Nigeria: Poultry Association members calls CBN to fix 3 percent interest rates on loans

Members of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) have called the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to fix the interest rates on loans to the sector to a maximum of three percent, according to a news report by The Guardian.

The association, involving poultry farmers, toll millers, input suppliers, and ancillary businesses, also asked the CBN to properly identify and itemize programs it has emplaced for farmers following a recent claim that there were about 166 ongoing programs funded by the CBN across the country.

National President, PAN, Ezekiel Ibrahim Mam, speaking on the current situation of the poultry industry and the way to sustain growth in Nigeria, said, "the association will be interested to know the identity of these projects and the location across the country so that we can see how the association can work with these projects that have correlation and benefit to the poultry industry in Nigeria."

PAN said that the poultry industry uptakes about 40 percent of maize and 60 percent of soybeans produced in the country, adding that: “We are also the major off-takers of rice bran, wheat offal, groundnut cake, and others, and with our continued determination to create awareness and increase the per capita consumption of poultry products by Nigerians by 50 percent, we are set to create a new revolution in the entire agricultural value chains in Nigeria.