The Poultry Farmers Association of Nigeria (PFAN) has blamed the lingering cash scarcity for the loss of over N30 billion worth of eggs in the country.
The PFAN national president, Sunday Akpa in a statement disclosed that the poultry industry was on the verge of total collapse and extermination as a result of a cash crunch in the system on Friday.
Akpa said the poultry industry in Nigeria contributed about 25 per cent of agricultural Gross Domestic Product and is one of the most consolidated sub-sectors of the ministry.
The agriculture sector within the first quarter of 2023 had recorded a loss amounting to N8trn.
However, despite contributing 25 per cent, Akpa said the eggs produced daily by poultry farmers since the first week of February 2023 till date have never been off taken by above 20 per cent due to a cash scarcity in the economy.
The PFAN boss said “The industry is completely private sector driven and worth over N3trn and employing over 25 million Nigerians directly and indirectly.
“Eggs produced daily by poultry farmers since the first week of February 2023 till date have never been off taken by 20 percent because of the near absence and lack of the naira notes to buy basic food items and other necessary proteins.
“This development has led to the loss of over 15 million crates of eggs being unsold and damaged, and an average loss in excess of over N30 billion to the poultry industry as at this press release,” NAN quoted him as saying.
He called for urgent intervention by the federal government to save the industry from imminent collapse, stressing that the government should make direct grants and financial support available to the industry through the association.
He also pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management (FMHDS) to work with the association on how immediate reliefs can be extended to poultry farmers across the country.
