In this report, MUHAMMADU SABIU, writes that egg consumers, especially in the northern part of the country, would no longer have problems getting the product as a new investor has entered into the poultry business to bridge the gap between demand and supply.
EVEN before now, despite the slogan by nutritionists to Nigerians to “eat an egg a day”, not everybody who wanted to do so had eggs to eat. This is because there is a shortfall between demand and supply of eggs as the nation depended and still depend on imported poultry products, including eggs to bridge the gap and augment its domestic needs despite the huge number of poultry farmers in the country.
According to the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele, poultry business in the country has a total investment value of N80bn with over 600,000 poultry farmers fully engaged in the business. Though the federal government took steps before now to stop egg importation, it has not succeeded.
Mr Emefiele, while elaborating on the federal government’s ban on eggs added that between 2009 and 2011, more than three million tonnes of eggs still found their way into the country through smuggling. The ban has not worked apparently due to potentially huge financial gains provided by the demand vacuum that needed to be filled.
Statistically the “eggs scarcity” is affecting the northern part of the country more that the southern part due to several reasons. It is in view of this and the yawning gap between demand and supply that a foreign investor, Olam Poultry and Feedmills, decided to invest in the poultry business by establishing a farm which is said to be the largest not just in Nigeria but the whole of Africa in Kaduna State.
The Head of Corporate and Government Relations of the company, Mr. Ade Adefeko, while speaking on why Olam is coming into the poultry business at this time and having its farm in the north, said poultry farmers often travel as far as Lagos and other cities in the South to buy eggs and other poultry products.
It is in the light of this that Olam’s commissioning of its poultry farm and feed mills in Kaduna State recently, brought a lot of excitement to poultry farmers and consumers generally. It seems to be the end of their years of worries.
The commissioning of the $150m poultry farm at Chikpiri Gabas village in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Tuesday 12th September, 2017 drew an array of important dignitaries never seen before in the area.
An excited Governor Nasir Ahmed el-Rufai underscored the size of the farm as the largest in the whole of Africa, disclosing that to actualise the dream, the state government provided free land to the company, adding that “the state government also took the burden of paying nearly N500 million in compensation to customary title holders.
“Our willingness to do this further convinced Olam that we are not only ready for business, but that we know that spending a little to secure investments of more than $100m is sound business.”
Governor el-Rufai added that Olam Poultry and Feedmill facility is designed to produce 1.6 million day-old chicks on a weekly basis and 360,000 metric tonnes of animal feeds annually.
“This is a significant milestone for Kaduna State and Nigeria in our quest to ensure food security and achieve economic diversification through agriculture,” he noted.
So grand was the occasion that it drew the attention and presence of President Muhammadu Buhari who was attending his first official engagement since his return from a medical vacation in the United Kingdom.
In his own remarks, while commending Olam for putting up such a magnificent edifice, President Buhari said: “We must be able to feed ourselves on what we grow and grow what we eat before we can comfortably turn our attention to other key concerns of our daily lives.
“We are particularly pleased to participate in this event because it is clear evidence that in spite of all odds, economic growth is taking place especially in the agricultural sector .This was our promise at the inception of our administration when we came in to deal with challenges in the economy which was almost appearing insurmountable.
“It is our article of faith and our earnest belief that agriculture offers the most viable and all encompassing options in our attempt to diversify our national economy.”
Indeed, the president’s views were equally shared by the Kaduna State Chairman of Poultry Farmers Association, Honorable Ishaq Dogo Makama. Speaking with the Sunday Tribune about the new poultry farm project, he dispelled the fear that it would put farmers in its immediate environment out of job. He said instead, many more prospective poultry farmers will be engaged.
“And if you are a poultry farmer you don’t need to travel far or even import eggs. The commissioning of this project is never a threat to poultry farmers in Kaduna and its environs; rather it is even a blessing to us. Poultry market is a very big one that can accommodate many farmers.
“More so, Olam have laudable programmes for poultry farmers that would be beneficial to them. I believe with time, our members will come to terms with reality,” he added.
In his address, the royal father of the host community, Dr Danjuma Barde, Sa Gbagy I, thanked the state government for deeming it fit to site the project in his community.
He remarked that in the past 17 months, many youths had been gainfully employed and have added economic value to their lives as well as their immediate families. Sa Gbagyi contended that the community has vowed to protect the gigantic project with their sweat and blood.
Also in attendance at the inauguration event were Olam officials including Mr Srivathsan Venkataraman, who is the Managing Director/CEO, Africa and Middle East, and Mr KC Suresh, Managing Director /CEO of Olam grains.
Both officials who spoke separately with Sunday Tribune reassured business partners of the company’s readiness to meet the demands of both Kaduna and other states in the country.
“We will break the jinx of egg deficit experience in the region and in fact the country,” they vowed, pledging that in no distant time the company would provide over 100,000 jobs to youths.
Dignitaries at the commissioning were the Governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu; deputy governor of Kaduna State, Barnabas Bala; wife of Kaduna State governor, Hajiya Hadiza Isma El-rufai; Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun; Minister of State for Budget, Hajiya Zainab Samsuna; Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung; Minister of Industry Trade and Investment, Dr Okechukwu Enelamah and Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh.
Others included CBN boss, Godwin Emefiele; some foreign diplomats, Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II; Emir of Birnin Gwari, Zubairu Jibrin Maigwari II, as well as the Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris.
Side attraction put in place to celebrate the occasion was a music show which featured the likes of Don-Zazi, a top musician in the north; a 10-year-old guitarist, Ghashash, who recently won an award in an international music concert held in Niger Republic, and a popular Hausa musician, Dauda Dahuta popularly known as ‘rarawa’. The state cultural troupe was also not left out as they thrilled the audience with their beautiful dance steps.
and then