Poultry farmers in Kano State have urged the government to provide subsidised feed and medication to ease rising production costs and sustain their businesses.
The farmers made the appeal in separate interviews, citing increasing prices of feed, day-old chicks and medication as major challenges.
One of the farmers, Aminu Nabegu, said a bag of Ultima Plus feed had risen from ₦20,000 to ₦23,000, while Ultima increased from ₦18,000 to ₦21,000.
He added that Chikun feed rose from ₦16,500 to ₦18,000, while Hybrid feed increased from ₦12,000 to ₦14,200. The price of day-old chicks, he said, had also climbed from between ₦500 and ₦700 to about ₦2,000.
Nabegu said the rising costs had made poultry farming more expensive and discouraged new entrants, although farmers could still make some profit by selling mature birds at higher prices.
He identified the approaching harmattan season as another challenge, explaining that farmers needed lighting and warmth to help their birds feed, drink water and grow properly.
He urged the government to prioritise experienced poultry farmers when providing assistance, adding that raising 100 day-old chicks to table size could require between 13 and 14 bags of feed, depending on feeding and management.
Another farmer, Ruth Johnson, said she took up poultry farming because she enjoyed keeping birds but had experienced significant increases in the costs of chicks, feed and medication compared with the previous year.
Amos Patrick, also a poultry farmer, said rising costs had forced him to manage his resources carefully. He raises and sells birds according to customers’ preferences, with some buyers requesting five-week-old birds and others preferring birds aged six to eight weeks.
The farmers called for measures to make essential poultry inputs more affordable, saying subsidised feed and medication would help them maintain production and keep their businesses running.
