Currently, the average prices of maize in Nigeria have surged by 110.9 per cent to N480,000 per tonne in August from N227,500 per tonne in June, the highest monthly surge on record, according to the Poultry Association of Nigeria.
This has trickled down to the cost of chicken and eggs. For instance, a cartoon of local chicken is sold from the rate of N30,000 to N33,000. Also, a crate of egg that was sold for N1000 last year, is being sold from N2800 to N3000, LEADERSHIP has learnt.
Thus is even as the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), through its Veterinary Medicine and Allied Products (VMAP) Directorate, is working with producers and importers of poultry feeds, to ensure that feeds with high quality nutrients and cost effective are imported or produced locally in the country.
The director, VMAP, Dr. Rametu Momodu, told LEADERSHIP that the mission of the Directorate is to protect human and animal health by ensuring that only safe and effective veterinary medicine and allied products are available for use in Nigeria and the vision is to safeguard the health of the nation through one health approach.
“NAFDAC Act Cap N1 LFN section 5(a – e), and 5(s) empowers the Agency to regulate animal feeds, veterinary drugs, cosmetics and chemicals used in animal production. The regulation of animal feed stuff is done to assure the production of safe feed. Note that safe feed is the assurance of safe food. Especially food of animal origin such as eggs, meat, milk, and milk products etc.,” she affirmed.
Momodu, during the Agro Merit Industrial Outreach at the Poultry Show in Abeokuta, Ogun state, however assured that VMAP under her leadership will ensure efficient administration and effective delivery on the directorate mandate through open door policy, science based approach to issues, collaboration and corporation with all stakeholders.
While thanking the organizers of this event for a job well done, the director seeks for more cooperation of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) at the National level for effective collaboration towards the development of the industry through an efficient regulatory practices.
One of the poultry feeds recently certified by NAFDAC is the Meat and Bone Meal (MBM) in animal nutrition, which help to drastically reduce production cost, the head, Animal Feed and Premix Division, NAFDAC, Dr.Tunde Sigbeku disclosed.
Sigbeku averred that NAFDAC has assured that foods that are equipped with various nutritional values are readily available in the market, likewise the nutritional supplements, adding that bone meal supplements are available in capsule, powder, and liquid form and are used in a variety of applications such as fertilizers, animal feed and nutrition, nutraceuticals, dietary supplements etc and the growing influence is not only seen among humans but also animals.
MBM is the rendered product from mammalian tissues, including bone but exclusive of blood, hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, and stomach and rumen contents. The product can be used nutritionally in all non- ruminant species of livestock and poultry and as an aquaculture rations to provide protein, amino acids, Phosphorus, Calcium, energy, and other nutrients.
While affirming that MBM ameliorates the problem of low-level of protein intake, Sigbeku however tasked stakeholders to bring about massive production of protein based food items at competitive costs, to further lower production cost in poultry farming.
In his remarks, the managing director, Agro Merits Limited, Sampson Adetunji Odipe, posited that Agro sector is very lucrative, but marred with high cost of production.
To drastically reduce the cost of production, Odipe averred that Agro Merits Limited, has decided to import MBM for Nigerian poultry farmers, as it is cheaper than most of the protein supplements in Nigeria.
On partnership with NAFDAC, the managing director said MBM is one of the sources of animal protein, and NAFDAC, in its efforts of ensuring that safe and healthy products are in circulation, recently carried out investigation on MFM, to ascertain the ingredients used in its production. Their findings showed that MFM contained the necessary ingredients and nutrients and it is cost effective compared to other poultry feeds, he affirmed.
