Alhaji Umar Usman Kibiya is the Kano State chapter chairman of Poultry farmers Association of Nigeria (PAN). In this interview, he talks about the bird flu outbreaks and the issues with the federal compensation policy, among others. Excerpts:
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture recently alerted farmers on the reported outbreak of bird flu in some states including Lagos and Ogun. What is the situation in Kano?
Whenever there is an outbreak in the nation irrespective of where it started from, there is indeed a tense panic among poultry farmers because there are movements of feeds, birds, chicks, among other things related to poultry. Though Kano State has not recorded any case of bird flu, farmers are really scared.
How are you sensitizing farmers, especially in this period when we normally experience outbreak of the disease due to migration birds?
From the day we received the alert, we contacted our members through our communication channels on the need for all to beef up bio-security measures in their farms which means restricting people from going in and out of the farm, as well as proper monitoring of what goes in and out of the farm.
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The association is currently doing that, educating farmers on the dangers of the flu, a lot of our members have beefed up bio-securities around their farms and on the association’s part, we are on a continuous campaign on measures ought to be taken by farmers to avert the flu outbreak in the state.
During the last outbreak, compensation became a huge issue with poultry farmers, which made many of them not to report cases. How have you been able to handle that in Kano or how will you handle it if such situations are repeated?
It appears that the issue at hand now isn’t the issue of compensation but that of the newly compensation policy structure lined up or introduced by the federal government. The new compensation policy stipulated payment to farmers with 3 thousand birds per farm and below. Moreover, the payment under the new policy is being spread into three, the affected farmer will pay 25 percent, the state government will pay 25 percent and the federal government will pay 50 percent.
This is the current status now, and so any poultry farmer who has above three thousand birds is advised to insure their farms as they stand no chance in the new compensation policy.
Are you satisfied with the new FG’s policy on compensation?
You see, we have done the documentation of farmers who were affected during last year’s epidemic and I have personally signed all the documents and the state ministry is engaging the federal government on compensation payment.
Similarly, to us this is another school of thought by engaging farmers to be part and parcel of taking responsibilities of managing their farms. But in other parts of the world, all compensations are being paid in full by the government and at current value of the product. However, farmers with over a thousand birds may not report the outbreak and that would place poultry farmers at a high-risk status. In a nutshell, FG’s new compensation policy puts poultry farmers at a high-risk level.
Can we say no payment is being made to last year’s affected poultry farmers?
No one has received any compensation payment from last year’s losses as I speak with you.
It is apparent that most poultry farms operate without proper registration and that has negatively affected compensation processes. What is the association doing to rectify this?
The association is doing all it can to see that poultry farms are duly registered. Moreover, the Corporate Affairs Commission has made it very easy for firms to get registered and we are continuously sensitizing our members to register their farms.
However, that won’t stop some small-scale farmers from operating their backyard poultry businesses, but we always advise them to register their business as it grows.
Cost of feed is a major issue, which forced many farmers to shut down businesses across the country. How is the situation in Kano?
Cost of feed is related to various aspects –ranging from insecurity, war in some countries, and drought, among other issues. The issue is a global phenomenon and it is affecting the business along the value chain.
It is a very critical issue in poultry production because currently, the demand is superseding the supply chain and that is the main problem the poultry sector is facing, especially in Nigeria. This is why we kept urging the government to wade into the matter and see where the problem lies, especially with the security issue. A larger percentage of arable lands were left untended due to insecurity.
Are there measures taken by the government to assist poultry farmers?
Yes, the federal government has given the association subsidized maize which we shared to farmers, but compare the demand and what was obtained; there is a strong need for the authority to do more.
Is the closure of poultry farms as a result of the high cost of feed?
Not all closed poultry farms were due to hike in feed, most of the farms were closed due to poor management. A lot of such farmers ventured into it without involving or seeking professional advice on how to run and manage farms.
Do you, as an association in Kano, have a plan to deal with the issue of feed?
As I have stated earlier, it is a global issue and as an association, we have been advising our members to carefully adopt a modern approach as well as scientific approaches in managing their farms. However, we are optimistic that nothing lasts forever; the current situation will surely come to an end and before then there is a need for result-oriented solutions to be deployed in tackling the issue.
What is your target as chairman of the association in Kano State, which is a major poultry hub in the north?
My target is to see a viable and attractive poultry business not only in Kano State but across the country. I want to transform the poultry industry to its apex in terms of meeting the demand of the population. We want to supply affordable and qualitative poultry products not only to Kano State but the nation in general.
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