Poultry farmers in Bauchi, Gombe and Jigawa states are struggling with rising feed costs and declining demand for poultry products, forcing some to scale down operations, adopt alternative feeds or shut down their businesses.
The farmers, who spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria in Bauchi, Dutse and Gombe, said high production costs and consumers’ weak purchasing power had threatened the sustainability of their businesses.
They said the situation had reduced their returns on investment, prompting calls for government support to make poultry farming more viable.
Margret Yohanna, a poultry farmer in Bauchi, said the rising cost of feeding birds had forced her to reduce the number of chicks she raised from 100 to 50 to cut expenses and make some profit.
Yohanna said a bag of refined feed cost between N20,000 and N23,000, adding that she spent about N8,000 to feed a chick from the starter to the finisher stage.
She said the high cost of production and poor market conditions were making poultry farming less attractive.
“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 said.
Another farmer, Aisha Musa, said she had resorted to locally processed feed to reduce expenses and remain in business.
Musa attributed the rising prices of poultry products to high production costs amid low patronage.
She added that concerns among some consumers about the concentration of chemicals in poultry feed had contributed to declining demand for the products.
Abdulkahar Lawal, another farmer, said the rising cost of production had created significant challenges for poultry businesses, forcing some small-scale operators to close down.
He said farmers now had to compare the cost of raising birds with prevailing market prices to determine whether they could make a profit.
Umar Ibrahim said farmers were struggling to make reasonable returns because of the cost of feed, vaccines and other production inputs.
He added that prevailing market prices for poultry products were below production costs, exposing farmers to losses.
Aliyu Hamza, a poultry feed dealer in Dutse, Jigawa State, said feed prices had declined slightly because of low patronage.
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Hamza said a 25-kilogramme bag of feed sold for between N20,000 and N22,000, down from N24,000 previously.
He attributed the reduction to declining demand, adding that sales usually improved during Ramadan and Eid festivities.
Hamza said feed dealers and poultry product sellers were also feeling the effects of the challenges facing farmers.
Sunusi Abdu, a member of the Jigawa State Poultry Sellers Association, said his daily sales had fallen to about 60 chickens from 150 previously.
He added that slower sales sometimes left birds unsold for several days.
Similarly, Ali Halilu, Chairman of the Chicken Sellers Association in Dutse Local Government Area, attributed the decline in demand to the economic situation.
Halilu said weak patronage had affected the prices of some locally raised chickens, with a medium-sized bird selling for N2,500, down from N3,000.
In Gombe State, farmers said rising production costs had forced some operators to abandon poultry farming.
Florence John and Yunua Ibrahim, who have been in the business for more than five years, said the high cost of production had made it difficult to earn reasonable returns on their investments.
John said some farmers in Yelenguza community had closed their farms because they could no longer afford the cost of feed.
“Things are really not looking good for poultry farmers in Gombe State because of the high cost of feed and vaccines,” she said.
She estimated that between 30 and 40 per cent of poultry farmers in her community had closed their farms because they could no longer sustain the business.
Ibrahim urged the Federal Government and state governments to provide loans and grants to farmers, noting that poultry farming contributed to food security and employment generation.
He called for targeted government support, improved access to affordable credit and measures to reduce production costs.
He added that supporting local feed production, providing subsidies and improving access to essential inputs would help sustain poultry businesses and protect jobs.
NAN
