Basic truth on animal production

Three things came to the front burner in a discourse on animal production as far as food security is concerned in the country. It was revealed that poultry farmers have the capacity and capability to produce enough eggs to feed the nation, secondly, turkey rearing or investment in turkey farming is quite capital intensive, but the effort would be worth it if the farmer or investor follows the necessary feeding and vaccination procedures, and that investment in cattle could only begin to yield profits between nine months and one year. Discussing the issues, a poultry farmer, Mr. Ibrahim Oguntusi, who is a Principal Agricultural Officer, Directorate of University Farms (DUFARMS), Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State said there were many poultry farms across the country, producing layer birds that lay eggs.

He noted that there are farmers, who produce and sell layer birds as day-old chicks, or at the point of lay and that the source where a poultry farmer got his or her or layer birds would largely determine how well they would perform in terms of survival. He added that if a poultry farmer should get layer birds from those, who did not carry out the required vaccination and give the birds necessary micro-nutrients for their survival, the farmer might not reap profits at the end of the day. Mr. Oguntusi said the open system should be adopted in housing the birds because we are in the tropics to avoid heat. He further said that layer bird farmers are faced with challenges of capital, getting land in agricultural settlement area, lack of electricity, and weak capacity to explore the value chain in egg production. Turkey rearing or investment in turkey farming is quite capital intensive, but the farmer or investor must not be too much in a hurry for profit.

This was the view of the Dr. Abimbola Oso of the Department of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Livestock Production of FUNAAB. Dr. Oso, who is also the Deputy Dean of the College, oversees the Turkey Unit, under DUFARMS, said there are two varieties of turkey, which are local and exotic (foreign) breeds that co-exist in Nigeria. While he noted that the local ones are hardy and could be reared in a fenced compound after they have passed formative stages of four weeks and had taken their vaccinations, the exotic ones needed to be reared intensively in a cage made with wire gosh, with a lot of air room, and they must also pass through their own vaccination regime. Dr. Oso said turkeys eat voraciously from four weeks old and beyond, and the turkey farmer must not be tired in giving them the required feeds and concentrates. On his part, a cattle farmer has said investment in this crop of ruminant animals would only begin to yield profits between nine months and one year.

The farmer, Prof. Oladele Talabi, who is the Chairman, Cattle Production Venture of FUNAAB informed that the appropriate time to buy cattle, is between October and November when the price of a head of cow, aged between seven and nine months available in the markets in the South-West, is relatively cheaper. He explained that the nature of the sexes and number of cattle to buy would depend on whether the cattle farmer wanted to go into ‘fattening to sell’ or breeding or both. He said, “If you as a cattle farmer buys a cow aged between seven to nine months, you need to rear it for one year before you begin to get any profits. And the best period to buy is between October and November when a lot of cattle will be brought down to the Southwest”. Prof. Talabi, who is also of the College of Veterinary Medicine (COLVET) of FUNAAB, said to get the best profits from a herd of cattle, farmers in the sector must feed the animals with quality feeds, not only grasses, but other crop residues from maize and cowpea to get protein and fibre requirements, adding that apart from being fed three times – morning, afternoon, and evening – they must be given clean potable water and also take their medications and other nutrients.

Prof. Talabi suggested that cattle farmers should practice intensive management of cattle rearing, where the cattle are kept in a fenced compound, provided with feeds, water, and medication. However, he noted that according to the animal welfare charge, the cattle must be allowed about 30 minutes to one hour to go out for their exercise and then, return to base. Prof. Talabi said cattle pilfering or rustling was a major challenge in this part of the world, where “Sometimes, an individual employed to rear them, end up carting them away in trailers”. The main takeaway from the interventions on animal production is that we have what it takes to produce food for the people provided the necessary inputs such as finance are available, proper care of animals are taken, and farmers are patient enough to wait for their investments to yield fruits.