The newly elected Chairman of the Poultry Association of Ogun State, Yinka Lawal, has called on Nigerian governments at all levels to prioritize mechanized farming over frivolous expenditures in 2025.
Speaking on Wednesday during a press briefing at the association’s secretariat in Abeokuta, the state capital, Lawal emphasized the need for a committed approach to boost food production and ensure food security for over 200 million Nigerians.
According to Lawal, only a small fraction of the population is involved in food production.
He stressed that unless the government takes deliberate steps to promote mechanized farming, food insecurity will worsen, leading to further increases in food prices.
He argued that instead of spending public funds on luxury items such as SUVs, the government should invest in agricultural equipment like tractors and harvesters.
These, he said, would enable large-scale cultivation of the country’s fertile arable land and help combat hunger.
“To solve the food insecurity crisis the country currently grapples with, governments at all levels must address the problem of insecurity. People must feel secure to go about their farming business,” Lawal stated.
“Secondly, let the government embrace mechanised farming, let them stop buying SUVs but tractors, and harvesters that can be used to clear our vast arable and fertile land, especially in the South-West. Palliatives can never help us, only mechanised farming will save us from the food crisis.
“For instance, if I am to be modest, the poultry farmers in Ogun State use at least 100 trailers load of maize in a month, just imagine the economy around that supposing the maize is grown in the state.
“We have the land and that is why we are urging for the government support, it is something we can do with the right support. This is the route the government at all levels should follow in the year 2025.”
The PANOG Chairman also addressed the reported high prices of chicken during the Yuletide, attributing the issue to “emergency backyard poultry farmers” and middlemen seeking to exploit the festive season.
He clarified that association members did not sell chickens above N15,000, unlike the N25,000 to N30,000 price range reported during the period.
Lawal explained that seasonal poultry farmers often produce at higher costs, which could have been significantly reduced if they were members of the association.
“As members of the poultry association, there are some benefits that we enjoy. We can decide to buy our feeds in bulk and then sell at a cheaper price to our members than what is obtainable in the market,” he said.
“We have lots of information that can help cut down on our cost of production which non-members do not have.
“We urge these farmers to join our association to enjoy these benefits and be able to produce and sell at a very competitive price without unnecessarily putting pressure on the members of the public.”
