Agriculture
THE All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) on Tuesday assured Nigerians of availability and affordable poultry products and livestock during the yuletide in the country.
The AFAN Chairman, Chief Femi Oke, gave the assurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
He spoke on preparations and availability of poultry products and livestock during Christmas and New Year seasons.
He said the continuous closure of the nation’s land borders had encouraged farmers to expand their businesses to cater for the increasing demand, especially during the festive seasons.
According to him, poultry products and livestock, which include goat, sheep, cattle, pig, rabbit and others, will be available at affordable prices.
“Nigerians are showing more interest to buy from us than in the past. In fact, people have started booking chickens and turkeys ahead of time.
“So far so good, farmers are very happy with the continuous closure of land borders because it has really encouraged us to do more of what we know how to do best.
“As Christmas is fast approaching, everybody is tightening up to ensure that they have enough produce to meet the demands.
“Our members will sell their produce at reasonable and affordable prices for the Christmas and New Year.
“We are hopeful that we will have enough supply in the market and it will not be too expensive,” he said.
The AFAN boss commended the Federal Government for the continuous closure of the border, saying it had encouraged farmers to expand, improve and concentrate on locally- produced products.
“We have been able to gain a lot from the border closure. Our members are now concentrating more on local produce than before.
“There is awareness now about our local produce and the quality.
“Most of the things people used to call local products are now being patronised and people have realised that there is nothing wrong with them.
“We have realised that some people are just used to buying foreign or imported goods that are in most cases inferior to the locally-produced items,’’ Oke said.
According to him, our produce like rice, chicken, turkey and other livestock are now being patronised and accepted by our people.
“People are now showing more interest in our local produce and we are getting more patronage from especially the chicken, turkey and rice.
“The number of farm produce might not be so much for now but we are sure of what we are producing and by 2020, we will have more than enough to feed the country,” he said.
Oke said that most farmers now used local feeds for their poultry, aquaculture and livestock.
“The feeds we are using now are local feeds. We now produce our feeds locally; no imported or foreign feeds.
“The price of chicken, turkey and other livestock will be reasonable during the festive season.
“Definitely, we will not make the produce too costly. They will be affordable to all, ‘’ he said.
NAN
– Dec. 03, 2019 @ 15:39 GMT |
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