By Blessing Teniola
Recently, the Erelu Adebayo Children’s Home, Iyin-Ekiti, Ekiti State, played host to some farmers under the aegis of State chapter of the Poultry Association of Nigeria, PAN, who came to felicitate with the children in the spirit of the celebration of the World Egg Day, and by extension ensure that Ekiti was not left out of the global occasion.
Though shots of the children were not allowed, but they came out in their numbers during their school break to receive the PAN members who brought crates of eggs for presentation to them.
Chairman of the Association in the State, Mr Alonge Oluwasetemi, said their presence at the Home was anchored on the theme of this year’s celebration,” Egg For Healthy Future”, underscoring the point that who are the future, if not the children? Hence, the need to celebrate with the children and highlight the importance of consuming eggs. ” Eggs are very good, and eggs remain the cheapest or the most affordable source of animal protein we have today.
And we the poultry farmers in Ekiti state, we work tirelessly to make sure we provide quality eggs and chickens to our people of Ekiti state”.
Mr Oluwasetemi added that their operations have a very large value chain starting from the farm where they produce eggs and raise chickens. He remarked that the Association can boast of a lot of people for the farm and some other kinds of value chain, talking about the transportation, the drivers, and the traders that market the products. “So we engage a lot of people. We help to curb the problem of unemployment to a large extent. Today Nigeria remains the largest producer of eggs in Africa”.
On the challenges facing the Association,he posited that there is no business operation without challenges and that poultry farmers are very resilient people. But unfortunately “we were hit by series of problems starting from 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic”.
“Moreover, this brought down our production by almost fifty percent. So why recovering from that, earlier this year, we were also hit by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, cashless policy. Our business is very cash-related. We were hit by the negative effect of not having cash. We were producing, but we couldn’t sell, because there was no means of legal tender and our business is that we produce everyday”.
The Chairman further explained that since they produce perishable items, once they are not ready to produce within a week or two, it becomes a total loss to them. He regretted that this completely eroded most of their working capital. According to him, while they were trying to recover from this, they were also hit by the removal of fuel subsidy. Therefore, whatever little gain they make, they end up spending on fuel and transportation.
He stressed that these are just a few of the factors that have really hit the poultry sector. While the two major materials that are used in making poultry feed, maize and soya are almost not available in the market anymore. The poultry association chief said the few things that are available have inflated by almost two to three hundred percent, crippling the ability of farmers to afford them. “The situation has sent us to a nosedive presently. And as you can see, Poultry Association of Nigeria has remained a very benevolent association. We would have loved to extend this gesture to practically all the schools in Ekiti, we would have loved to reach out to all the schools in Ekiti State, all primary schools and hospitals. We did that in the past. But presently our members are not producing optimally. Many farmers have closed shops. We just have about fifteen to twenty-five percent of our farmers in operation right now. That’s why we are doing this one on a low key as we are just here to felicitate with the children”.
On rising prices of eggs, the poultry farmer attributed such to lack of inputs from the farm in the production of eggs. For example, unaffordable bags of chicken feeds. Adding that presently eggs are under-priced. A crate of eggs he said now sells for between two thousand, five hundred naira and two thousand, eight hundred naira. A price he maintained yields no profit. Hence, selling at low production cost.
On the way out of the quagmire, he remarked”, considering the fact that we are always challenged by yearly glut in the supply of eggs. We continue to appeal to the government at all levels to reintroduce the school feeding programme, where eggs are being used to feed the children. If this is done, it is going to mop up a reasonable amount of eggs in the markets, and it is likely going to stop the annual egg glut we always experience”. This appeal, he stressed is imperative because as he said many of the farmers are not employing. Noting that this is an industry that employs a good number of people. He also suggested that the government should look into assisting farmers with soft loans and grants to get them back in business. This he believed will keep the employment chain by engaging more people. “If you have a farm of just about one thousand birds, by the time you look at the value chain in terms of employment, you will discover that you engage a minimum of twenty to thirty people starting from the farm workers to drivers and marketers. That’s why we are appealing to the government to open the importation window for maize for its price to come down and possibly subsidize maize and soya beans”.
Mr Oluwasetemi appreciated the State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji for what he described as his giant strides in the development of the agriculture sector. He also commended the Commissioner for Agriculture, Ebeneezer Oluwade for his efforts so far in the sector. Adding that the government should always give a pride of place to the farmers in its policies and programmes.
The financial secretary of the Association, Mr Samuel Akanle, counselled the children not to see themselves as orphans but get encouraged by the visit of members of the association to share the joy of the global celebration with them.
Speaking on the importance of eggs, he admonished that consumption of eggs increases mental ability. Therefore, there should be eggs in their meals for healthy living. Moreso, the consumption of eggs prevents stroke. While consumption of eggs equally has some positive cholesterol for human growth.
The treasurer of the association, Mrs Tosin Oladimeji said no matter the situation, children should be seen as future leaders, and should be well cared for. She admonished women to know that they have value.
Mrs Oladimeji cautioned ladies to shun what could them to unwanted pregnancies which she identified as the major cause of abandoned babies in the society.
Appreciating the gesture, an official at the Children’s Home, Mrs Comfort Kehinde thanked members of the association for visiting the children and presenting gift items for their upkeep. She pledged that the items would be channelled to the purpose they were meant.
World Egg Day is marked every year on the second Friday of October.