22nd June, 2019
Piggery farmers in Delta have lauded state government’s programmes and policies designed to boost pork production to meet the protein need of the people.
Mr Jerry Ossai, the state Chairman, Pig Farmers Association of Nigeria, said this on Friday in Asaba.
Ossai said that the government had put modalities in place to engage more youths to take over from the ageing farmers in the state.
He said that the era of neglect of the agriculture sector by the government was over.
He said that Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa-led administration had made appreciable efforts to revive the sector and make it profitable to farmers.
He said that pig farming and pork production had become more profitable under the current dispensation than before.
According to Ossai, farmers are now reaping more profit from their investment.
He said: “The lack of attention to faming in Delta is now a thing of the past. Government is gradually building up the capacity for pig production.
“This has become an alternative, especially with the incessant cattle headers’ crises, and recently, the question has been, must we eat beef?
“Many countries in the world eat pork and chicken. So, in Delta, with what the pig farmers are doing, more attention will be given to pork consumption.
“I am sure you are aware of the state government’s Youths Agricultural Entrepreneurship Programme (YAGEP).
“It is a deliberate plan by the government to develop younger generation of farmers in all aspects of agriculture, particularly those in the area where we have comparative advantage.”
Ossai said that at least 50 young men and women had been trained and empowered in piggery farming under YAGEP.
He said that additional 50 farmers were also empowered under the government’s Farmers Special Support Programme.
He said that the state government recently gave 10 pigs to every pig famer, in addition to cash and other inputs to enable them to take off after their internship.
He said: “So, there is a deliberate, conscious effort by the Delta government to develop the younger generation of pig farmers.
“It is expensive to start a pig farm because of the cost of infrastructure, including the farm building, water, among others.”
He encouraged Nigerians to see pork meat as a veritable alternative for their protein need.
Mr Julius Omunizua, the Director, Livestock Services in the Ministry of Agriculture, lauded the state government’s support for the sector.
“On livestock production, Delta government is running pig multiplication and farmers support programmes, where many farmers received credit facilities to establish and expand their farms.
“This is going to generate a lot of employment with a target of over 30 direct jobs.
“And because the pig industry in the state is dominated by adults, government introduced and now supports youths between the ages of 18 and 35 to rejuvenate the industry.
“The youths mentorship scheme provids opportunities for the youths to be trained under mentors for a period of six months after which they will be given starter packs,” Ossai said.
He further said that the state government had also floated a broiler-out-growers scheme to engage at least 60 youths directly in poultry production and farming.
Omunizua further said that government had also trained no fewer than 1,000 farmers in the state on goat farming for increased production and profitability.
He said that farmers were expected to pay back the credit facility given to them as soft loans.
He said that the state government’s programmes and policies on agriculture were aimed at nurturing genuine farmers, who would see agriculture as business and being able to repay their loans.
Omunizua said that the gains so far recorded by the sector had encouraged the state government to invest more in the sector.