Poultry farmers in Lagos State have appealed to the Lagos State Government to accelerate the establishment of an egg powder factory to curb millions of naira lost due to unsold eggs.

The appeal came during the annual summit of the Poultry Association of Nigeria, Lagos State Chapter, held recently in Alausa, where the association also trained farmers to adopt modern technology to improve productivity and profitability.

Speaking at the event, the Chairman of PAN Lagos, Mojeed Iyiola, said poor sales remained one of the biggest challenges confronting poultry farmers, forcing many farms to dispose of hundreds of eggs daily.

“We have farms that break hundreds of eggs daily, translating to millions of naira in losses. The Lagos State Government is assisting us in building an egg powder factory. Even if we cannot export immediately, we can at least process the eggs for local consumption. In that area, the Lagos State Government is trying for us. We are only appealing to the government to make the factory operational,” Iyiola said.

He commended the state government for supporting poultry farmers, particularly its efforts to establish a processing facility, which he said would help preserve excess egg production and reduce waste.

Iyiola noted that the summit, themed ‘Flocking to Growth: Transforming Nigeria’s Poultry Industry with Innovation and Investment’, was organised to expose poultry farmers to global best practices and technological innovations to improve efficiency.

“This summit, which also serves as our annual conference, is aimed at sensitising our members on better and technological ways of running poultry businesses. As the theme implies, we want to stop using crude methods of running the poultry industry so that farmers can maximise benefits and increase profitability. Some innovations and technologies can move the industry forward with a limited labour force. This is exactly what we want to achieve with our members, that they step up the way they run their poultry businesses,” Iyiola said.

He added that the association had commenced training programmes involving experts from academia to equip farmers with both theoretical and practical knowledge, stressing that Nigerian poultry producers must embrace global standards to remain competitive.

Also speaking, a professor of agricultural biochemistry and animal nutrition, poultry science, food and food safety at the University of Ibadan, Olugbenga Ogunwole, urged poultry farmers to adopt modern feeding practices to maximise the genetic potential of improved poultry breeds.

“Our people still rely on old poultry literature and outdated practices. Present-day technology must match the present stock that we have. What farmers need to do is feed their birds properly. They should stop giving their birds poor-quality feed if they expect good performance. Our birds should be fed in line with international standards to achieve the desired results,” Ogunwole said.

In her remarks, the Director of Extension Services at the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems, Olushola Egbota, urged poultry farmers to take advantage of the ministry’s extension services to improve productivity rather than relying solely on government interventions.

“We urge all poultry farmers in the state to regularly contact the Lagos State Extension Services office at Oko-Oba, Agege, for the information they need to improve their farms. We are available to support poultry farmers to maximise their productivity and potential,” Egbota said.