The Nigerian poultry industry is facing severe challenges due to skyrocketing prices of essential inputs like maize and soybeans, resulting in significant job losses. Farmers are urging the federal government to address insecurity to save the industry.
Maize and soybeans, crucial components of poultry feed, have seen record price increases. According to a market survey, a metric ton of maize now costs N910,000, up from N480,000 in 2023, marking an 89.6% increase. Similarly, a metric ton of soybeans has risen to N714,000 from N425,000, a 68% increase.
These price hikes are driven by low productivity caused by insecurity and climate change. This situation has led to higher operational costs and reduced participation in the poultry business due to consumers’ limited purchasing power.
Although Nigeria is the second largest maize producer in Africa, there has been a significant shortfall in production. Experts warn that the rising prices of maize and soybeans pose a major threat to the poultry industry and national food security.
Sunday Ezeobiora, President of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), stated that maize production has dropped by 50% in a year due to worsening insecurity, with current production estimated at 7 million metric tons. The poultry industry alone requires over four million metric tons of maize annually.
Ezeobiora highlighted that the high prices of maize and soybeans have reduced the industry’s value by 45%, from N10 trillion in 2022 to approximately N5.5 trillion now. He also noted that declining demand for eggs, supply chain disruptions, high feed costs, foreign exchange scarcity, avian influenza, and accelerating inflation are threatening many farms’ existence.
He urged the federal government to tackle insecurity to allow farmers to return to their farms and produce sufficient maize for the country. PAN reports that the industry has lost 25 million jobs over the past four years due to persistent challenges.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that growth in the poultry industry fell by 23.29% in the first quarter of 2024, compared to a contraction of 30.57% in the same period of 2023. This consecutive contraction reflects the industry’s dire situation.
Onallo Akpan, an Abuja-based poultry farmer, explained that inflation has eroded consumers’ purchasing power, leading to decreased demand for eggs and poultry products. He emphasized that issues like exchange rate volatility, high feed costs, supply chain disruptions, smuggling, and naira scarcity have plagued the poultry industry since 2020, causing many farms to shut down.
Despite government efforts to import maize to reduce prices, farmers face numerous challenges that make these measures insufficient to support the industry. The Nigerian poultry sector is a significant job creator in the agricultural sector, but the constant price surges in poultry products make it difficult for many Nigerians to afford eggs and chicken, risking the country’s protein consumption and the government’s egg-per-day initiative for children.
A kg of frozen chicken now sells for N5,000, up from N3,600 last year, and a crate of eggs costs N5,500, compared to N2,600 in January. The removal of fuel subsidies has also doubled production costs for farmers.
Ahmed Popoola, director of F.A Popoola Farm Project, noted that monthly prices for feeds, vaccines, and other necessities for poultry farming keep rising. Ibrahim Kabiru, president of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, had to close one of his poultry farms in the North last year due to losses, a situation many farmers across the country are facing.
The soaring prices of poultry products are making it difficult for many Nigerians to buy eggs and chicken, impacting the country’s protein consumption. The daily per capita protein intake in Nigeria is estimated at 45.4g, below the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) minimum of 53.8g. With eggs becoming increasingly unaffordable, the protein intake gap will widen, leading to more malnourished individuals.
