Poultry farmers nationwide said their members lost more than N3 trillion in investments from the prevailing economic hardships in 2023.

The farmers, under the aegis of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos chapter, disclosed this on Monday in Lagos.

Its chair, Mojeed Iyiola, said the country’s harsh economic situation forced most members to quit the business.

“Since the closure of about 50 per cent of poultry farms across the country, the sector has lost over N3 trillion. This is because in each state, we are losing actually N6 billion. So, rounding it off, we have lost trillions of naira across all value chains of the poultry sector.

“We just want to continue to urge our members not to quit the industry in spite of the difficulties being faced,” Mr Iyiola said.

A former chairman of PAN in Lagos, Lanre Bello, noted that the closure of such poultry farms had resulted in massive loss of jobs and incurred debts by members.

“The economic impacts of the massive closure of poultry farms across the country are numerous. One is the massive loss of jobs in the sector. A lot of people also lost their investments and are now indebted because of their inability to pay back their loans.

“In essence, the effects of the losses cannot be quantified, and the only way to rectify them is to come to the rescue of poultry farmers. We must come to the aid of the sector because poultry remains a viable source of protein, chicken and egg, I would not say is cheap. But it is affordable,” Mr Bello said.

He also restated the importance of poultry products to the human diet, especially children.

Mr Bello added, “Nutritionists said eggs provide more than 50 per cent of protein requirements in the human diet and also aid brain development in children. In most of our diets, protein is disappearing, and if we allow it to continue, we will be dealing with a much more dangerous problem.

“We are likely going to begin to experience stunted growth in children, which phenomenon we have started to witness.”

A crate of eggs now sells between N3,200 and N3,500, depending on the size. 

(NAN)