Why poultry farmers struggle despite crash in maize price
Poultry feeds have remained expensive despite the drop in price of maize, a major component of poultry feeds. While poultry farmers are expecting the cost of the feed to drop, producers of these feeds explained that though the price of maize has dropped, other raw materials that are usually added to poultry feed are imported; […]
A worker on poultry farm
Poultry feeds have remained expensive despite the drop in price of maize, a major component of poultry feeds.
While poultry farmers are expecting the cost of the feed to drop, producers of these feeds explained that though the price of maize has dropped, other raw materials that are usually added to poultry feed are imported; and therefore, expensive.
Poultry feed producers said additives, including minerals, vitamins, enzymes and antibiotics were added to the diet to improve health and growth, as well as optimise nutrient absorption and enhance the immune system and the poultry’s overall wellbeing.
The chief executive officer of Sovet Feeds, Dr Abdullahi Saidu, said the price of a bag of broiler feed had dropped by nearly 50 per cent to between N14,500 and N15,000 from N25,000.
He explained that prices of 15 other components of the feeds had not dropped, noting that maize is not the only raw material used to process the feeds.
According to him, the price of soybeans, an important raw material, remains relatively the same. Normal salt and acidifiers are also some of the ingredients used, in addition to other factors affecting the cost of the feeds, like electricity, diesel and cost of repairs of machinery.
Dr Saidu explained that the running cost of producing bird feed, like personnel costs, including payment of minimum wage, cost of transportation, had not dropped.
He said the cost of sacks used in bagging the feeds had increased by 250 per cent in recent times, making it difficult to effect any reduction in the price.
He further said the cost of sewing machines for bagging had skyrocketed to over N100,000 from N15,000, noting that the maintenance of the machine that mixes and makes the feeds has also increased exponentially.
Similarly, Dr Ismail Abdulsalam, a veterinary doctor who runs Salam Agrovet, a poultry feed production firm, said maize and soybean formed the largest percentage of poultry feeds, but other raw materials like concentrate, additives and enzymes are critical components of the feed.
He believes that despite the crash of the maize price, poultry feeds remain expensive because producers require foreign exchange to import the other raw materials.
Dr Abdulsalm, 51, who has been in the poultry business, both as a farmer and feed producer for over 35 years, said nearly 45 per cent of poultry farmers had quit because of the rising cost of the business and the hidden loss many had incurred.
“Feed is critical in the poultry business. Though the price of maize has dropped, poultry feed is still expensive. It is simply the demand and supply logic. The raw materials we use, as I said, are imported, making it almost impossible to make any profit if you reduce the price. A poultry farmer with 5,000 layers will sell like 2,000 to buy feed for them just to sustain the business,” Abdulsalam said.
He explained that 1,000 layers giving 28 crates of egg may reduce to 25 crates or less due to the hidden loss the poultry farmer records without knowing about it; therefore, most retain prices of chicken and egg to recover losses they incurred previously.
He said the price of eggs would have crashed if not for the hidden losses poultry farmers often record.
Awwalu Bako Barde, a poultry farmer and owner of Yan Tsaki Chicks Hatchery, also said the cost of vaccines and feed was the biggest challenge poultry farmers are facing at the moment.
He said that despite the reduction of maize price, poultry feed is still expensive because other critical raw materials required also cost a lot of money.
Barde said a farmer could not afford to lose one live bird because it is like losing a fortune in the business, unlike in the past when one could lose 5 or more birds without much worry.
A salesman at FJ Agrovet, a poultry feed-selling outlet along Bawo road, Hausawa Quarters, who simply identified himself as Mamman, said a bag of feed for broilers was sold at N24,000 while that of layers cost N15,500, insisting that the drop in price of maize is temporary.
He explained that layers and broilers were not fed the same kinds of feed, saying that 100 broilers would consume half a bag in just a day, unlike layers.
Checks by our reporter at Makarfi market reveal that a bag of maize is sold between N35,000 and N41,000, while a bag of soybeans (silver) is sold between N70,000 and N78,000.
Local poultry growers resort to corn bran as an alternative to the expensive feed. A measure of maize bran is sold at N700; and they require N2500 to buy the same quantity of poultry feed.
A maize farmer at Mayere village in Makarfi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Aliyu Abubakar, lamented that the price of maize crashed when the price of fertiliser was hiked, saying it was a disincentive for farmers like him.
Plateau farmers demand more reduction
Despite a reduction in feed prices, Plateau poultry requires a reduction in other components and an initiative to rejuvenate the sector.
There has been some sort of feed price drop in response to this grain price reduction, which has somewhat relieved the poultry producers’ financial load and provided some respite.
Some of the statistics obtained by our correspondent show a reduction in feed price among the producers/millers, which include Chikun Feed, Vital Feed, Top Feed, Bedwell Feed and Top Feed.
According to Madam Grace, a poultry owner around Yelwa Club junction in Jos South, the prices of feed have come down slightly, but not to the extent that they can tackle the challenges they have in the poultry sector.
She said that a few months ago, most feed prices ranged between N19,000 and N20,000, but that now, the prices are between N16,000 and N16,400.
These reductions in prices, she said, had helped her and reduced some of her production costs, and now, she makes a little level of gain from her egg sales.
She said they were still looking forward to a more drastic reduction in the prices of feeds so that they can continue reducing their own prices of production, especially since they learnt that there has been a considerable reduction in the prices of maize and other components they use in producing the feeds.
The public relations officer of the poultry association, Solomon John, who spoke with our correspondent, also agreed that there had been a slight drop in the prices of poultry feeds.
He, however, stressed that such a reduction was not enough to rejuvenate the challenges facing the poultry industry in the state.
He said that apart from the fact that the reduction was slight and could not significantly change anything, the cost of medicines for the chickens is still very high, and that needs to come down because the treatment is also key to the healthiness of the birds and keeping them alive.
Again, he said the cold nature of Plateau State was affecting the production capacity of the birds as it is not enabling them to take much water; and the birds need to take water in order to boost their production rate.
John therefore called for intervention from the appropriate authorities to assist and intervene in finding a solution to the problems of the other aspects that should interact together to boost the poultry sector.
He called on feed producers/millers to have more understanding of the reduction of feed prices since it is yet to be fully commensurate with the reduction in the production materials and grains.
According to him, hiking of feed prices will not extend to all the actors in the poultry sector at the end of the day, in the sense that it may bring a momentary benefit for millers, but it is to the detriment of poultry owners. If they shut down operations, it will at the end of the day affect the millers as they will have no one to patronise them.
John urged poultry farmers to be resilient and dedicated to their business and remain steadfast, with the hope that things would get better and the industry would bounce back.