SPECIAL REPORT: How Hike In Price Of Feeds Is Crippling Poultry Farming In Kano – By Victor Christopher

By Victor Christopher

Egg scarcity is looming in Kano following the closure of many poultry farms due to the rising cost of feeds in the state.

In the last six months, about 80 per cent of poultry farmers in the state have left the poultry business as the price of the feeds continues to increase. Poultry Farmers Count Their Losses

Habib Abdulhadi Habib, a poultry farmer in Turin Wuzurchi, Kano Municipal Local Government Area is one of the affected farmers.

Habib revealed that “He lost hope in the business which made him shut down his poultry farm as he could no longer feed his birds due to the hike in feed price”.

Also, Alh. Ibrahim Nuhu, another poultry farmer in Bunkure local government, recently sold 1,500 out of his 6,000 birds to reduce his production costs. Consequently, Alh. Nuhu is now realizing just 75 crates of eggs as against the 125 he was getting before.

In our chat, Alh. Ibrahim fears that “Eggs will be scarce in the State due to increasing price of feeds unless the government intervenes”.

With over 1,000 registered members, Kano poultry farmers usually produce 10,000 crates of eggs daily, but now they barely produce 5,000 crates, as confirmed by the Spokesman of the Poultry Farmers Association of Nigeria PAN in Kano, Abdullahi Sulaiman Ishaq.

“Before the increase in the price of maize, we produced at least 10,000 crates per day. I know two people who produce 5,000 crates in a day. But the least we produce is 5,000 crates”, he said.

Hike In Prices of Maize and Feeds

Maize constitutes a larger part of the production materials for animal feeds. However, the effect of climate change, worsening insecurity, and local consumption of maize by Nigerians are making the product scarce, hence its hike in price.

At the Dawanau International Grain Market, a bag of maize prices moved from N22,000 at the beginning of the year to over N75,000 in August, making people buying in bulk queue to get it.

Expectedly, the development skyrocketed the price of the feeds across the State. A 25kg bag of feeds ranges from N10,000 to N11,000, depending on the brand, as against the initial N6,700, a situation that throws the hapless farmers out of business.

Commenting, the Managing Director of Na Maituwo Agrovet, Abbas Yahaya Na Mai-Tuwo laments over the worrying situation, fears that “The affected farmers would soon join the thousands of Nigerians who are currently jobless”.

NBS Says 3,567 Jobs Lost In 2023

The National Bureau of Statistics claimed that our unemployment rate dropped from 33.3% to 4.1%, about 3,567 jobs were lost in the manufacturing sector in the first half of 2023 alone.

Also, the NBS report in November 2022 revealed that 133 million Nigerians are multidimensional poor. The recent removal of fuel subsidy even worsens the situation.

Farmers, Retailers, and Wholesalers Increased Price of Eggs

Currently, a crate of eggs directly from farms is N2,200, instead of N1,800 it was sold before now. While retailers and wholesalers sell to consumers at N2,700 as against the former price of N2,300.

A trader in Tarauni Market, situated in Tarauni Local Government Area of the State, Biliya Bala says “He usually buys 40 to 60 crates daily but could not get a single crate in the last three days”.

Biliya’s situation is similar to that of Jamilu Ibrahim, a tea vendor at Magajin Rumfa Junction, still in Tarauni LGA. Jamilu revealed that “He has been lobbying to buy eggs for days, yet he could not get a single crate”.

80 Percent of Poultry Farmers In Kano Shut Down Their Farms

Commenting, the State Chairman of the Poultry Famers Association of Nigeria PAN, Dr. Usman Gwarzo says 80% of its members are out of business, thus calling for government intervention.

“Look, we are mostly affected in Kano because 80 percent of our farmers have closed down their businesses, and even those that are still operating are doing so to manage loss.

Honestly, if things continue like this, I’m afraid we may not be able to provide the needed protein in the State. So please we need the State Government intervention”, he pleaded.

On his part, an Economist, Dr. Abdulsalam Muhammad Kani suggests that the government should provide soft loans to the poultry farmers to put them back on track.

Dr. Kani further says apart from the soft loan, government should “Subsidize the price of maize for the farmers and wave their taxes to put them back on their feet”.

However, the current situation has exposed the untapped potential of poultry farming, hence the need for stakeholders to rescue the business to pave way for more job opportunities.