Boost for Nigeria’s poultry industry

Ezekiel Ibrahim, president of the Poultry Association of Nigeria, recently warned that the poultry industry in Nigeria might be forced into a shutdown by January 2021 if urgent action was not taken by the government to address the high cost of grains, amongst other challenges. The money released by the Central Bank of Nigeria is set to support small, medium and large poultry farmers in the country.

Jobs at stake

Feed costs have risen by over 75% between March and November 2020, and the situation has threatened up to 10 million jobs. However, This Day reports that the director of the Development Finance Department at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Yila Yusuf, said that between the last quarter of 2019 and November 2020, poultry farmers throughout the poultry value chain had received a total of N12.55 billion (US$ 31 million) from various commercial banks and the NIRSAL Microfinance Bank. He further noted that 639 poultry farmers had also received funds to the tune of N1.99 billion (US$ 4.8 million). Similarly, N1.59 billion (US$ 4 million) has also been disbursed to 898 poultry farmers nationwide to soften the impact of Covid-19 on their operations. It is further reported that an additional fund will be disbursed to poultry farmers before the end of 2020 to assist affordability and accessibility of eggs, broiler meat and day-old-chicks, and to help create jobs.