Farmers to get 50% discount on electricity bills

In this regard, the National President, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) , Dr. Ayoola Oduntan, at the annual poultry summit in Lagos on Tuesday called for the immediate implementation of the discounts under the Agricultural and Agro-based Industries Tariff for Agriculture which includes poultry.He said one of the greatest challenges of the poultry industry in […]

In this regard, the National President, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) , Dr. Ayoola Oduntan, at the annual poultry summit in Lagos on Tuesday called for the immediate implementation of the discounts under the Agricultural and Agro-based Industries Tariff for Agriculture which includes poultry.
He said one of the greatest challenges of the poultry industry in Nigeria is cost of production, stressing that electricity bill constitutes a huge part of the costs.
Oduntan said PAN has worked closely with NERC to ensure compliance to the directive by the distribution companies.
He said that all farmers that the members approach Disco office nearest to their operations for implementation and requests for the discount.
The PAN president said: “The secretariat has been able to pass the information to zonal and state chapters as well as all members of the poultry council. This will assist to reduce the cost of production of agricultural products and agro-based industries.”
He said the annual programme brings together all poultry stakeholders, policy makers, government officials and international organisations to brainstorm on the future of poultry production in the country.
Oduntan said this year’s summit with the theme ‘Change: Repositioning the Poultry Industry for Greater Demand’ will provide a way forward in the activities of Nigerian poultry farmers.
He said poultry farmers have faced multiple challenges in the last one year which include the outbreak of the Avian Influenza (bird flu), Boko Haram insurgency, devaluation of the naira, egg and chicken gluts, low price of eggs and chicken, unavailability of and high price of soya bean and heat stress.
The above challenges PAN president  said, compounded the existing problems of poultry farmers such as epileptic power supply, bad roads and multiple taxation.
Meanwhile, representative of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Buka Alli Usman, said the summit is timely because PAN is working with the agency to achieve value addition to poultry products in the country.
He said poultry products are one of the highly consumed products in the country by every household.
This, he said, informed NAFDAC’s decision to ensure that the final products that come to the markets meet international standards and could be exported to boost Nigeria’s foreign exchange