Ogun Govt Offers 30 percent discount in Feeds Cost To 850 Poultry Farmers To Boost Production

Ogun State Government says it has given support to 850 poultry farmers across the state with 80 bags of feed per farmer at 30 per cent discount, under the State Economic Transformation Project (OGSTEP) initiative aimed at boosting poultry farming and increase the per capital consumption of chicken 

 

The State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Hon Bolu Owotomo stated this during his visit to Elere village in Obafemi Owode local government at the flag off of the processing of about 13,000 chicken raised by over 200 poultry farmers who benefited from the OGSTEP 30 per cent bird feed discount.

Owotomo pointed out that the Prince Dapo Abiodun led administration was determined to reduce to the barest minimum  the burden associated with poultry production hence its decision to provide feeds  at discounted rate to some poultry farmers through OGSTEP.

 "In Nigeria, we have protein deficit because we still import a lot of poultry products from other countries . However, in Ogun State, our poultry consumption is 250,000 metric tonnes and we can only provide about 120,000 metric tonnes despite the fact that we are the poultry capital of Nigeria with the largest concentration of poultry farmers", he said.

The commissioner called on farmers that have benefited from the programme to ensure the continuity of the initiative by re-investing some of their profit into the business to further boost poultry production.

Similarly , the  Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mrs kehinde Jokotoye commended the poultry farmers for making good use of the 30 per cent discount on feeds given by government to enhance their business.

On her part , the state coordinator, OGSTEP, Mrs Mosun Owo-Odunsi explained that OGSTEP is a multi sectoral project which has agriculture as one of the sector with overall aim of boosting food security and improving livelihood of farmers.

Earlier, in her welcome address, the OGSTEP Agric Project Manager, Dr. Mrs. Oluseyi Olugbire appreciated the collaborative efforts of the Service provider, the off taker, as well as the farmers in making the intervention timely and impactful.

 The representative of the farmers and chairman,Poultry Association of Nigeria , Mowe Zone , Mr Ahmed Alli  thanked the State Government for the support given to the poultry farmers, saying that it would go a long way in reducing the challenges faced by poultry farmers.