Poultry farmers in Delta State have raised the alarm over the possibility of over 600 of their farms shutting down due to the high cost of maize.
According to the state Chairman of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Chief Eric Tomfawei, the cost of maize has risen by over 75% from N225,000 to N405,000 per tonne.
Speaking at a press conference in Asaba on Thursday, Chief Tomfawei said that despite the recent increase in maize prices, farmers in the state were unable to raise their prices, even as many of them were experiencing gluts in egg and broiler production.
Tomfawei appealed to relevant government agencies to release adequate quantities of maize from the Strategic Food Reserve to the poultry industry at discounted rates to address the spiralling cost of maize.
While calling on the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to release enough quantity of maize from the Strategic Food Reserves of the Ministry to the Poultry Industry through the Poultry Association of Nigeria to address the ugly situation, the chairman warned of youth restiveness in the Niger Delta when poultry farms are closed and workers laid off.
“Apart from the direct impact on the hunger crisis, more youths, who are engaged by the poultry industry, will be thrown back into the labour market with attendant security implications.”
He alleged that poultry farmers were being frustrated by the Nigeria Commodity Exchange (NCX) and the Strategic Maize Reserve (SMR) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the cancellation of allocations of 40,000 metric tonnes of maize meant to assist poultry farmers.
Tomfawei accused officials of the Nigeria Commodity Exchange and the Strategic Food Reserve of CBN of hoarding maize and urged President Tinubu to set up an investigative panel to get to the root of the problem.
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