PAN seeks government support for industry

Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) in Plateau has called on the State Government to support the poultry industry so as to increase its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

Chairman of the association in the state, Mr John Dasar, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Jos.

He said government could support farmers by giving them grants so as to boost their poultry businesses to improve the revenue generation profile of the state.

``Poultry business in Plateau is very viable and its massive contribution in terms of revenue generation for the state cannot be overemphasised.

``Unfortunately, government is not doing much to assist the growth of the industry in the state and I think that is not healthy for its revenue profile.

``The last outbreak of bird flu in the state has done a lot of harm to farmers; most poultry farmers have completely gone bankrupt with nothing to rely on.

``Government can give soft loans to these farmers and supervise its usage so as to enable them bounce back to business; this will boost the economy of the state.

``We are not saying the money should be giving to us free, but as a payable loan with minimal interest rate.

``If government invests N100 million into the agric sub-sector, the result will be quite tremendous,’’ he emphasised.

Dasar explained that over 150 poultry farms were completely closed down and about 1,500 persons were out of job because of the 2015 outbreak of bird flu in the state.

``Over 150 poultry farms were shut down during the outbreak of bird flu in the state.

``It means that no fewer than 1,500 farm attendants working in those farms no longer have jobs.

``With this scenario, government revenue profile will definitely not increase, rather, it will reduce,’’ the chairman said.

He lamented the drastic collapse of the industry on the Plateau; a state which he said had been the envy of other states in terms of poultry business because of the quality of its products.

He explained that the state lost over 400,000 birds during the outbreak.

Dasar also lamented the recent outbreak of the disease which resulted in the closure of six farms and destruction of 10,000 birds.

``The industry cannot recover immediately because of the huge number of birds destroyed and farms closed without support from government.

``We cannot restock our farms because compensations were not paid and the State government is also not doing anything to ameliorate our sufferings, meanwhile we are being pursued to pay taxes,’’ he lamented.

According to him, the value chain in the poultry industry has been the major source of income for most families in the state, especially amidst non-payment of salaries to civil servants.

The PAN boss said government must show concern about the plight of poultry farmers in the state as showing less concern would affect its revenue profile.

Dasar also advised the state government to establish hatcheries to cushion the hardship of poultry farmers in the state as most farmers currently depended on hatcheries owned by private individuals.