To prevent the collapse of the poultry and aquaculture industries, Lagos Commissioner for Agriculture Ms. Abisola Olusanya has called for efforts to halt the increasing prices of soybeans, and maize.
Reports said a tonne of maize is selling for between N145,000 and N160,000. As at November 2019, the price of maize per tonne was N85, 000.
Addressing the Pre-6th Implementation Support Mission of Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support Project (APPEALS) in Lagos, she said there’s scarcity and near absence of soybeans, which among factors, are militating increased production.
Speaking through the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Shakirudeen Onasanya, the Commissioner said unless there was an urgent intervention, the industry might shut down.
Her words: “I implore this mission’s team to look critically at ways of removing all bottle necks associated with implementation of APPEALS project, especially because of the looming food crisis associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and other security challenges in the country.
Stakeholders in two of our value chains – poultry and aquaculture – are facing major challenge of feed cost. The solution to this and many more crises is what we as implementers of intervention projects should be looking into.’’
According to her, the Pre-6th Implementation Support Mission of the APPEALS meeting in Lagos has provided an opportunity for stakeholders to interact and contribute immensely to the actualisation of the project’s objective of enhancing agricultural productivity of small and medium scale farmers and improving value addition along the chosen priority value chains which are poultry, aquaculture and Rice in the state.
She continued that the State Government through the Ministry of Agriculture is providing maximum support to the project in ensuring that the contribution of these value chains to food security, local production, improvement of livelihood as well as creation of export market are sustained.
The Nation, Jan 26, 2021