Poultry farmers in Kaduna State on Tuesday appealed to the state government to assist them with soft loans to enable them to meet market demand.

They made the appeal on the platform of the state’s chapter of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN).

Chairman of PAN in Kaduna State, Mr. Musa Bala, said paucity of funds was a major challenge for the more than 3,000 members of the association.

“Members of the association currently supply about 70,000 crates of eggs and 40,000 birds weekly, which is grossly inadequate for the increasing market demand,” Bala said.

He said more than 10,000 poultry farmers in Kaduna State might quit the business because of low working capital.

He urged the state government to take a cue from CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Programme for rice farmers and apply same for poultry farmers.

He expressed confidence that if such programme was applied, PAN members would meet the huge gap in the supply chain of poultry products in the state.

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The PAN Chairman said members also faced challenges of power supply resulting in their inability to freeze processed birds.

Bala urged for partnership with private investors to establish a one-stop-shop to enable farmers to preserve frozen chicken and control supply.

He argued that this would help farmers to maintain the six cycles of production in a year and maintain stable price.

The Star