NIGERIA – Shortages of domestic corn and soybeans, and a ban on imports of corn is the root course to the exacerbating feed crisis in Nigeria, according to the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN).
As a result, PAN has made an urgent call on the federal government led by President Bola Tinubu to intervene to control escalating feed costs, warning that the situation is threatening collapse to the sector.
According to a senior official in one PAN chapter, feed that cost NGN8,000 (US$9.11) for a 25-kg bag in November is now selling for NGN10,950.
Furthermore, he said, feed prices are usually lowest at this time of year.
The association highlights that the costs of feed, animal products and other inputs continue to spiral in Nigeria, trapping the population and the farming community in a vicious economic cycle.
Worsening the situation, Nigeria is experiencing its highest inflation rate for 20 years.
According to an analysis by Business Day Nigeria, the rolling annual inflation rate rose again in December to 28.9%. This 12th consecutive monthly increase is putting ever more pressure on the population of the West African state, and adversely impacting livelihoods.
To remain in business, poultry farmers require financial support from the government in the form of grants, the PAN official said.
Even at low rates of interest, most poultry businesses are in too fragile a state to repay any further loans.
According to the official, domestic corn output this marketing year is expected to be 7% lower than the previous comparable period.
This is the result of higher production costs linked to a weakening in the naira, as well as ongoing violence and insecurity in the northern regions of the country where it is grown, according to a recent analysis by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).
These conditions had led to a reduction in the area harvested, as well as lower yields.
With corn comprising 60% to 65% of poultry feed, FAS highlighted that rising feed costs were presenting ever greater challenges to Nigerian poultry farmers. It highlighted that the situation was exacerbated by speculative purchasing of corn, and the rising costs of diesel and transportation.
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