President of the Poultry Association of Nigeria, Ezekiel Ibrahim, has predicted that the country will experience famine in 2021. Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria, he said his prediction was based on the inability of farmers to work on their farms, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said: “Already, the rainy season has set in, so if the maize and soybeans farmers cannot go to their farms, that is a threat to the poultry industry.” He noted that 70% of the raw materials for the feed used in the poultry industry, especially poultry feed production, is soya beans and maize.

Ibrahim pointed to two issues hampering operations of farmers – the COVID lockdown and activities of bandits. According to him, “We need to wake up, the government needs to wake up to its duties because we are generally experiencing terrible and tough times.”  Speaking against the backdrop of the impact of the pandemic on agriculture, the PAN president attributed the losses to logistic and distribution challenges as a result of lack of synergy between the federal and state governments. He decried the fact that security operatives at the state level had continued to hinder farmers from conveying feeds and day-old chicks to their respective destinations.

According to him, this is not the time for the Federal Government to enforce the lockdown on poultry farmers. Naija News