Poor financial support, insecurity, and low egg consumption are some of the problems limiting the expansion of poultry farming in Nigeria, according to Engr. Idowu Adenuga, Chairman of the Poultry Association of Nigeria Ogun State (PANOG). Engr. Adenuga noted the rising price of chicken feed as another difficulty facing the country’s poultry industry when speaking to reporters in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State, ahead of this year’s World Eggs Day. Therefore, he urged the federal and state governments, as well as other important stakeholders including banks, to support poultry producers by offering loan facilities with low interest rates and by providing enough security in order to improve farming activities across the nation.
According to Engr. Adenuga, “as of October 2022, there are 63 million chickens distributed among poultry farms in Nigeria, with Ogun State generating 10 million of them.” Additionally, compared to China, which produces 472.6 billion eggs annually and consumes 315 eggs per person annually, Nigeria produces 10 billion eggs annually at an average consumption rate of 50 eggs per person. The Ogun State administration has pledged that it will continue to put poultry farmers’ safety and investment across the state first in all of its efforts.
The government vowed that the funds for poultry farmers is timed right.
Speaking through Dr. Angel Adelaja-Kuye, Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Agriculture, the government promised to make sure that funds from the federal government for poultry farmers are timed properly and do not stand at the expense of farmers. The government recalled that it already had a synergy with the farmers. Dr. Nurudeen Gbadamosi of the Federal Medical Centre in Abeokuta refuted the beliefs and misconceptions that eating eggs is unhealthy, especially for people of a specific age because of the false notion that it might result in the accumulation of bad cholesterol in earlier health.
Gbadamosi emphasized that individuals of a certain age shouldn’t be averse to eating eggs because of their health advantages, noting that eggs contain vital vitamins, minerals, and protein that are needed to maintain healthy body function, develop the immune system, provide energy for work, and provide blood clothing in the event of injury. However, due to specific underlying illnesses that some people have, eating eggs should be done in moderation and not in excess.
An overview on Nigeria’s agricultural sector’s situation.
Agriculture contributed to 22.35 percent of the overall Gross Domestic Product between January and March 2021. Moreover 70% of Nigerians work in agriculture, primarily for subsistence. Despite its economic significance, Nigeria’s agricultural sector suffers numerous difficulties that have an impact on its output. Poor land tenure systems, insufficient irrigation for agricultural, climate change, and land degradation are a few of these issues. Other factors include inadequate funding, significant post-harvest losses, minimal access to markets, low technology, high production costs, and poor input distribution.
Due to these difficulties, agricultural output has been inhibited, which has reduced the sector’s contribution to the nation’s GDP and increased food imports due to population growth which has resulted in diminishing levels of food sufficiency. For instance, Nigeria’s total agricultural imports between 2016 and 2019 were N3.35 trillion, which is four times the country’s total agricultural export of N803 billion during the same period. The Nigeria-Africa Trade and Investment Promotion Programme, the Presidential Economic Diversification Initiative, Economic and Export Promotion Incentives, the Zero Reject Initiative, the Agriculture Promotion Policy (APP), the Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), and the Action Against Desertification.
Nigeria’s forest ecosystems are threatened by rapid population growth.
It is impossible to overstate how important forestry is to development and agriculture in general. According to an FAO 2018 report, Nigeria’s forest ecosystems are under danger due to the country’s rapid economic development and population expansion, with an annual deforestation rate of 0.72 to 2.38 percent. Among the causes of this trend include increased grazing, urbanization, unsustainable timber exploitation, significant reliance on firewood and charcoal for energy and infrastructure development. To ensure food security and nutrition for the growing population—which is expected to exceed 400 million by 2050—it is vital to increase agricultural production through the adoption of new technology and innovations. To achieve this goal, it is essential that all partners support the work of the federal and state governments.
Related Link
FAO: Website
