Some poultry farmers in Bauchi, Gombe and Jigawa have expressed concern over rising feed costs and poor markets, which have negatively impacted production capacity.

They said the trend forced them to adopt alternative feeds to recover their investments amid declining demand for poultry products.

The farmers, who spoke in separate interviews in Bauchi, Dutse and Gombe, said that high production costs, coupled with weak purchasing power, had threatened sustainable businesses.

Poultry farming is the act of raising birds for commercial or domestic purposes, including chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese to produce meat or eggs.

Margret Yohanna, a Bauchi-based poultry farmer, said that the cost of feeding birds had become a major concern, forcing her to reconsider the scale of her operations.

The farmer said that she reduced the number of chicks raised from 100 to 50 to cut expenses and make some gains.

“The situation reflects the wider difficulties facing poultry farmers, who must balance the rising cost of production against consumers’ ability to pay for poultry products,” she said.

Ms Yohanna said a bag of refined feed costs between N20,000 and N23,000, adding that she spent about N8,000 to feed a chick from starter to finisher stage.

She said the high cost of production, coupled with poor market conditions, was making the trade less attractive.

Aisha Musa said she relied on locally processed feed to cut costs and remain in business.

Ms Musa attributed the hike in poultry product prices to high production costs amid low patronage.

She said that some customers were concerned about the high concentration of chemicals in feed, resulting in low demand for the products.

Another farmer, Abdulkahar Lawal, said the trend has created significant imbalances in poultry farming and forced small-scale operators to close down.

“Farmers now consider the cost of raising their birds against prevailing market prices to determine whether they could make a profit,” he said.

Corroborating this, Umar Ibrahim noted that farmers were not making good savings from the trade due to expenses on feed, vaccines, and other production inputs. He said the current price of the products was below the production cost, exposing farmers to losses.

However, Aliyu Hamza, a poultry feed dealer in Dutse, Jigawa, said prices had dropped slightly due to low patronage. He said a 25-kilogramme bag of feed sold for between N20,000 and N22,000, down from N24,000 in the past.

Mr Hamza attributed the price drop to declining demand, adding that sales usually improved during the Ramadan fast and Eid festivities.

He said that feed and poultry product dealers were also affected by the challenges bedevilling poultry farmers.

Also, Sunusi Abdu, a member of the Jigawa State Poultry Sellers Association, said his daily sales have dropped to about 60 chickens, down from 150.

“Sales also slowed, leaving some birds unsold for several days,” he said.

Ali Halilu, chairman of the Chicken Sellers Association, Dutse council area, attributed the trend to an economic crunch, adding that the low demand affected prices of some locally raised chickens. Mr Halilu said that a medium-sized local chicken that previously sold for N2,500 is down from N3,000.

Moreover, farmers in Gombe said the situation had forced some to abandon poultry farming. Florence John and Yunua Ibrahim, who have been in the poultry business for more than five years, said that high production costs made it difficult for them to make reasonable returns on their investments.

Ms John said some farmers in the Yelenguza community had closed their farms because they could not afford exorbitant feed prices.

“Things are really not looking good for poultry farmers in Gombe State because of the high cost of feed and vaccines. Today, around 30 to 40 per cent of poultry farmers in my community have closed their farms because they can no longer sustain the business,” she said.

Mr Ibrahim urged the federal and state governments to provide loans and grants to farmers, stressing that poultry farming contributes to food security and job creation.

“We call for targeted government support, improved access to affordable credit and measures to reduce the cost of poultry production. Supporting local feed production, providing subsidies and improving access to essential inputs will help sustain poultry businesses and protect jobs,” he said.

(NAN)