The Federal Government has put the supply gap of poultry meat in Nigeria at 529,000 metric tonnes despite having 85 million Nigerians who into one form of poultry business or the other.

It, however, noted that studies had shown that Nigeria was the highest annual producer of eggs, adding that the country had the second largest chicken population on the continent. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Muhammed Mahmoud, disclosed this at the inauguration of the cottage poultry processing facility in Dei-Dei livestock market, Abuja.

He said the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was further harnessing the potentials in the value chain through the new facility, as poultry production had provided opportunities and raw materials for small, medium and large-scale businesses to thrive.

“The FMARD 2019 projection of poultry meat output and demand put the national output at 551,000MT and demand at 1,080,000MT, thus leaving a supply gap of 529,000MT,” Mahmoud stated.

He added, “Currently, over 85 million Nigerians are involved in one form of poultry business or the other making intervention in the poultry sector imperative for job creation and income generation for farmers, processors and marketers, as well as for the country.” The minister noted that the Food and Agriculture Organisation in 2019 stated that Nigeria was the largest annual egg producer with the second largest chicken population in Africa amounting to about 180 million birds. Punch