Poultry farmers in Lagos State have appealed to the Lagos State Government to quickly complete and make operational an egg powder factory to help stop the millions of naira they lose daily from unsold eggs.

The appeal was made during the annual summit of the Poultry Association of Nigeria, Lagos Chapter, held in Alausa with the theme ‘Flocking to Growth: Transforming Nigeria’s Poultry Industry with Innovation and Investment’.

According to the Chairman of PAN Lagos, Mojeed Iyiola, many farms are forced to break hundreds of eggs every day due to poor sales, and that translates to huge losses. He commended the state government for supporting the project to build the factory, saying even if export is not possible immediately, processing the eggs for local consumption will greatly reduce waste. Iyiola said the summit was organized to sensitize farmers on adopting modern technology and better business practices so they can move away from crude methods, maximize profit, and run their farms with less labor.

He added that the association has started training programs with experts from academia to equip farmers with both theoretical and practical knowledge needed to meet global standards. Also speaking, Professor Olugbenga Ogunwole of the University of Ibadan urged farmers to stop relying on outdated feeding practices and poor-quality feed, stressing that birds should be fed according to international standards to get good performance from improved breeds. In her remarks, the Director of Extension Services at the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems, Olushola Egbota, encouraged poultry farmers to make use of the ministry’s extension services at Oko-Oba, Agege, for information and support to improve productivity instead of depending only on government.