As the Yuletide season approaches, some poultry farmers in Bauchi, Gombe and Jigawa States have expressed concern over rising cost of feed and poor market, which they say will negatively impact their production capacity.
TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the lamentation is coming at a time poultry farmers have started rearing chickens ahead of the Yuletide season, when demand for poultry products traditionally rises as households prepare for Christmas and New Year celebrations.
They said that the trend has forced them to embrace alternative feed to enable them to recover their investments amid declining demand for poultry products.
The farmers, who spoke in separate interviews in Bauchi, Dutse and Gombe, said that high production cost, coupled with weak purchasing power had threatened sustainable businesses.
Poultry farming is the act of raising birds for commercial or domestic purposes, including chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese to produce meat or eggs.
Mrs Margret Yohanna, a Bauchi-based poultry farmer, told NAN that the cost of feeding birds had become a major concern, forcing her to reconsider the scale of her operations.
The farmer said that she reduced the number of chicks raised from 100 to 50, to cut expenses and make some gains.
“The situation reflects the wider difficulties facing poultry farmers, who must balance the rising cost of production against consumers’ability to pay for poultry products,” she told NAN.
Yohanna said that a bag of refined feed costs between N20,000 and N23,000, adding that she spent about N8,000 in feeding a chick from a starter to finisher stage.
She said that the high cost of production coupled with a poor market condition was making the trade less attractive.
Mrs Aisha Musa said that she relied on locally processed feed to cut costs so that she could remain in business.
Musa attributed the hike in poultry product prices to high production costs amid low patronage.
She said that some customers were concerned about the high concentration of chemicals in feed, resulting in low demand for the products.
Another farmer, Abdulkahar Lawal said that the trend resulted in significant imbalances in poultry farming, and forced small-scale operators to close down.
“Farmers now consider the cost of raising their birds against prevailing market prices to determine whether they could make a profit.”
Corroboratively; Umar Ibrahim noted that farmers were not making good savings from the trade due to the expenses on feed, vaccines and other production inputs.
He said that the current price of the products was below the production cost which exposed farmers to losses.
However, Aliyu Hamza, a poultry feed dealer in Dutse, Jigawa, said that prices had slightly dropped due to low patronage.
He said that a 25 kilogramme bag of feed was sold between N20,000, and N22,000, down from N24,000, in the past.
Hamza attributed the reduction in prices to declining demand, adding that sales usually improved during Ramadan fast and Eid festivities.
He said that feed and poultry products dealers were also affected by the challenges bedevilling poultry farmers.
Also, Sunusi Abdu, a member of the Jigawa State Poultry Sellers Association, said that his daily sales have dropped to about 60 chickens as against 150 in the past.
“Sales also slowed, leaving some birds unsold for several days,” he said.
Similarly; Ali Halilu, Chairman, Chicken Sellers Association, Dutse Local Government Area, attributed the trend to economic crunch, adding that the low demand affected prices of some locally raised chickens.
Halilu said that a medium-sized local chicken that previously sold for N2,500, down from N3,000.
Moreso; farmers in Gombe said that the situation had forced some of them to abandon poultry farming.
Mrs Florence John and Yunua Ibrahim, who have been in the poultry business for more than five years, said that high production cost made it difficult for them to make reasonable returns on their investments.
John said that some farmers in the Yelenguza community had closed their farms as they could not afford exorbitant feed prices.
“Things are really not looking good for poultry farmers in Gombe State because of the high cost of feed and vaccines.
“Today, around 30 to 40 per cent of poultry farmers in my community have closed their farms because they can no longer sustain the business,” she said.
On his part, Ibrahim urged the federal and state governments to provide loans and grants to farmers, stressing that poultry farming contributed to food security and employment generation.
“We call for targeted government support, improved access to affordable credit and measures to reduce the cost of poultry production.
“Supporting local feed production, providing subsidies and improving access to essential inputs will help sustain poultry businesses and protect jobs.”