Many poultry farmers are currently facing challenges related to low egg consumption as a result of customers’ decreasing purchasing power and the demise of government schemes like the school feeding programme and other initiatives.

Since most farms lack cold chain facilities to keep eggs for an extended period of time, the current heat wave has made matters worse. As a result, many farmers are selling their eggs below their cost of production to avoid suffering significant losses.

Depending on the size of the eggs, a crate of eggs in Abuja currently costs between N5,000 and N6,500 at retail stores. However, because demand is low and households find it difficult to manage their diminishing spending power due to the nation’s inflation, many stores have an abundance of eggs unsold.

Two weeks ago, prices in Jos, a significant production centre in the north central region, were as low as N3,900 to N4,000. However, this week, they have slightly increased to between N4,200 and N4,300.

On one of the farmers’ social media platforms, Muhammad Bello Ibrahim, on his handle could not hide his displeasure with the current situation.

“Those in the egg business are currently facing low patronage despite lower prices. The eggs are piling up in a period of very hot weather.

“In the past, some states were encouraged to buy the eggs for school feeding, hospitals, and even correctional centres. That was pleasing to the farmers across the country.  But now, things are different.  Every farmer is left alone. The losses are building up,” the farmer said.

Our correspondent in Jos reports that despite decreasing pricing, the egg industry is currently experiencing poor patronage, and the egg collections are mounting up, causing glut.

This is also taking place during a time when the state is experiencing uncommon heat, even in Jos, the state capital, which is thought to be the coolest region in the country and rarely experiences extremely hot weather.

Speaking to Daily Trust on the current situation in Plateau State, a poultry farmer, Nanji Gambo-Oke, said the egg production situation in Plateau is actually in a terrible shape.

Gambo-Oke who is also the immediate past Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Poultry Farmers Association in Plateau State said the situation is made worse because egg consumption on the Plateau is among the lowest in the country.

He noted that 80% of eggs produced in the state are being sold to neighbouring states, including the Federal Capital Territory.

“First, we need to understand that Plateau residents are not significant consumers of eggs, leading to 80% of production being exported to neighbouring states. This creates a unique challenge.

“Second, the Plateau farmers are small-scale farmers scattered across the state and they lack information, therefore making them vulnerable to exploitation by off-takers, who offer low prices.

“And also, many farmers in Plateau State view egg production as a side hustle, and this I would say limits their financial capacity to withstand market fluctuations and pressure from off-takers. This can lead to desperate sales at unfavourable prices,” she said.

The former PRO also highlighted the complexities of the egg production industry in the state and the need for support, stressing that this year’s heat experience in Plateau State has been particularly severe, and that it caught the farmers off guard.

According to her, the heat exposed the farmers’ lack of preparedness and expertise in managing heat stress in laying birds, unlike other states that are used to such extreme heat.

“In my years of farming in Plateau State, I haven’t experienced such heat, and the consequences I experience are enormous. I suffered low production myself, a surge in peewee eggs and increased mortality rates.

“Many farmers are struggling to cope, and it’s likely that we have had to rely on spiritual resilience to persevere. Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge the state has also never benefitted or would I say have been absent from NGO-sponsored school feeding programmes that should have helped. Also, the state government’s response to the current glut had always been slow, and this might be hindered by bureaucratic red tape.

“Their lack of timely intervention exacerbates the challenges faced by farmers, thereby leaving them vulnerable to market fluctuations and production difficulties,” he/she said.

The association’s chairperson, Mrs Shinkur Angela Jima, said the state government has shown commitment to the poultry sector, and is planning tangible things for the poultry farmers and they hope that it comes to fruition within the shortest time.

She has again pointed out that their specific challenges are constant increase in feed prices, chicken drugs and the middle men activities, adding that the challenge of weather too is there which causes drop in egg production and diseases.

Jima lamented the general economic hardship in the country which has seriously hit the poultry sector in Plateau, thereby making a lot of their members fold their businesses.

“I believe that things would change and Nigeria would be a better country for all of us. And my advice to the government is to try as much as possible to subsidise all poultry materials in order to sustain the sector,” she said.

In Niger State, rising temperatures, coupled with low patronage and lack of storage facilities, are causing poultry farmers to grapple with a growing number of spoiled eggs.

Farmers told Daily Trust that the sweltering heat is not only affecting production but also leading to significant losses.