The Ogun State Government has pledged support to poultry farmers in the state under the auspices of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) in view of retaining its pride as the largest producers of eggs in the country.
This announcement comes after the Chairman of PAN, Ogun State Chapter, Mr. Idowu Asonuga, sought the assistance of the state government in making maize and soya beans available, stating that the ban on importation of maize and the COVID-19 pandemic had affected the poultry and egg business across the country.
To achieve this, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Adeola Odedina, assured that this objective would be achieved by providing more land and seedlings that would provide farmers with maize and soya beans, which are major materials for poultry feed. Dr. Odedina added that the government is prepared to revive all moribund poultry facilities across the state, and to empower rural women with 50 broilers each while opening more opportunities to commercial poultry farmers.
Currently, the national output for maize stands at 10.5 million metric tonnes while demand stands at 15.5 million metric tonnes, which means there is a deficit of 5 million metric tonnes locally. The ban on imports was imposed with a view of increasing local production, stimulate a rapid economic recovery, and to safeguard rural livelihood despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) supported this decision, expressing that local farmers could meet the demand if given the support and provided the right environment to succeed.
