Challenges of poultry farmers

Nakuru, Friday, June, 23, 2023

KNA by Veronica Bosibori and Moses Mbaru

Poultry farmers in Nakuru County have decried the high production cost, disease management, and limited access to finance and credit as the major challenges in the industry.

The Secretary of Poultry Farmers in the county, Michael Wachira said poultry farming requires substantial investments in infrastructure, housing, feed, vaccines, and equipment. He was speaking today at Kam-Farm in Lanet sub-county.

He said the cost of inputs, including electricity and water, has become a significant economic challenge for farmers, especially those with limited capital. He noted that despite complaints from consumers about the high prices of eggs, the profit margins were still quite small.

The secretary singled out the ever-increasing prices of poultry feeds, that constitutes a significant portion of the production costs. He stated that the prices of key ingredients such as maize, soybeans meal, and fishmeal keep on fluctuating due to factors like weather conditions, market demand, and global commodity prices, which ends up straining the profitability of farmers.

He added that climate change has made disease management a nightmare, since poultry farms are susceptible to various diseases, such as avian influenza, and Newcastle.

Wachira observed that preventing, controlling, and treating these diseases can be financially demanding, and a number of small-scale farmers end up losing many birds leading to economic losses.

Further, he said accessing and capturing profitable markets, while competing with established suppliers, market saturation, price fluctuation, and consumer preferences are factors that affect market dynamics.

He observed that climate variability, including irregular rainfall patterns, temperature fluctuations, and extreme weather events, have negative impacts on poultry production. And, that is a new impediment, which wasn't common in the past.

Apart from that he said access to reliable transportation, cold storage facilities, and processing units was crucial, and yet lacking for the poultry industry’s growth. He urged the county government to support poultry farmers to avoid reducing interest in the sector.

He said poultry farming is considered a risky business by many financial lenders, hence securing affordable financing options was a hindrance, due to high-interest rates, and stringent lending requirements preventing expansion plans, infrastructure development, and adoption of modern technologies.

Courtesy ; K. N. A