Following hardship faced by poultry farmers, President Muhammadu Buhari, Thursday, approved the release of 5,000 metric tonnes of maize from the National Strategic Grains Reserve, NSGR, to support the Poultry Association of Nigeria, PAN, in order to mitigate the challenge of affordability of feed.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Director, Information, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Theodore Ogaziechi, where it was also made know that the 5,000 metric tonnes of maize is subsidized at the rate of N90, 000 as against the current market price of N170, 000.
The statement reads in part, “President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the release of 5,000 Metric Tonnes of maize from the National Strategic Grains Reserve to support the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) at a subsidized rate of N90,000 (Ninety Thousand Naira only per Metric tonne as against the current market price of N170,000 (One Hundred and Seventy Thousand Naira only).
“This was conveyed to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Muhammad Sabo Nanono in a letter from State House with reference No: SH/COS/05/A/26/1, signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari.
“The poultry industry, which accounts for about 27% of the Agricultural Gross Domestic Product (AGDP) of the economy and provides about 20 million direct and indirect employments, will heave a sigh of relief as this will to a great extent help resolve the challenge of the poultry feeds ravaging the industry.”
According to the statement, the Minister also assured poultry farmers in the country of complying immediately with the President’s directive without delay in order to ameliorate their plight following the harsh prices of the commodity.
It also added that the intervention will go a long way to salvage their investment and enhance their productivity amid the COVID-19 pandemic towards the growth of the economy.
“Alhaji Nanono has assured the poultry farmers of the readiness of the ministry to immediately comply with the presidential directive in order to salvage the huge investment of about N10 trillion in the industry”, it added.
