An organic poultry farming expert, Mr Kingsley Ejimadu has urged local poultry farmers to go organic, due to its affordability and numerous health benefits.
Ejimadu, the co-founder, Safari Agro Export Group, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, on Tuesday in Lagos.
He noted that organic farming is beneficial to human and bird health and cost less than synthetic farming systems.
“When it comes to organic farming, you cannot rule it out, especially for poultry, it is the best, it is more hygienic, more nutritious and beneficial to human health.
“It actually cost less to raise birds organically than otherwise, so we encourage more poultry farmers to go organic.
“Rearing birds synthetically is very expensive now, due to increase in the cost of raw materials, hence the price hike in poultry produce.
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“Buying garlic, ginger , Cayenne pepper and other basic kitchen ingredients cost less than these synthetic vaccines and feeds. All these items do not cost more than N1000.
“More poultry farmers should get training in organic farming and adopt it as a farming system.
“Farmers need adequate training to venture into organic farming because you cannot afford to give the birds overdose or they will die,” Ejimadu said.
The expert reiterated that common kitchen spices and ingredients made up the diet of organically reared poultry.
As per a statement by him, some of these ingredients can serve as vaccines to prevent diseases in the birds.
“What we do is that basically, all what the birds eat are completely organic apart from the food we source from the market.
“We add ginger, garlic, tumeric and other healthy spices to their feed. We try as much as possible to prevent the birds from being sick because they are on an organic diet.
“We use ingredients like bitter leaf to prevent common bird diseases on our farms. A combination of cloves, ginger and garlic help to prevent chronic respiratory diseases in the birds.
“We also apply Christmas melon, aloe Vera and Cayenne pepper which serves as vaccine for the birds, we go for ingredients that are good for the birds and human health.
“We raise our birds from scratch to ensure total compliance to organic diets, and they also turn out very big and healthy.
“We have numerous ingredients we give the birds and this is determined by the age,” the expert added.
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