Poultry farmers across Lagos State have appealed to the Lagos State Government to accelerate the operationalisation of an egg powder factory to curb multi-million naira losses caused by persistent egg gluts and unsold produce.
The appeal was made during the annual summit of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos State Chapter, held in Alausa, where industry leaders and academic experts gathered to promote technological innovation and modern flock management.
Speaking at the conference themed ‘Flocking to Growth: Transforming Nigeria’s Poultry Industry with Innovation and Investment’, Chairman of PAN Lagos, Mojeed Iyiola, highlighted that poor sales continue to force commercial farms to dispose of hundreds of eggs daily.
Commending the state’s ongoing support, Iyiola stressed: “We have farms that break hundreds of eggs daily, translating to millions of naira in losses. The Lagos State Government is assisting us in building an egg powder factory.
Even if we cannot export immediately, we can at least process the eggs for local consumption. In that area, the Lagos State Government is trying for us. We are only appealing to the government to make the factory operational.”
Urging farmers to move away from obsolete practices, Iyiola stated: “This summit, which also serves as our annual conference, is aimed at sensitising our members on better and technological ways of running poultry businesses… we want to stop using crude methods of running the poultry industry so that farmers can maximise benefits and increase profitability.”
Reinforcing this technical perspective, Prof. Olugbenga Ogunwole, a professor of agricultural biochemistry and animal nutrition at the University of Ibadan, warned against outdated feed formulations, noting:
“Our people still rely on old poultry literature and outdated practices… What farmers need to do is feed their birds properly. They should stop giving their birds poor-quality feed if they expect good performance.”
In response, Director of Extension Services at the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems, Olushola Egbota, advised producers to regularly engage state extension officers at Agege to optimise flock productivity and adopt modern standards.
Source: Punch News
