Poultry and rice farmers in the country have demanded the Federal Government’s intervention in the provision of adequate finance and improved seedlings, among other inputs, to make them competitive in the wake of border closure. The representatives of the farmers spoke at the ‘Stakeholders forum on the impact of border closure on Nigeria’s economy’ organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Centre for International Private Enterprise. The farmers said since the closure of the borders on August 20, 2019 was so sudden, they had the initial challenge of meeting the local demands for poultry products and rice, arguing that both sectors needed more government intervention.

Representative of the Poultry Association of Nigeria, Kano State, Mustapha Bashir, said the poultry business was not developed in the Northern parts of the country as obtained in the Southern parts. While he noted that the border closure had been beneficial to the poultry business, he argued that the closure was not sustainable, adding that the government should begin to initiate policies that would make the Nigerian poultry sector competitive in the West African sub region. Bashir advised that the Central Bank of Nigeria should train desk officers who understood agriculture and the value chain of the several sectors, in order to maximise the potential of each sector. Punch