The Poultry Association of Nigeria has said over 30 per cent of poultry farms nationwide shut down in the last six months due to the challenges in the sector.

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The National Publicity Secretary, PAN, Mr Godwin Egbebe, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday in Lagos.

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Egbebe attributed the development to the high cost of operation, noting that it contributed to the high cost of eggs in the country.

“About 30 per cent of local poultry farmers nationwide have shut down their farms due to the hardship faced in the sector in the first half of the year.

“The government needs to know the severity of the situation poultry farmers are facing in the sector.

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“The palliatives are not alleviating the ills in the sector, we seek sustainable solutions to the problems on the ground.

“The palliatives most times even end in wrong places rather than with legitimate farmers. Most farmers are leaving the sector because they cannot sustain the cost of operating their farms. Some have sold their cages and some have sold their farms,” Egbebe told NAN.

He, however, urged local poultry farmers to exercise patience and not to impulsively close their farms.

“We are appealing to our members that the current challenges in the sector is just a phase and they should not give up on the sector.

“There is actually no sector of the country that is not going through challenges currently, but we cannot allow the sector collapse.

“If the farmers sell off all their cages and equipment, they may not be able to come back to the sector when things get better,” he said.

He blamed the increasing cost of feed as a major challenge to the sector.

“The price of poultry produce keeps increasing because the price of feed increases every other week.

“As of two weeks ago, we bought 25kg of feed at N14,300, just this past weekend, it is now N14,800.

“Early this year, we bought a bag for N12,000 and it sold for N9,000 last year. The increment is affecting the sector.

“Transportation cost is also another major bane of the sector, transportation of poultry produce increases the cost,” he said.

The PAN Lagos State Chairman, Mr Mojeed Iyiola, had attributed the hike in the price of eggs to scarcity due to the closure of farms by some poultry farmers.

“The reason for the current hike in the price of eggs is that eggs are very scarce now.

“Most farmers have sold off their old layers, and to get new stock is very expensive as the price of a day-old chick is becoming unbearable.

“Farmers able to buy day-old chicks are considered to be well-to-do. Also, a majority of our local farmers have shut down their farms due to the high cost of feed.”