.NIAS unveils technology to check day-old chicks’ adulteration
The country’s feed production has fallen from about 4.5 million metric tonnes to 3.8 metric tonnes. In the last two years, the country lost about .7m metric tonnes owing to high cost of major ingredients for feed such as maize.

The Head, Inspectorate and Compliance Department, feed production(NIAS), Mr. Olufemi Atunbi, disclosed this in Umuahia, Abia State, during a one-day workshop on development of risk-based inspection protocols in various livestock value chains organised by NIAS and Promex Multi-Services Nigeria Ltd.

Atunbi, who said the production level is still going down, called for the cultivation of Feed Grade Maize as it is obtainable in America, describing Nigeria’s poultry industry as the most organised and viable with $4 billion yearly income.

He said out of Nigeria’s 35 per cent Gross Domestic Products (GDP) contribution to agriculture in 2022, poultry contributed 25 per cent.

The workshop was used to unveil a regulatory instrument for poultry called ‘Farmsured Technology’. This was part of efforts aimed at tackling challenges facing poultry industry.

According to the organisers, the technology, which will check the adulteration of day-old chicks and improve poultry quality and output in the country, is apt, especially with the current challenges of low quality feed, high cost of available feeds, sourcing of right inputs, security, day-old chicks counterfeiting, among others, facing poultry farmers.

Atunbi said the workshop, which was meant to create awareness creation, featured sensitisation of farmers, students, researchers, and business community on how to check day-old chicks counterfeiting, while sourcing them, for farmers to get real value for their money.

He added that the sensitisation was necessary in view of the regulation that NIAS has come up with, which involves Technology aspect, which it is trying to promote before its enforcement commences.

The Abia State Commissioner for Agriculture, Professor Monica Ironkwe, while commending NIAS for the workshop in the state, said animal production has suffered neglect, noting that experts were at the workshop to rescue the industry.

Ironkwe said the state government is doing the needful towards invigorating animal science production, remarking that Nigerians depend so much on farmers, even when they can all be farmers in their homes.

On the decreasing poultry-farmer population in the country, the NIAS Head of Inspectorate and Compliance attributed the decrease to challenges of production, including growing costs of production and inputs, especially high cost of feeds.