Poultry farmers under the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration’s
agripreneur programme have continued to count their gains, as poultry
processors in the state have purchased a total of 125,000 birds from 11 farm
clusters in the state’s broiler breeding scheme.
The new figures are an improvement from the earlier reports
that the off-takers bought off 60,000 birds from the beneficiaries of the
scheme, which is targeted at improving protein production in the state to fight
malnutrition and other health-related challenges.
The new figures were polled from the activities of broiler
breeders in Benin metropolis, where the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing
System for Agriculture Lending (NIRSAL), provided support in de-risking
investment in farms operated in Oredo, Ikpoba Oka and Egor Local Government
Areas (LGAs).
According to the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, “We have recorded impressive success with the broiler breeding programme as we did with the rice production. For poultry, our partner, NIRSAL, ensured that the farmers get the best out of the partnership by de-risking the investment.
Still speaking he said “As at yesterday word got to us that the birds were about 60,000, but the off-takers have increased the purchase to 125,000, which covers a substantial part of the birds that were bred.”
He said the bird breeding programme was designed in such a way that
the farmers are provided with needed inputs and extension service to ensure
that there are no losses.
He added, that “lot of the farmers are seeing such a scheme
work perfectly for the first time. The second phase of the programme has
already commenced, with calls for new participants in the scheme.”
Noting that the agripreneur programme is anchored at the Office of the
Special Adviser on Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security Programme, he said
the state government has expertly managed the support to the farmers for
maximum impact.
