The Federal Government has announced plans to strengthen oversight of poultry import allocations and enforce stricter performance measures for operators to address supply shortages and boost local poultry production.
The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, disclosed this during a meeting in Abuja, with the Managing Director of Valentine Chickens, Dr. Charles Gunter, and the company’s National Operations Manager.
Maiha expressed concern over the underutilisation of approved poultry import quotas, noting that industry assessments link the trend to shortages of day-old chicks and rising production costs for farmers.
He stressed that future import allocations would be closely monitored and tied to performance indicators, insisting that government support must translate into increased production and improved access for farmers.
The minister maintained that the government aims to reduce barriers to entry, improve affordability and promote sustainable growth across the poultry value chain.
During the meeting, Valentine Chickens presented a proposal for a $5.6 million investment in local grandparent stock production infrastructure to reduce dependence on imported parent stock and strengthen domestic poultry production.
The project, developed in partnership with Hendrix Genetics, includes specialised breeding facilities and enhanced biosecurity systems. The company said annual imports of 116,800 grandparent breeding chicks could generate about two million parent stock females and up to 273 million commercial broiler chickens yearly.
Maiha also revealed that the ministry is establishing a centralised national database to track imported grandparent and parent stock eggs and chicks, a move aimed at improving regulation, transparency and accountability while supporting smallholder farmers and expanding local production.