Opinion
2050: Expectations For Poultry Enterprise
WattAgNet.com, on the future of poultry, once wrote that by 2050, we will need to consider that routine work may be replaced by robotics or automation. There will most likely be total supply chain transparency with precision farming, total traceability and on-farm informatics. In the same vein, many years ago, Philip Wilkinson expressed his optimism about the future of poultry farming. He said that poultry, undoubtedly is going to be the leading meat protein to help feed an additional three billion people by 2050.Although his projection may not have meant so much to his listeners, Wilkinson’s assumption was borne out of his understanding of the discovery of animal product as the best bet for adequate protein intake. The place of the poultry industry in providing the consumers’ bugging demand question has become highly indispensible that it is no longer out of place to foresee a high possibility of farm employees with doctorate degrees, hydroponics and mini-power stations becoming more common on poultry operations.
Protein, the second most abundant compound found in human body, plays many critical roles in keeping the body alive and healthy. It is not unlikely that very soon, dietary health foods may be prescribed as part of a disease prevention programme. From the contraction of the muscles which allows for body movement, to the contraction of specialised muscle that controls organ functions such as the heart, digestive movements and elimination of unwanted elements in the body, the place of protein in human body is said to be highly indispensible. Luckily, the free range organic poultry, ducks, turkeys and eggs from healthy chickens are usually handy for this purpose. No doubt, plant foods such as grains, nuts, beans and vegetables can supply the body with proteins, it is but a limited array of amino acids, animal product such as chicken, fish, beef, venison, duck, turkey and pork contain virtually all the essential amino acids needed to keep the body fit and healthy. This makes the poultry business a handy bridge between the need of a people and the availability of a solution to such need.
Wilkinson thus sees the poultry farmer as one in a position to answer the consumers’ bugging question of “what should we eat?” Of course, like the words of the President of the Barbados Egg and Poultry Producers Association (BEPPA), Wendell Clarke, in 2009, “local poultry producers are actually more than ready and willing to satisfy the needs of the local market”, but the question is, how enabling and encouraging is the economic climate under which the poultry farmer operates? No doubt, knowing the gap between the protein need or demand of the society and its existing available supply will aid in assessing the role of poultry farming towards the health and the wealth of the nation. It is in the realisation of the above fact, that the repositioning of the poultry industry in Rivers State becomes imperative. No matter how the poultry farmer struggles with continued industry volatility, even in the face of generally favourable environment, the need for flexibility and market orientation can never be overemphasised. This is to ensure that tasty, safe and enticing products grown in a manner consistent with consumers expectations, are delivered.
Therefore, if the poultry business be considered a handy bridge between the need of a people and the supply of the products, then the onus lies first on the industry to acquire a new mindset that will favour improvement in productivity. For us here in Rivers State, a state peculiar for its burgeoning population and increasing demand for poultry products, we are found at crossroads in the realm of poultry farming. While the potential for economic growth and food security is vast, numerous challenges plague the industry, necessitating urgent attention and strategic intervention. One of the primary issues confronting poultry farmers in Rivers State is the inconsistency in the supply chain. Fluctuating prices of feed, coupled with disruptions in the distribution network, often result in financial instability for farmers. Addressing this requires a comprehensive assessment of the supply chain and collaborative efforts between farmers and stakeholders to establish stability. Poultry farming faces constant threats from disease outbreaks. Avian influenza and other contagious diseases pose significant risks, leading to the loss of poultry stocks and economic setbacks for farmers.
There is an urgent need for the government to bolster disease control measures and provide support for farmers in the event of an outbreak. The escalating costs of inputs such as feed, vaccines, and energy are major hurdles for poultry businesses in Rivers State. A strategic approach to reducing these costs through subsidies, grants, or cooperative initiatives is crucial to sustaining the industry. There is no gainsaying that outdated and inadequate infrastructure hampers the efficiency of poultry farming. The absence of modern facilities for processing and storage limits the sector’s growth potential. Thus, government’s intervention is imperative to invest in and upgrade infrastructure to meet global standards. Talking of access to finance, this remains a significant challenge for small and medium-scale poultry farmers. Establishing dedicated financial schemes, low-interest loans, or grants tailored for the poultry sector would empower farmers to expand their operations and enhance productivity.
Poultry farmers often struggle with accessing markets and efficient distribution channels. Government support in creating market linkages, improving transportation infrastructure, and streamlining distribution networks will fortify the poultry value chain. The lack of updated knowledge and skills among farmers exacerbates challenges. Comprehensive training programmes and capacity-building initiatives can empower farmers with the necessary tools to adopt modern and sustainable practices. Environmental concerns, including waste management and water pollution, require immediate attention. Implementing eco-friendly practices and enforcing regulations to ensure sustainable farming methods is paramount for the long-term viability of poultry farming. Promoting local poultry breeds resilient to the region’s conditions can contribute to sustainable farming. Government incentives and awareness campaigns can encourage farmers to invest in indigenous breeds, fostering biodiversity and adaptability.
In all of these, creating awareness among consumers about the challenges faced by poultry farmers in Rivers State is essential. Public support and conscientious consumption can drive demand for locally produced poultry products, creating a more sustainable market. The dilemma faced by poultry farmers in Rivers State requires a multi-faceted approach involving government, private sector, and community collaboration. By addressing these challenges collectively, we can pave the way for a thriving and resilient poultry industry that contributes significantly to the state’s economic development and food security.
By: Sylvia ThankGod-Amadi
Quote:”Communities have rights to peace, safety, and quality of life. Noise pollution, crowds, or other impacts from religious activities can affect these rights. Balancing these interests requires consideration and dialogue”.
“All work and no play”, its said, “makes Jack a dull boy.” Despite this age-long maxim that recognises the role of play in early childhood development, play appears to be eluding many Nigerian kids. The deprivation of play opportunities comes in different forms for the Nigerian child depending on family’s social setting or status, but the effect is much the same. For children in Nigerian poor families, life is becoming as much a hassle as it is for their struggling parents. Due to harsh economic conditions, many families resort to engaging their kids prematurely in trading activities especially in hawking, to help boost family revenues, when these kids should be enjoying leisure after school. Some of these children barely attend schools while being forced to spend much of their childhood hustling in the streets. For children from well-off families, time could be as crunchy as it is for their busy parents when, obsessed with setting agenda for the future of their kids, parents arrange stringent educational regiment too early for their kids.
These group of children are made to get-off the bed by 5.30am every weekday, get ready for private school buses that call at 6.00am, otherwise report by however means to school at 7.20am.The situation is worse for kids in the city of Lagos where the need to beat urban traffic rush-hours is very high. Most children are further subjected to extra hours of lessons after school at 2.00pm, only to be released with loads of homework. On many occasions children who leave home for school at 6.30am get back by 3.30pm. With hardly enough time to eat, do school assignments and take afternoon naps, these children hardly had time for plays before dinners. In Nigeria, kids of ages between 3 and 12 spend averages of 9 hours a day and 45 hours a week to and from schools, and additional hours doing home assignments and domestic jobs, whereas their peers in developed countries spend about half that duration and have more time for leisure.
Any remaining spare time left after school work or street hustle is further stolen, when kids who usually are fascinated by gadgets, are exposed to household electronics like phones, tablets and gaming consoles. Electronic games may create a sense of leisure, but the difference with human interactions is that kids doing games interface mostly with machines or with programme structured in ways that entrap a child’s pysch directionally, according to the game’s programming, in ways that may not encourage independent thinking. Moreso, attraction to such gadgets displaces kids’ attention from important television and radio programmes. The prevalent tight, academic schedules for some Nigerian kids, though intended for academic excellence, encroaches on childhood leisure time needed to achieve an all-round childhood development, and could make children to resent formal education altogether. Besides, academic excellence or economic pursuit, is not all there is to living a well-nurtured life.
Children’s leisure time, defined as time left over after sleeping, eating, personal hygiene and attending school or day-care, is very crucial to childhood development. Sociologists recommend that children should have at least 40 per ceny of the day as leisure. According to Berry Brazelton, a former pediatrician at Harvard Medical School, “Play is the most powerful way a child explores the world and learns about him or herself.” Unstructured play encourages independent thinking and allows the young to negotiate their relationships with their peers, and in the process build self-confidence and self-control. Play is one of the important ways in which young children gain essential knowledge and skills. Leisure time enhances learning as fun enables children to learn at their own level and pace. Young children naturally explore and learn many skills by making cognitive connections from events that catch their attention.
Unstructured plays help children developed their cognitive, physical and communication skills that make them acquire social qualities necessary in navigating relationships in adult life. Plays enable children assess how others feel and learn perspectives as well as empathy through observing differences in facial expressions, body language and even tone of voice, which helps them copy how to express themselves to others, and therefore develop socially acceptable behavours that build relationships. In cooperative activities, children willingly take things in turn and may delegate roles. Children can also share the glory of winnings through competitive games, which is all great for working together in task sharing. Aside encouraging parents to ensure adequate leisure time for their kids at home, schools should make plays and exercises an integral part of the educational curriculum. The educational curriculum set by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) includes specific training durations and break periods, as well as sporting activities, as part of the school system.
Due to poor government funding, sports in public schools have declined, while most private schools lack sporting infrastructure or even play grounds. These make recreational activities and sports implementation almost impossible in schools. Also, the increasing rate of urbanisation in Nigerian communities is gradually eroding ancient playgrounds, while established urban centres have lost community playgrounds. With tightening apartment spaces now being the norm in most urban residential areas, many kids are forced to wriggle within burglary-proof enclosures. Nigerian governments and the relevant agencies should ensure that existing child labour protection laws, educational and urban development codes are implemented in the country, to enable proper nurturing of children as the future stakeholders of our society. Private schools, especially, should be supervised to ensure they follow the educational curriculum standards set by NERDC.
In a bid to impress parents and draw more patronage as better option than public schools, private schools, most of whom operate in cramped environments, have continued to set high regiments of training schedules beyond the capacity of most kids, and even encourage enrollment of pre-school age kids who can not sit still to listen for an extended periods of time. Schools, from creche to secondary levels, without playgrounds and recreational facilities should not be allowed to operate, and should be made to understand and implement appropriate curriculum and training durations. Many Nigerian kids, whether from rich or poor families, appear to have been set-up inadvertently, in the same leisure denial that affects their parents. All work and no play could lead to some messed-up kids who grow up not understanding social cues, and being unemotional and self-centered, manifest later as obsessive-compulsive adults.
By: Joseph Nwankwo
We thank God who is above all human contrivance and arrogance. Congratulations, Your Excellency Amaopusenibo Sir Siminalayi Joseph Fubara. Your victory takes us back to the Bible as a living document of a God that rules in the affairs of all His creation. In a manner of speaking, welcome back from your first war with Phillistines, Your Excellency! Yes, first example is David and Goliath! And like David, Your Excellency stands over Goliath in victory. But that is not enough. Our real enemy is that Your Excellency is Governor of a State with a wretched economy. Indigenes of Your State are today reduced to battalions of beggars waiting for who will hire their loyalty on the usual “pay-as-you-go” basis.
Your Excellency, it brings us to another Bible- based parallel. Conscientious Rivers indigenes above 50, should identify with and commit our all to this second parallel. It is to liberate the economy and people of Rivers people from 23 years enslavement and poverty, for us to regain our dignity and pride. When the economy of Egypt was drifting into a disaster zone, even Pharaoh did not know it. He also did not know what to do. But God sent a Joseph to build the economy into a fortress of good fortune that overcame the economic and social disaster Egypt did not know was ahead. Your Excellency for 23 years, Rivers State has been ruled without any logical, credible and consistent PLAN of how to overcome mass poverty from our dehydrated local economies.
Your Excellency, Rivers State cannot survive one month without Federal allocation! So called IGR only about 10 per cent of Federal allocation.It is also not based on what we produce but on tax from other people’s productivity that pass through our State. Pharaoh did not know what to do in the case of Egypt. May it please God to position another Joseph in Governor Siminalayi Joseph Fubara to heal Rivers State and build an economy that all Africa will come to access in order to chart a new course out of worsening economic hardship that is caused by near zero investment in productivity and endemic reckless looting. They are the twin chambers nursing a corporate cancer unfolding across Nigeria and Africa. The hard work begins today, Your Excellency.
We need an economic blueprint that will enrich every Rivers senatorial district from investment to grow productivity and to enrich every Rivers person from career-based productive labour, just as Pharaoh was enriched by Joseph’s economic Blueprint. Let Rivers State stop the trend of waiting the lives of young Rivers people recruited by Phillistines into cultism, thuggery and easy money, as a career. These Phillistines believe they have only lost one phase of many legal battles and battles by other means. But from comments in the public media, their eyes are fixed on 4-years of war and more! Your Excellency, we the people will not let you forget what you owe us. We have to make unbelievers see that your leadership is different and that we are uprooting the old order of an unproductive Feudal System. That system makes a few persons and their cronies to monopolise our collective wealth, while the majority are left in misery. Let’s put an end to enslavement by cabals and mass poverty in Rivers State. That is when the Phillistines will surrender.
By: Amaopusenibo Brown