Poultry farmers in
Akwa Ibom have decried the high cost of feeds in the country..
Some shops in Eket, Onna, Uyo, and its environs are now selling different brands such as top feeds, vital feeds, hybrid feeds, amobyn, and livestock feeds at N3, 500 per bag as against the previous price of N2, 500 per bag.
Our source also reports that an average chicken now sells between N1, 500 and N2, 000 as against N1, 000 and 1,200 in the past.
Mr Etorobong Inyang, a poultry farmer in Ibiono Ibom, attributed the high cost of feeds to the partial ban on foreign maize and other components of animal feeds.
“Most of the feed shops visited were empty even as feed dealers complained that they were no longer having regular supplies from the manufacturers,’’ he said.
Mr Obot Damian, a feed dealer said that they had to wait for many days to get feeds from manufacturers who were now rationing supplies.
“Feeds no longer come as we booked; there are times you book for all varieties of feeds, only for you to be given layers’ and growers’ feeds, and you don’t have broiler feeds.’’
He also attributed the scarcity of feeds to the insurgency in some northern parts of the country.
Damian said that the Agricultural Transformation Agenda of the Federal Government might suffer a setback, if the situation persisted especially with the approach of the yuletide.
He complained that poultry farmers had to queue for hours before buying feeds at higher prices.
Mr Ebong Asuqwu, a poultry farmer in Uyo, said that he had to queue six hours before he could buy feeds for his birds.
According to him, day old chicks were worst hit by the feed scarcity.
He called on both the federal and state governments to intervene in order to avert the looming poultry crisis.