The Cross River State Government in partnership with a south African company is setting up a state-of-the-art integrated animal feed mill, poultry breeding and frozen chicken for export facility that is planned to be one of the largest south of Nigeria in Obubra Local Government Areas of the state.
The facility is to be complemented by a yellow maize and soya beans farm which will supply the feedmill with the raw materials for production of animal feed. The farm will be developed on more than 250 hectare land at the first instance.
The multi-million Naira feedmill investment which will have the capacity to produce about 240,000 tonnes of animal feeds annually, will utilise about 100,000 tonnes of corn and 40,000 tonnes of soya beans for its feed production.
The major ingredients in animal feed are maize and soybeans. Other raw materials that can be used to produce animal feed include groundnut, sorghum, and cassava and the major diets ingredients include cereals, fats and oils, which provide the protein and energy required for animals to maintain good health.
The poultry breeding farm which is conceived with an automated slaughter and industrial freezing machines is planned with over 50,000 tonnes of onsite storage, in addition to outsourced storage that will support the export of the chicken.
The facility which is one of about 18 cottage industries being set up in each local government area in Cross River State under the one Local Government Area, one industry policy of the Sen. Prof. Ben Ayade led administration.
Others industries presently being set up in the 18 Local Government Areas include the Instant Indomie factory in Calabar Municipal, the Piles, Pylons and Poles factory in Akamkpa Local Government Area and the Toothpick Factory in Yakur Local Government Area and many more.
The Investment is expected to contribute to the development of the Nigerian poultry and feedmill sectors by providing competitively priced feed in Nigeria and frozen chicken for export.
In Nigeria, the animal feed industry has been hampered by the lack of quality feed and poor supply of raw materials. Notwithstanding the country is estimated to rake in over N800 billion from the sector as consumption is increasing daily.
At present, the total supply of all the locally produced feedstock does not appear to be sufficient to meet demands, especially with respect to the animal protein supplements that are currently imported.
The global animal feed market can be segmented into five divisions based on livestock: poultry, swine, ruminant, aquaculture and others, and the cost of their feeding is on the high side.
The Alltech Global Feed ranking in 2015 put Nigeria as one of the world’s largest emerging animal feeds producers with a better opportunity to penetrate the international animal feeds export market.
The ranking put Nigeria’s feed sector as number 40 in the world out of 130 leading animal feed producing countries in the world, representing a significant progress from the previous ranking of number 51.
The Nigeria Institute of Animal Science (NIAS), reported the country’s animal feed production had increased from 3.8 million metric tons to 5.3 million metric tons in 2015.
In the poultry sector, Nigeria’s annual demand for the poultry value chain is over N500bn. Presently it stands at 165 million birds and 650,000 metric tonnes of eggs and 290,000 metric tonnes of meat are demanded annually according to records.
The investment by the Cross River State Government in partnership with a South African company in a state-of-the-art integrated animal feed mill, poultry breeding farm and frozen chicken for export company thus makes economic sense.
The company will not only provide revenue for the state government but will also create jobs for the citizens as well as ensure food security in Nigeria and beyond. The Integrated Investment is expected to create about 10,000 direct and indirect jobs.
All machines for the integrated animal feed mill, poultry breeding farm and frozen chicken for export company have been procured and work on the factory location and building has begun. This expected to be completed in a few months.
The visit of the governor today to the project goes to show the commitment of the Sen. Prof. Ben Ayade led Administration to the total industrialization of Cross River State in the shortest possible time.
I will thus like to encourage all Cross River State citizens and residents alike to continue supporting this administration to see this laudable projects to logical conclusion and to the benefit of all.
*Emmanuel Etim is SSA to Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State.
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