The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos State chapter, has urged local farmers to adopt expertise in running their farms to prevent losses in the sector.
The PAN Chairman, Mr Mojeed Iyiola, made this call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos.
Iyiola reiterated that no farmer or newcomer should be into poultry farming without adequate information and knowledge on how to run the business.
“No one should go into the poultry business blindly because they have the money to invest in it.
“To go into poultry farming as a business, the farmer or investor must engage experts at the beginning to prevent immense losses in the business.
“The problem of losses in poultry farming starts from the first day the farmer collects his stock birds from the hatcheries,” Iyiola said.
According to the chairman, the kind of birds determine the output as well as life span.
“If a mistake is made at the beginning that means the farmer has started on the wrong footing and it will limit his profitability.
“Once the experts are engaged at the beginning, that’s the first stage of success. Also, farmers should not just collect their birds from run of the mill hatcheries to prevent losses.
“Once the farmer gets the above steps right, he has prevented about a 30 per cent chance of losses on that particular batch of birds,” the chairman said.
He also urged local farmers to source birds’ medications and vaccinations from the right sources to prevent diseases outbreaks and consequent loss in their farms.
“Poultry farmers must also make sure they poultry their drugs and especially vaccines from qualified shops or pharmacies.
“The waste that occurs in poultry business, is as a result of poor management. If farmers have good management in place at their poultry farm, they will experience reduced losses.
“If the farmer does not lose more than five to 10 percent of his birds from beginning to the point of lay, then the business is perfectly fine.
“Also, to prevent losses due to diseases outbreak the farmer must adhere to international best practices and protocols as regards biosecurity on their farms,” he said.
