From N7,000 To N23,000: Poultry Farmers Groan Over Feed Costs
From N7,000 To N23,000: Poultry Farmers Groan Over Feed Costs
Small-holder poultry farmers in Nigeria’s North-East have appealed to federal, state and local governments to urgently intervene in the sector, warning that rising production costs and declining profit margins are pushing businesses towards collapse.
The farmers, operating across Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, said the increasing prices of poultry feed, day-old chicks, vaccines and veterinary medicines had made it increasingly difficult for small-scale producers to sustain their businesses.
They made the appeal in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday, highlighting the growing economic pressures confronting poultry farmers and their impact on food production, employment and household livelihoods.
Mr Godwin Dedan, a poultry farmer and dealer in feeds and veterinary medicines, called for targeted government interventions, particularly measures to reduce the cost of essential production inputs.
He identified the rising cost of poultry feed as one of the sector’s biggest challenges, urging authorities to support local production of key ingredients such as maize and soybean.
According to him, government intervention should include subsidies for poultry feed ingredients, investment in affordable feed-milling facilities and incentives for local producers.
Dedan also advocated low-interest loans and grants to enable small-holder farmers to purchase day-old chicks, feeds, vaccines and other essential materials.
He said improved access to finance, affordable inputs and stronger market opportunities would help farmers remain in business while creating employment and strengthening food security.
In Adamawa State, Malam Haruna Ismail, a poultry farmer who typically raises between 50 and 100 birds in Yola-South, described the increase in production costs as alarming.
He said the price of day-old chicks had risen from between N980 and N1,050 in 2025 to approximately N2,270. According to him, a bag of poultry feed that previously sold for between N16,000 and N18,000 now costs between N21,600 and N23,000.
The cost of veterinary medicines has also increased considerably, with some sachets that previously sold for between N400 and N800 now going for between N1,800 and N2,000.
Ismail said the rising expenses had forced him to reduce the number of birds he purchased and cut back on spending for feed and medication.
Another farmer in Yola-North, Mrs Peace Samuel, said poultry production was becoming increasingly unsustainable as farmers struggled to balance production expenses with what consumers could afford.
She explained that after spending six to seven weeks feeding broiler chickens, farmers needed to sell at higher prices to recover their investments. However, the purchasing power of consumers remained a major obstacle.
“After rearing birds for six to seven weeks and feeding them at such high costs, it will be fair to sell at N20,000 each. But some people may prefer to buy beef for N10,000 instead of chicken,” she said.
Samuel noted that some farmers were compelled to lower their selling prices to attract customers, even when doing so reduced their chances of making meaningful profits.
Beyond the rising cost of inputs, she identified disease outbreaks, including coccidiosis, Newcastle disease and Gumboro, as additional threats to poultry production.
She warned that delays in treating infections could lead to significant bird mortality and financial losses for farmers already struggling with high operating costs.
In Borno State, poultry farmers in Biu also called on the state and Federal Governments to provide financial and material support to prevent further decline in the sector.
Mr Shettima Isa, manager of Shettima Farms in Tum, said the price of a bag of poultry feed had increased from about N10,000 to N18,000, making production increasingly expensive.
He lamented that despite the substantial amount spent on feeds and vaccines, farmers often struggled to sell their broilers at profitable prices.
According to him, birds were sometimes sold for between N8,000 and N12,000, depending on their sizes. Isa said the situation had forced several operators to abandon the business, resulting in job losses across the poultry value chain.
He argued that government support would not only help existing farmers survive but also encourage new investments, expand employment opportunities and increase the availability of poultry products.
Another farmer in Biu, Malam Usman Kabiru, said he had been forced to quit poultry farming because of the high cost of feeds and poor market prices.
He, however, expressed willingness to return to the business if government introduced subsidies for feeds and other essential production materials.
In Yobe State, a Potiskum-based poultry farmer, Malam Isa Bawa, said the cost of poultry feed had increased significantly over the past five years.
He explained that a bag of feed, which previously sold for between N5,000 and N7,000, now costs approximately N23,000 for starter feed and N21,000 for finisher feed.
Similarly, another farmer in Potiskum, Alhaji Usman Maidede, said the rising cost of production had reduced the number of active poultry farmers in the area.
He warned that the decline in production could lead to shortages of eggs and live birds, particularly when farmers reduce the number of chickens they raise in response to increasing expenses. “When the price is high, the farmers rear less, which in turn causes less availability for the buyers,” he said.
The farmers maintained that urgent government intervention was necessary to address the challenges threatening small-scale poultry production.
They warned that without affordable feed, accessible financing and improved support systems, more farmers could abandon the business, worsening unemployment and limiting the supply of affordable protein to Nigerian households.
