The Federal Government is targeting an annual production of 262 million day-old chicks to strengthen the country’s poultry industry and reduce dependence on imported breeding materials, the Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, has disclosed.
The minister said, in the interim, the government planned to import about 60 million hatchable eggs as an immediate intervention to address the shortage of day-old chicks, reduce waiting periods for farmers, and improve poultry production.
Maiha disclosed this on Thursday at the 2026 edition of the Nigeria Poultry Show, held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The three-day event, organised by the Poultry Association of Nigeria, attracted hundreds of poultry farmers, investors, manufacturers, financial institutions, development partners, and exhibitors from Nigeria and other parts of the world.
The minister, who was represented by his Special Adviser, Richard Umbara, said the government, in collaboration with the association, was working towards importing approximately 60 million hatchable eggs to ease the current supply shortage.
He lamented that some poultry farmers currently waited for up to four months after making payments before receiving day-old chicks, a situation that disrupted production schedules and affected business operations.
The intervention is expected to reduce the waiting period to about one month and restore predictability to poultry production, he added.
The minister also disclosed that the government was advancing plans to introduce grandparent stock to strengthen domestic breeding capacity and support the production of about 262 million day-old chicks annually.
The initiative will reduce the industry’s vulnerability to supply disruptions and strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to meet the growing demand for poultry products, he said.
Earlier, the South-West Zonal Chairman and National Vice President of PAN, Oluleye Olugbeja, urged the federal and state governments to increase investment in the poultry industry, provide affordable long-term loans, and strengthen security on farms.
Olugbeja also called for greater consultation with farmers before introducing policies affecting the sector.
He said some government policies were inimical to poultry operations because industry stakeholders were not adequately involved in their formulation.
‘When they are making or fashioning out their livestock policies or poultry policies, they should consult us. There are some of the poultry policies that are inimical to our operations. We are encouraging government to please carry us along in some of these policy formulations’, he said.
Olugbeja identified access to finance as a major obstacle to the expansion of poultry businesses, urging the government to create an enabling environment for farmers to obtain affordable, long-term funding.
He also called for increased investment in food production, arguing that food security should be treated as an essential component of national security.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture, Ayo Sotinrin, represented by Durojaye David, said the Nigerian poultry industry was valued at approximately N1.9tn and remained a major contributor to the country’s agricultural economy.
He noted that the industry’s performance was closely linked to the availability and prices of maize, soybean, and sorghum, which are major ingredients in poultry feed.
Fluctuations in the supply and prices of the commodities directly affected the cost of producing eggs and poultry meat, with implications for food prices, Sotinrin said.
He disclosed that the bank was implementing financing interventions to strengthen agricultural value chains, including a N200bn guarantee minimum-price programme targeting maize, sorghum, and soybean production.
Also speaking, the Country Market Lead of the United States Soybean Export Council in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa, Foluso Alabi, said Nigeria needed to build a resilient poultry industry capable of withstanding economic and environmental shocks.
Alabi identified high feed costs, currency volatility, climate disruptions, disease risks, and supply-chain bottlenecks as major challenges confronting poultry producers across Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Chairman of the Planning Committee of the show, Olalekan Odunsi, urged stakeholders to use the exhibition to improve their businesses through technology, investment, and knowledge exchange.
