from the starter to the finisher stage.
She said the high cost of production, coupled with poor market conditions, was making the business less attractive.
Mrs Aisha Musa said she relied on locally processed feed to cut costs and remain in business.
Musa attributed the increase in poultry product prices to high production costs amid low patronage.
She said some customers were concerned about the high concentration of chemicals in feed, a factor she said had contributed to low demand for poultry products.
Another farmer, Abdulkahar Lawal, said the trend had created significant imbalances in the poultry industry and forced some small-scale operators to shut down.
“Farmers now consider the cost of raising their birds against prevailing market prices to determine whether they can make a profit,” he said.
Similarly, Umar Ibrahim said farmers were struggling to make reasonable profits because of the high cost of feed, vaccines and other production inputs.
He said the prevailing prices of poultry products were below production costs, exposing farmers to losses.
However, Aliyu Hamza, a poultry feed dealer in Dutse, Jigawa, said prices had dropped slightly due to low patronage.
He said a 25-kilogramme bag of feed sold for between N20,000 and N22,000, down from N24,000 previously.
Hamza attributed the price reduction to declining demand, adding that sales usually improved during Ramadan and the Eid festivities.
He said feed dealers and poultry product sellers were also affected by the challenges facing poultry farmers.
Also, Sunusi Abdu, a member of the Jigawa State Poultry Sellers Association, said his daily sales had dropped to about 60 chickens from 150 previously.
“Sales have also slowed, leaving some birds unsold for several days,” he said.
Similarly, Ali Halilu, chairman of the Chicken Sellers Association in Dutse Local Government Area, attributed the trend to the economic downturn, adding that low demand had affected the prices of some locally raised chickens.
Halilu said a medium-sized local chicken that previously sold for N3,000 now sold for N2,500.
Meanwhile, farmers in Gombe said the situation had forced some of them to abandon poultry farming.
Mrs Florence John and Yunua Ibrahim, who have been in the poultry business for more than five years, said high production costs had made it difficult to earn reasonable returns on their investments.
John said some farmers in Yelenguza community had closed their farms because they could no longer afford the high cost of feed.
“Things are really not looking good for poultry farmers in Gombe State because of the high cost of feed and vaccines.
“Today, around 30 to 40 per cent of poultry farmers in my community have closed their farms because they can no longer sustain the business,” she said.
Ibrahim urged the federal and state governments to provide loans and grants to farmers, stressing that poultry farming contributed to food security and employment generation.
“We call for targeted government support, improved access to affordable credit and measures to reduce the cost of poultry production.
“Supporting local feed production, providing subsidies and improving access to essential inputs will help sustain poultry businesses and protect jobs,” he said.
