Big players are critical to our industry – PAN president

Recently, poultry farmers in the North protested over the entrance of Olam (producer of day-old chicks and feed) into egg production. They argued that this would create problems for them in the market. In this interview with Daily Trust on Sunday in Abuja, the national president of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Mr. Ezekiel […]

Recently, poultry farmers in the North protested over the entrance of Olam (producer of day-old chicks and feed) into egg production. They argued that this would create problems for them in the market. In this interview with Daily Trust on Sunday in Abuja, the national president of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Mr. Ezekiel Ibrahim, spoke on issues affecting their business in Nigeria and how to make the needed profit.

Many farmers are worried that big players like Olam are going into full-scale production of eggs, saying it should stick to its initial business of producing day-old chicks and feeds. How is your association dealing with this issue?

It is an issue that has been a round for a while. Some of our farmers were a bit aggrieved, and as leaders, we had to reach out. Initially, we wrote to Olam, based on the perception of people, and they responded. That is why we had a meeting and we are able to understand ourselves. We are one big family.

The most important thing is that anybody coming to our country is not our enemy. As the saying goes, ‘he who is for us, is not against us.’ However, at times when you are coming from a different environment to another, if you do not look at certain critical issues there would be communication gap. That is what happened. All our farmers should know that the big players are critical to our industry. We have really agreed on a workable solution to the benefit of all.

Can you shed light on the major concern of smallholder-farmers with Olam?

They said Olam had gone into the downstream sector. In poultry business, downstream means production of eggs, which they are not supposed to do as big players. That is why I said that at times, understanding your environment is important. When they came in they saw there was a gap. They came in legally after the appeal of the Nigerian government for investors. They took the opportunity and they saw the gap.

They were overwhelmed with the gap, and subsequently, they went into overproduction of day-old chicks. They did not have a market, so they had to feed them, thinking they could sell them out at the point-of-lay. But nobody was buying them and they started laying eggs. Of course, they want to recover their cost and what have you. That created a problem in the market, even though glut has been nearly recurring in this country. More so, this year is an electioneering year in Nigeria.

Another problem is the effect of insurgency on us. Initially, Borno was a window for eggs moving up to Central Africa, but now, those eggs can no longer be moved because of security challenges. And internal consumption of eggs in Nigeria is very low. As at today, not up to 10 per cent of Nigerians are eating eggs. Then the disposable income of the people generally has dwindled because the price of eggs has been stable. But what of the purchasing power? Even when the naira was exchanging at N150 to N200 per dollar, the price of eggs was still the same as at today. So you find that what you could have bought with N1 in 2000, today you need almost N5 or so to buy.

So generally, the purchasing power of an average Nigerian is very low. We need to really see how we can bring down the cost of production. That is why poultry is a holistic agricultural sector. For you to impact greatly, it means maize and soya beans producers have to come in. Also, we need to up-scale production per hectare in Nigeria.

We gathered that some farmers are threatening to boycott Olam’s products if they do not stop; what are some of the major outcomes?

There is no need boycotting Olam. They have given us assurances. They have agreed that they need to adjust their business policy. And they are ready to support increased consumption because they have the capacity. At times the problem is not even glut; the issue is distribution because you find out that the cry for glut is just from one zone of the country, particularly the North-West, particularly Kano. This is because it is a large market, but you find out that in other parts of the country, there isn’t that challenge.

So it is the issue of distribution, which is why I say we are taking it holistically. At PAN, we try to educate Nigerians on the value of egg consumption. We also ask the big players to help where they can, even in promoting the distribution of the product. Our challenge is the small farmer who does not have big ambition but wants to survive. And invariably, he is the largest consumer of feeds. He is the largest consumer of the day-olds. Therefore, if you move him out of the market, you create unnecessary headache for yourself.

We also ask Nigerians to be ready for a real challenge. We are used to traditional type of production, where you produce and everybody comes to beg you. I always say that before you come for production you should have a marketing plan. Marketing is key. I always tell people that marketing is life. Whether we like it or not, the whole world is becoming a global village, so everybody is trying to cut the share of the cake. That is why you see developed economies having trade wars and what have you. Everybody wants to have a market share, so you cannot just sit down and say, ‘We have population, so they will come and look for us.

We need to create awareness. I tell people that 15 years ago we didn’t know about instant noddles, we knew macaroni and spaghetti, but today, go to the remotest part of this country, when you ask children what they like, they will say Indomie. In the cities now, it has become breakfast for many homes. Why? It is the force of marketing, creating awareness for what they sell.

Some of these things may not have food value when compared to egg, but when you don’t invest in advertisement, how will consumers know? We have been wrongly oriented that government does everything. Of course, in all economies, government’s policy and expenditure give direction, but we cannot allow government to do everything because that will be the beginning of our problem. Today, that is why Nigeria is one of the poorest countries.

With all these challenges, do poultry farmers make profit?

Profit is an issue of management. There is no where you won’t make profit in agriculture if you have good management skill. I always tell people that when they don’t plan, they will fail. Poultry is the quickest investment that you have returns. Returns on investment in poultry start from three, four or seven weeks. If you are into brooding, by the time you collect day-old chicks, within two weeks they are ready for marketing. If you are into layers, you don’t want to start from day-olds, you buy point-of-lay, and in four weeks you start to reap. If you are into broilers, by six weeks, you have started getting returns on investment.

However the risk, it has a good profit margin. There is always the saying that poultry is a shortcut to wealth; but it is also a shortcut to hypertension because we always say there is no absentee farmer. You have to be there; you have to be accurate to get returns. Some people just come because everybody says there’s money in poultry. They establish farms but they don’t go there; they expect the workers to do it. The workers will just work for themselves, and at the end you just continue to lament that you are not making profit.

What advice do you have for farmers who feel threatened by glut?

It is a passing phase. I am sure that in the next six weeks, people will not talk of glut again when we do the needful.

Finally, let me say that an egg is a complete diet. Right now, you find that most soldiers are complaining of poor diet, so if you can give a soldier two eggs and a banana or other fruits, it is more than the junks they are giving to them. We are talking to a lot of internally displaced persons about malnutrition. Egg is the cheapest source of protein we have in the world today, and it makes 98 per cent of your body’s requirements.