Ondo trains, empowers 38 in broiler processing

NO fewer than 38 people have been trained by the Ondo State government in broiler processing at Isuada Poultry Farms in Owo Local Government Area of the state.

The Senior Special Assistant to the state governor on agriculture and agribusiness, Mr Akin Olotu, disclosed this in Akure while issuing certificates to the trainees after 16 weeks of training.

Olotu, while speaking, disclosed that  all the participants would be supplied free chicks from brooding state to nurture to the stage of culling them off.

He explained that having gone through the practical training, all the participants who completed the training could handle broiler processing without any hitch.

The SSA disclosed that the ongoing construction of poultry pens in the farm would increase the capacity of the farm which has ten existing poultry pens.

He said each of the pens would accommodate 5,000 birds, saying that the programme is part of the Rotimi Akeredolu administration’s scheme to boost agriculture and create job opportunities in the state.

He explained that there is a plan to install hatchery in the farm for easy accessibility to chicks, saying this would reduce the burden of farmers from travelling to Oyo and Ogun states to buy.

He said that Governor Akeredolu has approved a 40,000 chicks per day hatchery for procurement by the state government, while hatchable eggs poultry would also be put in place for adequate supply of eggs to the hatchery.

Olotu said people from neighbouring states would soon be bringing their eggs for hatching rather than travelling to farther states.

All the participants were given financial support by the government with a view to encouraging them.

Olotu disclosed that there’s already established cluster offtakers of all processed broilers by all the newly graduated farms in order not to incur any loss.