Get Guardian on GoogleTo ensure empowerment for livestock farmers across the country, the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos State Chapter yesterday urged Nigerians to increase their intake of poultry meat and eggs.
The group noted that farm produce was nutritious and of immense benefit to the body system.
Speaking at the event tagged ‘Impact of Poultry Industry on Food Security and Employment, Registrar of Nigeria Institute of Animal Science, Prof. Eustace Iyayi, who was represented by Mr. Fola Adebayo, lamented the low intake of poultry products by Nigerians, compared to other countries across the world.
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According to him, “the average capital consumption of poultry meat is less than 2kg in Nigeria as against about 40kg in South Africa.
“However, with the increase in global population, investors have spotted Africa as a potential food basket that could feed the world.”
He noted that if these statistics were harnessed, it would, in turn, attract billions of dollars to our economy and would also create more job opportunities for Nigerians.
He also observed that Nigeria is confronted with the challenges of regulations, insecurity and high cost of input supply, which should be strongly addressed.
The representative of Commissioner of Agriculture, Prince Gbolahun Lawal, Mr. Adeyemi Michael revealed that about 118 groups of farmers have been supported by the FADAMA project in order to make them more independent.
He also stated that the FADAMA project has provided an access to credit for farmers through the donor supported assistance from the World Bank.
The Assistant Director, Animal feed Division at NAFDAC, Mr. Olumuyi Tunde Sigbeku reiterated that there is a ban on frozen foods import.
“We want to discourage Nigerians from eating smuggled chickens and live stocks. Importation is a serious problem for us in this industry apart from egg.
“However to cure importation malady, it is important we rise to the task and pay serious attention to our production”.
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