ABUJA: Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) says Nigeria loses about 2.75 billion dollars (N540.38 billion) annually due to the smuggling of processed poultry products, mostly from China.
Dr. Ayoola Oduntan, the President of the PAN, said in an interview at the 2015 Poultry Summit, held in Lagos, that out of the 8.8 kilograms of chicken consumed on average by Nigerians daily, approximately 6 kilograms are coming from smuggled sources.
“If we can reduce the smuggled chickens by 50 percent, we will generate millions of new jobs, and we will save at least 1.5 billion dollars.”
“All these can be reversed if our government is committed, which I believe they are, to turn things around, we will achieve it,” said Oduntan
According to Oduntan, the poultry industry is in a position to generate employment, create wealth, and contribute to the economic development of the country.
“We believe that the incoming government is going to listen and be committed to agriculture, and together we can form a partnership that will be of immense benefit to all Nigerians.
Oduntan stressed how important it was for the Buhari administration to not only help the poultry sector but also the other sections of the agricultural economy.
“We consume about two million tons of maize, and we need 500,000 new farmers to produce that.
“I have it on good authority that in Brazil, farmers are given government subsidised loans as low as three per cent.”
According to Oduntan, this kind of assistance would be key to the revitalization of the agriculture in Nigeria.
