“Poultry business is good business, but we are gradually being pushed out of the business. Lack of government support, sharp practices by middlemen, and pilfering by farm attendants are gradually pushing the business out of our reach.”
Those were the lamentations of a poultry farmer, Umugbe Augustine, who spoke to Daily Trust.
Augustine, whose poultry farm is located off Old Ahor Road, Benin City, said one of the challenges facing the business is pilfering by farm workers.
“Our farm attendants steal our eggs and birds because they are always in the farm taking care of them. And this is really affecting our production.
“We also have the challenge of access to finance; the government may vote billions of naira for agriculture but it will not get to the real grassroots farmer,” he lamented.
Accessing loans from both commercial and microfinance banks is a herculean task for us due to the high interest rate and stringent collateral demanded.
“The last time we applied to the Bank of Agriculture to access N10 million for 10 persons in our group, eight months have gone by, the loan has been approved, but the money has not been released to us and we don’t have money to boost our farming,” he revealed.
Austine, who has about 1000 broilers on his farm currently, said taking care of them is not challenging to him as he has mastered the techniques of ensuring their well-being.
“I have all the equipment needed to take care of them. Ensuring their good health is the best way in poultry farming because if you have serious mortality, that may take you out of the business,” he added.
He called on the government to tackle insecurity so that they can go far into the bush to start poultry, noting that many people are out of poultry business due to insecurity.
On her part, Mrs Agege Ejime, owner of Two Sisters Poultry Farm, said poultry business is no longer encouraging, as they are only struggling to be in the business.
She noted that aside from a lack of access to capital, marketing the product has become a difficult task due to the activities of middlemen.
“When we produce, the middlemen come and take the birds to the market on credit, and at the end we would be pursuing them to collect our money.”
She added that in some cases they reneged on the agreed price on the excuse that prices had dropped in the market.
She explained that the high cost of feed is seriously impacting poultry farming.
“We have over 1000 layers, and a bag of top feed is N19,000, and we use three and a half bags a day to feed the birds. There are other feeds higher in price than the top feed.”
Also speaking, Kingsley Imasuen, Chairman of the Uhunwonde Poultry Farmers Association, said poultry business is very lucrative if one has the capital, knows what to do, and does it well.
“In Edo, we have issues with day-old birds, which usually come from Ibadan, as the middlemen bringing them are engaged in sharp practices.
“We don’t have a hatchery farm in Benin City where we can get day-old birds, so we have to get them from Ibadan through the middlemen. When we order boilers, they mix it with cockerel or crossbreed. These sharp practices by middlemen often lead to loss of birds and low production.”
He said profit in poultry farming has dropped due to the low purchasing power of Nigerians occasioned by economic downturn, adding that the development now forces them to sell on credit.
“The sharp practices by feed millers are also not helping us in the sense that when we buy a 25kg bag of feed from a company, by the time you get to your farm and weigh it, you would discover it is either 22 or 23kg. And that also means the quality has compromised.
He said they usually buy an extra bag to be able to take care of all the birds. “I have 5000 layers and 500 broilers, and this fraudulent practice increases the number of bags used in feeding the birds.”
For Isiah David, owner of Jansolid Poultry Farm, located in Urora community, the poultry business is very interesting if one can overcome the challenges of finance and input.
“Even if we manage to get a loan, it is in the short term, and in farming, you need long-term loan to be able to increase your production before you start paying back.”
He said the daily increase in the price of feeds as well as reduction in quantity and quality is affecting them seriously, as the development reduced the laying performance of the birds
Like other poultry farmers, he appealed to both the state and the federal governments to make sure that inputs, loans and grants get to the real farmers instead of political farmers.
Mrs Overy Juliana Alake, whose poultry farm is located in Eyaen, lamented the lack of hatchery farms in Edo State which, she said, is the biggest challenge facing them.
“Many of us don’t have the capital to buy birds directly from the hatchery farms located outside Edo State. So, we join others who can buy directly from the farm but the middlemen engaged in sharp practices bring the birds, which is detrimental to us.
“They bring cockerel or layer instead of broiler, or they may be crossbred instead of the layers requested for. Also, you may pay for hatchery from a particular farm but they would bring from a different farm and would still have the name of your preferred farm on the cartons.“
Another poultry farmer, Aziegbe Pius, described the poultry market as an uncertain market due to the hard economic situation.
“When we produce, we can’t have buyers, and the poultry market in Edo is fluctuating,” Azegbe said, adding that despite the challenge, the determination to stay afloat, make profit, and keep the family going kept him in the business.
“Many poultry farmers have closed their farms because of lack of technical knowledge of the industry, lack of proper monitoring of staff to avoid theft, and getting wrong inputs.”
He lamented that poultry farmers are not benefiting from extension services as the officers are not always there to help them in their time of need.
“We are relying on veterinary doctors for assistance in the absence of an extension service officer; most of us have private veterinary doctors who attend to our farms,” he said.