The Nation Newspaper

Tag: poultry

  • How poultry farming eradicates poverty

    While many young people dream of getting well-paid jobs, some are going into poultry farming to make a living. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Ugbo Ejike Henry is a graduate of Animal Science and Fisheries, Ebonyi State University. He was jobless after the National youth service. Ebonyi State Government called for intensive three  months training in Agriculture at Soghai Agricultural Institute in Porto Novo, Republic of Benin. He sat for the competitive exam and passed. He was among the selected 25 out of 300. After the training, he benefited from the state government’s loan and was given N2,700,000 to establish his farming business.

    He set up a poultry house (pen) for N1,400,000 in August 2009. Today, he has a lot of chickens. He sells eggs and breeds broilers, which he sells to fast food and hotel operators. He bags the poultry droppings and sells them to the crop farmers as manure.

    Henry said:“So, I make my money from the eggs and  chickens, cassava root tuber and the poultry droppings as manure.”

    He is proud that he is an employer. At Henjyk Majestic Farms Nig Limited, he is into poultry production (layers and broilers), cassava farming production, processing and packaging. Through all these,  his company has  employed some permanent workers.

    His company is in partnership with Ebony State Fadama (111) project to train people who has interest in agribusiness and  help investors to establish their farms.

    He  appealed to young people to approach farming as a business. This is because  employment is not available. He believes that youths can create their own employment regardless of their level of education.

    The ripple effect of small and medium sized entrepreneurs,  such  as Ugbo has made the difference.  He  goes to the grassroots and help  people, teaching  them  how to do business.

    Mr Stephen Oladipupo    launched the poultry business after  quitting his  job  as a marine engineer on a vessel.  Now, he  manages his  own poultry operation and has more than  500 birds.

    Adeleke Theophilus Ayodeji is a 24-year farmer. He hails from Ibadan, Oyo State. He is ambitious and with strong determination to feed the nation and prove to the world that agriculture is the key to ending poverty, unemployment and food insecurity.

    An animal scientist, he  was a participant of the Meet The Executive Business Plan Competition sponsored by Sterling Bank where he presented agriculture as a viable option for wealth creation.

    He served as an attendant and  Supervisor of Animal Production Venture, University of Ibadan.

    He said Anchor Farms is an integrated agricultural venture.

    It  has a poultry section (egg production) with about 2,300 capacity.

    He  supplies chickens. The results are not only a sustainable business, but one that encourages other youths to take up poultry  business.

    He   sees  Nigeria  as a nation  of entrepreneurs and  with  an  environment that  ensures long-term results. With a greater margin of income, he and others can  provide a safety net taking his resources to provide employment, food, clothing, and assistance to those in need.

    Miss Amoo Anifat Olawumi is an  IT graduate. She  was running a poultry business with her mum before she gained admission to a university.

    She  is so  convinced about  her future in poultry  business  that she quitting  her job  to open a big  poultry  business.

    Compared to growing crops, chickens represent a more dependable source of income for her .

    Thousands of similar stories have been playing out across the country in recent years thanks to the growth of the poultry industry.

    Being in the company of her mum  helped her  to refine her  thinking and learn from her ‘ successes and challenges. As part of the training, she developed a business plan for a poultry enterprise.

     

  • Imo to revive Avutu Poultry Farm

    The Imo State government has pledged to revive the multi-billion naira Avutu Modern Poultry farm, Obowo, established by late Governor Sam Mbakwe, but was later abandoned by successive administrations in the state.

    Governor Rochas Okorocha made the promise during a tour of the Obowo Local Government Area.

    He said the government had engaged some foreign and local agricultural experts comprising a South African-based firm and Crux Industries (Nig.) Limited to resuscitate the farm.

    The Managing Director, Crux Industries Nig Limited, Sir Frank Ibeziem, said the firm’s premises is a shadow of itself with dilapidated, decayed and ramshackled infrastructure, adding that arrangement had been concluded to  restore the firm.

    This entails feasibility studies, installation of a one million water tank, administrative and residential blocks and at least, two poultry beds which would stock above 30,000 birds, he said.

    His words: “Imo Poultry capacity is 2.5 million birds a year, 40 million eggs a year, 13,000 birds a year, processing plant with cold room, hatchery, feed mill, 45 poultry houses in nine plots.”

    Ibeziem, an industrial chemist, who was accompanied on the visit by other members of his management and Emma Anyanwu, had earlier called on the traditional ruler of Avutu autonomous community, Eze Abel Chukwuocha, in his place where Eze Edwin Iheanyichukwu  Onubuogu and Eze Rufus Adndu also received him.

    He pleaded for the cooperation of the Avutu community to enable his team to realise its mission.

    Responding, the royal fathers through Eze Abel Chukwuocha noted that the revival of the poultry had become a challenge to the government, commending it for taking the bull by the horns to bring it back to life. The monarchs pledged their support for their project.

  • Ministry, others to support Plateau poultry farmers

    The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) over the weekend pledged to support Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Plateau chapter.

    The organisations pledged support in Jos, at the inauguration of the association’s new office complex at Dadin-Kowa, in Jos South Local Government Area.

    Mr Daniel Kakwi, the Director, Plateau Green House of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said that the ministry had empowered 100 poultry farmers under its Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) in the state.

    Kakwi, represented by Dr Steven Dowoh, Assistant Director (Vet), said that the farmers were given birds, feeds and drugs at subsidised rates.

    He assured the PAN that they would continue to get more of such support from the ministry.

    “The Federal Government is interested in doing business with associations because individuals have failed government.

    “Most times when they (individuals) collect loans, to pay back so that it keeps revolving becomes a problem.

    “But for an association, if one person is not there, the other will and that has encouraged government to do business with them,” he said.

    The director said that forms for the Growth Enhancement Scheme in poultry were available and urged farmers to make use of the opportunity.

    “If you are interested, you can pick an expression of interest form from our office for participation in the Growth Enhancement Scheme,” he said.

    Prof. Longmas Wapmuk, ITF Director General, in his remarks, also said that the ITF would never be tired of supporting the farmers in their quest to improve on their performance and productivity.

     

  • Poultry of controversy

    Poultry of controversy

    Ten years after it was initiated, the moribund Ekiti Integrated Poultry Project is generating yet another controversy, with Governor Kayode Fayemi declaring it dead. SINA FADARE visited the site of the project to find out why. 

    The last, definitely has not been heard about the controversial N1.4 billion Ekiti Integrated Poultry Project initiated in 2004 by former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose.

    That the project initiated with fanfare by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration in the state that time is now moribund is no surprise, but what is surprising is the declaration by the incumbent governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi that the project is beyond resuscitation.

    Governor Fayemi had last week raised the dust on the controversial project during a visit to the project site when he said that it was designed to fail from the outset and that his administration cannot revive it the way it has done with other moribund projects established by previous administrations in the state.

    “It was not designed as a viable project,” he declared bluntly to the surprise of some in the agrarian state.

    Expectedly, Fayose did not like this statement and he fired back quickly telling Fayemi he has no right to make such a statement because the case was still pending in court, adding that the project was not designed to fail.

    But a fact finding visit to the project site in the state by The Nation and interviews with some stakeholders revealed that indeed the poultry project may never see the light of the day in spite of the huge amount of public funds already expended.

    Aside from the headquarters of the proposed project at Afao-Ekiti, the home town of former Governor Fayose, all the other project sites are full of either collapsed building or dilapidated ones. Most of them were in a sorry state depicting a lost dream. Even at Afao, the few buildings in the compound that could have housed the feed mill and the processing plant have been encircled by thick bush and are now home for snakes, squirrel and rodents.

    Speaking to The Nation why the poultry project did not see the light of the day, the former Deputy-Governor to Fayose, Chief Abiodun Aluko explained that the project was to take place in four centers as a test run before accommodating other local governments at a cost of N400 million.

    Aluko regretted that Fayose failed to listen to the voice of wisdom on the failed project when it mattered most. “He jacked up the cost of production from N400 million to N1.4 billion on a project which was supposed to be financed by a private company. That was why the project did not see the light of the day”.

    Aluko said that he was humiliated by Fayose when he cautioned him that the Kangaroo method he was using on the poultry project will one day backfire.

    “Yes, as the Deputy-Governor, l raised some observations about the sudden jack up and the future implication when we might have gone, but the governor shouted me down that l have no right to question his authority.

    “It was against this backdrop that he bribed some members of the House of Assembly to impeach me, but thank God l was vindicated. The EFCC had dragged him to court on the issue. Again the same State Assembly has reversed its decision and said l was not impeached. The Court of Appeal in Ilorin also quashed the decision of the then Ekiti State House of Assembly as null and void. That is why today, l am enjoining my gratuity every month as the former Deputy-Governor of the state.”

    Recently, while giving evidence at the ongoing trial of his former boss at the Federal High Court, sitting in Ado-Ekiti, Aluko said the Fayose administration hijacked the project from the contractor, Biological Concepts Nig. Ltd.

    He said the contractor, Mr. Gbenga James, was the original owner of the project, but it was “strangely taken over by the state government. Biological Concepts Nig. Ltd., owned by James, was to finance the project entirely, but I do not know how it happened that the state government decided to finance the project”.

    According to him, “each of the 16 local government areas was made to contribute N25 million, totaling N400 million, and the state also made a contribution. All the payments were made to Biological Concepts Nig. Ltd. I left office soon after and do not know what happened later”.

    The former Deputy-Governor, who exonerated himself said, Fayose did not allow the contract to pass through the State Tenders Board, which he (Aluko) was chairman by virtue of his office as Deputy-Governor.

     ”I was not party to the award of the contract and by virtue of my office, as chairman of the State Tenders Board, I should have been. There was also no bidding on it. Each of the 16 local governments paid N25 million, totaling N400 million, which was given to Biological Concepts Nig. Ltd,” he explained.

    However, speaking with The Nation the Ekiti State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Jide Arowosafe who insisted that the moribund poultry project by Fayose did not have a sustainable plan, said there was no equipment in the processing plant.

    Arowosafe said that majority of the people would appreciate the Fayemi administration for making such a statement of fact if they had visited the site of the project, adding that, “if you are not a technical person, you may not be able to appreciate what the governor was saying. Take for instance, the one in Afao that supposed to be the headquarters of the project, many investors have gone to look at it, but find it not viable and not the right structure for such a project”.

    Arowosafe explained that the composition of the structure of the project was faulty from the outset. “For example, you have a processing plant and you have a feed mill beside it. Normall, you cannot have a feed mill where you are processing broilers in the same compound and environment. The closeness is not only unhealthy but unprofessional. You can see that those structures are not right. That alone was a failure from the start. Even NAFDAC will not give you a license to operate a processing plant in the same compound with a feed mill. It is not done anywhere. Therefore technically there was a hitch”.

    The commissioner faulted the non involvement of agencies like the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) at the beginning which could have ensured that things were done properly. “If you have a big structure like that to process, the first step is to bring NAFDAC in to come and sanctify it as a worthy project before you embark on production. Since it was not sanctified, it will never work.”

    He also faulted the siting of production pens scattered all over the 16 local government areas with the hope to feed the processing unit at Afao, “that is another technical failure that was not put into cognition when the project was embarked upon. You cannot bring broiler from Ikole or Omuo-Ekiti to be processed in Afao. It is beyond the normal travelling distance to where the processing plant is located. These are some of the technical flops that the governor summed up to arrive at a conclusion that the project was designed not to be sustainable from the outset.

    “Another area was the thickness of the production pen, you saw it yourself and it was below standard anywhere in the world for such a project. It was just like a paper in terms of thickness, you do not do such a thing for a production pen. If what you see was still solid, like the one that was housing our farmers in Ikere which was constructed by the Benin-Owena River Basin Authority many years before that of Fayose, you will appreciate the concern of the governor,” he explained.

    The commissioner emphasised that the government was serious about agriculture and not paying lip service to it. “The Fayose farms are not revivable. You can attest to the quality of the building at the Benin-Owena poultry farm that we have revived. We spent less than N50 million to revive those huge poultry units on the Ikere-Ise road”.

    However, speaking to The Nation on condition of anonymity, one of those who worked briefly in the Fayose farm disclosed that Fayemi was right to tag the project as a no go area in terms of revival.

    According to him, “those days was like a bazaar when millions of naira were withdrawn from the poultry project fund with impunity by  the governor himself, therefore one needed not to consult a seer then to know that the project would not see the light of the day. When l saw all what was happening, l had to resign because l know that the day of reckoning was at hand”.

    He explained that all efforts by the professionals on the ground to tell the contractor that things should be done properly were rejected. “The poultry project was a good initiative, but the governor lacked the intellectual capacity and politically arrogant to listen to some few voices of reason which could have saved him from his present predicament, that was why the project failed at inception.

    “If the current governor can produce about 27,000 birds with less than N20 millions and a standard processing plant, you can guess what the economy of Ekiti  would have been  by now with about N1.4 billion allegedly spent on the failed poultry project by Fayose’s government if well managed,” he lamented.

    Lamenting the situation, the former Chairman of Ado-Ekiti local government during Fayose’s regime, Mr. Taye Fasuba, who fought the former governor to a standstill over the deduction of N25 million from the council account under the State-Local Government Joint Account System for the moribund poultry project told The Nation that he has no regret fighting the former governor despite series of attempt to his life by political assassins

    Fasuba pointed out that despite the fact that he was a lone voice then, he still believes in the autonomy of local government because it is through such a policy that progress can get to the grassroots.” I am now vindicated and if l have my way again, l will do the same.”

  • Customs intercept cartons of poultry

    As the Christmas season approaches, the Customs Area Controller (CAC) in-charge of South Western Marine Command (WMC), Comptroller Audu Zaka has advised Nigerians against consuming poultry products smuggled into the country.

    He said the warning became necessary because of the renewed efforts of smugglers to flood the country with these poisonous products not minding the health implications to the people. He said these expired smuggled food products: rice and poultry are laced with acid that serve as preservatives.

    “These things are not good for human consumption, they are dangerous to human health, so Nigerians should avoid them in order to save their lives and family members from dangerous sicknesses that are so rampant today in our society”, he said.

    The Controller assisted by a representative of NAFDAC, Mr Adamu Isiaku and some other senior officers of the Command, supervised the destruction of 1,225 cartons of frozen poultry intercepted by officers and men of the command in just three days. The destruction took place at the Command’s headquarters at Ibafon, Apapa, Lagos.

    According to him, the total seizures done in three days include 55 bags of rice and 1,225 cartons of frozen poultry. Comptroller Audu said the total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of the intercepted items stood at N8,576,844.50

    Addressing the press at the destruction site, the WMC Controller said the consignments were smuggled into the country from Benin Republic. He said the items were moved in through Awode-Apa on the Nigerian side to Kese where the smugglers wanted to cross the Novo Creek to Ilasa in Ogun State from where they were to continue the journey to the hinterland. He said the seizures were made possible because of the synergy with the Central Intelligence Unit (CIU) of the Command and the Comptroller General’s Task Force.

    “The excellent information sharing between the command and the CIU is helping the command in its anti-smuggling functions. We monitored this consignment right from the border up to the point of interception at Kese through such synergy”, he said.

    The Controller said on October 31, the Command had intercepted and destroyed 950 cartons of frozen poultry products with DPV put at N6.175 million while on November 4, it intercepted and destroyed 210 cartons of the same products smuggled into the country with DPV of N1.365 million.

    He requested for the support of the press to inform smugglers that smuggling does not pay because they will continue to perform their duties in line with the provisions of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) as well as the vision of the Customs management led by Dr Abdullahi Dikko Inde.

    Apart from the health hazards to the citizens, the CAC said the economic implications to the nation’s economy is serious as their activities stifle the economy thereby causing unemployment and impediment to local production.

    Comptroller Audu Zaka assures the nation that the officers and men of the Western Marine Command of the Nigerian Customs Service are equal to the task as they are highly motivated and are ready at all times to enforce the visions of the Customs management to the letter.

     

  • Producing table eggs

    Poultry species are chickens, turkey, ducks, geese, peafowl, guinea fowl, swan, pigeons, pheasant, ostriches and quails.  The chicken is the most common of all these species and the subject matter of this piece.

    The level of animal protein consumption per individual in Nigeria is very critical. The importance of animal protein in the diet cannot be overemphasised. Protein helps in the body building, growth and development of children, in terms of bones, teeth and other reproductive parts.

    Investing in table eggs production should enhance the physical and mental development of Nigerians, which in the short and long run will contribute positively to their productivity.

    With the increasing awareness of Nigerians of the need to take at least one egg daily, the market for poultry table eggs is widening every day. Present population put at over 140 million people, the outlet for poultry eggs is very large. Neighbouring West, East and North African countries also depend on poultry table eggs from Nigeria, as the weather is more suitable for producing eggs when compared to those areas.

    Besides, the ingredients for the production of animal feeds are readily available in Nigeria. But the import of this message is that there is a large export market potential for poultry eggs.

    For individuals or corporate bodies looking for a project, which generates income daily, egg production is one of such projects. Eggs are picked in the poultry farm, ready to be sold to waiting wholesale buyers or retailers who buy in crates.

    The daily income of the business, to a great extent, stabilises the economy of such individuals or corporate bodies as well as the nation.

    The profitability of the project is not in doubt since there are examples of corporate organisations engaged in the business that laugh to their banks every day.

    The land requirement for poultry project is minimal. This means that the project can be established with ease. The project also gives room for flexibility. That is, one can start with a small production volume and graduates to a larger scale with time.

    Egg production entails the procurement of point of lay birds. The birds are kept in battery cages and fed with layers mash in order for them to lay quality eggs constantly.

    Domestication involves feeding the birds with high quality feeds, supplying them with clean water and maintaining a good environment by regularly disposing off their wastes, disinfecting the cages and the pens, as well as restricting the entry of foreign bodies into the pens.

    The only critical input is the feed. Farmers keeping more than 2,500 birds are always advised to have mini feed mills so that they can compound their own ration. This will reduce feeding cost and also assist the farmers to monitor the quality of the feed constituents.A prospective investor must always consult agricultural expert/consultant in the process of planning such a project.

    Looking at the possibility of setting up a 1,500 per day egg laying farm, the total investment cost may range from N2.5 to N5 million.

    The project costs may be lower or higher depending on the financial strength of the investor. One can start with a fewer number of birds.

    For more information, contact  krisedbrilliant@yahoo.com or call 08023381900.

  • Seized poultry products destroyed

    The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Western Marine Command has seized and destroyed 170 cartons of imported poultry products with duty-paid value (DPV) of N1,105,000.

    The Deputy Comptroller in charge of Administration, Mr Benjamin Binga, said the products were seized after a tip-off at Idiroko, Ogun State.

    He said no arrest was made as the smugglers allegedly jumped into the water on sighting the Customs operatives.

    He said while smugglers are adamant in bringing in prohibited items, his men will also not relent in clamping down on their nefarious activities.

    The command, he added, also impounded 288 bags of rice and 25 gallons of vegetable oil with DPV of over N3million and N167, 500.

    The items were intercepted in Badagry, Yekeme and Idiroko last month, according to the command.

  • Poultry farmers seek CBN loan

    Poultry farmers in Umuahia,Abia State,have appealed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to release funds for the second batch of the N1 billion agricultural loan to farmers.

    The farmers’ request formed part of their resolutions at the August monthly meeting in Umuahia.

    Operating under the aegis of the Umuahia Chapter of the Poultry Farmers Association of Nigeria, the farmers stated that more than 70 per cent of poultry farmers in the state did not benefit from the first batch.

    The Federal Government approved N1 billion for each state of the federation.

    The farmers thanked the federal and state governments for the loan which, according to them, brought great relief to those who benefited from it.

    They expressed the hope that others, who could not benefit from the first batch of the loan, would have the opportunity to benefit from the second batch.

    They also expressed the confidence that the loan’s beneficiaries would not default in its repayment “in order to ensure that it goes round among all interested farmers.’’

    The farmers, however, urged the Abia government to designate a free trade zone exclusively for the sale of poultry products, in line with the practice in other neighbouring states in the South- East geopolitical zone.

    They stressed that the current glut in the poultry business, especially eggs, could be effectively tackled “if we have a special market, where every prospective buyer will come to buy either chicken or eggs.’’

    The poultry farmers’ association, however, expressed concern over the “incessant harassment’’ of its members by suspected agents of the Ministry of Environment over the payment of annual charges.

    In an interview with NAN, Mr Uzomba Ekwuribe, the group’s Chairman, alleged that the agents were using uniformed men to extort money, ranging from N20,000 to N54,000, from members

    Ekwuribe said that he made a complaint about the agents’ activities to the ministry, saying that the annual rate had been pegged at N5,000.

    He also regretted that less than 30 per cent of the association’s members benefited from the first batch of the N1 billion loan and hoped that more members would benefit in the second batch.

     

     

  • ‘Imported frozen poultry products dangerous to health’

    Importation of frozen poultry products such as chicken, turkey, among others, could be harmful to human health following their method of preservation, Director General of Poultry Association of Nigeria, Dr. Onallo Akpa, has warned.

    He said most of the livestock products imported into the country, especially through the borders of neighbouring countries, were leftovers.

    Speaking during a briefing on the challenges of the sub-sector at the weekend in Abuja, he urged Nigerians to embrace local agric produce.

    He stated that there were some types of chickens that were not consumed in the exporting countries and treated as wastes, but those products found their way into Nigeria through some neighbouring countries.

    According to him, before the products could get to Nigeria, the products would have gone bad, but the marketers preserve these poultry products with toxic chemicals which is dangerous to health.

    Akpa further said that Nigerians consume these products because they are cheap, adding that the poultry products are by-products of production process and does not have sufficient demand on the domestic market of the exporting countries, while their necessary disposal incurs huge costs of the country of origin.

    “No wonder the advent of all kinds of diseases in Nigeria with the attendant depreciating life expectancy,” he added.

    He also decried the huge amount of money spent on importation of these poultry products, adding that this has impacted negatively on the Nigerian economy.

    He revealed that the Nigerian poultry services had been faced with many challenges, which include high electricity tariff and poor infrastructure.